School District Slammed On Hillhouse

“There are too many chiefs under one roof,” a former Hillhouse High School student — now a Hillhouse parent and city lawmaker — declared.

Applause broke from teachers and parents wearing sweatshirts that read ​“We Are Hillhouse” and ​“One Hillhouse, One Family.”

“Let’s not let this go out the door when we leave here,” said the former student-turned lawmaker, West Hills Alder Carlton Staggers.

For hours, others packed in the gallery of City Hall’s Aldermanic Chambers Wednesday night echoed Staggers’ concerns about having three principals for one school, an inconsistent grading system, unfilled teacher vacancies and poor scheduling.

Principals Zakiyyah Baker and David Diah offered a consistent response to the complaints: We know we have problems at Hillhouse. We’re working on them. You’ll see the results.

The back-and-forth took place at a hearing Wednesday night held by the Board of Alders Education Committee to allow the school community to air their concerns about recent changes made at the school.

Hillhouse has been divided into four mini-“academies,” with separate principals, aimed at giving students at the struggling school more individualized attention. Parents and students and teachers have complained repeatedly about problems with that new system since the school year began.

The hearing came a little more than a week after alders and members of the Board of Education took a tour of the school and spoke with teachers and students, finding that they like the current school structure but have concerns about how it is being managed.

At Wednesday night’s hearing, principals first presented their take on the school’s issues and proposed solutions. Then members of the public testified before the committee, followed by a discussion between committee members and Hillhouse administrators and district leaders.

Days before this school year started, the district announced its decision to add the fourth mini-“academy” within Hillhouse and rearrange the administrators. The school’s four academies are: Law Public Safety and Health (LPSH); Innovation, Design, Entrepreneurship and Action (IDEA); the new Social Media and Arts (SMART) for freshmen starting this year; and a College Career Readiness (CCR) for seniors. That CCR academy is being phased out by next year.

The school has three principals and three assistant principals leading its academies — one of the main factors those who testified said they would change about the school. Former Hillhouse students and staff returned to weigh in on a new structure that they agreed didn’t seem to run as smoothly anymore.

Managerial Malpractice”

Board of Ed members Darnell Goldson and Edward Joyner — one a former Hillhouse student, the other a former Hillhouse administrator and parent —also called for the school to have one principal.

“It is actually managerial malpractice to have three principals in the same building with the same authority,” Joyner said. ​“For those of you who are Christian, the only time the Trinity ever worked was the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

He expressed ​“empathy” for the three principals put in that position. ​“If that’s the case, let’s triple everything,” he said, jokingly.

He said problems like low standardized test scores and literacy rates are systemic and go beyond Hillhouse.

Former Principal Kermit Carolina received a round of applause as he walked up to the microphone. He said he, like the others in the room, were interested in ​“restoring Hillhouse to its former glory.”

The current structure was always ​“fated to doom,” he said, especially the three-principal model. Moving toward three autonomous academies each with its own set of resources and staff ​“fiscally is not possible,” he said. The biggest indicator of success for students is not standardized test scores, but rather the relationships they make with the people in the school building.

Just a quarter of students who enter the school are ready for high school, he said, so the graduation rates ​“should not be taken lightly,” he said.

Former Hillhouse teacher and alum Robert Gibson said that ​“anything with three heads is a freak of nature.” He made several recommendations for the school: reorganizing the academies so students are united instead of separated, keeping one principal and having assistant principals lead academies, providing teachers with necessary resources, replacing old technology, implementing a uniform grading system, and implementing a five-day week instead of a 4.5‑day week for students.

Progress Cited

Principals Baker and Diah explained the growth the school has experienced so far and their plans for addressing problems. The school’s graduation and college persistence rate have both increased steadily over the past several years, she said. In 2014 – 15, 87.5 freshmen were on track to graduation, having earned at least six credits.

Administrators continue to ​“keep our eye on” attendance and long-term enrollment, to ensure students stay in school, Baker said.

Baker mentioned some of the school’s successes this year: 70 percent of students have completed at least one college application compared to 68 percent by the end of last year. And 82 students so far have confirmed acceptances to colleges.

Diah listed some of the challenges and the action plans to address them. Baker was made ​“coordinating principal” to address the problems of communication and coordination among academies. The district allotted the school a federal Title I grant for technology and needed staff. District leaders are also helping Hillhouse administrators create a new plan for college and career counseling for students.

Baker listed the upcoming steps for the rest of the academic year. District leaders will go to the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) meeting April 27. The public is invited to the third campus-wide ​“vision meeting” May 5 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Hillhouse. Seniors in the CCR Academy will graduate June 16.

Superintendent Garth Harries was not present at Wednesday’s meeting. He planned to be there but could not, he said, and he wanted to let building leaders speak at the hearing.

Hillhouse Talks Back

Teachers, parents and students at the hearing shared their experiences with what they described as disorganized school leadership and lack of school resources. Many of the comments were repeated from the tour some alders took of the school March 8.

Science teacher Michele Moore, who talked to alders on the tour, said teachers ​“don’t feel like we have much of a voice in what’s going on right now.” She said they felt ​“hindered in our ability to effectively teach the kids.”

