CABE Journal July/August 2012

Connecticut Associationof Boards of Education Inc.81 Wolcott Hill RoadWethersfield, CT 06109-1242

PeriodicalPostage

PAIDHartford, CT

Vol. 17, No.7 July-August 2012

w w w . c a b e . o r g

INSIDE THIS EDITION

Presidents commentary ....................... 2Executive Director commentary ......... 3New Search Consultant ....................... 2Assessments: What board members should know about them ................... 4See You in Court ................................. 5Policy guidance - political activities on school property ................................. 6Heads up and hats off ......................... 7CABE/CAPSS Convention ................. 8Labor Management Collaboration ...... 9CABE: working for YOU ................. 10Bridgeport case focuses on board member training .................... 11Make communications a priority ...... 13

New healthinsurance

cooperativeformed

Patrice A. McCarthyDeputy Director and General Counsel

PerformanceEvaluationGuidelinesAdopted

by State Board

See HEALTH page 14

Chris SeymourReporter, CABE

Eleanor S. CruzSuperintendent, Hebron Public Schools

See PERFORMANCE page 3

See CHINA page 12

After two years of work by the Perfor-mance Evaluation Advisory Council(PEAC), the State Board of Educationapproved the consensus guidelines devel-oped by PEAC at a special meeting onJune 27. The guidelines will initially beused in ten pilot districts and consortiumsin 2012-13 to implement the model teach-er and administrator evaluation andsupport systems.

Public Act 12-116, An Act ConcerningEducation Reform, requires that the eval-uation process be based on a new stan-dard of effective practice and the frame-work developed by PEAC. The NEAGSchool of Education at the University ofConnecticut will evaluate the implementa-tion and results in the ten pilots and reportto the General Assembly by October 1,2013.

It is anticipated that interim feedbackwill be gathered during the course of thepilot year, which may lead to adjustmentsin the guidelines. The new evaluation andsupport system will be implementedstatewide in 2013-14.

CABE is represented on PEAC by Bob

It’s no secret that health insurancecosts are an ever increasing fact of life formost boards of education.

Thanks to flat or decreased statefunding and unfunded mandates, schooldistricts struggle with insurance premiumincreases, notes Coventry Board of Edu-cation Chairwoman Jen Beausoleil.“Health insurance is one of the largest lineitems in our budget,” she observed.

But now, thanks to a new state law, fiveforward-thinking towns and their schoolsystems – and a RESC – it’s pos-sible formunicipalities and districts to pool theirresources and take a bite out of that largeline item.

This spring, the Town of Coventry andits school system, along EASTCONN andfour other school systems and municipali-ties in the northeastern part of the state –Griswold, Plainfield, Putnam and Tolland– joined forces to form the area’s firsthealth insurance cooperative. Its goal?You guessed it – to save taxpayer money!

In November of 2008, my BoardChair, Jane Dube, and I traveled, alongwith a contingent of superintendents andBoard of Education members from allover the state of Connecticut, to China inhopes of establishing a sister schoolpartnership. Under the expert guidance ofDan Gregg, who was then the Chair ofthe Social Studies Department at the StateDepartment of Education, and our faithfulguide Peng we became immersed in aculture that forever changed our lives andperspectives on global awareness. Since2008, Hebron schools has subsequentlysent one administrator and seven teachers

to our then sister school in Jinan, China. When the most recent two teachersreturned from China last spring, theirenthusiasm and commitment to theimportance of this relationship leveragednew ideas about how to deepen thispartnership. Thus, the concept of bringingstudents, fifth and sixth graders, wasgenerated.

Organizing the Trip Our first step was to contact Connecti-cut Association of Schools (CAS) andDan Gregg to see if they were willing tohost a group of students that young.Without past precedence as context, andwith Dan’s blessing, we forged ahead. InSeptember of 2011, I sent communicationto parents and the community about thepossibility of bringing students, familiesand community members with us for thetrip scheduled in April 2012.

I put articles in local newspapers, theSchool Newsletters and spoke to the PTAabout the opportunity to bring students toChina. We held an evening informationforum and invited Mr. Gregg to answerquestions. Over 30 people attended, andat least 20 expressed a sincere interest bythe end of the evening. We developed adata base from the attendees that eveningfor future contact capabilities.

Itinerary and Trip Details I worked closely with Dan Greggdeveloping an itinerary that would afford

Hebron brings 5th and 6th Graders to China.

