Linda Lambeck
Connecticut
Former education reporter for Connecticut Post, current @WestportJournal.com correspondent. Education still in my blood. Email me @ lindalambeck@gmail.com
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Articles by Linda Lambeck
Stamford students struggle to reach state standard for new SAT
STAMFORD — Although it is too early to know how effective the revamped SAT is in predicting student success, newly released data indicates that about half or fewer of Stamford’s high school juniors are meeting state standards. The results come from the new SAT taken last spring by nearly all public school 11th-graders as it replaced the state’s standardized test.
Fairfield U. responds to ‘ghetto party’
FAIRFIELD — A “ghetto-themed” party hosted Saturday by Fairfield University students in off-campus housing has set off both an investigation and a call for more sensitivity on the sprawling, suburban campus. “It is truly disappointing to see my fellow students ... behave in such a manner that mocks (another) race,” Anmol Tabassum, a Bridgeport resident and Fairfield University sophomore, said Monday.
How much schools asked for does not match their federal Coronavirus Relief Funds
Students sit at a safe social distance during the stem summer camp at Fairchild Wheeler Interdistrict Magnet High School, in Bridgeport, Conn. Aug. 19, 2020. The governor is making federal money available to schools interested in increasing their summer school offerings. Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media Earlier this month the governor announced the commitment of nearly $131 million in federal Coronavirus Relief Funds to assist districts with the costs of safely reopening schools.
A painful lesson: suicides stun Westport
WESTPORT — Ten minutes into class Monday, the English teacher dismissed his students. Another teacher canceled her class — usually a welcome development for teenagers — except on this day. Article continues below this ad There was no lesson plan for this. Nothing could have prepared faculty and students at Staples High School for what happened to Cody Thomas, a young English teacher who took his own life two days earlier.
Stamford teachers win summer travel grants
STAMFORD — Nine city educators are among 210 who have been awarded grants to travel the world this summer and bring experiences back to their schools. The Stamford educators include a social worker who will travel to Costa Rica to improve her Spanish language skills and a library media specialist who will explore Ireland to support her school’s literacy curriculum.
Former Fairfield Jesuits on new list of priests accused of abuse
More than a dozen former priests accused of sexually abusing minors on a list released Tuesday once worked at Fairfield University and Fairfield College Preparatory School. The names were released by the USA Northeast Province of the Society of Jesus. The list includes all Jesuits in the Province, living and dead, who were credibly accused of sexual abuse dating back to 1950. Article continues below this ad None are still in active ministry, according to the society.
Egan Says Time Is Right For Independent Representation In Ansonia & Derby
Tom Egan, in a photo from Facebook. ANSONIA-DERBY – Wednesday is the busiest day of the week for Thomas Egan. For the personal injury and insurance attorney who does a lot of pro bono eviction work out of his State Street law office, Wednesdays are court day. Yet on four hours sleep, Egan carves out time for an interview to explain why he is running on the Independent Party line to represent Ansonia and west Derby in Hartford as a state representative.
Cassetti-Rochelle: Where They Stand On School Funding
ANSONIA/DERBY – State Rep. Kara Rochelle says she keeps a running tab on her computer of every single dollar she’s brought to the 104th House seat in the state legislature. “After each budget I confirm with OPM (state Office of Policy and Management) the final dollar amounts of town aid and education funding, and add them in,” said Rochelle, a Democrat running for her fourth, two-year term to represent Ansonia and Derby in Hartford.
CT takes notice of New Haven Public Schools' chronic absenteeism
It was called a record high for the district and the highest percentage listed statewide in 2021-22. “They wanted to know how we are addressing this. That’s all,” Superintendent of Schools Iline Tracey told Board of Education member Darnell Goldson in a recent email. Tracey said the Oct. 31 meeting was facilitated by the state's commissioner of education. Goldson was not invited to the meeting, just board officers and some central office staff.
