CABE Journal - March 2013

Connecticut Associationof Boards of Education Inc.81 Wolcott Hill RoadWethersfield, CT 06109-1242

PeriodicalPostage

PAIDHartford, CT

w w w . c a b e . o r g

INSIDE THIS EDITION

President Commentary ......................... 2

Executive Director Commentary ........... 3

See You in Court .................................. 5

Revised professional

development requirements ................... 8

Stress, anxiety and test scores ............. 9

Connecticut represented at

Federal Relations Network ................... 9

CABE: Working for YOU! ...................10

Useful tips to effectively

pitching “Your Story” .........................11

2013Federal

RelationsNetwork

Ann GruenbergHampton Board of Education and VicePresident for Government Relations, CABE

WATERBURY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Vol. 17, No. 3 March 2013

Connecticut’s contingent convened inWashington, DC, on January 28th, 2013.The city, always exciting and inspiring,was especially glowing, having beenpolished for the recent inauguration.While we knew and understood ourpurpose at the FRN, the degree to whichwe were greeted with support by othersfrom across the country was unantici-pated.

The outpouring of genuine concernand support in the aftermath of thehorrific events in Sandy Hook/Newtownwas heartwarming and helpful. This wastrue in a huge room filled with 850 people,as well as during elevator rides. Legisla-tors, Board Members, and staff fromacross the country have made schoolsafety, including a focus on mental health,top priority.

When we visited legislative offices, wewere able to share our concerns. It wasvery clear that our legislators are playingleadership roles regarding these crucialissues. We thanked them, and encour-aged them to also continue to focus onsuch issues as the avoidance of seques-tration, the reauthorization of the ESEAand IDEA, and the funding of specialeducation. See photos page 9.

View fromthe Capitol

Patrice A. McCarthy,Deputy Director and General Counsel, CABE

The public hearing process is continu-ing at a rapid pace, with legislation ofconcern to school districts being heard inthe Education, Appropriations, PublicHealth and Labor committees.

We anticipate that there will be a pack-age of the bills focused on school secur-ity that come from the bipartisan legisla-tive task force. As local budgets are be-ing debated in every community through-out the state, the Legislature is proceed-ing to tackle the difficult challenge of thestate budget.

While the local budget adoption pro-cess follows set timelines, final action onthe state budget is not likely until shortlybefore the session ends on June 5th.

New Haven issue highlightsSchool Governance concerns

Kelly B. Moyher,Senior Staff Attorney, CABE andChris Seymour, Reporter, CABE

See NEW HAVEN page 8

In the wake of a whirlwind of schoolchoices, including magnet schools, oldand new, charter schools, AllianceDistricts and Commissioner’s Networkschools, questions may arise as to theexact roles the superintendent and boardsof education will play in school gover-nance. And ultimately the question will

become not only one of school gover-nance, but also one of whom, exactly, isfinancially responsible for these initia-tives?

Students at High School in theCommunity (HSC), a “turnaround schoolin New Haven, recently conducted a voteconcerning whether students should beable to wear hats and hoods in schooleven though a district policy was alreadyin place stating otherwise. Although the

students’ votes in favor of hats andhoods in school didn’t stand up againstthe Board of Education’s final say, withthe dress code remaining firmly in place,the issue of hats and hoods in this localNew Haven school parallels current andpotential issues surrounding schoolgovernance in charter and magnet schoolsacross the state.

In New Haven, the board of educationand superintendent have worked closelywith school staff, parents, students andcommunity members over the past severalyears on education reform. A turnaroundschool in New Haven has, in essence,been given more autonomy to set rulesand experiment, keeping the district’s goalof education reform as its goal.

The much lauded reformation beganmany years ago through the work of manyindividuals including New Haven Superin-tendent Reginald Mayo, and the city’smayor, John DeStefano, and resulted inthe 2009 New Haven school district andteachers’ union contract.

The contract offered a small annual payincrease to teachers over four years andallows the district to close failing schools,

Lydia Tedone

2 The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education • March 2013

PRESIDENT COMMENTARY

CABE Board of DirectorsEXECUTIVE COMMITTEELydia Tedone .................................................. President, SimsburyRichard Murray ............................. First Vice President, KillinglyAnn Gruenberg ........... VP for Government Relations, HamptonStephen Wright ............. VP for Professional Development, TrumbullRobert Mitchell ............................ Secretary/Treasurer, MontvilleDon Blevins ........................................... Immediate Past PresidentJohn Prins ........................................................... Member at Large

AREA DIRECTORSSusan Hoffnagle ....................... Area 1 Co-Director, WinchesterMari-Ellen (Mimi) Valyo ........ Area 1 Co-Director, WinchesterDaniel Santorso ........................... Area 1 Co-Director, PlymouthBecky Tyrrell .................................Area 2 Co-Director, PlainvilleSusan Karp .....................................Area 2 Co-Director, GlasbonburyDon Harris ........................................ Area 2 Co-Director, BloomfieldLaura Bush .................................................. Area 3 Director, VernonDouglas Smith ...................................... Area 4 Co-Director, PlainfieldSteve Rosendahl .............................. Area 4 Co-Director, WoodstockGavin Forrester ................................... Area 6 Co-Director, StratfordElaine Whitney ................................... Area 6 Co-Director, WestportSheila McCreven ........................... Area 7 Co-Director, WoodbridgeJohn Prins ............................................ Area 7 Co-Director, BranfordPamela Meier .............................................Area 8 Director, MadisonGail MacDonald .................................... Area 9 Director, Stonington

ASSOCIATESEileen Baker ........................................... Associate, Old SaybrookSharon Beloin-Saavedra .......................... Associate, New BritainGary Brochu ........................................................ Associate, BerlinRobert Guthrie .......................................... Associate, West HavenCal Heminway ................................................... Associate, Granby

COMMITTEE CHAIRSElizabeth Brown ............................ Chair, State Relations, MontvilleBeverly Washington ....................... Chair, Federal Relations, GrotonBecky Tyrrell ....................................... Chair, Resolutions, Plainville

