February 2015

In This IssueDistrict and School News .......2-3

Recognition and Honors .........4-5

Events and Updates.................6-8

Executive Director’s Report A MONTHLY UPDATE BY THE CAPITOL REGION EDUCATION COUNCIL

Executive Director’s MessageBruce E. Douglas, Ph.D.

Facebook: Capitol Region Education Council (CREC Twitter: @CRECEducation

Attachment E A MONTHLY UPDATE BY THE CAPITOL REGION EDUCATION COUNCIL

Worthy Leadership Behaviors to ConsiderImplement and sustain an unwavering and uncompromising focus on the mission.

Motivate others to innovate and create with dramatic results.

Inspire others to new heights of self-perception, capability, attainment and will.

Exercise purposeful visibility, accessibility, approachability and credibility.

Rise beyond personal and professional trials through tenacity, persistence, resilience, and courage.

Communicate ideas effectively with precise and straightforward language.

Build a diverse and competent team to successfully address the mission.

Engender trust, following and respect through humility and personal example.

Serve and lead with emotional intelligence and empathy.

Exercise situational awareness with responses to implement effective change.

Demonstrate personal growth and enhanced competence as a life-time learner, willing to reflect on and expand ideas.

Listen.

Distinctions Between Managerial and Leadership BehaviorThe manager administers; the leader innovates.

The manager maintains; the leader develops.

The manager accepts reality; the leader investigates it.

The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people.

The manager relies on control; the leader fosters trust.

The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective.

The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.

The manager has her eye always on the bottom line; the leader has her eye on the future.

The manager imitates; the leader originates.

The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.

The manager is the classic good soldier; the leader is her own person.

The manager does things right; the leader always does the right things.

The manager directs; the leader facilitates.

The manager supervises; the leader inspires.

— “Learning from Lincoln”

2 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT – February 2015

District and School News

WETHERSFIELD — Wethersfield High School’s traditional land-line phones will be replaced with a new Internet-based system.The upgrade, approved by the town council this week, is part of the school’s ongoing $85 million reconstruction project and will slash its annual phone bill about 30 percent, said Keith Rafaniello, the school system’s director of technology.The change to a Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) system will cost $40,558, which will go toward buying new phones, he said. The system should be in place by mid-February.“We’re excited about it because it will be a huge jump forward,” he said.Rafaniello compared the high school’s current phone system to an antiquated, early 1980s computer. It lacks caller ID, the ability for employees to call in to access their voice mail and many other

features, he said.The VOIP system will provide those capabilities and more at a much lower annual cost, Rafaniello said.The district eventually plans to switch all its phones to a VOIP system, with the goal of even greater savings, he said.In other school construction business, the council on Tuesday reallocated $50,000 from the town’s capital budget to construct a collection system protecting Folly Brook from a leaky underground oil tank and contaminated runoff.Last year, an abandoned oil tank under Wethersfield High School started leaking into Folly Brook. The oil was likely freed when drainage systems were upgraded, officials said.The town has since cleaned out the tank, which was not properly decommissioned, and plans to fill it with a concrete. During heavy rain, however, a small amount

of oil still in the ground from the tank sometimes leaks into the brook, Town Engineer Michael Turner said.“Every once in a while, something will show up,” Turner said.The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is requiring the town to install a system to catch that oil, Town Manager Jeff Bridges said. The system will have the added benefit of capturing oil and other toxic runoff from the school’s parking lots, Turner said.The council also approved spending an additional $24,630 for asbestos removal at the high school. The work — done over Christmas vacation — became necessary when a concrete floor cracked and exposed previously encapsulated asbestos, Bridges said.Source – The Hartford Courant article by Christopher Hoffman published on January 22, 2015

