Keypoints
Findings and Recommendations
December 14, 1999

State Board of Trustees for the Hartford Public Schools
Keypoints

State Board of Trustees for the Hartford Public Schools

• The State Board of Trustees for the Hartford Public Schools was granted a two-year extension on October 6, 1999, to continue governing the Hartford public school system until June 30, 2002.
• A structure is in place to monitor implementation of recommendations made in an independent operations audit required by Special Act 97-4. Steady implementation progress has been made, although the full board does not receive regular status updates.
• A structure is in place to monitor implementation of the Hartford Improvement Plan as required by Special Act 97-4. The plan’s 48 recommendations have been condensed into a broader planning document; a complete implementation status report has not been developed since mid-1998 as a result.
• The board of trustees began addressing elementary and middle school accreditation in late 1998. Progress and planning have been incremental, with six schools currently undergoing initial work. A comprehensive strategy for accreditation of all schools has not been developed to date.
• The current system supports various ways to involve parents in the schools, rather than a single mechanism as required by Special Act 97-4. The board has a parental involvement policy; the structure to implement the policy is changing under the new superintendent.
• The advisory council established by Special Act 97-4 has helped develop several major board policies and assisted in the search for a permanent superintendent. At present, the council seems to lack a clear focus or agenda and its meetings are not conducted in a routine, organized manner.
• The state monitors are diligent in documenting quarterly progress made by the board of trustees and Hartford public school system. The process adds a level of accountability to the system and the quarterly reports document progress from a qualitative and quantitative perspective. No annual report is prepared showing the system’s cumulative progress.
• Steps have been taken to develop legitimate operating systems, settle all collective bargaining contracts, develop a long range facilities plan, make capital improvements to schools, and develop a comprehensive set of policies and regulations. Standardized academic programs are currently being implemented districtwide.
• Written procedures are needed for many administrative operations.
• Visits by committee staff to randomly selected schools revealed the schools to be generally clean, although some schools showed signs of wear. No preventative maintenance plan is in place.
• Formal reporting to the board on the implementation of its policies is not standardized.
• The board’s primary focus has been on implementing an organized system of operational/administrative structures and controls; focus should now be on implementing board policies outlined in its new policies manual, along with oversight of the district’s recently initiated academic programs.

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