China Sister School Partnership

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEELydia Tedone ..................................................... President, SimsburyRichard Murray ................................. First Vice President, KillinglyAnn Gruenberg ................. VP for Government Relations, HamptonStephen Wright ........... VP for Professional Development, TrumbullJames Marpe ..................................... Secretary/Treasurer, WestportDon Blevins .............................................. Immediate Past PresidentJohn Prins ............................................................. Member at Large

AREA DIRECTORSSusan Hoffnagle ............................. Area 1 Co-Director, WinchesterMari-Ellen (Mimi) Valyo ............... Area 1 Co-Director, WinchesterDaniel Santorso ................................ Area 1 Co-Director, PlymouthBecky Tyrrell .......................................... Area 2 Director, PlainvilleLaura Bush ................................................. Area 3 Director, VernonGavin Forrester ................................. Area 6 Co-Director, StratfordElaine Whitney .................................. Area 6 Co-Director, WestportMichael D’Agostino ........................... Area 7 Co-Director, HamdenSheila McCreven .......................... Area 7 Co-Director, WoodbridgeJohn Prins ......................................... Area 7 Co-Director, BranfordRobert Ruggiero ................................ Area 8 Co-Director, MadisonPamela Meier ..................................... Area 8 Co-Director, MadisonGail MacDonald ................................... Area 9 Director, Stonington

ASSOCIATESEileen Baker .............................................. Associate, Old SaybrookSharon Beloin-Saavedra .............................. Associate, New BritainGary Brochu .......................................................... Associate, BerlinRobert Guthrie .............................................. Associate, West HavenCal Heminway ..................................................... Associate, Granby

COMMITTEE CHAIRSRobert Mitchell ............................. Chair, State Relations, MontvilleBeverly Washington ...................... Chair Federal Relations, Groton

CITY REPRESENTATIVESBob Trefry ....................................... City Representative, BridgeportMatthew Poland ................................ City Representative, HartfordMichael R. Nast ............................ City Representative, New HavenPolly Rauh ........................................ City Representative, StamfordCharles Stango ............................... City Representative, Waterbury

STAFFRobert Rader ....................................................................... Executive DirectorPatrice McCarthy .................................. Deputy Director and General CounselBonnie Carney ............................................ Sr. Staff Associate for PublicationsNicholas Caruso ............................................ Sr. Staff Assoc. for Field Service and Coord. of TechnologySheila McKay ............................. Sr. Staff Associate for Government RelationsKelly Moyher ......................................................................... Sr. Staff AttorneyVincent Mustaro ..................................... Sr. Staff Associate for Policy ServiceLisa Steimer .............................. Sr. Staff Assoc. for Professional DevelopmentTeresa Costa .................................. Coordinator of Finance and AdministrationPamela Brooks ......................... Sr. Admin. Assoc. for Policy Ser. /Search Ser.Terry DeMars ............................................... Admin. Assoc. for Policy ServiceMelissa Dickinson ............................. Admin. Assist. for Membership ServicesGail Heath ........................................ Admin. Assoc. for Government RelationsWilmarie Newton ........................................ Admin. Assoc. for Labor RelationsCorliss Ucci .................................. Receptionist/Asst. to the Executive Director

Lydia Tedone

2 The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education/July-August 2012

PRESIDENT COMMENTARY

CABE Board of Directors

How I spent my day in summer school

The CABE Journal (ISSN 1092-1818) is published monthly excepta combined issue for July/August as a member service of theConnecticut Association of Boards of Education, 81 Wolcott HillRoad, Wethersfield, CT 06109, (860) 571-7446. CABE member-ship dues include $30 per person for each individual who receivesThe CABE Journal. The subscription rate for nonmembers is $75.Association membership dues include a subscription for each boardmember, superintendent, assistant superintendent and businessmanager. The companies and advertisements found in The CABEJournal are not necessarily endorsed by CABE. “Periodicals Post-age Paid at Hartford, CT.” POSTMASTER: Send address changesto The CABE Journal, CABE, 81 Wolcott Hill Road, Wethersfield,CT 06109-1242. Email: [email protected] can find the CABE Journal online at: www.cabe.org/userlogin.cfm?pp=84&userrequest=true&keyrequest=false&userpage=84

Dr. Paul Gagliarducci, retiredsuperintendent, is joining JacquelineJacoby, Randall Collins andRobert King, as a consultant forCABE Search Services.

