District A, Republican/Independent
Describe how your occupation assists you in serving on the Board of Ed. Give three brief but specific examples.
I am a 31 year veteran teacher from the Norwalk public Schools and recently retired. My qualifications for Board membership are: (1) I have first- hand knowledge of the ins and outs of the school system and problems that need addressing. (2) I know the importance of open communication between all parties to get things accomplished. Teachers and students alike must have a voice to speak to the education of our future citizens. (3) Being retired gives me the availability to reach out to constituents to address issues and the needed time to research answers to our many concerns.
What do you see as the top three issues facing our schools?
(1) Funding: Every elected official is responsible for accepting or being apathetic about the lack of funding from Hartford. Every elected official should be demanding that funding be delivered equitably. We should not be lumped in with Westport and New Canaan when we are the inheritors of poverty due to Hartford’s promotion of population density in Norwalk. Our Planning and Zoning is giving tax breaks to developers and to slum lords who are not paying proper taxes for the amount of income they are raking in by jamming in people with many children who are overwhelming our school system. Our representatives in Hartford must be pushed to reform the funding formula so that our system has operating funds to actually teach students as opposed to funding an unnecessary new Regional High School building that our taxes will need to staff! This cannot be swept under the carpet anymore.
With proper funding, we will be able to– hire and search for qualified staff to fill positions of the many who have resigned and retired; find more certified bi-lingual staff to teach academics and English to incoming MLL students to ensure success in transitioning to their new country; hire more social workers to deal with behavioral and mental health issues of our students; hire more career counselors to help students navigate a pathway to a happy future; have more Resource officers for school safety; retain the staff we have due to teacher burnout.
(2) Raising expectations in our schools: for behavior
It is a problem that the board can address at no cost. There are many board policies already in place that will present a more positive environment. But they do not appear to be enforced. Vaping in the bathroom, loitering in the hallways during class, disrespectful language between students, staff and even parents, and inappropriate attire worn to school. All of these, if addressed, would create a positive and safe environment for our students and staff. There is a lack of consequence for disrupting the learning environment and that should be a priority. It is the Board’s job to set the standard of behavior, not the students.
(3) The diversity in educational needs of our students
In the NPS EOY (end of year) Superintendent report of 2021-2022, data has revealed that 39.7% of K-10 students scored 60% or above for proficiency in reading. That’s 60% reading below grade level. We are failing them! This stems all the way back to elementary school. The system is pressured to socially promote failing students who fall behind or are developmentally slower in picking up concepts. They’re pushed to the next grade level where the problem snowballs and they are lost. They become disenchanted with school and can often act out. Children are individuals and one size does not fit all.
Then we have the MLL students struggling to learn academics in a language they are unfamiliar with (and many who may not be literate in their home language). We need more support for them.
Next, there are those students who are academically on target, but need to be motivated to reach their full potential.
It’s a Herculean task to educate students with so many diverse needs but one must illuminate the issue in order to address it.
Teacher burnout is a real issue for districts around the country. What do you plan to do to alleviate this in Norwalk?
Our educators face various challenges in the classroom, which include but are not limited to:
- Catering to different learning styles and levels of students, including those who were socially promoted but are not yet prepared for the grade level expectations of the class
- Accommodating special needs students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and 504s
- Managing discipline and emotional issues
- Facing micromanagement from the administration
- Dealing with strict schedules that leave no room for unplanned teachable moments
- Teaching classes with multi- language students (MLL) who may have had no exposure to school and often do not speak English
- Tackling the aftermath of learning loss caused by the Covid-19 pandemic
Below are some potential solutions to mitigate “teacher burnout.”
#1 Bring autonomy back into the classroom and trust the teachers!
Teachers are highly educated professionals who have earned a 4-year college degree and a Master’s in Education. However, they have lost much of their autonomy in the classroom. Studies have shown that micromanagement results in demotivating people and effects their well-being. It also inhibits creativity. Teachers want their students to succeed and need to be trusted to use their expertise. Instead, they are forced to follow strict guidelines, which can hinder their ability to make the best decisions for their students.
