Our neighborhood school configuration is at peril, and is clearly at odds with an outdated racial imbalance law. An objective look at the facts, our town's recent history, and at the many pages of written correspondence between the State Dept of Education and the West Hartford Board of Education validates that beyond the shadow of a doubt. (Posts on this website contain all of that documentation, as well as candidate profiles for both parties.)
Perhaps the best question that I received following our presentation at Town Hall on Monday was along these lines: "I understand and agree with nearly everything you said this evening, but what makes you think that any action [i.e. a major redistricting] plan is imminent?"
My response to this young woman: "It's not just the fact that we have been unable to comply with this statute through [mostly] voluntary means for 15 years, the State's on-going pressure to do so, and growing racial imbalance at Charter Oak and Smith Schools, and impending racial balance at Bugbee, Duffy, and Smith. ** The real variable in this equation is how the majority party on the Board of Education chooses to react to all of the above." When a Democrat controlled Board of Education voted to dismantle our neighborhood school system in 1994, the State had not put chains and padlocks on the doors of our schools or threatened to cut-off the financial aid [relatively small] they provide to fund education in West Hartford. The then board majority led by Nancy Rion and Pat Genser simply used the statute as a "mandate" (convenient opportunity) to socially re-engineer West Hartford to reflect their vision of what our town and its schools "should" look like. With chairman in waiting Putterman (should the Democrats maintain majority on the Board) having publicly stated that we have "a moral obligation" to comply with this statute (that would have us treat children differently based on their race), and current chairman Reverend Terry Schmitt having supported the "K-2/3-5" plan of 1994, (alluded to above and in earlier postings on this site) we have essentially the same situation that existed in 1994. It is not a stretch by any means to conclude that Democrats (if they maintain their majority on the Board) will offer up their plan -- which does not have a "reasonable likelihood" [the State's standard] of eliminating racial imbalance -- and then wring their hands, claim they don't really want to do so, but have no choice but to undertake a major redistricting that would effectively eliminate our neighborhood school system. There are at least two thoughts that come to mind here: (1) History often repeats itself, and (2) past behavior is the best indicator for future behavior.
On Tuesday November 3rd, West Hartford voters will go to the polls to elect four members to the Board of Education. I would urge you to review all the posts on this site, and give serious thought to who you can trust to take a stand for neighborhood schools, and to not treat children differently based on the color of their skin. I am confident that if you do so, you will conclude that Lib Spinella, Ellen Brassil, and Andrew Bannon-Guasp are deserving of both your vote and your trust on this issue of enormous magnitude.
I would be happy to discuss any of the above - or any other post on this site - with you. You can either e-mail me at JFDeLucco@AOL.com or phone me at (860) 305-9572.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Oct 26th presentation at Town Hall - slide deck and commentary
Thanks again to all of those who attended our presentation on Monday night. To view the PowerPoint presentation (including some of the documents obtained through FOIA request,) please click on the attached link: http://www.medpartners.net/http://www.etrustbusiness.com/WHCQE/Oct%2026th%20presentation.ppt
Note: After the above powerpoint presentation is opened, use the "page down" button to scroll through the presentation.
Please click on the attached link to view speaker's notes that accompanied the above Oct 26th PowerPoint presentation: http://www.medpartners.net/ http://www.etrustbusiness.com/WHCQE/Speakers%20notes%20for%20Oct%2026th%20presentation.pdf
Note: Printing out or reviewing the above speaker's notes will help put the above slide deck in context.
Note: After the above powerpoint presentation is opened, use the "page down" button to scroll through the presentation.
Please click on the attached link to view speaker's notes that accompanied the above Oct 26th PowerPoint presentation: http://www.medpartners.net/ http://www.etrustbusiness.com/WHCQE/Speakers%20notes%20for%20Oct%2026th%20presentation.pdf
Note: Printing out or reviewing the above speaker's notes will help put the above slide deck in context.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
West Hartford's CMT Scores at Rock Bottom. Is it any wonder?