Paul was superintendent ofschools in Somers from 1987-2001.He retired from Somers and held

Services, which is dedicated to ensuring that boards havethe best possible help in selecting their most importantemployee. His long experience in two states, deepunderstanding of the relationship of boards and theirsuperintendents and his warm manner will be greatlybeneficial in these rapidly changing times.”

When the CABE Board of Directors started SearchServices its goal was to empower boards to make the bestdecisions possible on the hiring of their superintendents,help provide another alternative to the few search firmsavailable and to enhance CABE’s reputation for workingwith integrity in a difficult area.

With Paul joining our team, the Service will bestrengthened and we will be even better at serving theneeds of our members.

CABE welcomes Dr. Paul Gagliarduccito CABE Search Services

People in the NewsGovernor Dannel P. Malloy recently appointed

Ronald Goldstein, Chair of the Colchester Board ofEducation, to the Red Tape Review and Removal TaskForce. The group will study how the state can removecureaucratic barriers to academic excellence. TheGovernor announced his plan to reduce state educationmandates and to unleash innovation by empowering localdistricts to improve student achievement.

positions ranging from adjunctfaculty member to senior consultantfrom 2001-2009. Paul is currently owner and principalconsultant for Ridgetop Associates, a managementconsulting firm; a consultant team member of MARSConsultant Group – MA Regional School Consultantfirm; and is serving as superintendent of schools inBozrah on a part-time basis (100 days a year).

CABE Search Services provides high-level search forsuperintendents, assistant superintendents, principals andother critical positions for boards of education. Over 23searches have been conducted since Jacqueline Jacobybecame Senior Consultant in 2009. Among CABESearch Services’ searches done or to be done in 2012include those in Amity Region #5, Bethany, Derby, EastHartford, Manchester, Oxford, Region #12, Rocky Hill,Scotland, Simsbury, Stamford and Stratford.

Executive Director Robert Rader was delighted thatDr. Gagliarducci has decided to join the search “team.”He stated that “it is great to have Paul join CABE Search

Paul Gagliarducci

While soaking up the summer rays at the shorerecently, I attempted to catch up on various educationarticles stuffed into my beach bag. With sand andsunscreen sticking to pages, reading becomes morechallenging, not unlike the headlines written.

Whether in Egypt where an education revolution iscontemplated; or China where university entrance testingis debated; or Broward County, Florida where theconversation is charter schools or even in Connecticutwhere turnaround schools are being implemented,children still need free, unscheduled time to master skillsin their own learning environment.

For some children, the benefits of tree climbing orfirefly chasing are imagined only in the books they areread to in summer school.

As I walked into a classroom one recent morning, tenheads automatically turned in my direction. They,curious to my presence and I, just as curious to learnabout them. Before the teacher could introduce me, onefidgety second grader asked why am I here? As I tookmy place in the circle on the floor, I said, “Your teacheris my friend and asked if I would like to meet herstudents in summer school.” So here I am.

When I asked several students why they are here,answers ranged from, “excited to be here,” “because it’sfun,” “I can learn to read better to go to third grade,”“to get smart,” “to go to college,” “be a good kid,”“because I HAVE to listen,” and… “because it’s allsummer.”

They delighted in describing favorite things of theirlast school year: exercising in gym, special centers,counting money, field trips and books that weren’t scary.Books about plants, flowers, dinosaurs and tornadoes.I asked them what they liked about their classroom andschool they were quick to respond, “beautiful, nicedecorations, clean, and I feel safe here every day.”

When asked about what makes their teacher special,the dazed looks turned to smiles, “she teaches us funstuff, super kind, listens, makes me laugh, and helps mecalm down when I’m afraid.”

All the while, I noticed several yawns from a crosslegged student before me. As he propped his head with

his hand, I asked if hewas sleepy and he saidno, “just very hungry.”

Our conversationsranged from wantingto take tambourine orguitar lessons tolearning a dance stepor two. Future careeraspirations rangedfrom policeman tobaker or doctor, withbeing a teacher, “tohelp children read.”

Hearing a childchuckling to herself ina near corner, I walkedover and asked whatwas so funny with theopen book in her lap. She was “pretending” to read asshe imagined she was one of her favorite characters. Sheproudly displayed the “Governor’s Challenge Form”nearby, where books read to children are charted bypoints with prizes received upon completion.