Wethersfield High School to Get Internet-Based Phone System

Southington High School Robotics Team Revamps Police RobotSOUTHINGTON — Members of the Cyber Knights high school robotics team put their skills to use repairing a robot for Southington police.The robot is primarily used by a regional SWAT team when for calls involving a person barricaded in a residence. The robot has the ability to relay video and can be used for two-way communication, said Detective John Marenholz. The regional SWAT team comprises police officers from Southington, Plainville and Bristol.Sandra Brino, a director for the Cyber Knights, said six of the club’s members worked on the robot. The repairs included installing new speakers, a camera, a microphone and all the programming involved with the installations. In addition, the teens installed new brackets and hooks to

carry small items, Brino said.The police told the team what needed to be fixed and the teens researched the products needed to make the repairs, Brino said. Before this project, the team had only worked on robots used in competition.“They thought it was the coolest thing,” Brino said. “I think the kids were really happy to be able to give back to the town because the town does a lot for the team. They were honored to be asked.”The robot, called Doberman, has been used three or four times in the seven years since it was purchased with a grant, said Detective Adam Tillotson.In one incident, a person who fell asleep after barricading himself inside a home was awakened by a nudge from the robot, Tillotson said. The man said

seeing the robot was like something out of “Star Wars,” Tillotson said.Source – Record-Journal article by Lauren Sievert published on February 8, 2015

Photo credit: Record-Journal

CANTON — Canton High School Principal Drew DiPippo has outlined a proposal to the board of education that that calls for expanding the school day from seven to eight class periods.

The school day is not gaining any extra time, but DiPippo said adding an extra period will give staff more flexibility. The number of credits students must earn to graduate will increase when the class of 2019 starts school in the fall, and DiPippo said more periods will make it easier for students to take the required number of classes.

“Teachers have said they need more time to collaborate with one another and more time with students who are struggling. It is important to teachers that they see their students every day,” DiPippo told the board.

He said the proposal is in line with recommendations made by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges in 2011.

The changes would take effect next fall. The board took no action and will revisit the issue later this month.

Although an additional period would be added, the overall length of the school day stays the same by reducing the length of individual periods, giving students less time to get from one class to the next than they have now and eliminating a dedicated lunch period. In the proposed schedule, one 48 minute period would be set aside for lunch but only 30 could be spent eating while the rest would be devoted to studying or working one-on-one with classmates and teachers.

The new schedule would give teachers and students more flexibility for studying

and meeting for one-on-one work, but a few board members said they are worried that not all students would use the free time constructively.

The two student representatives on the board said they support the proposal. Mia Tuccillo said the extra time for teachers to plan classes would be a benefit.

“I can see a lot of people thriving in this environment,” Tuccillo said

Superintendent Kevin Case said the additional time for planning and collaborative work among teachers would offset the lost instruction time. “Better instruction is worth the loss of instruction time,” Case said.

Starting with the class of 2019, students will have to earn 25 credits to graduate, up from 24.

“When you are locked into a seven-period day, you struggle to meet the needs of students,” Case said. “But when you stretch the day over eight periods you have more opportunities to fit in classes. This would work much better.”Source – The Hartford Courant article by Ken Byron published on February 4, 2015

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT – February 2015 3

Canton High School Looks to Expand to 8 Class Periods

Photo credit: Plainville Citizen / Preschool students at Plainville’s Louis Toffolon Elementary School received a visit from Nick Diaz, of the Hungerford Nature Park in Kensington. Diaz provided a demonstration of six animals relevant to a number of books read in the preschool classroom.

A Wild Time At School

“Teachers have said they need more time to collaborate with one another and more time with students who are struggling .”

— Principal Drew DiPippo

4 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT – February 2015

Recognition and Honors (continued)

Four students at the CREC Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts and their teachers were honored by the Connecticut Regional Scholastic Art Awards program.

The program is sponsored by the Connecticut Art Education Association.

Artwork by CREC Academy of the Arts students was juried by professional artists and college-level art faculty as part of a competition. The work was then selected for inclusion in a statewide art exhibition at the Hartford Art School. The students were also given awards for their effort.

Gold and silver keys and honorable mention awards were given in each of the exhibition’s 17 media categories. Awards were distributed during a

January 25 awards ceremony held at the University of Hartford.

CREC Academy of the Arts student Thomas D’Amore, of Canton, and his teacher, Francine Gintoff, won a silver key award in the drawing and illustration category for “The Five Senses of a Holocaust Victim,” and Gintoff, and student, Ariel Prechtl, of Canton, won a gold key in the drawing and illustration category for “Boxing Glove.”

