State
Board of Trustees for the Hartford Public Schools
Chapter Two
State Board of Trustees for the Hartford
Public Schools:
Major Student Achievement Policies and Program
Initiatives
The
board of trustees has taken several major steps over the last two years intended
to make the district a successful operation, both academically and
administratively. Specifically, the
board has adopted policies with broad implications for academic performance and
parent/community involvement, hired a new permanent superintendent in April
1999, and revamped its outdated operating procedures.
The board has also reorganized its central office by developing and
enhancing administrative processes and business practices.
One of the purposes of this study is to document the major efforts made
by the school board to implement Special Act 97-4, particularly in developing
programs, procedures, and benchmarks for improving student performance and
measuring achievement. This chapter
highlights some of the main policy and programmatic initiatives undertaken to
increase student performance. As
specified in the study scope, however, it is not the program review
committee’s intention to measure the district’s academic achievement while
under the current board’s direction.
Student
Achievement Initiatives -- Board Policies
In the course of revamping and updating its entire policy and
administrative manual, the board of trustees adopted new policies related to
student achievement in several key areas. The
overall aim of the board’s policies is to increase academic performance and
enhance the quality, adequacy, and equality of educational opportunities.
The program review committee identified the following major policies as
those focused on by the trustees during their first two years:
· Student
Attendance and Truancy;
· Student
Promotion, Retention, and Intervention;
· Parent
and Community Involvement;
· School
Improvement Teams; and
· Extended
Day/Year.
Student
Attendance and Truancy
According
to state Department of Education data, the cumulative four-year dropout rate for
Hartford’s public schools in 1998 was 51 percent.
This figure is significantly above the statewide average of roughly 15
percent for the four-year period ending 1998. In recognition of the district’s
comparatively high dropout rate, and upon a recommendation contained in the
Hartford Improvement Plan calling for updated policies to significantly increase
student attendance, the board of trustees enacted its student attendance policy
in August 1997. The detailed policy
states in part that any student with 15 or more unexcused absences, or who
continually cuts class, will have his or her whole progress for the year
reviewed by the appropriate teachers and principal.
The policy further establishes a penalty for habitual truancy (unexcused
absences of 20 or more days) stating such student’s promotion to the next
grade may be contingent upon the successful completion of a summer school
program, or retention in the same grade to acquire the appropriate skills for
promotion.
A
formal plan to implement the board’s new attendance and truancy policy was
completed by the district’s superintendent in early 1998.
The “Hartford Public Schools Reschooling Plan for Attendance
Improvement, Truancy, and Dropout Reduction” is based on prevention and
intervention as the two primary methods used by the district to address
attendance issues. The plan
addresses the roles/responsibilities of parents, students, and schools.
Strategies are devised to increase attendance and lower truancy and
dropouts, including incentives to recognize and reward attendance improvement,
development of a “re-schooling” team to monitor and evaluate attendance
goals, and establishing attendance improvement committees at individual schools.
Additional
initiatives by the district to increase school attendance include a coordinator
to oversee dropout prevention and attendance efforts, attendance workers at the
middle and high school levels to monitor unexcused absences, and parent liaisons
at the elementary schools to work with parents regarding attendance improvement.
Upon
approving the attendance and truancy policy, the board instructed the
superintendent to disseminate the policy to all principals and administrators,
and make it available to all parents and students.
The new policy is also included in the district’s overall policy and
administrative manual.
Student
Promotion, Retention, and Intervention
The
legislature, under P.A. 99-288, requires local education boards to review and
revise their policies for promoting students to the next grade.
The law calls for school districts to include in their policies: 1)
objective criteria for student promotion; 2) a provision for measuring student
progress against such criteria and reporting the information to parents; 3)
alternatives to promotion, such as transition programs; and 4) a provision for
supplemental services for students not making adequate progress.
Policies have to be in place by July 1, 2000.
