Nicolás Medina Mora Pérez Photo
Mayo speaks with a grandparent after Monday night’s meeting.
Move meetings to a central location with better parking. Make the boardroom’s layout less intimidating. Jettison Robert’s Rules of Order. Schedule “public participation on matters of general concern” before the long superintendent’s report.
The Board of Education took under consideration these and other suggestions for communicating better with people and getting people more involved in its meetings. They were tackling one of the unmet major challenges of school reform: public participation.
The proposals were put forth at a regular full board meeting Monday night at board headquarters on Meadow Street, where, as often happens, just a handful of members of the general public showed up and spoke.
Assistant Superintendent of Schools Garth Harries presented a list of suggestions for better public participation. The ideas came out of a recent retreat.
Click here to see Harries’ full presentation.
He made the presentation in the board’s usual meeting space, a long, narrow room on the second floor of a building that once housed a railroad company. It has harsh, halogen lighting and a dark gray carpet. At the far end is a raised platform with a horseshoe-shaped table for the board’s members. In front of each seat rest a microphone and a small plastic plate with the member’s name, not unlike the ones seen at the U.N.‘s General Assembly. Facing the platform is a lonely podium that resembles the accused’s bench at a court martial. Behind it are several dozen chairs open for the general public, the vast majority of which remained empty throughout the meeting.
In an effort to make the room more amenable, the board solicits artwork from public school students. Colorful paintings, drawings, and sculptures adorn the walls.
“I was just at the Museum of Modern Art in New York,” remarked board President Carlos A. Torre. “And I have to tell you — this is better.”
While the talent of New Haven’s students is undeniable, board members have concluded that more needs to be done.
Harries (right).
The meeting opened with Superintendent Reggie Mayo’s report. Mayo called on Garth Harries (pictured) to present an update on the board’s March 31 retreat. Harries, a former McKinsey consultant, handed out hard copies of a PowerPoint presentation full of divisions and subdivisions detailing procedures to make mountains of school-performance data easily understandable for the board’s members and the public.
Later, Harries presented his proposals on “Board practices,” all of which related to public communications. His three main suggestions: “Create a more prominent link for Board materials on the New Haven Public Schools website.” “Consider a single alternate location for Board meetings.” And “develop a working calendar of community events and workshops to inform and orchestrate board participation.”
Florence Caldwell, one of the two members of the public who spoke at the meeting.
After that, Torre opened the floor to the general public. Only two people spoke. One of them was Florence Caldwell (pictured), an active grandparent who has attended board meetings regularly for years.
“At the risk of dating myself,” Caldwell said from the podium, her back to the audience, “[the change of location] has been discussed before. That’s why we ended up here.” Caldwell went on to comment about the board’s use of strict parliamentary procedure. “We all know about Robert’s Rules of Order,” she said, “but I think that parents would prefer a less formal setting.”
No discussion took place of the treatment parents have received when they’ve shown up to question the board — such as the time a parent’s complaints elicited a tirade from a school principal, or this encounter over the superintendent’s method of dealing with parents.
Torre spoke with members of the public.
After the meeting adjourned, President Torre (pictured) was asked about the absence of members of parents and members of the general public from the meeting, Torre acknowledged the problem, and explained that it is not unique to New Haven.
“Across the country, parents don’t participate as much as they could — maybe even not as much as they should,” he said. “Part of it is because many of them work one or several jobs, and they just don’t have time. But part of it is the place where we meet, for example. People can’t park here, and we can’t afford to validate their tickets at the garage next door.”
“And then there’s layout of the room,” he went on, glancing at the grim boardroom. “It looks like you need a lawyer to comment here. All that needs to change.”
The Board of Ed has also been without a director of communications since the previous occupant stepped down on Dec. 23. The board’s website still lists him as occupying his old position. The Bbard has posted a public announcement about the open job.