I took some time earlier this fall to visit the Connecticut Department of Education website to review and analyze the Connecticut Mastery Test ("CMT") scores for the towns in West Hartford's "DRG." DRG is an acronym for District Reference Group. According to the Dept of Education's detailed analysis, "the district reference group is a classification system in which districts that have public school students with similar socioeconomic status and need are grouped together. Grouping like districts together is useful in order to make legitimate comparisons across districts." (this is verbatim quote from a Research Bulletin issued by the State Dept of Education in June of 2006.)
For purposes of this exercise, I looked only at 2009 CMT scores for our "DRG" and looked solely at the percentage of students who performed at the proficient level -- which is the middle level of the 5 different levels of performance: (below basic, basic, proficient, goal, and advanced.)
There are 21 school districts within our DRG. I reviewed the following CMT scores / content areas: Reading, Writing, Math and Science for grades 5 and 8, and Reading, Writing, and Math for grades 3, 4, 6, and 7. What I saw when reviewing West Hartford's 2009 CMT scores (% of students who performed at the proficient level) vs. the other towns in our "DRG" was disheartening to say the least, and appalling at worst:
In 10 of the 20 (50%) content areas, our scores were the lowest in the DRG.
In 6 of the 20 (30%) content areas, our scores were second lowest in the DRG.
In 2 0f the 20 (10%) content areas, our scores were third lowest in the DRG.
In 2 of the 20 (10%) of content areas, our scores were fourth lowest in the DRG.
Test scores are not everything, but they are the single best assessment tool we have to determine whether our students are learning the things they need to know, whether the curriculum is appropriate or not, and whether the Board of Education is making measurable academic achievement THE top priority for the Superintendent and the district - or whether they are focused more on a social / social re-engineering agenda. With the current Democrat Board majority spending their time on block scheduling, sleep studies, whether or not Twinkies should be allowed in the vending machines, and spending an inordinate amount of their time (and the administration's) trying to comply with a racial imbalance statute that can never truly be satisfied by West Hartford without a major redistricting, is it any wonder that our CMT scores are the lowest among comparable towns?
For purposes of this exercise, I looked only at 2009 CMT scores for our "DRG" and looked solely at the percentage of students who performed at the proficient level -- which is the middle level of the 5 different levels of performance: (below basic, basic, proficient, goal, and advanced.)
There are 21 school districts within our DRG. I reviewed the following CMT scores / content areas: Reading, Writing, Math and Science for grades 5 and 8, and Reading, Writing, and Math for grades 3, 4, 6, and 7. What I saw when reviewing West Hartford's 2009 CMT scores (% of students who performed at the proficient level) vs. the other towns in our "DRG" was disheartening to say the least, and appalling at worst:
In 10 of the 20 (50%) content areas, our scores were the lowest in the DRG.
In 6 of the 20 (30%) content areas, our scores were second lowest in the DRG.
In 2 0f the 20 (10%) content areas, our scores were third lowest in the DRG.
In 2 of the 20 (10%) of content areas, our scores were fourth lowest in the DRG.
Test scores are not everything, but they are the single best assessment tool we have to determine whether our students are learning the things they need to know, whether the curriculum is appropriate or not, and whether the Board of Education is making measurable academic achievement THE top priority for the Superintendent and the district - or whether they are focused more on a social / social re-engineering agenda. With the current Democrat Board majority spending their time on block scheduling, sleep studies, whether or not Twinkies should be allowed in the vending machines, and spending an inordinate amount of their time (and the administration's) trying to comply with a racial imbalance statute that can never truly be satisfied by West Hartford without a major redistricting, is it any wonder that our CMT scores are the lowest among comparable towns?
Great turnout at Town Hall. Thank you!