The
Hartford school district’s past practice of promoting students to the next
grade without the students having the requisite skills and abilities under some
circumstances – called social promotion -- was changed by the board of
trustees in March 1999. The board
adopted a new procedure whereby a student’s advancement to the next grade must
be directly related to his or her proficiency/appropriate developmental progress
in achieving specific performance standards and outcomes.
The standards are determined by the school district in conjunction with
benchmarks set by the state Department of Education.
The
policy calls for qualified staff having well articulated curricula in which
students are expected to achieve academic and behavioral standards in place for
each grade level. For students
needing additional assistance and on-going assessment, the school system must
provide the support. Students will
be retained in their grades, in part, if they do not demonstrate appropriate
proficiency and progress after opportunities for additional assistance are
provided. The school principal,
however, has the final decision regarding retention and promotion.
Individual
schools are responsible for providing the extra assistance necessary for
students not showing appropriate achievement according to the performance
standards. The school improvement
plan (discussed later) within each school must support and address this area.
School improvement plans should include:
·
a means
for providing appropriate services for students requiring additional support;
·
descriptions
of the additional support services available districtwide and at the individual
school, including regular school day and extended day/year programs; and
·
an
evaluation component to assess the effectiveness of the additional support
services.
Regulations
for implementing the board’s policy have been drafted by the current
superintendent’s office and were presented to and adopted by the board in
mid-June. The regulations outline
the specific criteria the district will use to determine student retention by
grade levels, including attendance. The
regulations also require students to achieve minimum baseline scores on their
state mastery exams, which is the first time the district has used this
standard.
Although
educational achievement is the primary consideration for determining student
promotion or retention, the regulations cite two exceptions.
First, a student will generally not repeat more than two years in
elementary grades 1-6. Second,
there may be times when a school principal, following review of all relevant
information, may promote a pupil who does not meet promotion requirements.
The regulations are in effect only for the summer, and will be reviewed
and updated for the 1999-00 school year.
Upon
adopting the promotion, retention, and intervention policy, the board required a
review of the full policy on alternate years from its implementation date.
This is to ensure the policy remains aligned with state and district
standards and new educational research.
Parent
and Community Involvement
Special
Act 97-4 requires the board to “provide a mechanism for parent, teacher, and
community involvement in the schools.” Establishing
a parental involvement policy was a board goal for 1997-98.
Specifically, the board wanted to increase parental involvement with the
expectation that parent-teacher communication would occur on a monthly basis.
(This process is separate from the advisory council the board was also
required to develop.)
In November 1997, the board adopted a “Student-Centered Parent and Community Involvement” policy based on the premise that parents should be full partners in decisions that affect their children. The board received input on the policy from various constituencies, including parents and community groups.
On
the theory that students and parents/guardians are the district’s first
customers, the parental involvement policy requires the district to make its
schools “open and inviting” to parents and the Hartford community.
The policy further states a partnership among parents, students, the
community, and school employees on behalf of children should exist.
Each school should also have an active organization for fostering
parent/community involvement.
Various
standards for measuring parent/family involvement programs have been drafted to
support the policy. Each standard
has several “quality indicators” by which overall success is to be measured.
The standards include: communication between school and home; promotion
and support of parenting skills; parental involvement in student learning;
parental volunteer efforts; school decision making and advocacy; and community
collaboration to strengthen schools, families, and student learning.
In
early 1998, the district also developed a guide for implementing the parent and
community involvement policy. The
guide provides new ideas and approaches related to school outreach strategies,
and outlines ways to include School Improvement Teams (described below) as part
of the overall process to increase parental and community involvement in
schools. A new parental involvement
program is being developed by the current administration.
Parent
liaisons.
Parents have been hired full-time to act as parent liaisons and work with
teachers, administrators, and other parents to coordinate and advocate for
family involvement in helping students learn.
The liaisons help provide continuity for their school’s parental
involvement initiatives, such as programs to increase student attendance.
Through
1997, parent liaisons worked on a part-time basis.
In 1998, they were hired as full-time employees.
