NORWALK, Conn. – The news is only hours old, and already the hounds are baying at the moon.
Special Master for the State of Connecticut Department of Education Steven Adamowski’s name was revealed to the Norwalk populace Friday afternoon, and the search engines shifted into overdrive.
Some readers applauded the choice after reading Adamowski’s resume. He arrives in Norwalk with the reputation as a supporter of education reform. Others had questions after going online and finding stories that do not always paint a flattering picture of the candidate to lead Norwalk’s schools.
Two stories turned up, one by blogger and former state rep Jonathan Pelto, the other by Hearst Connecticut Media columnist Wendy Lecker, that call into question Adamowski’s certification to serve as a Connecticut superintendent. Board of Education Chairman Mike Lyons said the allegations are not true.
“The ‘nonrenewable certification’ that Pelto refers to (which expired on 11/7/07) was replaced by a new certificate issued the day before its expiration (on 11/6/07). That certificate remains in effect. I’ll get a copy of it for you.”
Adamowski responded to a late email and elaborated further:
“Connecticut laws allows ‘highly qualified’ superintendent candidates to receive a waiver of CT requirements (in my case I exceeded the Supt requirements but my CT elementary teaching certificate from the 1970’s had lapsed). There are requirements for this in the statute – you have to hold certification in another state and have at least 15 years experience as a superintendent. I received the waiver from then-Commissioner Mark McQuillan on 11/7/07.”
An informed and engaged public makes the democracy work, so in that vein, we bring you some story links, with a few words of introduction to put them in perspective. The opinions in the blog posts and columns are strictly those of the writers.
The first is from Pelto and was linked in another story’s comment chain by a reader. According to his bio, Pelto “has been actively involved in Connecticut public policy, advocacy and electoral politics for nearly 40 years. In 1984 he was elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives as a senior at the University of Connecticut and, over five terms, rose to the level of Deputy Majority Leader…”
Last fall he made a third-party bid for governor that went nowhere.
The link to Pelto’s blog, “Wait What?” contains links to additional posts regarding Adamowski.
This story, from the Cincinnati Enquirer, introduced Adamowski as the new superintendent in May 1998.
This story, from the Cincinnati Enquirer dated June 25, 2002, announces Adamowski’s resignation as superintendent to teach at the University of Missouri. The link also contains a sidebar titled “Initial outcry gave way to praise for Adamowski.”
In a February 2014 report, the CT Mirror takes a look at Adamowski’s legacy after three years of leading the Windham school district as a state Special Master.
This story from The Day in New London, dated Feb. 6, 2015, reports that Special Master Adamowski would be turning over the reins for that city’s schools to Manny Rivera, but that the district “should be closely monitored.”
Hearst Connecticut Media Group columnist Wendy Lecker, in July 2014, opined about Adamowski in relation to his work in Windham, New London and Hartford.
A September 2000 Cincinnati magazine story profiles Adamowski’s hiring and work with the city’s school system.
A 2013 Windham Week blog post is a lengthy detailing of a situation involving Adamowski and his bid to bring a charter school to Windham, to the eventual surprise of the Windham Board of Education.
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