CITY REPRESENTATIVESJacqueline Kelleher ......................... City Representative, BridgeportMatthew Poland ................................. City Representative, HartfordCarlos Torre ................................... City Representative, New HavenPolly Rauh ......................................... City Representative, StamfordCharles Stango ............................... City Representative, Waterbury

STAFFRobert Rader ...................................................................... Executive DirectorPatrice McCarthy ................................ Deputy Director and General CounselBonnie Carney ........................................... Sr. Staff Associate for PublicationsNicholas Caruso ............................................ Sr. Staff Assoc. for Field Service and Coord. of TechnologySheila McKay ............................ Sr. Staff Associate for Government RelationsKelly Moyher ......................................................................... Sr. Staff AttorneyVincent Mustaro ..................................... Sr. Staff Associate for Policy ServiceLisa Steimer .............................. Sr. Staff Assoc. for Professional DevelopmentTeresa Costa ............................... Coordinator of Finance and AdministrationPamela Brooks ......................... Sr. Admin. Assoc. for Policy Ser. /Search Ser.Terry DeMars .............................................. Admin. Assoc. for Policy ServiceMelissa Dickinson ........................... Admin. Assist. for Membership ServicesGail Heath ...................................... Admin. Assoc. for Government RelationsWilmarie Newton ...................................... Admin. Assoc. for Labor RelationsCorliss Ucci .............................. Receptionist/Asst. to the Executive Director

The CABE Journal (ISSN 1092-1818) is published monthly excepta combined issue for July/August as a member service of theConnecticut Association of Boards of Education, 81 Wolcott HillRoad, Wethersfield, CT 06109, (860) 571-7446. CABE member-ship dues include $30 per person for each individual who receivesThe CABE Journal. The subscription rate for nonmembers is $75.Association membership dues include a subscription for each boardmember, superintendent, assistant superintendent and businessmanager. The companies and advertisements found in The CABEJournal are not necessarily endorsed by CABE. “PeriodicalsPostage Paid at Hartford, CT.” POSTMASTER: Send addresschanges to The CABE Journal, CABE, 81 Wolcott Hill Road,Wethersfield, CT 06109-1242. Email: [email protected] can find the CABE Journal online at: www.cabe.org/userlogin.cfm?pp=84&userrequest=true&keyrequest=false&userpage=84

Guiding principles

UCONN/CABECapstone Project

Bob Rader, Patrice McCarthy and Lisa Steimer havebeen working with UConn graduate students on a surveydesigned to elicit information from school board mem-bers. It is important that CABE knows more about ourmembers in order to better serve them. Part of the surveyis dedicated to helping increase CABE/CAPSS Conven-tion attendance.

You will be receiving an emailed or regular mailedsurveys in the next few weeks. Please fill them out andreturn them as soon as possible.

We appreciate your willingness to help us help you!

CondolencesRichard F. SchnellerFormer State Senator Richard Schneller died recently

at the age of 90. The former Senate Majority Leaderserved five terms in the Connecticut State Senate from1975 to 1984 representing Connecticut’s 20th SenatorialDistrict. During his Senate tenure he served succes-sively as Senate Chairman of the Legislature’s State andUrban Development Committee (1975-1976), EducationCommittee (1977-1978), Appropriations Committee (1979-1980), and Senate Majority Leader (1981-1984). He wasformer chairman of the Region 4 Board of Education.

In 1984, he was honored with CABE’s OutstandingLegislator Award in recognition of his leadership andstatesmanship. CABE extends condolences to his family.

Patrice A. McCarthy,Deputy Director and General Counsel, CABE

While participating in the Grammy Awards programrecently, Justin Timberlake made a special point to thankhis teachers. This is not the first young musician tothank those teachers who inspired them. I also recentlyasked one of my district’s high school students, “whatdoes performing arts mean to you?”

He replied, without hesitation, “the peaceful pursuit ofmy passion”.

A new Music Educator Award is seeking nominationsfor outstanding music educators. “They Found You”was their theme. Conceptually, all of this interest createsopportunities for young musicians, and the teachers whohelped them discover their talents.

Music, and the arts; whether through performance orpainting, sculpting or animation, to name just a few, givegreat meaning and value to our lives. Not everyone willtake a talent in the arts to a level of a Justin Timberlake,with wealth and fame. But many students will derive alifetime of pleasure from their ability to create. The mess-age is that many talented people would never have hadan opportunity, if not for a teacher who inspired andencouraged them. Needless to say, that these extra-curricular activities, like sports, band or the debate teamis often what make school worthwhile to our children.

Now the hard part….We all know the pinch our economy is in. Local, State

and Federal funding is in jeopardy with deficits andshortages galore. Pressure from new standards, tests andevaluations will put even more pressure on schoolbudgets to reach some sort of compliance. We risk takingthe part of school that most identifies with our youngpeople – the things they are most passionate about, andsubstituting instead the things that are least interestingor motivating to young minds.

It is impossible to make a student passionate aboutthe CMT. Our challenge is to figure out how to givestudents what they need – not just for a financialsuccess; or a higher GPA; but rather to give them whatthey need to pursue their passions.

At the recent National School Board Association,Federal Relations Network Conference in Washington,DC, our focus was grassroots advocacy for publiceducation. Our collective theme to our respective

Congressional Delega-tions was advising on thefederal programs thatwork well for our schools– Reauthorizing the ESEAAct; Increase federalfunding for Title 1 andIDEA; Support effectiveschool safety initiativesand Sequestration andFederal Funding for

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Education. Our concernwas loud and clear – there are higher expectations at atime when there will be fewer and fewer resources. If weare to maintain the part of school that has the mostimpact on a student’s passion, we are going to have tofight for it from the state and federal governments thatexpect us to deliver more and greater rigor.

Attend CABE’s Day on the Hill on March 6. In-volved board members who are committed to grassrootsadvocacy with in our State, have significant responsibili-ties by making education a top priority for the GeneralAssembly. Exercise your power and voice by tellingyour legislator what helps or hinders your schooldistrict. Be knowledgeable on priority legislative issuesand strategies that affect every student in CT.