CT takes notice of New Haven schools' chronic absenteeism Original
It was called a record high for the district and the highest percentage listed statewide in 2021-22. “They wanted to know how we are addressing this. That’s all,” Superintendent of Schools Iline Tracey told Board of Education member Darnell Goldson in a recent email. Tracey said the Oct. 31 meeting was facilitated by the state's commissioner of education. Goldson was not invited to the meeting, just board officers and some central office staff.
New Haven teachers contract calls for big pay increases Original
“This is huge,” Blatteau said. “This contract makes teachers feel valued.” Mayor Justin Elicker, a member of the school board, said the fact that 97 percent of teachers voted in favor of the contract means “we are in a good place for teachers.” “It’s a good contract to show we care, now we have to figure out how to pay for it,” added board member Darnell Goldson following the unanimous vote during an online meeting Monday.
New Haven students' school year will be a day longer Original
NEW HAVEN — School was in session for one fewer day than is required under state law last school year, and the district now must make up for it in the 2022-23 school year. Superintendent of Schools Iline Tracey said an error inadvertently was made in the calculation of student days. The state requires 180, but city schools last year were open for 179.
New Haven schools pull teacher signing bonuses on union complaint Original
“I don’t want to violate union rights,” Tracey said. The incentives, she added, were her team’s way of trying to do something to stop “the bleeding” of teacher departures and vacancies. There are said to be more than 80. When Tracey got the board’s approval to use grant funds for signing bonuses — up to $5,000 for new teachers in shortage areas and hourly pay rates of $25 to $50 for those working in before- and after-school programs — she was asked whether she had consulted with the unions.
New Haven schools pitch signing bonuses to stem teacher shortage Original
The Board of Education this week unanimously approved the tiered bonuses, which will be funded through federal grants. In the same motion, the board increased the pay in the district’s before- and after-school programs. The positions are difficult to fill, officials said, and the district wants to give students extra time to catch up on learning lost during the pandemic. Building leaders in those programs will get $50 per hour, teachers will receive $45 per hour and aides will be paid $25 per hour.
BOE's Define the Gap Project addresses staff shortages and student needs
It would mean raising salaries to keep teachers from leaving, provide more of them, and bring on additional counselors, psychologists and other staff to help negate the impact of poverty and other factors that face district students. “We need to put numbers around this,” said Wilcox, who chairs the board’s Finance and Operation Committee.
New Haven schools offer teachers extra pay to take on more classes amid staffing shortage
Approved unanimously by the Board of Education this week, the memorandum of understanding calls for the extra compensation to be paid in quarterly installments. Should the position be filled or the class dissolved before the end of the 2022-23 school year, the compensation would be prorated. Officials said they did not know how many teachers will take the district up on the offer. So far 20 or so have agreed, accrding to district spokesman Justin Harmon. “That’s very preliminary,” Harmon said.
New Haven school board narrowly chooses new adult ed site
NEW HAVEN — The Board of Education has selected a future home for its expanding adult education program. The 4-3 decision to make 188 Bassett St. the site came after four hours of debate between two proposed locations, and was made despite warnings that the chosen site could result in the loss of community partnerships and a $20 million state grant that is being sought for the project. Major Justin Elicker vowed that will not happen.
New Haven schools tap Mass. company for $4.7 million cleaning deal
NEW HAVEN — A Massachusetts-based company will replace a local firm in providing part-time custodial services for the city school system starting this fall. The contract awarded to S.J. Services of Danvers, Mass., promises to save the district money, but at least one school board member voiced concern over the bidding process and dissatisfaction reported by some of S.J.’s past customers.
New Haven schools’ reading levels ‘an emergency,’ board member says
Data offered by Assistant Superintendent of Schools Ivelise Velazquez to the school board shows that only 17 percent of third-graders scored at grade level on this year’s state Smarter Balance Assessment test. By eighth grade, the percent scoring on grade level rose to 28 percent. For math scores, 12 percent of students districtwide scored at grade level. Because of the pandemic, the state test was not given in 2020, and was taken by only a fraction of district students in 2021.
New Haven uses grant funds to get schools budget on track
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NEW HAVEN — The city school board has unanimously adopted a balanced operating budget for 2022-23, but it will require grant funds to make the numbers work. Some of those grants expire in two years, but officials call it a stop-gap measure necessary to essentially keep the lights on in the school district. “This what we think we can do,” district Chief Financial Officer Linda Hannas said during the Board of Education’s meeting this week.