Their current overall role, however, is changing under the new
superintendent. Family Resource
Aides, as they are now considered, will receive monthly training on various
topics throughout the year, including attendance outreach, community outreach,
and fundraising development. The
training is coordinated through an assistant superintendent and the district’s
new Office of Parent Involvement.
School
Improvement Teams
Several
of the major planning efforts undertaken by the district involve a degree of
decentralization whereby management of a school is made through a shared
decision making process at the school/community level.
Rather than have all strategic and management decisions emanate from the
central office, this decentralized approach, also referred to as site-based
management, attempts to involve the broader school community in planning,
decision making, and implementation of specified functions for a particular
school.
School
improvement teams are a key component of decentralized management.
The teams consist of parents, administrators, teachers, students,
non-instructional personnel, and business/community representatives.
According to an August 1998 proposal by the Hartford school
superintendent on the roles and responsibilities of school improvement teams,
the primary responsibilities of such teams include:
1) serving
as an advisory body to the school principal;
2) increasing
parent, community, and student involvement;
3) creating
and maintaining a focus on the school mission; and
4) developing,
monitoring, overseeing, and evaluating the implementation of the annual school
improvement plan.
One
of the major functions of the improvement teams is to develop a school
improvement plan. The plan is
intended to serve several purposes, including: 1) assessing the resources
currently provided to the school and needed; and 2) describing unique themes and
building on the school’s strengths.
The
superintendent’s 1998 proposal was developed in response to the board’s goal
of adopting a policy ensuring each school had a functioning school improvement
team. In August 1998, the trustees
endorsed the superintendent’s school improvement team proposal, and instructed
him to execute its implementation. In
its endorsement, the board noted that it is critical for school improvement
teams to focus on academic improvements at school sites rather than management
issues.
Extended
Day/Year
In
March 1999, the board of trustees adopted a policy to maintain quality extended
day/year programs within the city’s public schools.
The programs must be included in each school’s improvement plan
provided adequate funding exists to support the programs.
The extended day/year programs are designed to:
· improve
general student academic performance;
· support
student needs according to personalized educational programs;
· increase
parental involvement;
· promote
creativity;
· increase
social skills; and
· support
health, fitness, and positive youth/family development.
According
to the policy, development and implementation of extended day/year programs will
be overseen by the superintendent, the city, community-based organizations, and
parents. In addition to available
funding, program continuation is contingent upon the achievement level of goals
developed jointly with the schools. The
programs will be monitored and evaluated by the district.
The effective date of the policy is the 1999-00 school year.
Student
Achievement Initiatives: Programs
While the board of trustees develops policies to guide the school
district, the superintendent is responsible for implementing those policies.
Multiple programs and services designed to accomplish the board’s
objectives for improving student achievement either already exist within the
school system or are in the process of being developed and implemented.
The committee identified several key programmatic efforts aimed at
increasing student achievement. Although
the following program descriptions are not an exhaustive listing of every
program or service in place to address student performance, they encapsulate and
highlight the primary programs available to students at various grade levels
throughout the district since the board of trustees began its term.
Given that the current permanent superintendent was hired in April 1999
and is developing and implementing a series of new academic initiatives, the
focus is on those programs. The
major programs highlighted by the program review committee include:
· School
Reform (Success for All);
· Classroom
Technology Integration (Jostens);
· Literacy/Numeracy/Test
Sophistication;
· Spring/Summer
Schools;
· Parent
Summer Institute;
· Ninth
Grade Laptop Program;
· Computer
Application Program;
· Sylvan
Learning Systems;
· Early
Reading Success;
· Academies/Centers
for Educational Excellence; and
· School
Redistricting.
School
Reform (Success for All)
The
superintendent is implementing a district-wide school reform program called Success
for All (SFA) for all elementary schools.
(One school previously implemented a comparable reform model, and was
allowed to continue this effort in lieu of transitioning to the Success
for All model; and another school has already implemented the SFA model.)
The
Success for All program, developed by
Johns Hopkins University and the Baltimore city school district in the
mid-1980s, is a comprehensive approach to restructuring elementary schools to
ensure each child’s success in reading and writing.