Our one united voice for public education can beeffective. We need the resources to ensure we don’thave to make decisions like art vs. math. music vs.reading. All are critical and need to be supported.

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The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education • March 2013 3

The revolution is occurring beforeour eyes: What’s your role?

I hope you take a little time to read thearticle on page 1 about how governance ischanging in the State. I think every boardshould discuss this and what it means totheir districts as we move forward.

Over the years, public education hasgone through many transformations. Weare a long way from the one-room school-house. Education reform is revolutioniz-ing public education. This will have hugeimpact on the mission of boards of educa-tion, which has long been to connect thewill of the community to the education ofits students.

The Federal Government is behindmuch of this revolution . With Race to theTop and the NCLB waiver, it has usedfunding as a way to encourage states,state departments of education, schoolboards and othereducationalleaders tochange how theywere “doingbusiness”.

Connecticuthas beenunlucky threetimes in attempt-ing to get Raceto the Topfunding and fourtimes if youexamine the individual dis-tricts whichtried to get funding. Despite that, withthe strong effort led by Governor DannelMalloy, the State Board of Education andCommissioner Stefan Pryor, we have seenwholesale changes in the professionalevaluation and support of teachers andprincipals, the beginnings of implementa-tion of the Common Core and more.

While this is all going on, there arenew structures, aimed at changing thevery nature of how education is deliveredin our schools. We now have AllianceDistricts, Commissioner’s NetworkSchools, more charter schools, two Stateinterventions and other initiatives aimedat eliminating the state’s achievement gap.

More prescriptiveAt the same time, we are finding that

the Federal and State action on educa-tional issues is more prescriptive than itwas years ago. For example, many yearsago, the Legislature saw a need for boardsto think about the homework assigned tostudents. So, they did what we encour-aged them to do: required all boards toadopt a policy in this area. That enabledboards to tailor their policies to what theybelieve(d) was best for their districts.

But, that is not what is happening to-day. For example, we have had, imposedfrom above, new wellness, nutrition,school governance councils, bullying andother requirements. These enactmentshave put a real strain on the staffs of allschool districts.

The underlying theme seems to be: wecan’t trust boards of education to takecare of our students in an appropriateway. We need to make sure they dothings exactly as we want them done.

This is not the venue to debate

CABE’s position on all these changes.We have been involved in them andadvocated for many of them, especiallylast year when we worked with the “BigSix” Partnership (CABE, CAPSS, CAS,CBIA, the Connecticut Council forEducation Reform and ConnCAN). Wehave a good rela-tionship with all of them,because our work is based on principlesthat we all agree on. This year, we wentback to those principles and updatedthem. There are other issues on which wedisagree – and we go separately andlobby for the positions adopted by ourDelegate Assembly.

What’s the Goal?Still, I am left with the over-arching

question: Where are we going with all ofthis? When do we take stock and get anidea of what needs to be better supported,pulled back or deleted altogether?

And, in the long run, who will run ourpublic education system? Will it be theFederal and State governments?

If it will be the Federal and Stategovernments running the schools in theway they think best, who will fund theschools? Can we really ask taxpayers atthe local level, through real estate taxes,to pay more at a time when boards arehaving less and less control over theirchildren’s education?

And, why would we want more andmore prescription from those govern-ments at a time when they are giving usless money – barely enough to keep upwith inflation?

On the other hand, there are bills be-fore the Legislature that provide districts

“. . . this is the time of year when your voice is needed. . . Let your representatives know that you are con-cerned about these issues and you want to ensure thatthey think about them as they consider flexibility fordistricts and the funding of public education.”

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We need to examine all aspects of whatwe do. For example, we don’t really knowhow to talk about the many fine thingsthat we do in public education. One ex-ample: we spend millions a year onChoice, magnets, charters and other pro-jects in order to desegregate our schools.

Do we take pride inthis? Do we everthink about the greatthings we are doingfor kids to rectifyproblems that havebeen decades (cen-turies?) in the making?I understand thataccording to the Sheffdesegregation caseplaintiffs, we have notdone enough. I getthat. But, let us take

pride in what we have done.Few other states still focus on this

important issue. Let’s take pride in whatwe do.

There is no doubt that we need toimprove on many metrics: overallachievement of our students, the achieve-ment gap, preparing our students for theirfuture. But, let’s think through the impli-cations of all these changes. I urge you toget involved with CABE as we thinkabout these important issues.

This is the time of year when yourvoice is needed on these issues with theLegislature.

Let your representatives know thatyou are concerned about these issuesand you want to ensure that they thinkabout them as they consider flexibility fordistricts and the funding of publiceducation.

Welcome to our next big conversation!


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See You in Court – The Nutmeg Board of Education

The Nutmeg Board deals with disciplining a board member and paying said memberThomas B. Mooney, Esq.Shipman & Goodwin


A Practical Guideto Connecticut

School Lawby Thomas B. Mooney, Esq.

Shipman & Goodwin

The Guide comes with a CD which provideshyperlinks to many cases and statutes

and will permit word searchesas a supplement to the Index.

New to the Seventh Edition:Bullying, Background Checks,

Child Abuse Reporting, Discrimination Issues,Educational Reform, FERPA,

Freedom of Information,State Aid for Educationand much, much more

The 7th edition is now available from CABE.Call and order your copy TODAY at 860.571.7446 or 800.317.0033

Seventh EditionNow Available

The Nutmeg Board of Educationmakes many mistakes. The latest imbro-glio created by the board will be report-ed here each issue, followed by an ex-planation of what the board should havedone. Though not intended as legal ad-vice, these situations may help boardmembers avoid common problems.

After her granddaughter Vivian wasborn, Penny Pincher decided to resign herposition as a member of the NutmegBoard of Education. Soon after Penny’sresignation became public, MayorMegillah was on the telephone with eachof the remaining members of the Board,lobbying for his nephew Wiley Waze,who had just recently moved to backNutmeg after a mysterious absence thatmay have included time in prison.

