Hartford was for a long time the lowest performing school district in the state and so our task revolved around closing the achievement gap for our students.
We made great progress in that over the last two years.
We’ve seen most of our schools come up to much higher achievement levels; at the same time we have been successful in opening new schools that have attracted parents from all over the city and the region that are also high achieving. So if you look at the portfolio of schools that we offer to the public today, it’s a much higher achieving portfolio and our students are doing much better.
The kind of achievement that you see at our schools, what are students can accomplish, is very reflective of our system as a whole and the fact that when our students are provided the opportunity to attend a good school, they will excel the same as any child in the nation.
I am so excited to have our students back in school. We are looking forward to another great year and another year of gains and closing the achievement gap further for the children of Hartford.
I want to thank all the parents who have been so supportive in all of our schools. We had our children on time, in uniform and ready to learn. Our families have just been incredibly supportive of their schools and their students getting everything out of the education being offered.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
Sustaining Progress In A Turbulent Economy
Pursuant to Connecticut State Statute and the Charter of the City of Hartford, I submitted to the Hartford Board of Education on March 3, 2009 a recommended operating budget for fiscal year 2009-2010.
The budget reflects progress on two important ideals reflected in the Core Beliefs and Commitments, and the Goals adopted by the board in September 2008.
In keeping with its commitment to value every child, the board adopted its first Student Based Budget (SBB), creating a fair and equitable system in which each student is funded by an appropriate grade-level allocation with the funding adjusted on the basis of his/her educational needs.
These resources follow the child to the school his or her parents choose. To maintain stability in a system with significant funding inequities among schools, the adjustment to Student Based Budgeting is occurring in stages over three years. One-third of this “equity gap” was closed for 2008-09 and two-thirds has been closed through this budget in 2009-2010.
To fulfill another major policy objective, 70 percent of available resources have been allocated to schools and classrooms to support instruction. Central office and central services are limited to 30 percent of the budget, which reflects the national average for public school districts and contrasts to less than one-half of resources spent in schools and classrooms by the Hartford Public Schools in 2006-07. Achieving the 70/30 percent goal required a 20 percent reduction in central office/central services, including the reduction of more than 40 current district level positions.
There are two major threats to the financial solvency of Hartford schools for 2009-10. The first is inherent in the implementation of the Sheff v. O’Neil settlement. The second is in the national recession and the resulting state revenue crisis. Together, they double the financial challenge our schools face when compared to others in the state and nation.
The Sheff quotas for Hartford minority students attending school in a racially desegregated setting will increase from the current 19 percent to 27 percent in 2009-2010. This quota can grow to 41 percent of Hartford’s students over the next five years.
The Sheff settlement agreement allows for no new magnet schools in Hartford and no suburban district has agreed to host a new magnet school. Next year’s quota, therefore, would have to be achieved through a loss of Hartford students and revenue to tuition-charging schools operated by the Capital Regional Education Council (CREC) and the bussing of Hartford students to suburban schools on a space-available basis through the “Open Choice” program.
Hartford enrollment will decrease as a result by an estimated 3.5 percent and payment to CREC will increase to approximately $6 million for 2009-2010. A 10 percent tuition increase will also occur if the legislature does not act to limit tuition increases by Regional Educational Service Centers, such as CREC, as proposed by the State Department of Education. Moreover, the current failure of the SDE to reimburse Hartford for the full cost of suburban transportation, unless corrected by the legislature, will create a financial loss for Hartford of $3M, meaning that resources for the education of Hartford students would be reallocated to bus suburban students.
Two-thirds of the budget for Hartford schools is supported by the state through the Education Cost Sharing (ECS) grant. Our dependence on ECS funding is proportionately higher than any other school district in Connecticut because of Hartford’s disproportionate rate of poverty and non-taxable property.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s proposed budget projects flat funding (2008-2009 level) for ECS in 2009-10 and 2010-11. The loss of the 4 percent ECS “hold-harmless” provision received in previous years creates the need to reduce more than $14 million in existing personnel and services to cover the higher cost of remaining staff and services. This includes a modest increase in salaries for the 12 labor unions that have collective bargaining agreements with the Board of Education, a significant escalation of employee and retiree health insurance costs and anticipated increases in other contracted services such as transportation and utilities.