New Haven schools must turn page on reading instruction, advocates say Original
“It is a crisis,” said Eli Sabin, chair of the Board of Alders’ Education Committee. “Every single student in New Haven deserves to learn how to read and we need our city leaders make sure all our students have the best opportunity to do that.” If that means making changes to how reading is taught — even if it’s difficult or costly — so be it, Sabin added.
New Haven schools offering cash incentive to retain, recruit staff
Part-timers will get $500 in their last paycheck of the academic year if they were with the district as of May 1. The same incentive will be awarded a second time, in June 2023, for all employees who still are working in the district as of Jan. 1, 2023. The district employs about 3,200 full-timers and 800 part-timers. The price tag over two years will amount to $7.2 million, which will come out of federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds.
New Haven schools offering cash incentive to retain, recruit staff
Part-timers will get $500 in their last paycheck of the academic year if they were with the district as of May 1. The same incentive will be awarded a second time, in June 2023, for all employees who still are working in the district as of Jan. 1, 2023. The district employs about 3,200 full-timers and 800 part-timers. The price tag over two years will amount to $7.2 million, which will come out of federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds.
New Haven school leadership moves have some parents crying foul
“We understand that change has to happen,” said Alberto Tabra, a parent decrying the transfer of an assistant principal from the John C. Daniels School of International Communication whom he called an integral part of the community. “This is not a change for the better.” The decision to move Daniels’ Assistant Principal Yesenia Perez to Fair Haven School was one of 10 assistant principal shifts announced to the Board of Education this week. All the changes will come in fall.
New Haven’s Hillhouse gets a new principal; replacement leader sought at Cross
Cross Principal Edith Johnson, meanwhile, is taking a central office position in July, to become director of professional learning and leadership development. The board also approved the transfer of Barnard Magnet School Principal Robert McCain to fill a vacant district supervisor of science position. Superintendent of Schools Iline Tracey said all three bring a wealth of district experience to their new roles.
New Haven schools ease graduation requirements for some seniors
Thank the pandemic for that. Like it did for the class of 2021 — which faced a truncated junior year and largely remote senior year — the Board of Education voted this week to allow any student who has met a minimum of 25 credits, including state-mandated requirements in English, math, social studies, science, physical education, arts and world language, to graduate. The board vote extends not only to the class of 2022, but those in 2023 and 2024, as well.
New Haven school board OKs 3 admin hires Original
NEW HAVEN — One of three new administrative hires backed by the city school board this week is the daughter of a school board member. Monica Joyner, an alumni and long-time employee of the district, will become supervisor of mathematics for the district on July 1. She is currently an assistant principal at Hill Regional Career High School. In her new job she will earn $163,352. Her father is Edward Joyner, one of two elected members to the seven-member city school board.
New Haven schools to keep mask mandate
NEW HAVEN — Students and staff in the New Haven Public Schools will continue to operate under a mask mandate, with no clear end date, the Board of Education agreed. The school board opted to stay the course after a presentation from City Health Director Maritza Bond, who reported that infection rates in the district were climbing upward and student vaccination rates remained relatively low in a district where 40 percent of the student population have health conditions that put them at high risk.
New Haven schools to keep mask mandate
NEW HAVEN — Students and staff in the New Haven Public Schools will continue to operate under a mask mandate, with no clear end date, the Board of Education agreed. The school board opted to stay the course after a presentation from City Health Director Maritza Bond, who reported that infection rates in the district were climbing upward and student vaccination rates remained relatively low in a district where 40 percent of the student population have health conditions that put them at high risk.
New Haven schools aim to recruit teachers, increase staff diversity
NEW HAVEN — A goal to boost diversity among the teaching staff and ensure there is a certified teacher is in front of every classroom on the first day of the 2022-23 school year will take more than the current $6,000 recruitment budget, the Board of Education has concluded. How much more — and how many resources an already underfunded district can shift to the effort — remains uncertain.