The Board members didn’t want toantagonize the Mayor, but they did wantto make it look good, so after conveninginto executive session, the Board inter-viewed Wiley, the PTO President and amember of the Youth Athletic League.The Board members then discussed thecandidates and quickly decided on Wiley.

After all, Board member Bob Bombastnoted, how much trouble can one Boardmember cause?

The Board soon found out. Wiley wasquite the operator, and the Board mem-bers learned that every time that Wileyraised an issue, there would be someangle of self-advantage.

At a Board meeting shortly after hewas appointed, he announced that hewould be putting in not only for reim-bursement for his expenses, but also for amodest hourly rate to compensate him forhis “research” on various issues comingbefore the Board. “Nothing extravagant,of course,” he assured the Board mem-bers, “but more than the minimum wageto compensate me for my public service.”

At the Board meeting last evening,Wiley made another move under NewBusiness. “With our tight budget, weneed to squeeze every nickel,” Wileyproclaimed. “Some classrooms are toohot, and some classrooms are too cold.

We need expert help to keep ourtemperatures just right.” With that, hepassed out to the other Board membersand Mr. Superintendent a brochure thatadvertised “Energy Matters,” a newly-

formed consulting firm right in town.After a lengthy introduction, Wileyproposed that the Board hire EnergyMatters for such consulting services,explaining that he had arranged a specialpublic sector discount with the owner.

Dramatically, he ended his presentationby exhorting his fellow Board members totake advantage of this very special offer.“Wait a minute,” interrupted Bob Bombastas he perused the brochure. “Isn’t theowner your girlfriend?”

Wiley smiled and quickly acknowl-edged that such is the case. “I can assureyou that my fondness for the owner hasnothing to do with my position here. Thisis the best deal the Board could ever find.However, to avoid the appearance ofconflict of interest, I will not be voting onthis matter,” Wiley said grandly.

With little discussion, the other Boardmembers voted to reject the proposedcontract from the consulting firm. But thatwas not the end of it. Bob Bombast wasincensed by what he considered to bedeceptive tactics by Wiley, and he made amotion that Wiley be censured and givena final warning that he would be removedfrom the Board if he ever again pulls astunt like that. Wiley’s protestations werein vain, and the other quickly passedBob’s motion without discussion.Does Wiley have any recourse?

Robert’s Rules of Order includesdisciplinary procedures that can befollowed when board of educationmembers act inappropriately. However,Robert’s Rules address two differentsituations – those involving an offenseduring a meeting and those involving anoffense that occurs away from themeeting.

Here, it was appropriate for the Boardto act without further ado; there was noneed for additional fact-finding becauseWiley’s misconduct occurred in front ofeveryone. By contrast, if a board isconsidering censure of a member foraction taken away from the meeting (as forexample if and when a board member isaccused of disclosing executive sessiondiscussion), Robert’s Rules contemplatesmore of a trial, in which the facts areestablished and in which the accused hasan opportunity to respond.

Such procedures are used sparingly, ofcourse. In any event, boards of educationdo not have the authority to exercise theultimate sanction of removal from office.

The misconduct, of course, wasWiley’s promoting his girlfriend’scompany without disclosing the connec-tion. Significantly, his saying he wouldn’tvote on the contract remedied nothing.

When there is a conflict of interest, aboard member should also not participatein any of the related discussion. Boardsof education make their decisions throughdeliberations in which board memberdiscussion may and should affect howpeople vote, and the discussion is part ofthe decision-making process.

This situation involves a number ofother issues as well. Conn. Gen. Stat. §10-219 provides that, unless otherwiseprovided by charter or special act,

vacancies on the board of education shallbe filled by the remaining members of theboard until the next regular town election,when a successor will be elected for theunexpired portion of the term.

In filling such vacancies, boards ofeducation have the right to interview andto discuss candidates in executivesession. However, the Board hereappears to have overlooked a require-ment.

As with personnel, such executivesession discussion is permitted as long asthe person being discussed does not

require that the discussion as to him orher be held in open session. The Boardshould have notified the candidates oftheir right to require that the discussionas to them take place in open session.

Also, discussion of the proposedcontract under “New Business” violatedthe FOIA. The agenda for meetings ofpublic agencies must fairly apprise thepublic of the business to be conducted,and business includes discussion, notjust action items. Under “New Business,”it is appropriate to identify topics forfuture agendas. However, a substantivediscussion of any such topic should notoccur at that time.

Finally, if Wiley accepted paymentfrom the Board on his bill for “research,”he is no longer on the Board at all. Conn.Gen. Stat. § 10-232 prohibits employmentby a board of education of its members,and it goes on to provide: “If any memberof such board is employed contrary to theprovisions of this section, the office towhich he or she was elected or appointedshall become vacant.”

Recently, a former board member inPlainfield learned that employment caninvolve receipt of any compensation.There, the board member requested andwas paid $15 per hour for serving as staffin going on a field trip that included herson.

When the board member acceptedpayment, board counsel opined that herboard office became vacant by operationof Section 10-232, and the board ofeducation filled her position. Shechallenged that determination in court,and last month the superior court ruleddenied her request for an injunction toreinstate her to her former position.

Attorney Thomas B. Mooney is apartner in the Hartford law firm ofShipman & Goodwin who works fre-quently with boards of education.Mooney is a regular contributor to theCABE Journal.

“If any member of suchboard is employed con-trary to the provisions ofthis section, the office towhich he or she waselected or appointed shallbecome vacant.”


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Revised professional development requirementsVincent A. Mustaro,Senior Staff Associate for Policy Service, CABE

The requirement that professionalcertificate holders successfully complete90 CEUs every five years as a condition ofcertificate renewal has been eliminated byP.A. 12-116, “An Act Concerning Educa-tional Reform.” Starting July 1, 2013, allcertified employees, including initial andprovisional certificate holders, are stillrequir-ed to participate in professionaldevelopment programs.

The reform legislation revised profes-sional development to emphasize im-proved practice and individual and small-group coaching sessions.

