Schools’ College & Career Chief Resigns

Dolores Garcia-Blocker, the district’s head of college and career readiness who once sought to become superintendent herself, is joining the exodus of top administrators leaving New Haven.

A 15-year administrator, Garcia-Blocker had worked on getting more kids through high school and into college. She sent in her resignation letter on Monday, as she heads for a job in Hartford’s public schools.

In 2004, Garcia-Blocker became principal at Cooperative Arts & Humanities High School, eventually overseeing the move-in to the new College Street campus, just down the block from partners at the the Shubert Theater and Yale’s Old Campus.

At the time, she said, ​“My vision at Co-Op is that our students get in effect a private school quality education and graduate with what they need to succeed in college and beyond.”

In 2011, she was promoted to the district’s guidance supervisor, and in 2013, she climbed another step up to a newly created role as the district’s director of college and career pathways.

Garcia-Blocker said then-Superintendent Garth Harries created the role for her, after she received her certification to work as a superintendent, to align the school district’s instruction with the ​“expectations of higher education and industry,” work that she wants to continue to focus on.

Overseeing counselors, talented and gifted students, alternative schools and vocational training, she took on the task of trying to ease the transition to high school and improve students’ chances of getting into college.

In 2017, after a brief stint as Harries’s chief of staff, Garcia-Blocker put in her name for the top job in the city’s schools. She was one of three local candidates who made it to the semifinal round in the contentious superintendent search.

Recently, she’s been focused on creating a new partnership with Gateway Community College to provide career training to students who are struggling with more traditional academics.

“I hope people remember me as someone who cared deeply about children and their futures, who really worked hard to put systems and structures in place to support their academic and social-emotional growth and who really galvanized the adults that were around them, treating them with dignity and respect for the professionals that they are,” Garcia-Blocker said. ​“It’s tough work, but I truly believe if you nurture them and create a culture where people can make mistakes and still be supported, they give 100 percent — and then some — to support the vision.”

In a Monday night email to board members, Superintendent Carol Birks said she would ​“work collaboratively with her to ensure a smooth transition,” including determining her final day of work.

“We thank Dr. Garcia Blocker for her leadership and service to the District,” Birks wrote. ​“She will be missed by many members of our Learning Community.”

In Hartford, Garcia-Blocker will be the executive director of instructional leadership, likely overseeing the comprehensive high schools and their feeder middle schools. She said that she’s taking the job as a way to develop ​“in ways that I have not been able to grow in New Haven,” which she said Superintendent Birks has asked her to explain in more detail in an exit interview. She said that she will probably leave New Haven in late August.

A spokesperson for Hartford’s school district did not respond to an email on Tuesday morning.

This school year, top administrators have been leaving in droves. In the past few months, the district has lost Deputy Superintendent Ivelise Velazquez, Chief Operating Officer Will Clark, Assistant Superintendent for Instructional Leadership Gil Traverso, Director of English Language Learners Abie Benitez, Special Education Supervisor Patrica Moore, Labor Relations Officer Vallerie Hudson-Brown and High School Arts Director Timothy Jones.

Five principals — Ross-Woodward’s Cheryl Herring-Brown, Riverside’s Larry Conaway, Clemente’s Pam Franco, Barnard’s Rosalyn Bannon and Edgewood’s Shanta Smith — also said they won’t be coming back next school year.

Since this spring, 73 teachers have also submitted their resignations. Many of them work in shortage areas, including 13 special-education teachers, 8 math teachers and 2 math coaches, 6 science teachers, 3 bilingual teachers and 1 TESOL teacher — all subjects where Connecticut schools struggle to find qualified teachers.