Benjamin Nelken, who left the school last year, sent a letter through star English teacher Jessica Zelenski to read at the hearing. A Hillhouse teacher since 1999, he said he left in 2015 when administrators prevented teachers and students from honoring Jacob Craggett, who was murdered in the summer of 2014.

Before that Nelken had expected to stay at the school indefinitely.

“But by early fall of the 2014 school year, it became very clear to me that this would no longer be my fate. When summer finally arrived I transferred to Coop[erative Arts & Humanities High School]. Following the same path as more than a few other talented teachers who have left Hillhouse in the last few years. And likely there will be more to come if things are not turned around quickly there,” he wrote.

“I hesitate to use the phrase ​‘turn-around’ because that is how they labeled the three restructuring efforts at Hillhouse that were forced upon us as a staff within a five year period. The phrase has been poisoned for me because of the deception and injustice that were associated with it, each time causing more damage to the students and staff at Hillhouse,” the letter reads.

Click here to read the full letter.

Hillhouse has lost many teachers in statewide shortage areas such as math and science — and not filled them.

Parent Meredith Benson said her son, who is a sophomore, spent a semester without a science teacher and that she was never directly notified. She blamed the longstanding teacher vacancy on the district. ​“How are students going to recoup that learning?” she asked.

Though she has been a member of the PTO and is often at the school, she did not find out that her son was missing a teacher until she went to a meeting and inquired directly. ​“I need for the school to have the support and resources it needs,” she said.

Organizational ​“Tragedy”

CCR Academy senior Jasmine Smith said low teacher morale, leading to teachers leaving the school, is also distressing students. ​“I shouldn’t have to come to school and hear my teachers complain to me about their jobs,” she said.

On top of that, the requirements for graduation have changed many times over the year, including the number of language credits and gym credits needed, she said. ​“The organization is a tragedy.”

Social studies teacher Vincenzo Sullo lobbied the committee to let teachers give a 10-minute presentation after the public comments, especially since administrators and ed board members had been allotted time to speak. The committee unanimously voted to allow the motion.

Sullo read aloud a document detailing the factors preventing students from thriving academically and socially at Hillhouse, including the following:

• Student class choices are limited, with some taking two gym classes because not enough electives are available.
• Not all students have two English classes, a primary class and an enrichment or remediation elective.
• The schedule shortens class time and disrupts the learning process.
• Inadequate special education and English language learner resources.
• Mastery-based learning at Hillhouse does not make students feel responsible for their work.
• Discipline and safety measures not cohesive.
• Just one guidance counselor and one part-time college advisor for students.
• Limited working technology and tech staff.

He also listed many of the concerns teachers have with the way the school is run, including the following:

• Information not communicated well.
• Fewer resources and support for teachers in academies, with large course loads.
• Disorganized, inconsistent professional development.
• New teachers not mentored.
• Teachers forced to push students through the system without needed skills in order to increase graduation rates.
• Teachers who teach the same classes in different academies are not provided with time to collaborate.
• Teachers who speak up about concerns or solutions to problems called ​“unprofessional.”
• Many teachers have left because administrators have intimidated them.

Click here to read the full document.

Hearing

East Rock Alder Anna Festa asked what school officials will do now in order to provide the necessary resources for the classrooms. She said she was disappointed Harries could not make it to the meeting.

Teachers are overwhelmed and ​“burnt out,” she said. ​“I expect to see changes in the classroom.” Festa agreed that three principals seems too many for the school to be successful.

Fair Haven Alder Santiago Berrios-Bones said students are not going to get credit for courses taught by teachers without certification.

Principal Diah stood by his decision not to fill a math position empty in the beginning of the school year. He let go a math teacher he hired who ​“didn’t have what it takes to teach our kids,” he said. ​“I’m not going to give kids a secondary education.”

Math is one of the shortage areas in the state and the position has been difficult to fill. ​“I stand by that decision as a leader,” he said. He called on district leaders to put more money into the schools so teachers did not have to fund their classrooms out-of-pocket, as he did as a math teacher.

East Rock Alder Jessica Holmes asked about the efficacy of the mastery-based learning model. Students and teachers expressed their concerns about mastery-based learning, being adopted throughout the district, which intends to focus students on building skills at their own paces instead of on grades. At Hillhouse, critics said, it is being adopted ineptly and unevenly across the academies.

Baker acknowledged implementing the model is a ​“growth area,” ultimately intended to ensure students leave the school knowing their skill areas of strength and those they need to work on. ​“I don’t want students to feel like they don’t have a rigorous program.”

Principal Baker, previously a teacher at Co-op High School, said she feels upset when she sees former students walking around the city without a plan for the future. She said administrators can do more and be more ​“creative” in helping those students, even without needed resources. ​“We started the year out trying to figure things out in a rush,” she said. ​“We need time to roll things out effectively.”

Can students take classes in other academies? asked Wooster Square Alder Aaron Greenberg.

There are students who do, Baker said. But ​“some things were messaged poorly at the beginning of the school year,” she said.

Can any student take a class in any academy? Greenberg asked.

“No,” came a shout from the audience.

School district Chief of Staff Lola Garcia-Blocker said it was clear that administrators had to rework scheduling ​“starting from scratch” for next year. ​“Students have to have the ability to take classes outside of their academies.”

Greenberg said the hearing will continue at a later date.