Furthermore, the lack of full funding in the governor’s budget for more than 2,000 suburban students attending Hartford host magnet schools will require Hartford to charge tuition to the 52 suburban districts whose children Hartford educates.
This dual challenge requires a dual response:
When 80 percent of Hartford’s minority families choose Hartford schools for their children, Sheff will come to a close. This “demand principle” of the Sheff settlement agreement enables our system of schools to compete. It gives urgency to our two highest priorities: the replacement of chronically low-performing schools with high-performing schools of choice and the improvement of existing schools to reach the “Goal Range” of student achievement as measured by Connecticut state assessments.
The national economic recession and resulting state revenue crisis requires that we look at our reform plan through an even sharper lens. In our small state of 167 school districts, the deficit will herald an era of more affordable government and inevitably less government. Both President Obama and Gov. Rell have counseled that we must separate the things we would like to have from the things we must have.
Regardless of how robust our plans may be, sustaining our brief progress in an environment of reduced resources will require a laser-like focus on budgetary priorities that provide the greatest leverage in closing the achievement gap, defeating Hartford’s literacy crisis and enabling more students to graduate high school prepared to attend a four-year college.
These are the “must haves” and they must be the respected priorities of each of our schools. Supporting this focused work must be the priority of our district replacing what we have done before. Reform measures necessary to close the achievement gap cannot be an additive to the current attributes of the existing system; they must replace them.
We must manage our resources more judiciously and effectively than ever before and take advantage of the opportunities presented by the deficit’s challenge to the status quo to create the higher-performing schools our community and region must have. We must work relentlessly at this until every child in Hartford can attend a great public school and our state’s achievement gap is closed.
The budget reflects progress on two important ideals reflected in the Core Beliefs and Commitments, and the Goals adopted by the board in September 2008.
In keeping with its commitment to value every child, the board adopted its first Student Based Budget (SBB), creating a fair and equitable system in which each student is funded by an appropriate grade-level allocation with the funding adjusted on the basis of his/her educational needs.
These resources follow the child to the school his or her parents choose. To maintain stability in a system with significant funding inequities among schools, the adjustment to Student Based Budgeting is occurring in stages over three years. One-third of this “equity gap” was closed for 2008-09 and two-thirds has been closed through this budget in 2009-2010.
To fulfill another major policy objective, 70 percent of available resources have been allocated to schools and classrooms to support instruction. Central office and central services are limited to 30 percent of the budget, which reflects the national average for public school districts and contrasts to less than one-half of resources spent in schools and classrooms by the Hartford Public Schools in 2006-07. Achieving the 70/30 percent goal required a 20 percent reduction in central office/central services, including the reduction of more than 40 current district level positions.
There are two major threats to the financial solvency of Hartford schools for 2009-10. The first is inherent in the implementation of the Sheff v. O’Neil settlement. The second is in the national recession and the resulting state revenue crisis. Together, they double the financial challenge our schools face when compared to others in the state and nation.
The Sheff quotas for Hartford minority students attending school in a racially desegregated setting will increase from the current 19 percent to 27 percent in 2009-2010. This quota can grow to 41 percent of Hartford’s students over the next five years.
The Sheff settlement agreement allows for no new magnet schools in Hartford and no suburban district has agreed to host a new magnet school. Next year’s quota, therefore, would have to be achieved through a loss of Hartford students and revenue to tuition-charging schools operated by the Capital Regional Education Council (CREC) and the bussing of Hartford students to suburban schools on a space-available basis through the “Open Choice” program.
Hartford enrollment will decrease as a result by an estimated 3.5 percent and payment to CREC will increase to approximately $6 million for 2009-2010. A 10 percent tuition increase will also occur if the legislature does not act to limit tuition increases by Regional Educational Service Centers, such as CREC, as proposed by the State Department of Education. Moreover, the current failure of the SDE to reimburse Hartford for the full cost of suburban transportation, unless corrected by the legislature, will create a financial loss for Hartford of $3M, meaning that resources for the education of Hartford students would be reallocated to bus suburban students.