It continues current requirements thatdistricts (1) offer professional develop-ment according to plans developed inconsultation with a professional develop-ment committee consisting of the district’scertified personnel and other appropriatemembers; (2) determine specific profes-sional development activities with theadvice and help of their teachers, includ-ing their union representatives; and (3)that the activities give full considerationto the Connecticut State Board of Educa-tion’s (SDE) priorities related to studentachievement.

School districts yearly must makeavailable at least 18 hours of professionaldevelopment for certified employees at nocost. The new legislation requires that a

preponderance of the 18 hours be in asmall-group or individual instructionalsetting and to:

1. improve integration of (a) readinginstruction, (b) literacy and numer-acy enhancement, and (c) culturalawareness, and include strategies toimprove English language learnerinstruction into teacher practice;

2. be used to improve teacher andadministrator practice based ongeneral results and findings fromteacher evaluations reported by theschool superintendent or designee;

3. foster collective responsibility forimproved student performance;

4. be comprehensive, sustained, andintensive enough to improveteacher and administrator effective-ness in raising student achieve-ment;

5. focus on refining and improvingeffective teaching methods sharedamong educators and fosteringcollective responsibility for improv-ing student performance;

6. be (a) aligned with state studentacademic achievement standards,(b) conducted among educators atthe school, and (c) facilitated byprincipals, coaches, mentors, dis-tinguished educators, or otherappropriate teachers;

7. occur frequently for teachers indivi-

dually or in groups, within theirjobs, and as part of a continuousimprovement process; and

8. include a repository of teachingbest practices developed by eachschool’s educators which is contin-uously available to them for com-ments and updates.

The new legislation eliminated the fol-lowing professional development require-ments:

• for those with childhood nurserythrough grade three or elementaryendorsements, at least 15 hours oftraining in teaching reading, readingreadiness, and reading assessment;

• for those with elementary, middle, orsecondary academic endorsements,at least 15 hours in how to use com-puters in the classroom unless theycan demonstrate competency; and

• for those with bilingual endorse-ments, training in language arts,reading, or math for elementaryschool teachers and in the subjectthey teach, for middle and second-ary school teachers.

The new law also requires the StateDepartment of Education (SBE) to auditdistrict professional development pro-grams and allows SBE to assess financialpenalties against districts it finds out ofcompliance based on such an audit.

Policy ImplicationsPolicy #4131, “Staff Develop-

ment,” has been revised. This is arecommended “best practice” policyfor inclusion in a district’s policymanual. In addition, the administra-tive regulation which accompaniesthis policy has been replaced with anew version which reflects thestatutory changes and the memo-randum, dated September 21, 2012,from Nancy L. Pugliese, Chief of theBureau of Educator Standards andCertification, pertaining to thesubstantive changes to the require-ments for the professional educatorcertificate and the new requirementsfor professional development. Thenew administrative regulationreflects the changes to be in placefor the 2013-2014 school year.

CABE supports the recommenda-tion that district leadership, incollaboration with teacher represen-tatives, begin the professionaldevelopment planning processduring the current 2012-2013 schoolyear and begin to align the profes-sional development program withthe individualized teacher needsidentified through the currentevaluation process.

New Haven issue highlights School Governance concerns

(continued from page 1)give merit bonuses and include studentperformance in the evaluation of teachers.As to the additional autonomy given tocertain schools, whether a turnaroundschool or charter school, the contractspeaks to retaining a committee andvoting processes, as well as a school plandesign with the board of education andteachers’ union able to veto certainproposed changes.

Assistant Superintendent GarthHarries came to New Haven in 2009 afterworking for many years on special educa-tion reform in New York. In describingNew Haven’s reformation efforts and theset-up of its schools Mr. Harries said, “Acore part of our school change effort is aportfolio approach to schools, whichmeans we recognize that each schoolfaces its own opportunities and chal-lenges and we need to support them ontheir own unique path to success whileholding them accountable for outcomes”.

“In general, it’s up to the schools tobuild their culture, organization andacademic culture. The key outcome wedon’t waiver on is achieving results forstudents”, Harries said.

And, as ended up being the case ofhats and hoods in HSC, sometimes thedesire for autonomy runs “flat into districtpolicy or other limitations and districtpolicy will trump as it did here”, Harriescontinued.

Issues Will AriseThe example of what took place at HSC

is just the tip of the iceberg of what couldpotentially become very serious issuesamong school districts and the StateDepartment of Education. Consideringthe number of possible types of schools,the question of what role the localsuperintendent and board of educationare to play will inevitably arise.

Former superintendent and CAPSSExecutive Director Joe Cirasuolo,suggests that the roles of boards andsuperintendents will vary according to thetype of school. For instance, boards andsuperintendents have no role in theoperation of magnet schools, unless theschools are established by local boards.In such cases, the boards’ and superin-tendents’ roles are identical to those theyplay with all other district run schools.

“With respect to Alliance Districts, thesuperintendent’s role is to develop aproposal for submission to the SDE, but itis not yet clear what the role of the boardis in the process. The best practice at thistime is to at least have the superintendentand board review the proposal togetherbefore its submission. Once the proposalis approved, the superintendent’s role isto implement the proposal and the boardhas no formal role in this process”.

Cirasuolo continued, “With respect tothe Commissioner’s Network schools, theboard has the responsibility of appointing

two people as voting members of thecommittee that develops the proposal forsubmission to the SDE. The superinten-dent is the non-voting chairperson of thiscommittee and the proposals go directlyto the SDE.”

Needed: A Unified StructureSo who is going to make all these

schools and initiatives work? Accordingto Cirasuolo, there is no structure current-ly in place to pull these initiatives to-gether.

“This is a serious problem becauseseparate efforts to achieve roughly thesame goals with no systemic coordinationalmost always does not achieve anywherenear what they are capable of achieving. “Coordination among all of these efforts isdesperately needed so those trying toachieve the most for our children anddistricts do not ultimately fail to meet theirgoals.

“Commissioner’s Network schools andalliance districts should have boardmembers, superintendents and appropri-ate SDE staff charged with developing astructure that will bring coordination tothese efforts. With respect to magnetschools, those not run by districts shouldremain under the control of the RESC’s(Regional Education Service Centers).However, the RESC’s governing boards,which are made up of local board of

education members from within theRESC’s area, need to assume authorityover all policy matters related to thoseschools including the approval ofbudgets and tuition fees.”