Ellisa Cox, of Hartford, and her teacher, John Gintoff, won a silver key in the painting category for “Fresh,” and Joy Houlder, of Vernon, and her teacher, Wesley Santiago, won an honorable mention award in the drawing and illustration category for “Intelligence.”

CREC Students and Staff Honored by State Arts Awards Program

Sandy Cruz-Serrano, who was recently named CREC’s deputy executive director for finance and operations, is a recipient of this year’s Maria C. Sanchez Award.

For more than 20 years, the Hartford chapter of the Connecticut Institute for Community Development (CICD) Puerto Rican Parade Inc. has honored individuals for their community leadership, commitment to education, and preservation of culture and arts in memory of Maria C. Sanchez, who founded the Puerto Rican Parade Committee in 1964.

Cruz-Serrano won the organization’s education award and was honored at a banquet on February 7.

Sandy Cruz-Serrano Gets Promotion and an Honor

CREC photo

Rosemarie Saccomandi is now considered a “social thinking professional.”

Saccomandi is a licensed and registered occupational therapist, and she works at Children’s Therapy Specialists, an outpatient clinic located at CREC River Street School. Saccomandi is one of only 13 people with this designation in Connecticut, and she earned the title after successfully completing The Social Thinking Clinical Training program in Boston.

As children grow, successful social thinkers are able to consider the points of view, emotions, thoughts, beliefs, prior knowledge, and intentions of other people. For most, this is an intuitive process. The meaning behind a message and how to respond is determined within milliseconds. However, this process is more difficult for children with autism spectrum disorders.

Completion of the week-long training program gave Saccomandi numerous ideas for effective and creative techniques and activities that she can now incorporate into her occupational therapy practice through Children’s Therapy Specialists.

Rosemarie Saccomandi Earns Unique Distinction

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT – February 2015 5

Kayla Ortiz, a seventh-grade student who lives in Hartford, attends Griswold Middle School in Rocky Hill through the Open Choice Program.Kayla’s parents enrolled her in the Open Choice Program to better position her for academic success and to give her a more well-rounded educational experience that allows for access to exceptional extracurricular activities, including fine arts, music, and sports programs. Kayla has embraced these opportunities and is an intelligent, respectful student—one who sets high academic standards and puts forth diligent effort in everything she does. At Griswold Middle School, Kayla has received several honors for her academic achievements and for her positive contributions to the classroom. She is known to have excellent study habits, making her a role model for her peers.Looking ahead, Kayla wants to graduate college and become a successful writer. She attributes her success—both in school and in life—to her ability to make friends and her good interpersonal skills.

Open Choice Program Spotlight: Kayla Ortiz

CREC recently announced the recipients of its OR&L Innovation Grant.More than 30 grant proposals were considered, and each one sought to bring new and innovative practices into CREC schools and programs. The winning proposals reflect CREC’s vision of educational innovation. They aim to improve both the overall quality of instruction and the degree of student success through innovative practices that reflect current trends and advances in education.The following staff members and proposals were awarded grant money:• Sarah Fitzsimons, Director of Literacy,

CREC Magnet Schools - “Becoming a

Published Author”• Gina Gadue, Theme Coach, CREC

Medical Professions and Teacher Preparation Academy - “Brainology”

• Tim Barber, Principal, CREC University of Hartford Magnet School - “Cycle to Success”

• Colin Glanovsky, Art Teacher, CREC Academy of Aerospace and Engineering Elementary School - “Augmented Reality Sculpture”

• Duane McDuffee, Technology Teacher, CREC Two Rivers Magnet High School - “Designing a Vertical Hydroponic Growing System”

• Lena Pacheco, Teacher, CREC International Magnet School for Global Citizenship - “Improving Student Problem Solving”

• Nicole Ciccarelli, Science Teacher, CREC Academy of Aerospace and Engineering Middle School - “Legos for Engineering”

• Janice Frank, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Coach, CREC Academy of Aerospace and Engineering Elementary School - “Linking Legos to Literacy”

• Suzanne Artis, Library Media Specialist, CREC Metropolitan Learning Center for Global and International Studies - “MLC Makerspace”

• Elizabeth Kane, Bodily and Kinesthetic Teacher, CREC University of Hartford Magnet School - “UHMS Fitness Frenzy”

Grant Money Awarded to 10 Innovative CREC Staffers

CREC photo: Kayla Ortiz participates in the Open Choice Program and attends Griswold Middle School.