I wanted to thank all of those who attended our presentation on Racial Imbalance and the Future of West Hartford's Neighborhood Schools in Town Hall on Monday night, October 26th. A great audience, and some great questions. Under separate post (later this week) I will list some of those questions submitted by those in attendance. I am also working on Candidate Profiles, getting the contents of our PowerPoint presentation (mostly the correspondence between State Dept of Ed and West Hartford Public Schools obtained through a Freedom of Information Act reqeust) into PDF files and out onto this website. Stay tuned. There will be a number of additional posts to the website between now and Election Day.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
CQE presentation on Monday, October 26th @ 7:30 PM in the West Hartford Town Hall Auditorium.
"Racial Imbalance and the future of West Hartford’s Neighborhood Schools."
Citizens for Quality Education (CQE) will be hosting an informative and revealing presentation on this issue of enormous magnitude
Where are we going, where have we been?
Charter Oak and Smith Schools have an existing racial imbalance. Bugbee, Duffy and Morley schools have an impending racial imbalance.
Recent newspaper articles haven’t told you everything you need to know about the impact that the state’s Racial Imbalance law is likely to have on our neighborhood school system. The West Hartford Board of Education certainly has not told you everything you should know about this issue.
West Hartford’s neighborhood schools are the bedrock of our school system, help distinguish us from neighboring towns, and have a positive impact on property values. Whether or not you have children in our public schools, everyone has a vested interest in the future of our neighborhood schools.
Date: Monday, October 26th
Time: 7:30 P.M.
Place: West Hartford Town Hall Auditorium
Admission is free. However, please consider bringing a non-perishable food item(s) that will be donated to the West Hartford Food Pantry.
Citizens for Quality Education (CQE) will be hosting an informative and revealing presentation on this issue of enormous magnitude
Where are we going, where have we been?
Charter Oak and Smith Schools have an existing racial imbalance. Bugbee, Duffy and Morley schools have an impending racial imbalance.
Recent newspaper articles haven’t told you everything you need to know about the impact that the state’s Racial Imbalance law is likely to have on our neighborhood school system. The West Hartford Board of Education certainly has not told you everything you should know about this issue.
West Hartford’s neighborhood schools are the bedrock of our school system, help distinguish us from neighboring towns, and have a positive impact on property values. Whether or not you have children in our public schools, everyone has a vested interest in the future of our neighborhood schools.
Date: Monday, October 26th
Time: 7:30 P.M.
Place: West Hartford Town Hall Auditorium
Admission is free. However, please consider bringing a non-perishable food item(s) that will be donated to the West Hartford Food Pantry.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Dems side-step racial imbalance issue. Will not be aggressive advocates for neighborhood schools.
At this evening's board of education meeting, Lib Spinella introduced a motion to retain legal counsel to mount a challenge to the state's racial imbalance statute. Her motion went on to call for the qualifications of said attorney / law firm to include having argued a 14th amendment case before the U.S Supreme Court, and for said attorney to be retained by the end of this month. Finally, there was a call for action - and in a public meeting that the public could witness.
Unfortunately (but to no one's surprise) the Democrats on the board refused to address the motion and to take any action on this critical issue. Following their party's well established M.O., the Democrats refused to vote on Ms. Spinella's motion. Instead, they introduced a "substitute motion" calling for Democrat appointed Corporation Counsel Joe O'Brien to review this matter and get back to the board with a list of their options - with of course no stated time frame.
Chairperson Schmitt demonstrated his complete lack of regard (and/or understanding) of the board's own bylaws, Robert's Rules and parliamentary procedure by never calling for a vote on (and disposing of one way or another) Ms. Spinella's original motion. It was amateur hour at Town Hall. To have such incompetents in the majority role on this Board of Education (the board of directors of a $ 125M per year entity) is an embarrassment.
How much longer will this Board of Education continue to violate the pubic trust they hold by refusing to publicly address this issue of such magnitude? They appear to be inclined to do so at least until the upcoming town elections are over. In the meantime, they will continue to pay lip-service to maintaining our neighborhood school system - but when push comes to shove, they refuse to be proactive, aggressive advocates for those same neighborhood schools.
