by | Nov 2, 2023 11:09 am | Comments (12)
NHPS
Hillhouse's new auditorium roof.
Hillhouse High School’s auditorium now has a new, leak-free roof thanks to a nearly $300,000 replacement job completed in six months, rather than a year — as was originally predicted for the construction.
Continue reading ‘Hillhouse Auditorium's Leaky Roof Replaced’
by | Nov 1, 2023 8:16 am | Comments (1)
In Ty Scurry’s advanced drama class …
…and Carissa Kee's dance class, at New Haven Academy.
In a dim and costume-filled drama classroom at New Haven Academy, time slowed down as an alien ran away from two space cadets looking to capture it.
Time then sped up, and back down again, as theater educator Tyheed Scurry gave the student actors a lesson in tempo.
Continue reading ‘Student Artists Run Like Aliens & Bankhead Bounce’
by | Oct 26, 2023 6:49 pm | Comments (0)
Eight schools were put on “modified” lockdown Thursday morning as police investigated two reports of shots fired on the east and west sides of town.
Continue reading ‘2 Shootings Lead To "Modified" Lockdowns At 8 Nearby Schools’
by | Oct 26, 2023 4:28 pm | Comments (14)
Maya McFadden photo
Incoming Roberto Clemente principal Adela Jorge.
A new principal is en route to Roberto Clemente Academy, thanks to the Board of Education’s appointment of longtime Waterbury administrator Adela Jorge to fill the shoes of the soon-to-retire Mia Edmonds-Duff.
Continue reading ‘New Clemente Principal Hired; 3 Veteran Teachers Retire’
by | Oct 25, 2023 4:40 pm | Comments (4)
Maya McFadden Photo
Wilbur Cross' Hispanic heritage panel Wednesday.
What do a retired educator, the city school district’s superintendent, an information technology director, a nonprofit program manager, a former New York City Councilman, and a social justice activist all have in common?
For one, they all love their Hispanic heritage.
They also all visited Wilbur Cross High School Wednesday morning.
Continue reading ‘Hispanic Heritage Celebrated At Wilbur Cross Panel’
by | Oct 25, 2023 12:50 pm | Comments (4)
Thomas Breen file photo
At Georgia Goldburn's Hope Child Development Center in October 2022.
More early childcare providers, higher wages for those teaching the city’s toddlers, and better help for parents struggling to find the right daycare or pre‑K for their kids.
Those are some changes that could happen here in New Haven, now that the city has committed $3.5 million in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act to help its struggling childcare system — so long as providers come through with proposals about how to spend the money.
by | Oct 24, 2023 4:35 pm | Comments (21)
Thomas Breen photo
The ex-Strong School site at 130 Orchard.
The vacant former Strong School on Orchard Street in the Hill will reopen its doors to the public this winter as a 47-space warming center — thanks to a Board of Education vote in support of creating more cold-weather shelter options for the city’s homeless.
Continue reading ‘Ex-School To Become Winter Overnight Shelter’
by | Oct 23, 2023 1:58 pm | Comments (11)
Maya McFadden Photo
Math teacher Charity Ann Chambers helps students "embrace mistakes."
As her ninth-grade students puzzled through box and dot plots, Achievement First Amistad High School math teacher Charity Ann Chambers urged them not to be discouraged. Sometimes, she said, “trying is more exemplary to me than accuracy.”
Continue reading ‘In Ms. Chambers' Class, "Math Is Everywhere"’
by | Oct 20, 2023 9:40 am | Comments (4)
Contributed photo
LaToya Howard (right) with Elm City Montessori's David Weinreb.
The following writeup was submitted by Elm City Montessori School to celebrate Thursday’s recognition of statewide parental involvement awardee LaToya Howard.
Elm City Montessori School parent and former NHPS T.A.P.S award winner LaToya Howard was honored at the Connecticut Family & Community Engagement Conference in Rocky Hill on Thursday as one of five recipients of this year’s State Education Resource Center (SERC) Parental Involvement Recognition Award.
Continue reading ‘Super Parent Honored For Family Organizing’
by | Oct 19, 2023 4:01 pm | Comments (18)
NHPS data
NHPS first-month suspension data from 2019 to 2023, with no data for 2020's remote year.
In-school and out-of-school suspensions are on the decline, with 151 taking place during the first month of the current school year — in comparison to 205 during that same time last year.
Even with that drop, the suspension numbers are still above where the district was pre-pandemic, when the district saw 142 suspensions in the first month of the 2019 school year.
Continue reading ‘After Covid Bump, Suspension Drop In Sight’
by | Oct 19, 2023 9:40 am | Comments (4)
Maya McFadden photo
Nathan Hale's Trudy Anderson on the Spanish-teaching job in class.
Nathan Hale Spanish teacher Trudy Anderson showed the seasons el invierno, la primavera, el verano, and el otoño on her classroom Smart Board then asked students “¿Cuál es tu favorito?”
“El verano,” answered Cameron Troutman.
“¿Por qué?” Anderson followed up.
“Es mi cumpleaños,” Troutman responded.
Continue reading ‘Language Learners Dive Head First Into Spanish’
by | Oct 18, 2023 3:33 pm | Comments (3)
Maya McFadden Photo
Alyssa Basso teaching her audiovisual class earlier this month.
STEM teacher Alyssa Basso landed a surprise recognition on Wednesday of her hard work making learning exciting and interactive for her students at John S. Martinez School — in the form of a Milken Educator Award, along with a $25,000 cash prize.
