Newhallville Tour Bridges Teacher-Student Gap

While bussing around Newhallville, newly-hired Hillhouse, Nathan Hale, and Riverside psychologist Debbie Hull took note of hair braiding shops, faith centers, delis, green spaces, and transitional housing resources to share with her students this coming school year. 

Hull took in those sights during a New Haven Public Schools (NHPS)-organized bus tour around Newhallville for educators new to the school district. 

Kim Harris, principal of Newhallville’s Harris and Tucker preschool, led a group of 30 school staffers through the neighborhood Friday morning to connect them with student and family resources near the schools they’ll soon be teaching at.

Similar new-teacher tours took place Friday in Fair Haven, as led by Dave Weinreb, and in the Hill, as led by Danny Diaz, all in advance of the first day of school on Aug. 29. The tours were part of NHPS’ three-day new-educator orientation hosted at Barack H. Obama Magnet University School. (Click here to read about last year’s orientation.) Orientation is organized by Director of Professional Learning and Leadership Development Edith Johnson and several lead educators. 

As staff loaded onto a yellow school bus, Hillhouse physical education teacher and orientation staff lead Robert Voelker reminded the educators that there’s no fighting on the bus, no standing on the seats, and no hands out the windows. 

The first stop Friday for the Newhallville tour group was picking up Harris from her preschool on Newhall Street. Following Harris as she got onto the bus were a dozen middle school students from Harris and Tucker’s summer camp. The students tagged along for 15 minutes to hitch a ride to the Inspire Center at 324 Shelton Ave. to complete a neighborhood beautification project at around 10:30 a.m.

As the students loaded onto the bus, Harris encouraged them to introduce themselves to the group of teachers. They shared what schools they’re headed to this year, and the educators cheered and called out in response that they would be teaching at some of those same middle schools. 

Russhell McDuffie, a New Haven native who has been a NHPS paraprofessional for the past ten years, will this year step into a new role as a fifth- and sixth-grade special education teacher. She pointed out Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) buildings to her colleagues on the bus Friday and noted that this Wednesday she will begin classes at the university to finish her second year of a NHPS/SCSU teacher-certification program.

She said she was encouraged by Davis School administration to receive her teacher certification after supporting third- and fourth-grade special education classrooms for the past three years at Davis. 

The group stopped by the Shepard Street ​“Spruel Space,” a green space Harris also described as an adventure park, built out for youth by youth over the past three years. She noted to educators that the space will soon be decorated with QR codes for the community to learn about the types of trees and plants in the space. For now, she said, it’s a great space to introduce students for outdoor team-building activities — and mental health benches that have QR codes linking to support resources.

During the drive, educators shared that they were not new to the teaching profession but instead were arriving to New Haven after teaching in nearby districts like Waterbury and Naugatuck. 

Next the group headed to ConnCorp’s The Lab site at 265 Morse St. As the bus pulled up to the large brick building, Harris threw out a trivia question to the educators. ​“Anyone know what this used to be before The Lab? Anyone know the name?” 

The educators quickly responded that the building was once a school, and Harris shared that it was previously known as the ​“Newhall Street School.”

The group toured The Lab thanks to ConnCORP Community Liaison Daniel Hunt, who informed the educators of the different resources offered by the Black small business incubator space. Educators took note of the rental space, training room, and business offices available to community entrepreneurs. 

“It’s nice to know there’s a place like this,” newly-hired high school psychologist Debbie Hull told the group Friday. 

This school year, Hull will be a school psychologist at Hillhouse, Riverside, and Nathan Hale. This is her 21st year as a school psychologist, and she said she has a strong passion for alternative education. 

Her only experience being in New Haven was getting her master’s degree at SCSU, so she said the Friday tour around Newhallville provided her with dozens of resources to later bring to her students’ attention. 

