As Students Return to School, Board of Education Returns to Work

Although West Hartford’s students and teachers returned to school last week, the day after Labor Day often marks the “official” time to leave summer behind and get back to business. For the West Hartford Board of Education, which held its first meeting of the academic year on Tuesday night, it was time to return to work.

All members were in attendance, including new student representatives Ellis Boettger () and Jennifer Ros (), but once the board took care of its first item of new business, it had one less member.

After glowing testimonials from colleagues about her passion and dedication, the board accepted the resignation of member Diane Mudge, who has moved to Farmington. Resident John Hardy took advantage of the opportunity for public comment and also thanked Mudge for her “time, dedication and devotion to West Hartford,” joking that he would now not have the opportunity to lead a “Democrats for Mudge” campaign.

, sister of current board member Lib Brassil Spinella, is expected to be appointed as Mudge’s replacement at the Sept. 20 meeting, according to Board Chairwoman Clare Kindall.

The entire executive team was in attendance and provided an "Opening of School Briefing," beginning with . List spoke about the mission framework of the district, an inverted pyramid which “drives the work that we do,” she said. The mission framework starts with the overall district goals at the top, and narrows down to performance objectives at the classroom level, which focus on the classroom teachers’ role in achieving development plans.

Dr. Eileen Howley, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction and Curriculum, presented her report on the district’s plan for “Continuous Improvement and Development.” “This is a deepening and affirming of the work we’ve been doing,” said Howley. “Our goal is to build coherence.”

The state of Connecticut has adopted new Common Core State Standards (CCSS) that will require curriculum changes and provide the basis for a new generation of assessments. The CCSS’s, which require more rigor as well as realignment of certain subjects, will be gradually implemented as revised graduation requirements for the class of 2020 (this year’s fourth graders). However, Howley said it is essential to examine and study the standards before making large-scale changes. “This is a year of design and study,” said Howley.

Rick Ledwith, Director of the Employee Services Department, informed the board that 65 new contracted teachers and 25 interim teachers were hired this year. Retirement, relocation (within and out of state), family, and leaving the profession were the reasons cited for the need for so many new staff members. The largest category this year, and the main reason for a higher than average (6.4 percent, up from 5 percent last year) turnover, is retirements.

Chip Ward, Director of Finance and Planning, reported that West Hartford’s schools “opened successfully with enrollments close to projections.” Total K-12 enrollment is currently 9,921, compared to 10,035 last year, and a projection of 9,954. One of the most significant factors impacting the enrollment decline is that there are only 700 new kindergartners, down from 800 in some past years. Since enrollments change throughout the month of September, the official enrollment report will be provided at the Board of Education’s second meeting in October, reflecting the October 1 enrollment data.