The program emphasizes prevention and early intervention as ways to
anticipate and solve learning problems. It
provides intensive academic assistance to students at risk of school failure.
By receiving intensive help early on, students at lower reading levels
can “catch up” with their classmates at the appropriate level.
The intent is to give students the necessary help to quickly achieve
basic skills, rather than waiting until they require remedial education or are
retained in the same grade.
The new literacy program is primarily designed for use in elementary
schools with a large disadvantaged population base.
It serves grades 1-6, but also has preschool and kindergarten components.
Math, science, and social studies components are also available.
The program has English and Spanish versions.
Staff support.
One of the primary requirements necessary before SFA can be implemented,
as stipulated by the Success for All Foundation, the nonprofit organization that
produces the SFA product, is clear support for the program from the
superintendent, principals and teachers. Parents
and the community are also required to be informed about the program.
Each
school must conduct a vote among its teachers to adopt the program.
The vote is by secret ballot, and at least 80 percent of the teachers
must cast an affirmative vote before the program is adopted and implemented.
Each Hartford elementary school, except for the one already using an
alternative model, will be
implementing Success for All for the
1999-00 school year. Prior to the
vote, principals and teachers were provided the opportunity to visit several
schools in New York City currently using SFA, and speak to SFA representatives.
The voting deadline was June 2, 1999.
Program curriculum, instruction,
and assessment. For most of the
day, students are assigned to heterogeneous, age-grouped classes.
Under the SFA program, students are grouped across classes and grades by
their reading levels beginning in first grade.
Students at a common reading level are then provided with a 90-minute
block of uninterrupted daily reading instruction, which is the primary component
of the SFA program. The individual
groups give teachers the opportunity to provide direct attention to students
within a particular reading level, rather than having to segment a class with
students at various levels.
The SFA program provides a pre-established curriculum initiated during
the first grade year. A second
curriculum is also provided through the program for grades 2 through 6.
This process ensures standardization among schools.
Students experiencing reading difficulties – particularly in first
grade – are given one-to-one tutoring. The
tutoring is provided by trained teacher-tutors and paraprofessionals.
Tutors diagnose students’ needs and tailor their instruction around
those needs.
SFA facilitator.
Every elementary school using SFA is to have at least one full-time
facilitator. The facilitator must
be a certified teacher, and is responsible (with the principal) for assisting in
program implementation and operation. Facilitators
provide teachers with program information through classroom visits, coaching,
and formal meetings. They may work
with individual students to determine successful teaching strategies and convey
these strategies to teachers. Facilitators
also coordinate activities and services among teachers, parents, students,
administrators, tutors, and family support staff to ensure each child’s
success.
Family support team. Another SFA program component is the family support team, consisting of the school principal or assistant principal, the SFA facilitator, social workers, counselors, attendance monitors, teachers, and volunteers. The team is to work closely with students and parents to focus on issues such as attendance, coordination of outside social services, parental involvement, and student behavior.
Training.
Formal professional development is provided for facilitators,
administrators, teachers, and tutors. A
training program for principals and facilitators was conducted by the SFA
foundation over the summer. The
facilitators and principals then provided training to teachers and tutors during
a three-day session held prior to the start of school in September.
Teachers are scheduled to receive SFA materials in time for school.
The
program also provides on-site assistance and follow-up visits during
implementation. After each visit,
the school will receive a detailed summary of observations and discussions, and
a description of “next step” implementation plans.
Program
assessment.
The program focuses on individual accountability, common goals, and
recognition of group success. Assessments
are administered to students every eight weeks to ensure adequate progress and
to determine if additional support services are necessary.
An advisory committee within the school composed of the principal, the
SFA facilitator, selected teachers and tutors, and parent representatives is
supposed to meet regularly to review the program’s progress and identify/solve
programmatic problems.
Cost.
Approximately $4.3 million is budgeted for the upcoming school year to
implement SFA. Program cost
primarily entails training, curriculum and program materials, and professional
development, and is based on enrollment size and location of the individual
school, and number of schools collaborating in training.