New Haven students’ math performance raises concerns
NEW HAVEN — New online math programs used by the district are raising serious concerns about student performance in the subject. Only 4 percent of students in grades K-5 scored on grade level or above when screening tests were given in fall. Some 35 percent of students were at least one grade level behind and 61 percent of students tested two years or more behind.
Retired New Haven educator tapped for temporary Hillhouse role
NEW HAVEN — While the district searches for a new principal for James Hillhouse High School, a retired district administrator has been tapped as an interim. Peggy Moore, who spent her career in the district before retiring in 2013, will take on the temporary role. The Board of Education voted unanimously to accept the appointment. Her pro-rated salary for the time she is in the assignment will be based on a $166,264 annual salary.
Masks to stay in New Haven schools, but some ask for how long
NEW HAVEN — As most school districts across the state end mask mandates, students and staff in city schools will continue wearing masks for the time being. The unanimous school board decision came Monday, the same day masks became optional for most other districts in the state. Gov. Ned Lamont said Monday that given the choice, about 85 percent of school districts have opted to make mask-wearing in schools a matter of choice. New Haven joins Hamden, Waterbury and Hartford in keeping a mandate.
2 New Haven school principals ‘moving onto better things’
NEW HAVEN — The city school district, which lost more than the usual number of teachers this school year, will now see the departure of two homegrown administrators. Glen Worthy, principal of James Hillhouse High School, is to become chief of educational services for the state Department of Children and Families effective March 15. And Joseph Johnson, principal at King Robinson Magnet School, is leaving this week to become an assistant superintendent in the Waterbury Public School system.
2 New Haven school principals ‘moving onto better things’
NEW HAVEN — The city school district, which lost more than the usual number of teachers this school year, will now see the departure of two homegrown administrators. Glen Worthy, principal of James Hillhouse High School, is to become chief of educational services for the state Department of Children and Families effective March 15. And Joseph Johnson, principal at King Robinson Magnet School, is leaving this week to become an assistant superintendent in the Waterbury Public School system.
Grants could help New Haven schools avoid deficit
NEW HAVEN — Still working to coax its 2021-22 operating budget out of the red and into the black, the school district is eyeing a budget proposal for the next fiscal year that is $9.3 million higher than its current one. The Board of Education’s finance committee got a first glimpse this week of a 2022-23 operating budget proposal of $200,063,784 — a 4.67 percent increase over this year’s $190.7 million budget.
New Haven aims for more suburban students in interdistrict magnet schools
NEW HAVEN — The district’s School Choice enrollment period opens on Monday, and district officials hope to regain much of the participation in interdistrict magnet schools lost during the pandemic. “That is the expectation,” said Marquelle Middelton, director of school choice and enrollment for the district. The city has 29 schools of choice, many of which are open to surrounding communities.
New Haven student uses art to promote climate change awareness
The 10-year-old’s mother, Jihyun Lee Namgoong, is a painter; his father, Seung Hwan Namgoong, is an architect. Leehahn, a fifth-grader at Worthington Hooker School, combined his artistic talents and concern for the environment to win first place in a national contest focused on climate change. “Yeah, I am worried about it,” Leehahn said of the issue of climate change on a recent Zoom call. It is his generation, he said, that can try and make a change.
Cost of Branford athletic fields project depends on timing, architect says
BRANFORD — New athletic fields around the newly expanded and renovated Francis Walsh Intermediate School will cost more than $5.4 million, the school board was told this week. And that cost is only if the project can be done in its entirety during summer 2022, according to Michael Losasso, an architect from Antinozzi and Associates who presented the updated plans to the Board of Education at its monthly meeting.
Cost of Branford athletic fields project depends on timing, architect says
BRANFORD — New athletic fields around the newly expanded and renovated Francis Walsh Intermediate School will cost more than $5.4 million, the school board was told this week. And that cost is only if the project can be done in its entirety during summer 2022, according to Michael Losasso, an architect from Antinozzi and Associates who presented the updated plans to the Board of Education at its monthly meeting.