CABE Executive Director RobertRader urged that with reform being drivenby the State and Federal governments,boards of education must remain en-gaged, active and influential if they are tocontinue to connect the will of theircommunities to the education of theirchildren,

“It is the role of all boards of educationand their superintendents to work withthe State Board, the Commissioner andthe Legislature to work together to build asystem that works for all of our children,urban, suburban and rural.

We are going through a period oftremendous change throughout the Stateand it is incumbent upon all of us to builda system ensuring all of our children havethe opportunity to succeed, “said Rader.

While schools like High School in theCommunity in New Haven grapple withissues of autonomy and other schoolsand districts across the state deal withschool governance and financial matters,we look toward the work being done inour state’s Capitol by the legislature andthe SDE for guidance.


Robert Rader, Executive Director, CABE

Stress, anxiety and test scores

Whether or not you agree with the useof testing as it has come down to schoolboards from the State and Federal Gov-ernments, there is little doubt that high-stakes testing is here to stay. All teachersand principals and even many superinten-dents will have their performance based inpart, on how students do on tests.

I understand the concerns about this,as expressed in detail by teachers andothers who believe that we don’t buildour children’s love of education by test-ing them. I remember the adage that a pigdoesn’t grow bigger by weighing it moreoften.

But, there is little doubt that testingand the analysis of how students do, in-cluding whether they are on grade leveland whether there continues a largeachievement gap in the State, will dependon their ability to take and deliver goodresults on the next generation of tests.

The purpose of this article is not to de-bate testing, good or bad, but rather todiscuss some of the impact of examina-tions on our children.

It behooves all of us to start thinkingabout how we can help our students dobetter on exams. I’m not talking specifi-cally here about learning the content ofthe materials, which is obviously critical,but about how students approach tests.

Two recent articles dealt with testanxiety. I would bet that almost all of ushave had to deal with it before we faced abig exam. I know I have—as illustrated bymy difficulty sleeping before a big test. Iam sure I am not the only one.

Time Tackles the IssueIn its February 11th issue, Time Maga-

zine contained an article entitled, “Relax,It’s Only a Test”. It discussed the “crip-pling anxiety” that tests can cause instudents. But, it also set out some of theways in which cognitive research andpsychology is helping to give us a “betterunderstanding of the link between stressand performance and allowing experts todevelop specific strategies for helpingkids manage their fears.”

And, this is important as we work on

Connecticutrepresented atNSBA Leadershipand FederalRelationsNetworkConferences

CABEPresidentLydiaTedone(Simsbury)and FirstVice Presi-dentRichardMurray(Killingly)repre-sentedConnecti-cut at theNSBALeadershipConfer-ence.

Executive Director Robert Rader andDeputy Director and General CounselPatriceMcCarthyspoke atbothNSBA’sLeader-ship andFederalRelationsNetworkConfer-ence.Theyspoke tohun-dreds ofstateschool board leaders from across thecountry on school safety, security andCABE’s support of Newtown and all of ourmembers after the tragedy.

Attending the Federal Relations Network Conference (FRN)from Connecticut were: Superintendent Nathan Quesnel(East Hartford) representing CAUS, Beverly Washington(Groton), Robert Rader (CABE), Sheila McKay (CABE), LydiaTedone (Simsbury), Cal Heminway (Granby), RichardMurray (Killingly), Patrice McCarthy (CABE), and AnnGruenberg (Hampton). Attending a meeting with Senator Chris Murphy were: Sheila McKay

(CABE), Robert Rader (CABE), Cal Heminway (Granby), Lydia Tedone(Simsbury), Senator Chris Murphy, Beverly Washington (Groton),Patrice McCarthy (CABE), and Ann Gruenberg (Hampton).

eliminating the achievement gap: theanxiety of taking tests “can be especiallycommon among minority and femalestudents.” This apprehension can leadsuch students “to perform below theircapabilities”. According to a StanfordUniversity psychologist, “the nervous-ness everyone feels when they’re beingevaluated, plus the worry – conscious ornot – that a poor performance will provethat [a] negative assumption about theirgroup is correct puts everyone in stressmode”.

So, what are the strategies set out inthe article?

• In order to lessen the anxiety, onestrategy that has proven successfulin a “recent trial” is to “have stu-dents spend 10 minutes writingabout their thoughts and feelingsimmediately before taking a test.”This is called “expressive writing”and used to lessen the negativethoughts running through a stu-dent’s brain. “Writing about theirworries had the effect of offloadingthem onto the page…”

• To reduce the “stereotype” issue,the strategy is to have studentswrite before the test about “some-thing they value and describe why itmatters to them”. This has a way ofaffirming their values and in onestudy, it “shrank the performancegap between white and black stu-dents by 40%”. Frankly, that is ahuge narrowing and I wonder if itwould be borne out in other studies.

• Another strategy is to change theway students study for them. Theyshould review the information and,still studying, replicate the time andformat so they come into the realtest better prepared.

• Relaxation exercises before a testalso helped. Yoga-type exercises,concentrating on breathing can helpthe nervousness go away.

The Times also weighs inA second article, reported in the

Marshall Memo discusses a recent NewYork Times Magazine article concerninghow people deal with stress. Accordingto Bronson and Merryman, long-termstress is not healthy, but short-term stress“can actually help people perform, andviewing it that way changes its effect.Even for those genetically predisposed toanxiety, the antidote isn’t necessarily lesscompetition – it’s more competition. It justneeds to be the right kind.”

A gene in our bodies is involved inhow we react to stress. The gene “carriesthe assembly code for an enzyme thatclears dopamine from the prefrontal cortexof our brains.” We work best whendopamine is maintained at a balancedlevel.

They argue that for some people, theright amount of stress will actually helpthem perform better on tests and ingeneral. So, there are what they call“warriors”, who perform better with morestress and “worriers”. They believe thatacademic competitions are very healthy inthat warriors thrive on the competitionand worriers “get the gradual stressinoculation they need, so that one daythey can do more than just tolerate stress– they can embrace it. And through thecycle of preparation, performance andrecovery, what they learn becomesingrained.”