Two-thirds of the budget for Hartford schools is supported by the state through the Education Cost Sharing (ECS) grant. Our dependence on ECS funding is proportionately higher than any other school district in Connecticut because of Hartford’s disproportionate rate of poverty and non-taxable property.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s proposed budget projects flat funding (2008-2009 level) for ECS in 2009-10 and 2010-11. The loss of the 4 percent ECS “hold-harmless” provision received in previous years creates the need to reduce more than $14 million in existing personnel and services to cover the higher cost of remaining staff and services. This includes a modest increase in salaries for the 12 labor unions that have collective bargaining agreements with the Board of Education, a significant escalation of employee and retiree health insurance costs and anticipated increases in other contracted services such as transportation and utilities.
Furthermore, the lack of full funding in the governor’s budget for more than 2,000 suburban students attending Hartford host magnet schools will require Hartford to charge tuition to the 52 suburban districts whose children Hartford educates.
This dual challenge requires a dual response:
When 80 percent of Hartford’s minority families choose Hartford schools for their children, Sheff will come to a close. This “demand principle” of the Sheff settlement agreement enables our system of schools to compete. It gives urgency to our two highest priorities: the replacement of chronically low-performing schools with high-performing schools of choice and the improvement of existing schools to reach the “Goal Range” of student achievement as measured by Connecticut state assessments.
The national economic recession and resulting state revenue crisis requires that we look at our reform plan through an even sharper lens. In our small state of 167 school districts, the deficit will herald an era of more affordable government and inevitably less government. Both President Obama and Gov. Rell have counseled that we must separate the things we would like to have from the things we must have.
Regardless of how robust our plans may be, sustaining our brief progress in an environment of reduced resources will require a laser-like focus on budgetary priorities that provide the greatest leverage in closing the achievement gap, defeating Hartford’s literacy crisis and enabling more students to graduate high school prepared to attend a four-year college.
These are the “must haves” and they must be the respected priorities of each of our schools. Supporting this focused work must be the priority of our district replacing what we have done before. Reform measures necessary to close the achievement gap cannot be an additive to the current attributes of the existing system; they must replace them.
We must manage our resources more judiciously and effectively than ever before and take advantage of the opportunities presented by the deficit’s challenge to the status quo to create the higher-performing schools our community and region must have. We must work relentlessly at this until every child in Hartford can attend a great public school and our state’s achievement gap is closed.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
A New Tradition: Academic Awards
This year, Hartford Public Schools presented its first-ever Academic Awards. More than 100 students from 29 elementary schools and their families were honored for excellence in reading, mathematics, science and perfect attendance.
Judging from the loud applause for the winners and the hundreds of snap shots that parents took, the ceremony held at our Sport and Medical Sciences Academy was a huge success.
Our hope is that, as the awards become a tradition in Hartford Public Schools, more students will strive to achieve this important recognition.
Vastly improved student success is the main objective of our reform strategy of creating an all-choice system of high-performing schools. The district expects to make the awards an annual event that showcases student success and, in so doing, builds on the momentum we’ve created to close the achievement gap. A second ceremony for high-achieving secondary school students will be held later in the year.
Last year, our students scored the first increase in seven years on both the Connecticut Mastery Test and the Connecticut Academic Performance Test. The increase in the percentage of students within goal range on the CMT was more than three times the statewide average.
A total of 16 schools improved meaningfully over the previous year, while four schools moved down in achievement for an unprecedented net gain of 12 schools that surpassed expectations.
We raised the cohort (four-year) graduation rate by 7 percentage points – from 29 percent to 36 percent. In 2008-2009, we also opened 11 new high-achievement academies and learning centers and approved five more for 2009-2010.
The awards have the potential of motivating further success. They are based on three principal criteria, devised by Dr. James Thompson, the district’s assistant superintendent for elementary schools, and his staff.