Lack of water in New Haven schools could last months: ‘We need water in schools’
NEW HAVEN — It has been on the district’s radar since a return to in-person schooling was mapped out in January. Yet, a plan to replace water fountains in of the city’s 40 schools with two water filling stations remains a work in progress, leaving some students, well, thirsty. “We need water in schools,” Anthony Fiore, a student member of the Board of Education, told the board this week.
New Haven schools headed for deficit despite relief funds, superintendent says
NEW HAVEN — Roughly $111 million in pandemic relief aid apparently was not enough to keep the city school district from heading toward a deficit. Superintendent of Schools Iline Tracey warned the Board of Education this week to prepare for some red ink by the fiscal year’s end. “We are crunching the numbers now,” Tracey told the board. “Mitigation efforts are underway.” Tracey plans to share the numbers with the board when its Finance and Operations Committee meets after the first of the year.
New Haven school threats were ‘trying and testing’ for the district, superintendent says
NEW HAVEN — A recent cascading series of school threats was “trying and testing” for the entire school district, according to Superintendent of Schools Iline Tracey. “From the superintendent on down, everyone, was taken out of their places,” Tracey said.
Challenger takes New Haven schools teachers union top job; people ‘looking for new ideas’
History teacher Leslie Blatteau, who led a 31-member slate called “Fighting For Our Future,” has unseated incumbent New Haven Federation of Teachers President David Cicarella, according to both contenders. The unofficial vote tally, according to both, was about 450 to 350. Mail-in ballots were counted Tuesday at the New Haven Federation of Teacher headquarters and was closed to non-union members. “I knew it was an election we could win,” Blatteau said afterwards.
Teachers are leaving New Haven; school board aims to find out why
NEW HAVEN — Last fall, when the school district still was in the grip of the pandemic and all learning was being delivered remotely, 17 educators left the district, officials said. In fall 2021, despite a return to in-person learning, the number of departures stood at 27, Lisa Mack, district director of human resources, told a Board of Education committee this week. She called it a snapshot, but members of the school board want to know whether more than the pandemic was at play.
What the New Haven teachers union leadership challenge could mean for the district
For the second time in this calendar year, Local 933 is poised to choose a new leader. The question is whether the majority go the way it has for seven straight times - including two do-over elections, one of which was held in June - or vote for change.
Architect details recommendations for Branford’s Walsh school athletic fields
BRANFORD — Months after commissioning a feasibility study into new athletic fields surrounding the newly expanded and renovated Francis Walsh Intermediate School, the school board got its first look at the plans. Michael Losasso, an architect from Antinozzi and Associates, presented a draft executive summary at Board of Education meeting this fall. Despite requests, copies were not made available to the public. Peter Berdon, the board’s new chairman, said the report was not yet finalized.
Rent for New Haven's adult education space skyrockets: 'We need a place to educate the students'
NEW HAVEN — Rent is jumping 34 percent over the next four years on space used to house the school district’s in-demand Adult and Continuing Education Center. The city Board of Education reluctantly agreed to the deal, which will raise the rent at 540 Ella Grasso Blvd. from $9.75 to $16.50 per square foot in the first year and reach as high as $18.03 per square foot by the 2024-25 school year.
Need to know where a New Haven school bus is? There's an app for that
NEW HAVEN — The district has been plagued with late school buses since the start of the school year. The newly-launched FirstView tool won’t make buses come any faster, but it can help parents locate their students’ buses and anticipate arrival times. A map on the app shows where the bus is, its direction and when it is expected to arrive. Parents can set up push or email notifications alerting them when their student’s bus is a chosen distance or number of minutes away from the stop.
Branford school administrators' union contract proposes multi-year raises
BRANFORD — Negotiations described as productive and enjoyable have led to a new, three-year contract for the school district’s administrators union. The tentative deal, which must go before the Representative Town Meeting for approval, would give the 16-member bargaining unit an annual raise of 2.5 percent, starting with the 2022-23 fiscal year. In addition, the district would increase its annuity contribution to administrators’ retirement funds by $500 in each year of the contract.
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