Classroom
Technology Integration (Jostens)
The district is also implementing the Jostens software-based teaching initiative for the 1999-00 school year. Developed by the Jostens Learning Corporation, the program is intended to enhance student performance and improve the teaching process through the use of integrating technology into the classroom.
Increased
teacher effectiveness and individualized instruction focusing on each
student’s needs are key goals of the program.
The primary focus of this year’s program will be on assisting teachers
improve performance in reading and math/for students in grades 3, 5, and 7.
The program incorporates objectives of the state’s Connecticut Mastery
Test.
The program allows teachers to simulate a prescribed exam (e.g., CMT) by
subject matter and grade level. Based
on the test results, an individualized “learning path” using a prescribed
curriculum is computer-generated and targeted to meet the needs of a particular
student. Teachers have the ability
to modify the course of instruction. The
program’s reporting capabilities track progress on either an individualized or
group basis. Periodic assessments are made to measure the program’s success at
increasing student performance.
Although the focus is on grades 3, 5, and 7, the program is being
implemented in each elementary, middle, and high school throughout the district.
Full project implementation is divided into four phases, whereby software
is installed and professional development occurs.
Software and support services are provided by the Jostens company.
The final installation/training phase for Hartford was completed at the
end of August 1999.
Total program cost to the district is based on a five-year leasing
option. The first year of the
option will cost the district $419,690; the overall five-year cost is $1.89
million. In July, the board of
trustees gave approval to the superintendent to enter into a contract for the
Jostens program.
Literacy/Numeracy/Test
Sophistication
The
district is developing several scripted programs for the 1999-00 school year
balancing literacy and numeracy to prepare students for the annual Connecticut
Mastery Tests. The programs provide
teachers with pre-planned curricula and teaching materials.
In addition, students will be instructed on test taking strategies and
will be given practice mastery exams to simulate the real CMT given every
October. The programs are also
intended to:
· provide
students with a comprehensive, systematic level of instruction to improve their
knowledge or reading/thinking strategies;
· develop
reading, writing, and math skills to support parts of the state mastery tests;
· familiarize
students with test taking procedures enabling improved performance;
· focus
on individual student needs; and
· reduce
test anxiety without compromising test integrity.
The
literacy enhancement and test sophistication program is designed to give
students initial instruction and systematic, on-going practice in strategies and
skills necessary to increase reading and writing comprehension.
The program focuses on helping students learn how to organize and write
effective narrative, expository, and persuasive essays.
The numeracy enhancement and test sophistication program is focused on
increasing the mathematical abilities of students, again using pre-designed
scripted lesson plans. The
specialized programs will be administered until the CMT is given.
After that time, the district will begin using its standard literacy and
math programs.
Looping.
Another practice being implemented this school year designed to help
students taking the CMTs is “looping.”
Students entering grades 4, 6, and 8, the grades administered the CMT,
will remain with their teachers who taught them in grades 3, 5, and 7.
The concept behind this practice is to maintain the students’ degree of
familiarity with their teachers as the students enter the CMT grades.
By keeping students with their previous year’s teachers, there is
intended to be “built-in” continuity from the previous school year.
This continuity is intended to help students achieve better on the
mastery tests.
Spring/Summer
Schools
Upon taking office in April 1999, the new superintendent initiated two
programs to help increase student performance, particularly those students
taking the upcoming state mastery tests. The
first initiative involved extra classroom instruction time during the normal
spring vacation week. Students were
encouraged to attend “Spring Power School” during their vacation break for
additional instruction covering topics included on the CMTs.
The district’s second initiative was the “Summer Power School”
program, which emphasized academics and focused on increasing student
achievement. Pre-planned
instruction curricula and materials in reading and math was provided daily for
three hours during the six-week program. The
overall goal of the program is to help students achieve better in school and on
the state mastery tests. Students
taking the mastery exams were automatically enrolled in the program and
encouraged to attend. A weekly average of 3,590 students participated in the
summer school program from July 1 through August 6 (excluding two days
designated for field trips only). The
district is currently working on attendance figures for the last week of summer
school, including the number of students taking part in the practice CMT exams
held during that week.