6 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT – February 2015

Events and Updates

Connecticut has the largest and most devastating achievement gaps in the country. In many parts of Connecticut, students from some of the wealthiest and highest achieving school districts attend school within miles of students in the poorest and most underserved school communities.

Despite these challenges, Connecticut is home to a system of magnet schools that is closing and in some cases has eliminated the achievement gap. On January 31, an editorial in the New York Times cited Connecticut’s magnet schools as an example for the country. “The Hartford experience shows that it is possible to fight racial isolation and improve education at the same time,” read the editorial. And Connecticut’s magnet schools are doing so through voluntary, integrated school choice programs.

Connecticut’s system of magnet schools is an investment that is paying dividends. However, insufficient funding in the past five years has left many magnet schools in Connecticut in a state of financial uncertainty. Since fiscal year 2011, many magnet schools have not seen an increase in per pupil funding from the state. Over that same time period, state funding for local school districts increased by an average of 1.9 percent each year. Without a fair funding increase and a sustainable funding formula, these programs will be unable to sustain high-quality instruction and programming.

In response to this challenge, students, families, and educators from throughout Connecticut created the Connecticut Coalition for Magnet Schools, and the coalition is working with local organizations and school districts to ensure that Connecticut’s children continue to have the opportunity and choice to attend high-quality, integrated magnet schools.

“All children deserve the opportunity to develop their special skills and talents and to do so in a safe, comfortable environment at no cost to the families who send them,” said Margie Stahl, a Durham resident and mother of a student at the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts in Hartford.

CREC partners with the coalition, and it agrees.

“Education is an emergency,” said CREC Executive Director Bruce E. Douglas. “It’s about the here and now for children in our schools. We are looking for a partnership with the state of Connecticut that responds with a state of emergency for some of the most impoverished children in our state.”

CREC Partners with Connecticut Coalition for Magnet Schools

CREC photo: CREC Executive Director Bruce E. Douglas waits for his turn to speak at a Connecticut Coalition for Magnet Schools press conference with students Mia Flowers and Zoë Lerman.

CREC photo: Zoë Lerman (left), a student at the CREC Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts, and Camille Bajjo (right), a parent at CREC’s Academy of Aerospace and Engineering Elementary School, speak to media during a Connecticut Coalition for Magnet Schools press conference held at the Legislative Office Building.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT – February 2015 7

To help school and town officials find innovative ways to increase efficiencies in non-education services, CREC has created the Office for Regional Efficiencies, and the new department will be managed by former Simsbury First Selectwoman Mary A. Glassman. Glassman, led the town of Simsbury for 16 years.The creation of the new department was officially announced at a January breakfast held at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford. At that time, Douglas, BlumShapiro, and management

consultant and strategist, James M. Kerr, highlighted possible areas where savings could be realized, including transportation, facilities management, food services, and information technology.Work is already underway to enable schools to optimize bus routes, to achieve economies of scale through cooperative purchasing programs, to lower costs for facilities operations, and to provide state-of-the-art technology systems.As manager of the CREC Office for

Regional Efficiencies, Glassman will work closely with the Municipal Opportunities and Regional Efficiencies (MORE) Commission, a bipartisan group of state and local officials charged with finding ways to make local government more efficient and affordable.“I’m excited to join CREC, and I look forward to using my municipal and legislative experience to find creative ways to fund education,” Glassman said.For more information, or to work with the CREC Office for Regional Efficiencies, call 860-240-6619.

CREC is now offering a family literacy and GED adult education program to members of the John C. Clark, Jr. Elementary and Middle School community.

