Education: Windham Public Schools Part 1 0f 8

What comes first, dollars or sense, Part 1


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Greenwich and Windham, Connecticut are miles apart geographically and economically. Greenwich is the state's most wealthy town while Windham is one of the poorest.

Greenwich, known as the front door to New England, is blessed by location and leadership. Situated between the financial centers of Manhattan and Stamford, it is served by Route 95, Am Track, and Metro North, as well as Westchester and New York City airports. The libraries, recreation facilities, senior services and safety department are touted as the best in Connecticut. Connecticut Magazine, in its November 2011 issue, ranks Greenwich the number one town to live in by population group.

Greenwich Ave. is a tree lined street similar to Willimantic’s Main Street, but it is populated with upscale shops and shoppers. Many Greenwich stores have secondary locations in Palm Beach, Aspen or even Dubai. Around the corner on West Putnam Avenue, you can purchase any exotic car made. Currently on the Miller Motor Car Co. lot there are nine Rolls Royces for sale — fewer than usual because of a slowdown in the economy.

Greenwich's assessor recently released September’s real estate transactions. Headlined in the Greenwich Patch, an electronic news site: "Of 35 real estate transactions, eight were under $1 million.” A rare occurrence for Greenwich. TheGreenwich Times reports a stock broker and town resident is sentenced to eleven years and fined $50 million for insider trading. The November elections see several candidates that are hedge fund managers in real life.

Greenwich does more than its fair share to support the state budget. Greenwich contributed $2.3 billion, 12% of the state budget, to Hartford in 2010. In return, the state sends back $18 million. The next highest contributing town, Fairfield, sent the state 20% of Greenwich's contribution (2009-10).

Windham's beauty stands up to any New England town. Its Victorian neighborhoods are second to none. It's a picturesque rural town made up of three villages and the city of Willimantic. Enthusiastic citizens and community groups assure continual cultural, artistic and family events such as the Boom Box Parade and Third Thursday. It is served by secondary roads and the New England Central and P&W serve a sparse industrial base. Windham Airport, is underutilized and under-promoted. Two interstate buses stop daily —down from five four years ago. Windham's retail district has lost its prominence over the years to competition on the outskirts of town. Unfortunately, few new stores and fewer shoppers have replaced those lost.

Two towns so different share a common problem — both have failing school districts. After 20 years of deterioration the State Department of Education took over the Windham district in May 2011. An AP story picked up by newspapers across the U.S told of Windham's taxpayer refusal to support its students and repair the highest achievement gap in Connecticut. Windham citizens took the news in stride; they knew it was coming. At the same time, May 2011, Dr. Sidney Freund, Greenwich's superintendent tendered his resignation less than two years into a three-year appointment and eight months after receiving the Superintendent of the Year Award from the Connecticut Parent Teacher Students Association. Greenwich's citizens were flabbergasted.

Future blogs will consider what went wrong. Greenwich, unquestionably a town that has the ability and will to give its students the best education in the state. Greenwich, which spends $4,000 more per student than the average Connecticut school district. Greenwich, which currently is constructing a $29 million theater/music addition to its high school. Greenwich, which in 2006 hired the then State Commissioner of Education to replace the former superintendent who had said, "Enough." We'll look at both Greenwich and Windham schools — the cast of players … the role they play — and determine which comes first — dollars or sense?

Greenwich School Profile: 2009-10

Four Superintendents/eleven years

Town contribution to State support 

Greenwich School Profile: 2009-10

Greenwich NCLB/AYP

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What comes first, dollars or sense, Part 1

Greenwich: So much so little, Part 2

Windham's school board, Part 3

Windham's board of finance, Part 4

Windham's town council, Part 5

Windham's students, Part 6

Windham Education: What Went Wrong, Part 7

Conclusion, Part 8

Education: Windham Public Schools Part 8 of 8

Conclusion 

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Not since redevelopment in Windham nearly 40 years ago have we seen such construction and  re-construction the likes of which we are witnessing today. Not on the “major parcel” (Jillson Square), mind you, but  Windham's schools. 

Steven Adamowski, the former superintendent of Hartford Public Schools, arrived  in August 2011 — not with a shovel or backhoe — but with a mandate from the state board of education to fix 20 years of neglect and to lift our schools out of the education cellar.

Adamowski, a one-man show, has begun transforming in a few short months Windham's school system into a competitive institution that, hopefully, will assure student achievement, a higher graduation rate, and students’ ability to meet life and workplace goals. 

Will it work? Better then Windham's redevelopment project — an open space used by illegals to play soccer and for the occasional "prayer festival." 

In the short term, a dramatic reconstruction of our schools will produce a dramatic improvement to our students’ achievement gap. 

In the medium-long term, Dr. Adamowski's reconstitution will yield only minor improvement unless NCLB is tuned and made realistic. Teaching to the test and humiliating a school, its teachers and students  for failing to make adequate yearly progress has not worked. The most important social legislation since Kennedy New Frontier and Johnson's Great Society has failed miserably. NCLB must be re-legislated. 

Provisions for parent-student engagement beyond school must be introduced back into the scheme of everyday life. Our families must be reconstituted. We cannot have successful students going home to a dysfunctional home.

We need not only to fund schools, but to fund social services. A comprehensive problem can only be fixed by a comprehensive solution. Community schools, outreach programs that identify children who are struggling in school and intervene not only in the school but also by providing resources and education to the family, are critical to academic success.

Windham's teacher turnover —projected at 80% (See status WPS) over the next five years — must be addressed. Much of the turnover is accounted for by teacher job dissatisfaction and teachers pursuing other jobs. One reason for this is, not surprisingly, teacher compensation. Teachers in Windham are often paid less than in other kinds of schools — and depart accordingly.

But, there are indications that low salaries are not the only reason for the high level of turnover. Significant numbers of teachers who depart from their jobs report that they are hampered by inadequate support from the school administration, too many intrusions on classroom teaching time, student discipline problems, and limited faculty input into school decision-making.

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What comes first, dollars or sense, Part 1

Greenwich: So much so little, Part 2

Windham's school board, Part 3

Windham's board of finance, Part 4

Windham's town council, Part 5

Windham's students, Part 6

Windham Education: What Went Wrong, Part 7

Conclusion, Part 8