The first requirement is that the student must have reached a Level 4 or Level 5 on the CMT. Level 5 is the highest score that a student can achieve.
The second requirement is that the student be a positive role model for his or her peers. He or she must be of good character, show leadership, have no suspensions or lateness’s on record, always come to school in uniform, have excellent behavior and perform some form of community service.
Finally, the student must display a passion for the subject matter for which he or she is receiving the award.
We look forward to many more Academic Award ceremonies.
Judging from the loud applause for the winners and the hundreds of snap shots that parents took, the ceremony held at our Sport and Medical Sciences Academy was a huge success.
Our hope is that, as the awards become a tradition in Hartford Public Schools, more students will strive to achieve this important recognition.
Vastly improved student success is the main objective of our reform strategy of creating an all-choice system of high-performing schools. The district expects to make the awards an annual event that showcases student success and, in so doing, builds on the momentum we’ve created to close the achievement gap. A second ceremony for high-achieving secondary school students will be held later in the year.
Last year, our students scored the first increase in seven years on both the Connecticut Mastery Test and the Connecticut Academic Performance Test. The increase in the percentage of students within goal range on the CMT was more than three times the statewide average.
A total of 16 schools improved meaningfully over the previous year, while four schools moved down in achievement for an unprecedented net gain of 12 schools that surpassed expectations.
We raised the cohort (four-year) graduation rate by 7 percentage points – from 29 percent to 36 percent. In 2008-2009, we also opened 11 new high-achievement academies and learning centers and approved five more for 2009-2010.
The awards have the potential of motivating further success. They are based on three principal criteria, devised by Dr. James Thompson, the district’s assistant superintendent for elementary schools, and his staff.
The first requirement is that the student must have reached a Level 4 or Level 5 on the CMT. Level 5 is the highest score that a student can achieve.
The second requirement is that the student be a positive role model for his or her peers. He or she must be of good character, show leadership, have no suspensions or lateness’s on record, always come to school in uniform, have excellent behavior and perform some form of community service.
Finally, the student must display a passion for the subject matter for which he or she is receiving the award.
We look forward to many more Academic Award ceremonies.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Leiglative Priorities for Hartford Public Schools
The State of Connecticut’s financial crisis is threatening to hold back the rate of progress that Hartford is making to close the worst-in-the-nation achievement gap between low-income urban students and their suburban counterparts.
Our challenge in the coming year will be to weather the state’s economic predicament while maintaining the promising but fragile measures and capacity that have led to the recent learning improvements of Hartford students.
According to the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now (ConnCAN), Hartford secured more than three times the gains in the percentage of students within goal range on the Connecticut Mastery Test than the statewide average.
The threat to our progress is based on the fact that Hartford has the highest rate of poverty and one of the lowest amounts of taxable property per capita among Connecticut’s 169 school districts. As such, Hartford depends on state revenue for about two-thirds of its operating budget, more any other district in Connecticut. The vehicle for state support is the Educational Cost Sharing grant (ECS).
Hartford’s dependence on ECS funding means that the district experiences the greatest volatility in times of economic recession.
Like every school district, about 80 percent of the budget for Hartford schools pays for salaries and benefit costs. Most of the remaining 20 percent is fixed costs. Short of operating fewer days, it is unrealistic to think that an adjustment to a lower percentage of state revenue can be made without a significant reduction in personnel. Such a reduction will, by extension, reduce General Budget allocations that directly impact our reform efforts.
In its 2009-2010 proposed budget, the State Department of Education made three optional proposals to deal with the fiscal crisis: a) Reduce the ECS grant by 12.3 percent; b) Reduce the ECS grant by 6.5 percent and reduce categorical grants by 18.81 percent; c) Reduce categorical grants by 37.62 percent.
It is estimated that Proposal A would lower the district’s general budget by at least $23 million, while Proposal B would lower the budget by at least $12 million.