Curriculum. Students attended summer school four days a week during the six-week period. The program’s curriculum was tightly scripted by the central office, to ensure standardized instruction and materials were provided for students, particularly those taking the upcoming CMT exams. Teachers received prescribed lesson plans detailing daily instruction and the amount of time spent for each activity.
Students spent each three-hour morning session on academics.
Afternoon sessions included community summer programs providing
recreational opportunities and enrichment programs, such as cultural activities.
There was no fee to attend the summer school programs, and students were
provided with free breakfasts and lunches.
Training.
Certified teachers hired for the summer school program and principals
received training from the district’s central office regarding standardized
curriculum and format. Using the
training received from the central office, the teachers and principals then
trained other staff members at their individual schools.
Assessment.
Practice CMT exams were given at both the beginning and end of the summer
school program. The district is
analyzing the results and will make any adjustments for the upcoming school year
it believes necessary. The
superintendent is also receiving formal evaluations from teachers regarding the
strengths and weaknesses of this year’s summer school program.
Parent
Summer Institute
Professional and personal growth classes for parents within the Hartford
school district were held over a four-week period during the summer.
The cooperative effort between the Hartford public schools and the
University of Hartford focused primarily on providing parents with increased
opportunities to become involved in their children’s public school system.
Parents participated in a series of one-week classes presented during the
four-week period. The class
offerings included parent leadership training, accessing information with
technology, and preparing your child for school.
The summer institute was provided at no cost to parents, and
transportation and childcare were made available. The district has not finalized
its actual attendance figures for the program, but enrollment statistics show
between from 61 to 98 parents signed up for classes.
Ninth
Grade Laptop Program
Efforts to increase the use of technology within the school district
include a 9th grade laptop program.
The pilot program provides approximately 400 incoming 9th
grade students entering high school (roughly 20 percent) with the opportunity to
purchase or lease laptop computers at reduced prices.
The program increases students’ exposure to computers for coursework,
Internet access, and technology training. Teachers
within individual schools have been selected and trained to oversee the program.
The
district’s goal is to have the students retain their computers during their
first two years of high school. Program
expansion is anticipated next year, in which all 10th graders would
have laptop computers in addition to another 400 9th graders.
Training for the program is being provided by the Capital Region
Education Council (CREC). The
expected “roll-out” of the program is mid-September.
Computer
Application Program
The district is implementing a computer application program (ScanTEK) to
provide 9th and 10th
graders the opportunity to learn about and work with computers on a technical
basis. Students in the program
disassemble, repair, refurbish, and assemble computers, allowing them to gain an
understanding of computer hardware through practical applications.
The
program also has a student performance tracking system.
The system provides a comprehensive competency-based portfolio of job
skills students can transfer to further education or training, or for use at job
interviews.
Sylvan
Learning Systems
The Sylvan Learning Systems program is designed to augment a school’s
curriculum by providing supplemental instruction to low-performing students.
The program uses an individualized, prescriptive approach to instruction.
Students are first given a series of tests to identify their specific
skill needs. Once this occurs,
individualized education plans are developed for each child.
The plans are updated daily, allowing the school to manage and monitor a
student’s progress.
Instruction
and advancement are geared around a student’s mastery of specific skills.
The program’s goal is to accelerate learning to bring the student up to
grade level using an individualized approach.
Trained/certified staff provide instruction, and a teacher to student
ratio of 1:3 is required. The
program also calls for staff/teacher conferences after every eight hours of
instruction. Conferences with
parents are held after every 12 hours of instruction.
The program was adopted by the board of trustees in March 1998, and was
piloted in the Hartford Public High School during the summer of 1998.
In August 1998, the acting superintendent requested the board implement
the program at three additional elementary schools.
There was much discussion by the board, mainly around contract language
and lack of identifiable performance on part of the program given its short
tenure within the district. The
board ultimately approved implementing the Sylvan program in three additional
schools plus Hartford High, to serve roughly 350 students at a cost of $1.8
million for three years.