The challenges of summer school – When the cup-boards are bare. Where a student makes a copy of ahouse key to let himself in. Where the primary languageis not English. Where “playtime” isn’t an option outside.Where the swimming pool in the park is bus rides away.Where feeling scary and lonely means a blanket is withinreach. Where lunch in the café is the only meal. Wherethere is no place to call home. . .

Ten second graders with eleven different back-gounds. Students who reminded me, “when I get a badgrade, I want to work harder, to get the E for effort.”“Then I will be proud.” Students who delight in occa-sionally assisting their “favorite” custodian, because theyare proud of their school.

As we prepared to go to the cafe for lunch, two girlsgiggling in line asked me if I had fun that day, and if Iwas ever coming back. Of course, I said. . . because, “Ihave all summer.”

Robert Rader

BUSINESS AFFILIATESDIAMOND MEMBER

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Connecticut Business SystemsShipman & Goodwin

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Corporate Cost ControlLindberg & Ripple Inc.

Ovations Benefits GroupQuisenberry Arcari Architects

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Brown and BrownFletcher Thompson Architects

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BRONZE PLUS MEMBERSThe S/L/A/M Collaborative

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Nathaniel G. Brown, LLCChinni & Meuser LLC

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Architects and PlannersJCJ Architecture

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EDUCATIONALAFFILIATES

American School for the DeafArea Cooperative Educational Services

Capitol Region Education CouncilThe College Board

Connecticut Association ofSchool Business Officials

Cooperative Educational ServicesConnecticut Center for School Change

Connecticut EducatorsComputer Association

Connecticut School Buildingsand Grounds Association

EASTCONNEDUCATION CONNECTION

LEARN

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR COMMENTARYCABE Affiliate

Members

The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education/July-August 2012 3

Change is coming –Are you ready?

The education world is quickly be-coming a different place.

Not only in Connecticut, but across thenation.

Change is coming – in fact, it’s alreadyhere. If you read Education Week ornewspapers, look at blogs or followvarious people on Twitter (I read, nottweet) like Diane Ravitch or the Na-tional School Boards Association, yousoon realize that this is a pivotal time forpublic education.

Across the nation, we see “reformers”,though perhaps a better label would be“catalysts for change”, pushing for aheavier emphasis on accountability for allstakeholders and more focus on financialaspects of public education. And, theyare focused on the achievement gap.They also would like to see more charterschools and, in our State, money follow-ing the child.

However you feel about these issues,the push for change is on…BIG TIME.

In Connecticut, we are watchingclosely as the State Department ofEducation wrestles with the appropriatetools for turning around districts. Bridge-port, Windham and New London are thefirst three strong interventions in schooldistricts since Hartford was taken over bythe State in the late 1990s. All three arereceiving different approaches from theState.

We have a Governor and Commis-sioner who support charter schools andcertainly see themselves as reformers. Atthe same time, they are supportive oftraditional public schools and are tryingto free the most successful ones from theburden of over-regulation.

The requirements set out in law and inour NCLB waiver mandate changes in theway we evaluate teachers and principals.The many, long, intense and oftendivisive meetings of the PerformanceEvaluation Advisory Council and itssubgroups, testify to the difficulty ofmaking change.

We are happy that the final document,now passed by the State Board ofEducation, will provide every districtwith the opportunity to better assess theperformance of principals and teachers;provide support based on best practices;and enable school districts to takeappropriate action when a principal orteacher does not reach the standards thatare expected of a professional.

As we reminded our partners onPEAC, superintendents and principals arekey in making this work. The Board’srole is limited – as it has been for years –to hearing appeals of certain decisions.But, Boards have to provide the resourcesand support the implementation to havethis done right.

Patrice McCarthy (Deputy Directorand General Counsel) and I serve as yourrepresentatives at PEAC (which willmonitor the results) and, besides us,

James Marpe (Vice Chair, Westport,CABE Secretary/Treasurer), ElaineWhitney (Westport, CABE Area 6Director), Ann Gruenberg (Hampton,CABE Vice President for GovernmentRelations), Richard Murray, (Killingly,CABE First Vice President) and SheilaMcKay (Sr. Staff Associate for Govern-ment Relations) served on the PEACsubgroups.

More Resources Are Needed!The “three-pronged” reforms of insti-

tuting the PEAC guidelines, CommonCore Standards and secondary schoolreform will cost all districts in resources,

including staff time (especially of princi-pals) and funding. A lot will change.