Hartford Public Schools has followed up the state’s proposals with its own set of legislative priorities for 2009-2010:
1) PROTECT THE ECS “HOLD HARMLESS INCREASE – Under ECS, the district budget increases 4.5 percent per year to cover wage and benefit cost increases in its 12 collective bargaining contracts and operating contracts such as transportation. The estimated increase for 2009-2010 is about $7.5 million or $333 per student. Without it, the district must reduce personnel and services to fund wage and benefit increases.
2) SUPPORT ECS FUNDING OVER CATEGORICAL FUNDING.
3) TIE REDUCTIONS IN ECS FUNDING TO A REDUCTION IN THE MINIMUM NUMBER OF OPERATING DAYS REQUIRED OF DISTRICTS – Operating for fewer days is the highest-value lever in reducing operational costs. In Hartford, a $13.8 million shortfall could be absorbed by operating eight fewer school days, about 4 percent of the academic year.
4) FULLY FUND “PAYMENT IN LIEU OF TAXES” (PILOT) – The intent of PILOT programs is to compensate cities and towns for real property tax losses due to exemptions applicable to state-owned property, private colleges and general and free standing chronic disease hospitals. The value of PILOT to Hartford is significant, considering that 50 percent of all real property in the city is non-taxable. Full funding of PILOT translates into an additional $10 million for Hartford.
5) SUPPORT DEVELOPMENT OF A GREATER HARTFORD UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT -- The issue of rising costs and diminished revenues is exponentially magnified in Connecticut because the state has 169 municipalities, all raising revenue to support education at the same time. That is a good starting point for regionalization. The creation of a Greater Hartford Unified School District would allow neighboring communities to create economies of scale that would: a) Reduce unnecessary duplication of programs and services; b) Remove duplicative administrative structures and excessive administrative costs; c) Provide volume purchasing power; d) Allow for decreased costs in transportation through a consolidated system; e) Provide a larger health care benefits pool; f) Reduce economic and racial isolation for students; g) Equitably distribute resources.
The state of our reform requires stability to be sustained. We believe abovementioned set of legislative priorities offer the best possible means of continuing our progress toward closing the achievement gap while enduring the state’s financial crisis. We invite your comments on our recommendations.
Our challenge in the coming year will be to weather the state’s economic predicament while maintaining the promising but fragile measures and capacity that have led to the recent learning improvements of Hartford students.
According to the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now (ConnCAN), Hartford secured more than three times the gains in the percentage of students within goal range on the Connecticut Mastery Test than the statewide average.
The threat to our progress is based on the fact that Hartford has the highest rate of poverty and one of the lowest amounts of taxable property per capita among Connecticut’s 169 school districts. As such, Hartford depends on state revenue for about two-thirds of its operating budget, more any other district in Connecticut. The vehicle for state support is the Educational Cost Sharing grant (ECS).
Hartford’s dependence on ECS funding means that the district experiences the greatest volatility in times of economic recession.
Like every school district, about 80 percent of the budget for Hartford schools pays for salaries and benefit costs. Most of the remaining 20 percent is fixed costs. Short of operating fewer days, it is unrealistic to think that an adjustment to a lower percentage of state revenue can be made without a significant reduction in personnel. Such a reduction will, by extension, reduce General Budget allocations that directly impact our reform efforts.
In its 2009-2010 proposed budget, the State Department of Education made three optional proposals to deal with the fiscal crisis: a) Reduce the ECS grant by 12.3 percent; b) Reduce the ECS grant by 6.5 percent and reduce categorical grants by 18.81 percent; c) Reduce categorical grants by 37.62 percent.
It is estimated that Proposal A would lower the district’s general budget by at least $23 million, while Proposal B would lower the budget by at least $12 million.
Hartford Public Schools has followed up the state’s proposals with its own set of legislative priorities for 2009-2010:
1) PROTECT THE ECS “HOLD HARMLESS INCREASE – Under ECS, the district budget increases 4.5 percent per year to cover wage and benefit cost increases in its 12 collective bargaining contracts and operating contracts such as transportation. The estimated increase for 2009-2010 is about $7.5 million or $333 per student. Without it, the district must reduce personnel and services to fund wage and benefit increases.