With the implementation of both the Sylvan and Jostens programs, the
district is operating two similar supplemental instructional programs.
The board questioned this approach at a recent meeting, and ultimately
decided to use the Jostens program districtwide.
The board also decided a review of the Sylvan contract would be made.
Early
Reading Success
The board of trustees authorized the superintendent to submit a grant
application to the state Department of Education under the Early Reading Success
program created by P.A. 98-243. The
public act required the education department to develop an early reading grant
program designed to: 1) help priority school districts establish intensive early
reading programs for students in danger of not learning to read by the end of
first grade; 2) establish full-day kindergarten programs; and 3) reduce class
size for grades K–3 to a maximum of 18 children per class.
The district was awarded an Early Reading Success grant for $3.2 million
in mid-1998. The funding was
primarily designated for early reading intervention purposes.
Twenty-one reading specialists for grades K-3 were hired, and assigned to
the 17 elementary schools with the lowest performance scores on the most recent
CMTs. The grant was also used for
other projects, including extended day programs in reading for elementary school
students and professional development for reading teachers.
The primary instructional method used under the district’s early
reading intervention program includes a 90-minute block of uninterrupted
instruction for language arts for grades 1-3.
At the onset of the program, reading and writing levels for students are
determined using the “First Steps” system, which is the district’s student
assessment tool. The assessments
are conducted by teachers to first identify skill deficiencies and then monitor
progress. Teachers use the
assessments to develop instruction plans and measure a student’s development
in reading, writing, language, and spelling.
The early reading intervention program and the assessments are aligned
with the district’s overall curricula and the state’s mastery tests, and
will be integrated with the Success for All literacy reform program described
above.
The
school district also received over $530,000 in funding under a separate part of
the Early Reading Success grant for library books.
The funding is to enhance libraries and media centers.
Academies/Centers
for Educational Excellence
In early 1998, then-Superintendent Patricia Daniel presented a framework
for restructuring secondary schools within the city’s public school system.
High schools would become “centers for educational excellence,”
focusing on skills needed to achieve in an era of increased technology and
information. The educational
centers are intended to integrate core academics with technical/occupational
areas. The centers are intended to
maintain close contact with business and educational institutions assisting with
the program. The program is offered
to students throughout their four years of high school, and students select
their course of study.
The goal of the program is to motivate students to stay in school and
pursue educational choices moving them toward a career.
All standard graduation requirements are met, and student proficiencies
are addressed preparing them for higher education or work.
Examples of programs within individual high schools include: Technology/
Pre-Engineering; Humanities/Fine Arts, Finance; Allied Health/Nursing; and
Bio-Medical.
Lighthouse
Grant.
Two schools within the district recently received grants from the state
education department to attract students from throughout the district for
specialized programs. The grant
allows the schools to develop “academies” geared toward specific themes.
Hartford Public High School, for example, received $100,000 in August
1999 to continue its “Academy for Excellence and Career Exploration.”
The program is designed for 9th graders and incorporates the
latest teaching strategies and technology for students to develop skills to meet
state goals on the Connecticut Academic Performance Test, which is a state
mastery test given yearly to 10th graders.
The designated schools using the grant funding are designed to attract
students from throughout the Hartford school district, and help strengthen an
interdistrict magnet school program, which attracts students from several
surrounding communities.
School
Redistricting
A plan to redistrict the Hartford public schools was received by the board in July 1999. The new plan, essentially designed by then-acting Superintendent Matthew Borelli, is an effort to alleviate the crowded conditions existing at several schools throughout the city. The plan also attempts to eliminate inappropriate space for educational programs, reduce the number of students in any one building where overcrowding exists, and maintain local neighborhood schools. The board approved the plan for the 1999-00 school year, with the new superintendent conducting a more comprehensive redistricting study beginning in September 1999 that coordinates with the results of the district’s 10-year facilities plan to be completed in early-2000.