New Alliance Districts, which canapply to receive additional funding fromthe State in return for making certainchanges in how the schools are run, willfind the relatively small amount of newfunding they will receive is very welcome.But, the cost for implementing thechanges can be higher than what the Stateis providing. We have heard that at leastone town council is urging the district notto apply, concerned that the funding coulddry up in the future and the town will bestuck with the continuing bill.

The What Will Our Children LoseCoalition is looking at financial issuesfacing school districts. The group, madeup of CABE, CAPSS and CASBO, hasfocused on its raisin d’être of ensuringthat the State funds ECS. Last year, theissue was preventing school districts fromgoing over the cliff with the falloff infederal funding. This year and into theLegislative Session, we will be calling formore funding for districts so that you havethe resources you’ll need to implementrequired changes.

CABE’s RoleCABE believes that many of the

reforms are positive. We must ensure thatevaluations are done in a professionalmanner and that student achievement(which, after all, is the reason we have

school districts) be an integral part of theevaluation system.

We believe that local boards must beable to govern their districts in an effec-tive way and that State intervention shouldbe subject to certain conditions: brevity, atimely and tailored definition of theconditions under which the State willintervene and withdraw, consent of theState Board of Education and opportunityfor the Board to receive professionaldevelopment.

Just as our districts are changing,CABE is, too. We are working with the30 Alliance Districts to better understandtheir needs and how we can help them, aswell as our other members. We areexamining our vision in a committeechaired by Past NSBA and CABEPresident Mary Broderick. Anothercommittee, chaired by Area 7 DirectorSheila McCreven (Woodbridge) isexamining how we can better communi-cate with all of our members.

We are going to ask all members to fillour a short survey to ensure we are takingyour needs and desires in how we commu-nicate with you into account. Please takeit seriously when you receive it.

So, expect changes to our publications,professional development and many ofour other programs, activities and servicesas we try to stay ahead of the curve.

CABE is changing even as publiceducation is changing. As the summerends, we are gearing up for the new era.

My question to boards and superinten-dents: are you?

“CABE is changingeven as public

education is changing.As the summer ends,we are gearing upfor the new era.

My question to boardsand superintendents:

are you?”

(continued from page 1)Rader and Patrice McCarthy. PEACalso included representatives from theConnecticut Association of Public SchoolSuperintendents, the Connecticut Associa-tion of Schools, Connecticut Federationof School Administrators, the RegionalEducational Service Centers, ConnecticutEducation Association and the AmericanFederation of Teachers – Connecticut.

Work still remains to develop the statemodels which will be utilized by districtsthat do not develop their own evaluationand support systems. Several subgroupscontinue work on these models, whichalso include CABE representation. (Seeeditorial above.)

Performance EvaluationGuidelines Adoptedby State Board


Assessments:The basics and what board members should know about them

How do we measure the progress ofour students? How do we get informationthat can be used by teachers and princi-pals to alter their teaching and ensure thatall children are learning? Do we just lookat their results on standardized tests andconsider that sufficient feedback to beginto raise student achievement?

Board members should be aware thatthere are different types of tests tomeasure performance of students. Theyneed not be experts in the types of assess-ments; that expertise is available fromtheir superintendents and their instruc-tional staff.

However, board members should beaware of the different kinds of assess-ments being administered throughout theyear, and the purposes for which they areused. These different types of assessmentsmay very well be part of the evaluationsof your principals pursuant to the Perfor-mance Evaluation and AssessmentCouncil (PEAC) guidelines.

This article attempts to give a bird’seye view of these different types ofassessment.

Formative AssessmentTools and Practices

Assessments take many differentforms. According to an article entitledThe Concept of Formative Assessment,“formative assessment” is defined “broad-ly to include all activities that teachersand students undertake to get informationthat can be used diagnostically to alterteaching and learning. Under this defini-tion, formative assessment encompassesteacher observation, classroom discus-sion, and analysis of student work, includ-ing homework and tests.”

In other words, formative assessment isa process, not a thing.

Interim AssessmentsA well designed interim assessment

system allows for the use of flexibleassessments that assess content at a finergrain level than a summative assessment.Interim assessments should provideactionable data on student skills andunderstanding to support teaching andlearning.