“I want to be a resource and network for the students,” she said. She looks forward to the career opportunities discussed during Friday’s tour for her students who may not want to head to college. ​“These past three days have been amazing. I’ve never in 21 years had an orientation like this. No district has ever even thanked me for coming to them. I’m sorry it took me so long to get to New Haven.” 

During the ride, Harris continued to ask the group trivia questions like, ​“What two neighborhoods does Albertus Magnus College sit in?”

For a decade, McDuffie filled the gaps in K‑8 school buildings as a paraprofessional. Being at Davis for the past three years inspired her to pursue a new path despite her nerves. She hoped to work with students at the same middle school building she once attended in her youth. Several of her former Davis teachers have since shifted to her colleagues. 

A half hour into the tour the group made another stop on Shelton Avenue, this time at the Inspire Center, a nonprofit also run by Harris. She encouraged the educators to ​“window shop for information” along the center’s windows, covered in dozens of local flyers and event postings. ​“We sure hope you plan to make a trip over here,” Harris told the group. 

The center’s staffer Carmella Ricciardelli showed the teachers art projects made by local youth and said she will soon send letters to each public school for teachers to opt into an ongoing art exhibit and competition for student artists.

McDuffie said she believes the Friday bus tours are very important for any educator who isn’t familiar with New Haven. ​“It helps them to be culturally competent with the students by understanding them and where they’re from.” 

She added that her upbringing in New Haven, particularly West Hills and the Hill, has helped her to connect with her students over the years — from showing them her school pictures to reminding them that there’s ​“no shame in where you come from.” 

“You’ve got to know about these programs for the kids and their families. It makes you a stronger teacher and person,” she said. 

The group also passed by King/Robinson school, where Harris pointed out a community park with a garden, splash pad, and fishing dock within walking distance of the school. The group paused for Harris to point out 660 Winchester Ave., which she said can be a transitional housing resource for NHPS families that educators can provide as a resource. 

And then to ConnCAT’s Orchid Cafe in Science Park. ​“If you have students that are graduating out of high school and maybe don’t want to go to college, they can do job training here,” Harris said. 

Before the group’s final stop, Harris reminded the educators that their work will include helping to ​“build out a village for families.” 

She encouraged staff to take students on trips around the neighborhood because ​“if they don’t see beautiful things, what do you know? If they’re not getting it from us, most of these kids from the inner city of New Haven are not getting it from home.” 

The group’s final stop was the Learning Corridor where Doreen Abubakar popped on the bus to share about the green space’s outdoor gym, free Saturday pancake breakfast program, bike repair classes, urban ecology classes, and native plant nursery. She encouraged educators to pick up native plants on Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. to build out butterfly gardens at their schools. 

Harris also pointed out a plot of land being established in the Newhallville Community Garden on Shelton Avenue which will offer a garden space for all 37 streets in Newhallville. 

Before departing the bus Friday, the group noted Harris’s contact and clapped for Newhallville native and Friday bus driver Lesly Crockett, who made the tour seamless for the group and was able to answer most historic trivia questions about Newhallville. 

Harris said the Friday tour was important for exposing educators to what’s happening outside the classroom and showing them that resources for them and their students exist. 

On Friday’s third tour around the Hill, Roberto Clemente fifth- and sixth-grade teacher Carmen Cordova-Rolon said she quickly discovered New Haven’s cultural diversity. This year is Cordova-Rolon’s 11th year of teaching. She previously taught at a Title l school in Texas and in Waterbury most recently. 

“The tour helped me to see the melting pot of New Haven,” she said. ​“And how rich New Haven is with newcomers.” 

She said she looks forward to spending the school year building up critical thinkers in her classroom who are not easily swayed by peer pressure. She concluded that she aims for her classroom to be a space where she and her students can learn from each other. ​“These kids are going through things I’ve never experienced in my life and they come to school with baggage and obstacles but they’re still here and I want them to know I appreciate that,” she said. ​“I’m very exited to be a teacher in New Haven.”