For those of you who did not see the debacle that ensued earlier this evening, I would encourage you to watch the replays on Channel 5 (WHCTV) or visit their website at http://www.whctv.org/ and use the Video on Demand option to view the meeting. You will see Ms. Spinella and Ms. Mudge win the debate, but the Chairman never call for a vote on the motion. You'll also see Democrats who when they couldn't credibly speak against Ms. Spinella's motion, revert to their stock and trade: name calling and deflecting attention away from their own mishandling of this hugely important issue.
There will continue to be regular posts / updates made to this site in the coming weeks. Please stay tuned. If anyone wishes to speak to me directly, don't hesitate to give me a call at (860) 305-9572, or send an e-mail to JFDeLucco@AOL.com
Unfortunately (but to no one's surprise) the Democrats on the board refused to address the motion and to take any action on this critical issue. Following their party's well established M.O., the Democrats refused to vote on Ms. Spinella's motion. Instead, they introduced a "substitute motion" calling for Democrat appointed Corporation Counsel Joe O'Brien to review this matter and get back to the board with a list of their options - with of course no stated time frame.
Chairperson Schmitt demonstrated his complete lack of regard (and/or understanding) of the board's own bylaws, Robert's Rules and parliamentary procedure by never calling for a vote on (and disposing of one way or another) Ms. Spinella's original motion. It was amateur hour at Town Hall. To have such incompetents in the majority role on this Board of Education (the board of directors of a $ 125M per year entity) is an embarrassment.
How much longer will this Board of Education continue to violate the pubic trust they hold by refusing to publicly address this issue of such magnitude? They appear to be inclined to do so at least until the upcoming town elections are over. In the meantime, they will continue to pay lip-service to maintaining our neighborhood school system - but when push comes to shove, they refuse to be proactive, aggressive advocates for those same neighborhood schools.
For those of you who did not see the debacle that ensued earlier this evening, I would encourage you to watch the replays on Channel 5 (WHCTV) or visit their website at http://www.whctv.org/ and use the Video on Demand option to view the meeting. You will see Ms. Spinella and Ms. Mudge win the debate, but the Chairman never call for a vote on the motion. You'll also see Democrats who when they couldn't credibly speak against Ms. Spinella's motion, revert to their stock and trade: name calling and deflecting attention away from their own mishandling of this hugely important issue.
There will continue to be regular posts / updates made to this site in the coming weeks. Please stay tuned. If anyone wishes to speak to me directly, don't hesitate to give me a call at (860) 305-9572, or send an e-mail to JFDeLucco@AOL.com
Statement from CQE co-founder to Board of Ed at 10/6 meeting. (Regarding motion to retain legal counsel to challenge state's racial imbalance statute)
For the record, my name is Joe DeLucco. I had the privilege of serving on the Board of Education for 7 years, and the honor of serving as Chairman for 2 of those years. Before being elected to the board, I co-founded “Citizens for Quality Education” in 1994 in response to the board’s plans to dismantle our neighborhood schools – in their attempt to comply with the racial imbalance statute. After dragging the town through a year of hell, the board finally respected the wishes of the overwhelming majority of residents and voted to eliminate the K-2/3-5 plan and replace it with a more reasonable alternative.
The racial imbalance statute is an inherently racist one, as it would have us treat children differently based on their race. Concerned about the potential impact of this statute, I filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act for all correspondence on this topic between the State Department of Ed and our school district. Three minutes is not nearly enough time to detail all the troubling components of that correspondence. I would be happy to share all of the correspondence with anyone who might be interested, but in the meantime I would cite the following:
1. There is virtually no mention of improving the quality of education for our the public school students. Instead, there is a constant, repeated focus on race, and racial statistics.
2. The correspondence is filled with commitments on how our board will attempt to comply with this mandate. However, the board has never established it’s position on this through a vote in a public meeting. On whose direction were these commitments and promises made?