Summative AssessmentsSummative assessments are designed

to measure students’ performance atspecific points in time. They “generallytake place after a period of instruction andrequires making a judgment about thelearning that has occurred (e.g., by grad-ing or scoring a test or paper)”.

Which Is More Effective?The answer to this question is not as

easy as it appears. The answer will de-pend on the purpose of the assessment.

For example, the article quoted abovementions a study where authors concludedthat “efforts to strengthen formativeassessment produce significant learn-inggains as measured by comparing theaverage improvements in the test scoresof the students involved… with the rangeof scores found for typical groups of stu-dents on the same tests… formative as-sessment apparently help[ed] low achiev-ing students, including students withlearning disabilities, even more than ithelped other students.”

Obviously, the feedback as part offormative assessment, is the key to suc-cessfully instituting change that will leadto better results. It helps teachers learnmore about their students and “becomeaware of any gaps that exist between theirdesired goal and their current knowledge,understanding, or skill and guides themthrough actions necessary to obtain thegoal.”

Other studies have shown that the mosthelpful type of formative assessment pro-vide “specific comments about errors andspecific suggestions for improvement andencourages students to focus their atten-tion thoughtfully on the task rather thanon simply getting the right answer.”

The PEAC guidelines focus mostly onthe use of summative assessments. Forty-five percent of a teacher’s evaluation is tobe based on academic growth and devel-opment to measure those goals and ob-

jectives. For a teacher in a grade in whichthere are either CMTs or CAPT must baseat least 22.5 percent of the evaluation onthese standardized exams.

“Value- Added” AssessmentValue-added assessment is aimed at

providing information not only about howa child does on an individual test, but ex-amines how a student performs over time.“Value-added” is a statistical approach tousing assessment data rather than an as-sessment per se.

The value-added assessment model ofaccountability was developed in the early1980s at the University of Tennessee bystatistician William Sanders. He foundthat raw test scores provided a “snapshot”of student achievement but gave no infor-mation about the rates at which variousindividual students were making progressover time.

He created a method of measuring therate of improvement of students, as wellas schools and districts. Regardless ofwhere on the achievement scale a childbegins, this model measures the valueadded to his or her performance by theeducational system each year.

Included with the standardized tests inthe PEAC guidelines is the use of Indica-tors of Academic Growth and Develop-ment (IAGD), which are used to followup on goals and objectives set in theteacher’s goal-setting conference.

Information on types of assessments,particularly The Concept of FormativeAssessment, is available from the Educa-tion Resources Information Center(ERIC), sponsored by the Institute of Edu-cation Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Depart-ment of Education, www.eric.ed.gov.

This article was written with the helpof the Connecticut State Department ofEducation’s Student Assessment Bureau,specifically, Joe DiGarbo, Gail Paganoand Renee Savoie.

Robert RaderExecutive Director, CABE

The East LymePublic Schools recentlyhonored MaryBroderick, pastpresident of both CABEand NSBA, by namingthe “Mary BroderickAuditorium” at EastLyme High School.Members of the CABEBoard of Directors andstaff had the honor ofattending the ceremony.

The auditorium hasspecial meaning toMary, as she is apassionate supporter ofthe arts, and her children Katie andMichael both performed in the audito-rium when they were students. The artswere very much a part of the celebration,with the student art exhibition on displayin the Commons, and music provided bythe high school string quartet and acap-pella group.

Superintendent Dr. James Lombardo,former superintendent Dr. JackReynolds, East Lyme Board SecretaryDr. Richard Steel, Selectman KevinSeery and NSBA Executive Director Dr.Anne Bryant were among those payingtribute to Mary.

The program noted “Mary’s love andpassion for all children has been motiva-

tion for all she has accomplished ineducation. She continually advocates forfinding new ways for enhancing thequalities and fullness of education foreach and every child.”

Anne Bryant wrote “Thank you foryour years of service on the NSBA Boardof Directors, CABE’s Board and your 24years of service to the East Lyme Schools.In each and every role you have demon-strated thoughtful, deliberate, wise andarticulate leadership. You listened to allsides; and you let every voice be heard”.

Mary will continue her leadership roleas Chairman of CABE’s vision commit-tee.

Patrice A. McCarthyDeputy Director and General Counsel

Mary Broderick honored

Norwich Board of Educationworking on Lighthouse

See You in Court – The Nutmeg Board of Education

The Nutmeg Board deals with copyright infringementThomas B. Mooney, Esq.Shipman & Goodwin


A Practical Guideto Connecticut

School Lawby Thomas B. Mooney, Esq.