Anxiety and how the body reacts tostress remains a difficult and importantarea of study. But, research is teaching usmore about how anxiety can affect thework of our schools.

Our job is to harness that research anduse it to our best advantage.

If you would like copies of the articles,please do not hesitate to contact me.


CABE: Working for YOU!Individualized Workshops • Professional

Development Opportunities • Legal Services • Policy ServicesRepresenting You Statewide and Nationally

Below are the highlights of activities thatthe CABE staff has undertaken on yourbehalf over the last month and a half. Wedid this:

➤ By representing Connecti-cut school boards on thestate or national level:

• Participated in meeting of theGovernor’s Prevention PartnershipAudit Committee.

• Participated in meetings of the WhatWill Our Children Lose coalition.

• Participated in meeting of the Con-necticut Coalition for Public Educa-tion.

• Participated in meeting of the “BigSix” Partnership.

• Met with CAPSS and our newfacilitator for our re-examining of ourGovernance and Team Assessmentdocuments.

• Participated in Professional EducatorsEvaluation Committee (PEAC).

• Participated in meeting of the Educa-tor Preparation Advisory Council.

• Attended Conecticut Society ofAssociation Executives (CSAE)Annual conference.

• Participated in panel discussion onschool security at NSBA Leadershipand Federal Relations NetworkConference.

• Lobbied Connecticut’s Congressionaldelegation.

• Attended Connecticut Coalition forJustice in Education Funding (CJEF)Steering Committee.

• Met with individual legislators andlegislative leadership to discussCABE’s priorities.

• Testified before Bipartisan LegislativeTask Force on School Securitysubcommittee.

• Participated in NSBA State Associa-tion Counsel meeting planning call.

• Participated in NSBA Council ofSchool Attorneys (COSA) ExecutiveCommittee conference call.

• Chaired NSBA Council of SchoolAttorneys (COSA) NominatingCommittee.

• Attended Hartford Area LegislativeBreakfast (CREC).

• Attended State Board of Educationmeeting.

➤ By providing opportunitiesfor members to learn howto better govern theirdistricts:

• Met with East Haven Board ofEducation on the superintendentsearch process.

• Helped facilitate a roles and responsi-bilities workshop for the WestportBoard of Education.

• Participated in CABE Board ofDirectors’ Retreat.

• Trained Glastonbury Board ofEducation and Central Office Staff onuse of CABE-Meeting.

• Demonstrated CABE-Meeting forClinton Central Office staff.

• Participated in IQM2 webinar onpaperless meetings.

• Staffed and participated in threesessions of the 9th Annual CABELeadership Institute.

• Had phone meeting with Mansfieldstaff about CABE-Meeting.

• Participated in meeting of CABESenior Staff and Executive Committee.

• Held several conference calls to planprogram on the Common CoreStandards for Board of Educationmembers.

• Provided policy information to 37districts, two out-of-state schoolboard associations, three RESC’s, oneattorney and one newspaper through57 answered requests for informationor sample policies, on 45 topics. Thetopics of greatest interest includedissues pertaining to school securitywhich included crisis plans, videosurveillance and school resourceofficers. Other topics includedattendance and truancy; bring youown technological devices to school,computer aceptable use policies andschool volunteers.

➤ By helping school boardsto increase studentachievement

• Attended program, featuring Pedro

CABE/CAPSSCONVENTION

November15-16, 2013

• Prepared Custom Policy Service,material were prepared for ACES,Griswold, Hartford, Region No. 17,Watertown, Windsor Locks, andWoodbridge.

• Entered into a contract with Avon todevelop a new policy manual for thedistrict.

• Prepared draft of Update ServicePublication No. 3 pertaining to issuesof school safety and security.

Noguera, sponsored by the HartfordFoundation for Giving.

• Provided Lighthouse training forAnsonia, Danbury, Killingly, Nor-wich, Shelton and Vernon Boards ofEducation.

• Sent three issues of Policy High-lights via email listserv coveringtopics that affect student achieve-ment. This included nutritionstandards, staff-student relation-ships, homework, dropouts, technol-ogy and school security.

➤ By promotingpublic education:

• Participated in meeting of the State’sEmergency Preparedness Committee(discussed boards’ concerns aboutschool safety).

• Met with the Hartford Courant andThe Day’s editorial boards.Met with UCONN Capstone projectstudents.

• Met with CAPSS’ Executive DirectorJoe Cirasuolo, and with Presidentand First Vice President of AFT-CT onissues in common.

• Presented Communications Awards toGlastonbury Board of Education.

• Participated in the meetings of theChild Emergency PreparedenessCommittee

• Answered questions about thecurrent legal issues facing boards ofeducation. “HOT” topics this monthwere: Expulsion hearing officers,meetings under FOIA, Magnet schooltransportation, recording meetings,and school year.

➤ By providing servicesto meet members needs:

• Attended CABE/CAPSS Small DistrictCapacity Committee meeting.

• In the process of doing an audit of thepolicy manual of the Ellington Boardof Education.

• Completed as part of the CustomUpdate Service packets of new and/orrevised policies for: Ansonia, Colum-bia, East Hampton, East Windsor,Franklin, Gilbert School, Marl-borough, New Fairfield, New Hart-ford, Newington, North Stonington,Old Sayborok, Oxford, Region No. 6,Stafford, Sterling, West Haven,Westbrook, and Windham Boards ofEducation.

➤ By ensuring membersreceive the most up-to-date communications:

• Provided and attended webinar theday after the release of theGovernor’s Budget.

CABE Communications Awards

l. to r., CABE Area 9Director GailMacDonald(Stonington)pesented the SalemBoard of Educationwith two Awards ofExcellence inEducationalCommunications fortheir District Budgetand Website.Receiving theAwards were:SuperintendentJoseph Onofrio, KimGadaree, BoardChair Stephen Buckand JenniferKayser.