3. The district’s May 1st letter outlines the board’s plan to address this issue in December 2009 – one month after the town elections.
4. This statute is virtually impossible to comply with without essentially mandating housing choices. Charter Oak and Smith schools have a racial imbalance, and Bugbee, Duffy and Morley schools have impending racial imbalance.
5. Dr. Sklarz’ June 11th 2005 letter recognized the very real possibility of major redistricting. He wrote, and I quote: “…. We would have to deprive parents of their choice to have their children attend these model schools because concerns over racial balance that would require that we reorganize our schools and redistrict most of the elementary schools in the district."
In conclusion:
The Board's plan in their May 1st letter to the State is not likely to eliminate racial imbalance at Smith or Charter Oak -- or stem the impending racial imbalance at Bugbee, Duffy, and Morley.
Mayor Slifka has said there is no money to build a newer/larger Charter Oak School. With the building remaining at its current size, the ONLY way that racial imbalance could be eliminated at Charter Oak and Smith (and impending racial imbalance at Bugbee, Duffy and Morley could be addressed) would be via the MASSIVE redistricting that Dr. Sklarz's cited in his letter to the State.
It is incumbent upon this board to FINALLY take ownership of this issue, and be pro-active, aggressive advocates of our neighborhood schools. The district’s focus must be placed on what is in the best educational interest of the children who attend our public schools. Their best educational interests would clearly NOT be served by being forced out of their neighborhood schools and put on busses for a ride across town. To avoid tearing apart our town and our neighborhood schools, we have a moral obligation to challenge this law that would have us treat children differently based on the color of their skin. This motion is a call for action, and the time for action is now.
The racial imbalance statute is an inherently racist one, as it would have us treat children differently based on their race. Concerned about the potential impact of this statute, I filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act for all correspondence on this topic between the State Department of Ed and our school district. Three minutes is not nearly enough time to detail all the troubling components of that correspondence. I would be happy to share all of the correspondence with anyone who might be interested, but in the meantime I would cite the following:
1. There is virtually no mention of improving the quality of education for our the public school students. Instead, there is a constant, repeated focus on race, and racial statistics.
2. The correspondence is filled with commitments on how our board will attempt to comply with this mandate. However, the board has never established it’s position on this through a vote in a public meeting. On whose direction were these commitments and promises made?
3. The district’s May 1st letter outlines the board’s plan to address this issue in December 2009 – one month after the town elections.
4. This statute is virtually impossible to comply with without essentially mandating housing choices. Charter Oak and Smith schools have a racial imbalance, and Bugbee, Duffy and Morley schools have impending racial imbalance.
5. Dr. Sklarz’ June 11th 2005 letter recognized the very real possibility of major redistricting. He wrote, and I quote: “…. We would have to deprive parents of their choice to have their children attend these model schools because concerns over racial balance that would require that we reorganize our schools and redistrict most of the elementary schools in the district."
In conclusion:
The Board's plan in their May 1st letter to the State is not likely to eliminate racial imbalance at Smith or Charter Oak -- or stem the impending racial imbalance at Bugbee, Duffy, and Morley.
Mayor Slifka has said there is no money to build a newer/larger Charter Oak School. With the building remaining at its current size, the ONLY way that racial imbalance could be eliminated at Charter Oak and Smith (and impending racial imbalance at Bugbee, Duffy and Morley could be addressed) would be via the MASSIVE redistricting that Dr. Sklarz's cited in his letter to the State.
It is incumbent upon this board to FINALLY take ownership of this issue, and be pro-active, aggressive advocates of our neighborhood schools. The district’s focus must be placed on what is in the best educational interest of the children who attend our public schools. Their best educational interests would clearly NOT be served by being forced out of their neighborhood schools and put on busses for a ride across town. To avoid tearing apart our town and our neighborhood schools, we have a moral obligation to challenge this law that would have us treat children differently based on the color of their skin. This motion is a call for action, and the time for action is now.
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