by | Oct 15, 2012 3:00 pm | Comments (26)
Melissa Bailey Photo
A scarecrow stands guard in the brand new Hill Central School library, greeting students who can’t come inside to browse or borrow books.
Continue reading ‘Missing From 6 School Libraries: Librarians’
by | Oct 10, 2012 8:33 am | Comments (0)
Melissa Bailey Photo
Teacher Martina Ramos & Assistant Principal Jaime Ramos canvass Fair Haven in August.
Parents, teachers and volunteers will be knocking on doors Saturday in the last of three school-related canvassing efforts.
by | Oct 10, 2012 8:11 am | Comments (8)
Melissa Bailey Photo
Teacher of the Year Low: Teachers “buy in” to new grading tool.
Of the 58 teachers flagged as low-performing last academic year, the school system helped 20 “up their game,” gave 10 another year to prove themselves, and ushered 28 out the door.
by | Oct 8, 2012 1:11 pm | Comments (1)
Melissa Bailey Photo
Students led their teachers out of school, onto a city bus, and to a housing complex they call “Skittles,” as they got a start rewriting a local history book with on-the-street scenes from New Haven neighborhoods.
by | Sep 27, 2012 6:29 pm | Comments (22)
Melissa Bailey Photo
With a new gift from President Obama, first-year teacher Lisa Kieslich may get relief from a new “super-sub” so she can spend a day learning classroom management tips from a newly dubbed “master teacher” in her school.
That was one vision of New Haven’s plans for a whopping new $53.4 million, five-year federal grant announced Thursday by Obama’s U.S. secretary of education, Arne Duncan.
by | Sep 24, 2012 4:21 pm | Comments (4)
Melissa Bailey Photo
Alex Nembhard squeezed the vise grips to break free a rusted bolt on a kid’s bicycle, as he got a fresh start on high school in a new type of classroom.
by | Sep 17, 2012 11:09 am | Comments (2)
Melissa Bailey Photo
Solanlly Canas had to tackle some tough math problems at home — and she had herself to thank.
by | Sep 13, 2012 8:25 am | Comments (2)
Melissa Bailey Photo
Rev. Boise Kimber and fellow ministers plan to knock on doors Saturday not for a voter drive, but to recruit African-American men to set their kids’ sights on college.
by | Sep 5, 2012 4:03 pm | Comments (13)
Melissa Bailey Photo
DeStefano (center right) & AFT President Weingarten (right).
Charlotte, N.C. —After a national teachers union flew him to Charlotte to pump his reform efforts, Mayor John DeStefano conceded what New Haven’s Board of Ed is “doing wrong” — failing to “relinquish power” to schools.
by | Aug 31, 2012 8:34 am | Comments (1)
On her first day of kindergarten Thursday, Tatianna Walker got an offer from a lady with “money in her pockets” so she can pursue her dream of becoming a teacher.
by | Aug 30, 2012 2:43 pm | Comments (1)
Melissa Bailey Photo
Who’s confused? Raised hands meant “me!”
How come we can’t call them freshmen — because “they ain’t fresh”? cracked one senior, as students tried to wrap their minds around some radical changes at the city’s newest turnaround school.
by | Aug 27, 2012 2:03 pm | Comments (4)
Melissa Bailey Photo
Lead custodian Licia Altieri readies High School in the Community.
They set out to invent a new kind of school. They created a national model — then failed to keep up with a changing student population. Their school hit the skids, only to reemerge with a new plan and new support to make a fresh start.
Continue reading ‘Frank Reports Detail Experiment’s Ups & Downs’
by | Aug 22, 2012 4:18 pm | Comments (1)
White House Livestream
As the White House heaped more praise on New Haven’s school reform team, the district held out hope that the plaudits will translate into money back home.
by | Aug 22, 2012 8:10 am | Comments (0)
Melissa Bailey Photo
Team Ramos.
Just one week before starting her first-ever day of school, Beyonce Gesel Calle Puma got a knock on the door, a book to read, and some help finding a shirt and skirt for a new school uniform.
by | Aug 20, 2012 8:20 am | Comments (3)
Melissa Bailey Photo
HSC “Building Leader” Erik Good.
Sixty-five freshmen are about to embark on a new journey to reimagine a high school education — one that may take three, five, or even six years, depending on how quickly they learn.
by | Aug 9, 2012 8:34 am | Comments (2)
Melissa Bailey Photo
Sheila Rivera had her son, a new Promise grant recipient, as a teen mom. Now they’re both pursuing college degrees.
Of the 115 city kids who scored New Haven Promise scholarships last year, 71 made it through freshman year of college with good enough grades to stay in the program. A new class Wednesday aimed to do better.
by | Jul 24, 2012 12:23 pm | Comments (4)
After her brother was killed by gunfire, and with no parents to turn to for help, Patricia Melton beat the odds and became a first-generation college graduate with a degree from Yale. Now she’s returning to New Haven to help kids not just get to college, but stick it out, too, the way she did.
Continue reading ‘New Boss Vows To Fulfill Promise’s 2nd Promise’
by | Jul 23, 2012 11:46 am | Comments (1)
Melissa Bailey Photo
Assistant Director Martha Canas helps serve family-style lunch.
A buzzing, bilingual preschool is set to double in size next month, after Catholic Charities snagged a share of 1,000 new pre‑K seats just allocated by Gov. Dannel Malloy.
by | Jul 20, 2012 3:00 pm | Comments (8)
Melissa Bailey Photo
Mayo applauds turnaround Principal Lott for double-digit gains.
Elementary schools inched one point closer to closing the achievement gap with the state, and high schools slipped backwards, as the city’s school reform effort failed to meet ambitious goals it set for standardized test scores.
by | Jul 19, 2012 4:19 pm | Comments (11)
Melissa Bailey Photo
Evelyn Hernaiz and Heroilda Posadas learned how to use a “wrap-up” to practice times tables, so they can help their kids enjoy math when they return to the classroom in the fall.
by | Jul 17, 2012 8:25 am | Comments (7)
Melissa Bailey Photo
Six months after leaving her beat as a schools reporter for the New Haven Register, Abbe Smith returned Monday to the Board of Education — this time as its incoming spokesperson.
by | Jul 11, 2012 5:15 pm | Comments (19)
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School reform czar Garth Harries and Superintendent Reggie Mayo announced survey results.
New Haven’s teachers union president Wednesday boycotted the unveiling of new school data that he called a glossing-over of serious problems — and that district officials hailed as a sign of success.
Continue reading ‘Union Prez Blasts “Not Credible” Data Dump’
by | Jul 3, 2012 11:41 am | Comments (9)
Natalie Missakian Photo
As the city prepares to turn over a high school to the teachers union, a statewide parent leader raised a question: Who will police the teachers?
by | Jun 27, 2012 1:07 pm | Comments (4)
Thomas MacMillan Photo
In the fall of next year, 120 city high school kids will report to a new Long Wharf campus to earn college credits and prepare for biotech and culinary jobs, according to the man tapped to make that happen.
by | Jun 25, 2012 11:13 am | Comments (0)
A first-generation college student is returning to New Haven to help city kids get the same chance she had.