#2 Give Teachers a voice. Teachers feel unheard and undervalued. Anonymous surveys conducted through school computers asking teachers about their concerns do not provide a sense of anonymity to teachers. To address this issue, committees of teachers should meet with Board members to suggest ways to improve the school climate and alleviate the stressful daily routine caused by stringent scheduling.
#3 Take SPED obligations off the plate of the regular classroom instructor To assist teachers with accommodating students having IEPs or 504s, we will provide paraprofessionals trained from a specialized program administered through Ct State-Norwalk (formerly NCC) to implement the required accommodations in the classroom. There will be one supervising SPED teacher in each school overseeing implementation of IEPs & 504 by these trained paras.
#4 Shed light on the stringent schedule
This is a very complicated issue. Understand that in order to receive federal dollars, States must adopt The Common Core Standards Initiative (2010) which were instituted during the Obama administration. Common Core details what K-12 students throughout the U.S. should know in English language arts and mathematics at the conclusion of each school grade. A pacing guide has been created to reach these goals by the end of the year and the teachers must abide by this schedule. It is designed and in line with the Common Core. Teachers must follow this guide and structure their lessons to coincide with this pacing regardless of their students’ comprehension of the concept. The stress of following the pacing guide puts students that need intervention at a disadvantage due to time constraints. The teacher lacks the ability to do what’s best for their students because they must meet the scheduled guidelines and stay on dictated schedule.
In order to remedy the educational gap caused by Common Core, Norwalk has instituted a K-8 program called W.I.N., which stands for “What I Need,”. W.I.N. is an intervention time embedded in the daily schedule that provides supplementary assistance in Language Arts and Math. In elementary school, W.I.N. provides leveled groupings focusing 30 minutes on targeted instruction on the weakest skills of students. This is in addition to the 90minute daily Language Arts block and 60minute daily Math block. This program may not be sufficient to fill the gap.
The above four points contribute to teacher burnout. If we want to keep our teachers in the classroom, these 4 points need to be addressed.
There is a constant public battle between city government, the school board. And concerned citizens, It seems that all are “dug in” with their positions, eager to “defeat” the other to win their agenda. What would you specifically propose to bring all groups to the table to solve issues rather than fight about them? Policy changes and revisions can certainly be part of your answer.
To begin with, let’s carefully examine each perspective to ensure that it has a positive impact on the students.
Our public schools are perceived to be costing taxpayers an exorbitant amount of money, at $22,000 per student. This cost is primarily funded by Norwalk property taxes, which account for approximately 90% of the expenses. As a result, there is little left for the maintenance of roads, sewage, parks, and other public amenities.
At the Multilingual Learner Department meeting of NPS on October 18th, 2023, it was reported that there are 2,480 students who are Multiple Language Learners (MLL) and 1,941 students who require Special Education (Sped). The total student population is 11,500. Since educating these students requires a high cost, we should be eligible to receive more funding from the State to help us educate them properly. This, in turn, would allow us to use the money from the school budget to fund improvements within our city. Let me elaborate.
Our property taxes are paid to the City of Norwalk to fund the running of our city. Connecticut income taxes and money from taxed goods go to Hartford, and the funds are then redistributed back to the cities according to their needs. Unfortunately, we only receive a small fraction of the amount we send to the Capitol. This is because we live in Fairfield County and our property values are considered higher than in other counties, making us ineligible for equitable return.
Connecticut has a state fund called Educational Cost Share (ECS) and an Alliance fund to help with education costs. According to the 2022-23 report by the Connecticut State Department of Education, Norwalk received $13.7 million from ECS and an additional $3.6 million from Alliance. This translates to $1,509 per student, which helps reduce the total cost of education per student to $22,000. However, the balance of approximately $20,000 per student is still borne by Norwalk taxpayers. Hartford, on the other hand, receives $213.8 million from ECS and an additional $25.9 million from Alliance, which amounts to $13,949 per student. It is important to note that we need to get more returns for our money from Hartford to educate our more needy students.
Transparency in budget line items is crucial. It ensures that taxpayers know where their money is being spent and builds trust between citizens and the government.
Information compiled by Bob Giolitto, a volunteer.
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