2) SUPPORT ECS FUNDING OVER CATEGORICAL FUNDING.
3) TIE REDUCTIONS IN ECS FUNDING TO A REDUCTION IN THE MINIMUM NUMBER OF OPERATING DAYS REQUIRED OF DISTRICTS – Operating for fewer days is the highest-value lever in reducing operational costs. In Hartford, a $13.8 million shortfall could be absorbed by operating eight fewer school days, about 4 percent of the academic year.
4) FULLY FUND “PAYMENT IN LIEU OF TAXES” (PILOT) – The intent of PILOT programs is to compensate cities and towns for real property tax losses due to exemptions applicable to state-owned property, private colleges and general and free standing chronic disease hospitals. The value of PILOT to Hartford is significant, considering that 50 percent of all real property in the city is non-taxable. Full funding of PILOT translates into an additional $10 million for Hartford.
5) SUPPORT DEVELOPMENT OF A GREATER HARTFORD UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT -- The issue of rising costs and diminished revenues is exponentially magnified in Connecticut because the state has 169 municipalities, all raising revenue to support education at the same time. That is a good starting point for regionalization. The creation of a Greater Hartford Unified School District would allow neighboring communities to create economies of scale that would: a) Reduce unnecessary duplication of programs and services; b) Remove duplicative administrative structures and excessive administrative costs; c) Provide volume purchasing power; d) Allow for decreased costs in transportation through a consolidated system; e) Provide a larger health care benefits pool; f) Reduce economic and racial isolation for students; g) Equitably distribute resources.
The state of our reform requires stability to be sustained. We believe abovementioned set of legislative priorities offer the best possible means of continuing our progress toward closing the achievement gap while enduring the state’s financial crisis. We invite your comments on our recommendations.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Mission of Hartford Public Schools
Together We Can Raise Student Achievement
Many changes are taking place in the Hartford Public Schools as we take the first steps toward transforming our system of schools into one where Hartford students are achieving on a par with other students in the state.
The Hartford school board recently adopted a new mission and vision for the district. In addition, the board has adopted a strategy for change that will guide us as we work to accomplish our goals. The school year calendar provides more instructional days before state testing and for the first time, summer school will be mandatory for our youngest students who are not reading on grade level.
These are just the first steps of many that we will take to help our children receive an education that will prepare them to participate in today's global economy.
I have said many times before, this is not rocket science. It is methodical, hard work, but it can be done, and it has been done by dozens of similar school districts across the country. It will require focus, perseverance and a willingness to change on the part of staff, and steadfast political determination on the part of our board members to get the job done.
I have met many wonderful teachers, administrators, parents, corporate executives and community leaders who are eager for change and want to help us succeed. I am more optimistic than ever that we can get the job done.
We are encouraged by the City of Hartford’s motto: Post nubila, Phoebus, which means, after the clouds, the sun. Together, we can do this.
Steven J. Adamowski
Superintendent of Hartford Public Schools
Many changes are taking place in the Hartford Public Schools as we take the first steps toward transforming our system of schools into one where Hartford students are achieving on a par with other students in the state.
The Hartford school board recently adopted a new mission and vision for the district. In addition, the board has adopted a strategy for change that will guide us as we work to accomplish our goals. The school year calendar provides more instructional days before state testing and for the first time, summer school will be mandatory for our youngest students who are not reading on grade level.
These are just the first steps of many that we will take to help our children receive an education that will prepare them to participate in today's global economy.
I have said many times before, this is not rocket science. It is methodical, hard work, but it can be done, and it has been done by dozens of similar school districts across the country. It will require focus, perseverance and a willingness to change on the part of staff, and steadfast political determination on the part of our board members to get the job done.
I have met many wonderful teachers, administrators, parents, corporate executives and community leaders who are eager for change and want to help us succeed. I am more optimistic than ever that we can get the job done.
We are encouraged by the City of Hartford’s motto: Post nubila, Phoebus, which means, after the clouds, the sun. Together, we can do this.
Steven J. Adamowski
Superintendent of Hartford Public Schools
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