Talented StudentDue: May 17, 2013

Does your district have anoutstanding student performancegroup? We are looking for talentedstudents to entertain participants atthe 2013 CABE/CAPSS Convention,November 15-16, 2013.

Applicants should send a recentrecording of the group on CD orDVD along with the applicationform. Please be sure to include theamount of space needed for dis-plays and contact information.

Go to http://www.cabe.org/uploadedConvention2013_Showcase_your_talented_student.pdf for moreinformation and the applicationform.

Convention HotelReservation InformationMystic Marriott Hotel and Spa625 North Road, Route 117Groton, CT 06340

Those attending the annualCABE/CAPSS Convention havebeen guaranteed a room rate of$149. When making yourreservation, be sure to mention thatyou are with the CABE/CAPSSConvention in order to takeadvantage of this special room rate.

This rate of $149 is guaranteedonly until 4:00 pm on October 16,2013. After this date, reservationsfor Convention participants arebased on availability and areoffered at the prevailing rate.

You are encouraged to makereservations online at https://resweb.passkey.com/Resweb.do?mode=welcome_gi_new&groupID=18612158. You may also makereservations by calling 877-901-6632. Purchase orders are NOTaccepted.


CABE and Baldwin Media: Partners in Managing Communications

The Media Messagefrom Ann Baldwin, Baldwin Media Marketing, LLC

Useful tips to effectively pitching “Your Story”

CABE Search Services

For more information contact, CABE Search Services,Jacqueline V. Jacoby • 860-539-7594

Mary Broderick • 860-739-7866Paul Gagliarducci • 413-218-5692

Bob King • 203-461-0388

P.O. Box 290252, Wethersfield, CT 06129-0252www.cabe.org/support • Equal Opportunity Employers

is recruiting for

SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS

Amity Region No. 5 Public Schools

For an update or more information onvacancies go to our website: www.cabe.org

As many of you know, having yourschool, company, product, or executiveappear in an appropriate media outlet isgreat marketing. Not only do you reachyour audience directly, you can alsoutilize this as a credibility piece in reprintsor Web links. In many cases mediacoverage means legitimacy.

For many years now, I have been onthe pitching side of the news business.No longer behind the anchor desk, nowmy job is to reach out to the media toconvince them to recognize the signifi-cance of the story that I am pitching onbehalf of the company or organizationthat I am representing.

In the process I have drafted hundredsof press releases and created too manyemails to count. “Pitching” a news storyisn’t easy. The good news is, I am morethan happy to pass along a few tips sothat you can be more successful withyour next “pitch”.

TIP #1: Is it newsworthy?Journalists hate getting junk in their in-

box as much as anyone. When emailqueries come in to reporters who don’tcover that particular area, all it does isharm the reputation of the sender. Beselective and ask yourself, is this storynewsworthy? Why do you want people toknow?

TIP #2: Target your pitch to aspecific publication. Better

yet, target an individualjournalist.

Taking the time to read a publicationand then crafting a unique pitch to aparticular journalist can work wonders.Mention a specific story that he or shereported on, or an article they wrote andthen explain why your story idea wouldbe interesting for the journalist to look at.Make certain the subject line of the emailis also attention grabbing, so the emailgets opened.

TIP #3: Send email as plaintext with no attachments.

These days, it is a rare that a reporterwill open an email attachment they don’texpect – even from people they recognize.Yet many people still send press releasesout as email attachments. Don’t! Sendplain text emails. If you’re asked for otherinformation, you can send as attachments,but clearly reference that in the email.Make it as easy as possible to read. Ifthere are too many clicks and attachmentsto open, it will look like a lot of work.

TIP #4: Use email subjectlines that make sense.

Subject lines should, in fact, containsome reference to the subject of yourstory pitch. For example, writing some-thing like “Story Pitch on OutstandingTest Results.” If it contains a press

release, how about “Press Release: OurCompany Releases [insert descriptionhere].” Many PR pitches look like spambecause of the convoluted subject linesand are often deleted as spam.

TIP #5: Help the journalistunderstand the big picture.

Often it’s difficult to understand howyour story idea fits in. (what is the hook?)You make a journalist’s job much easier ifyou describe the big picture trends ofwhy this particular subject is of interest.

TIP #6: Cut to the chase.Reporters receive several dozen press

releases in an average week from peoplethat want them to write a story or do anews segment about them. Most report-ers are too busy to decipher press releasegobbledygook. Most “decision makers”give a press release ten seconds to catchtheir attention. The surest way to get arelease deleted is out of frustrationbecause it is written in a way no one canunderstand.

TIP #7: Be available.If you send out a press release looking

for media coverage make sure you areavailable to make the interview happen.Regardless of what else is happening andwhether or not you are having a good hairday, the story goes on with or withoutyou!

TIP #8: Let people know.After all of that, if you get the cover-

age let people know about it! Post theinformation on your Facebook page (ifyou have one), or put out an email lettingpeople know when the story is going tobe printed or aired on television.There is nothing more satisfying thangoing through all of the hard work ofsoliciting positive news coverage andgetting it!

Editorial Note: CABE and BaldwinMedia partner to provide media trainingservice sessions through CABE anddelivered by Baldwin Media. For furtherinformation, contact Executive DirectorRobert Rader at 860-571-7446 [email protected].

CABE-MeetingCABE-Meeting is a user-friendly, web-based service specifically designed to assistthe board, superintendent and central office staff in preparing for and running boardof education meetings.

An exciting feature designed for use by committees, in addtion to boards of education,was recently added to CABE-Meeting. Now all your board work and committeeinformation is conveniently located in one place!

“CABE-Meeting has been a great program for our district. Wehave saved time and money and increased our ability to dissemi-nate information quickly. I encourage Board members to con-sider the advantages of CABE-Meeting.”

Becky Tyrrell, Member, Plainville Board of Education

For more information, or to schedule a demonstration for your board,call Lisa Steimer at 800-317-0033 or 860-571-7446

or email [email protected].

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12 The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education • February 2013

CABE Journal - March 2013

Documents

Transcript of CABE Journal - March 2013