Continue reading ‘Star Martinez Teacher Wins $25K Milken Educator Award’
by | Oct 18, 2023 11:17 am | Comments (13)
Laura Glesby photos
Board of Ed members Ed Joyner and Darnell Goldson on Monday.
A team-building exercise prompted formerly-dueling Board of Education members Darnell Goldson and Ed Joyner to cheer each other on — in derailing that team-building exercise.
Continue reading ‘News Alert: Ed Board Members Getting Along’
by | Oct 17, 2023 4:33 pm | Comments (16)
Laura Glesby photo
Darnell Goldson at Monday's Board of Education meeting.
Darnell Goldson has officially ended his bid for reelection to the Board of Education, winding down a nearly eight-year stretch helping govern the school system — and leaving school board candidate Andrea Downer uncontested in her run to take Goldson’s place.
by | Oct 17, 2023 12:12 pm | Comments (4)
Maya McFadden Photo
Student broadcasters on set, ready to report.
John S. Martinez School eighth graders perfected the lights, turned on their camera, and were ready for the action of bringing back the school’s Sea Sky News broadcast.
Continue reading ‘"Sea Sky" Student Broadcasters Get The Scoop’
by | Oct 17, 2023 8:49 am | Comments (2)
Brian Slattery Photos
Jeremiah McCullough, Christopher Samuels, Azaad Mamoon.
All through the play Paradise Blue by Dominique Morisseau — running at New Haven Academy from Oct. 19 to Oct.21 — trumpeter Blue struggles with his music. He’s trying to play just the right note. Some days he gets close. Some days he’s a million miles away. But he’s starting to think he’s never going to get it. It’s an encapsulation of the conditions of his life, the way everything he has is starting to slip away from him. And it’s driving him a little crazy.
by | Oct 13, 2023 4:40 pm | Comments (9)
A student at Metropolitan Business Academy high school was tracked down by the U.S. Secret Service for an interview after allegedly posting an online threat against the president.
Continue reading ‘Secret Service Follows Up On Student's Online POTUS Threat’
by | Oct 13, 2023 12:22 pm | Comments (5)
Thomas Breen file photo
Albertus Magnus' parking lot solar array: Just the beginning.
Solar panel canopies are coming to the parking lots of Hill Central and Beecher schools, as part of a city school district effort to become more climate friendly and energy efficient.
by | Oct 10, 2023 10:18 am | Comments (1)
Maya McFadden photos
Emonie Jackson, mastering pop art with Hillhouse art teacher Rebecca LeQuire.
Carlos Kirklan: Art is "an escape," and a chance to create.
With pop artist Keith Haring in mind, Hillhouse High School junior Emonie Jackson imagined up a chicken leg, to-go cup, and ketchup bottle all with arms and legs — and then penned those images to paper, honing her own creative style and skills amid her classroom’s dive into recent art history.
by | Oct 6, 2023 12:26 pm | Comments (29)
Thomas Breen file photo
Outside of Fair Haven School in September, amid school-closing heat.
The school district currently has 12 repair workers to cover 56 buildings — posing perhaps the largest roadblock to keeping schools open amid heat waves.
Continue reading ‘School Maintenance Rx: "We Need More Staff"’
by | Oct 4, 2023 4:52 pm | Comments (20)
Frank Fanelli File Photo
Moisture bubbles and tears in the field house track as of Wednesday.
The city school district’s facilities team is sprinting towards a roughly $100,000 short-term fix for dozens of moisture bubbles and tears in the Floyd Little Athletic Center track surface — in the runup to a longer-term $1.3 million needed overhaul.
Continue reading ‘Floyd Little Track Repair Costs Bubble Up & Up’
by | Oct 4, 2023 11:47 am | Comments (4)
Maya McFadden photo
Principal Mia Edmonds-Duff, with her NHPS longevity award.
It wasn’t until Roberto Clemente Leadership Academy Principal Mia Edmonds-Duff looked over at a “longevity plaque” on her office desk thanking her for three decades of work in NHPS that she thought to herself: “I was having so much fun I didn’t realize how far along I was.”
With that revelation, Edmonds-Duff has decided that, after 38 years working for the city’s public school district, it’s now time to retire.
by | Oct 3, 2023 10:15 am | Comments (6)
NHPS slide
Maya McFadden photo
Supervisor of Elementary Reading and Language Arts Jennifer Tousignant.
In an effort to improve reading levels for the city school district’s youngest students, New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) has created a new 90-minute literacy block outline for kindergarten through third-grade educators — all based off of the district’s recently adopted core literacy program.
That block includes 30 minutes of phonics instruction, 20 minutes of whole group structured literacy learning, and 40 minutes of small group instruction.
Continue reading ‘New School Year, New Approach To Teaching Reading’
by | Oct 2, 2023 8:35 am | Comments (1)
Maya McFadden Photo
Best friends Monserrat Martinez and Dazani Hough: Ready for gym class.
As a white ball bounced towards Monserrat Martinez, the Roberto Clemente school sixth grader locked eyes with it — and then kicked it with all her might, sending it across the gymnasium and giving her the chance to sprint towards the safety of first base.
Continue reading ‘Kickball, & Push-Ups, & Staying Active In PE’
by | Sep 29, 2023 3:10 pm | Comments (19)
An overview of how the latest round of ESSER funds has been budgeted.
New Haven’s school system has spent over $37 million of the last batch of federal ESSER pandemic-relief funds — on everything from salaries to school supplies to HVAC upgrades — leaving $42.9 million still to spend by October of next year.