John C. Clark, Jr. Elementary and Middle School is a Hartford public school, and CREC is the agency that manages instruction at the school. A new grant funds the 12-week program, and is is offered in partnership with Hartford Public Schools, CREC’s Institute of Teaching and Learning, and the Salvation Army.

During the program, participants will learn academic skills to prepare for the GED exam. They will also develop literacy skills that they can use in the home through the Raising Readers Parent Club, and they will participate in fun and enriching family field trips.

The program meets three days each week from 9 a.m. until noon at The Salvation Army on Nelson Street in Hartford. Childcare services are provided for parents of young children.

There are currently eight program participants. The program’s maximum enrollment is 15. For more information, or to register, contact Betsy at 860-509-3615, or bleborious@crec.org.

CREC Announces New Office for Regional Efficiencies

CREC Offers Clark Adult Education Program

On January 17, 10 children, who visit the CREC Family Resource Center, met members of the UConn women’s basketball team. In total, 50 children attended the event. The other students were chosen by Hartford Public Schools and the Wilson-Gray YMCA in Hartford, where the event was held.The event was organized by Barnum Financial Group and the Foundation for Life, and participants ranged in age from 7 years old to 10 years old. They participated in basketball exercises, got their T-shirts signed by the UConn players, and received free bicycles and helmets at the end of the event.

UConn Women’s Basketball Players Visit Wilson-Gray YMCA

CREC Photo: Members of the UConn women’s basketball team recently greeted CREC students at the Wilson-Gray YMCA.

8 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT – February 2015

Events and Updates (continued)

When you think of school cafeteria options, you usually don’t think of spicy roasted chickpeas. Yet, that’s just what students at the CREC International Magnet School for Global Citizenship recently sampled at lunch.The goal at CREC International Magnet School is to get students to try new, healthy foods, and the school is able to do so through a series of taste-testing events that are funded by part of a U.S. Department of Agriculture $5,000 Smarter Lunchroom Makeover grant. In addition to the federal agency, the grant is in collaboration with the Connecticut State Department of Education, the State Education Resource Center, the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, and the Cornell Center For Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs.The grant is designed to help implement new U.S. Department of Agriculture meal regulations, especially the regulations that require an increase in the consumption of fruits and vegetables. For example, new regulations require a student to select a fruit or vegetable as part of their reimbursable lunch. They must also choose at least one fruit serving at breakfast.This is a challenging task for many food service programs throughout the country. Some students are dissatisfied with healthy food options and mandated portion sizes. The cost of students eating healthier means an increase in food costs for providers, and there is a demanding timeline for implementing the new regulations.The grant helps CREC International Magnet School by using Cornell University research data and evidence-based strategies, and an assessment of the cafeteria environment at CREC International Magnet School began last winter.Based on the data collected, the school made a few changes to its cafeteria

this fall. For example, it rearranged the assortment of milk, added additional fruit and vegetable options along the serving line, and added signs that encourage fruit and vegetable selection. It also now holds the monthly test-tasting events, offering items made by CREC’s food services team, such as the spicy

roasted chickpeas.“I believe offering choices is the most important improvement we can make,” said CREC International Magnet School Principal Cindy Rigling. “Part of teaching children to eat healthy is to offer them choices.”The School Nutrition Association of Connecticut (SNACT) also believes that the grant and the taste-testing events will help everyone, especially the students, better embrace the new meal regulations.“It is important to engage students in their meal choices, and taste tests are a fantastic way to do that,” said Abby Kassman-Harned, President of SNACT. “Connecticut school food

service directors have made dramatic progress in improving the quality of meals served to children each and every day, and we continue to lead the way in providing healthier meals. We applaud CREC’s commitment to provide new and exciting food options to students.”

CREC Offers Students a Chance to Sample Healthy Food

CREC photo: Students at CREC’s International Magnet School for Global Citizenship sample spicy roasted chickpeas during lunch.

Annual Taste of Discovery Event Showcases Student Work

CREC photo: CREC’s Discovery Academy recently held its third annual Taste of Discovery event, which featured food tasting, entertainment, and showcased student work.