Shipman & Goodwin

The Guide comes with a CD which provideshyperlinks to many cases and statutes

and will permit word searchesas a supplement to the Index.

New to the Seventh Edition:Bullying, background checks, child abuse reporting,

discrimination issues, educational reform,FERPA, freedom of information,

state aid for education andmuch, much more

You can call CABE at 860-571-7446 or 800-317-0033and purchase your copy

NOW!

Seventh EditionNow shipping

The Nutmeg Board of Educationmakes many mistakes. The latest imbro-glio created by the board will be reportedhere each issue, followed by an explana-tion of what the board should have done.Though not intended as legal advice,these situations may help board membersavoid common problems.

Bob Bombast was concerned. If themembers of the public don’t know aboutthe good work of the Nutmeg PublicSchools, he pondered, they won’t be aswilling to spend the money Nutmegneeds. So Bob came to the next meetingof the Nutmeg Board of Education readywith a public relations plan to woo thepublic.

“Mr. Chairman,” Bob intoned at hisfirst opportunity. “I have a matter ofutmost urgency, and I move that we sus-pend the rules to address it. While it isnot on our agenda this evening, the Boardmust to engage the public in the wonder-ful work of our students and staff. Ourcurrent efforts are woefully inadequate.”

“Wait a minute,” interjected Boardmember Penny Pincher. “I thought wewere limited to agenda items. If it is open

season, I have some additional cuts topropose.”

Mr. Chairman banged his gavel. “It isnot open season, Penny, but sometimeswe have to be a little flexible. Bob and Ihave talked this over, and it is importantto address this issue now. Bob, pleaseproceed.”

“Thank you, Mr. Chairperson, for yoursage leadership,” Bob unctuously re-sponded. “I have a couple ideas to im-prove public relations in Nutmeg.

First, we must do something about theGod-awful website. The term ‘web-master’ is certainly a misnomer when weare talking about our website. That guycouldn’t sell water to a camel. I proposethat we fire him posthaste and hire some-one with some pizzazz.”

“Wait a minute,” interrupted Mr.Chairperson. “We cannot talk about anemployee in open session. Refrain fromsuch comments, but carry on.”

“OK, OK,” Bob responded. “Whetherwe fire the guy or not, we have to makeour school websites more interesting.The Internet is a treasure trove of excitingthings. Therefore, I propose a contestamong our schools to post the most en-gaging pictures of student learning. The

Board will judge the posts in executivesession, and the school that posts the mostinteresting pictures it finds on the Webwill win.”

“What’s the prize?” asked PennyPincher. “We don’t have any money.”

“Public recognition of a job well doneshould be enough,” Bob responded.

Sure enough, there was great enthusi-asm for the contest, and some principalseven enlisted students and their parents inthe hunt for the most engaging picture.After a month with each school postingtheir submissions on its website, theBoard convened in executive session andselected a winningphoto and a runner-up. The Boardthen declared thewinners in opensession, and theywere posted on thedistrict’s website.

A month later,Mr. Superintendentwas surprised toget a lawyer letterclaiming that theposting of thewinning picturewas a copyright violation. The wholematter can be resolved promptly, it wenton, if the district would pay $2,500 for theviolation and remove the picture immedi-ately. For another $1,000, however, thedistrict could “license” the picture andkeep it on the website. This is ridiculous,Mr. Superintendent thought to himself ashe threw the letter away. There was nocopyright notice, and so the picture is inthe public domain.

Does Nutmeg have a problem?

In a word, yes. In this technologicalage, school districts must be very carefulabout the intellectual property rights ofothers. Here, Nutmeg may well be liable.

The Copyright Act allows a copyrightowner to register her copyright in a work,but one does not need to have a copyrightregistration to have protection; a registra-tion documents the intellectual property,but the protection exists regardless ofregistration and even without the ©symbol. Mr. Superintendent was justwrong to presume that a picture posted onthe Internet somehow loses its copyrightprotection.

Accordingly, while it may feel likehighway robbery, the copyright holdercan indeed claim copyright infringementand demand compensation. Therefore, itis very important to make sure that theschool district has a license or other per-mission to use any material on its websiteor otherwise. Indeed, one school districthad to repaint its gymnasium floor whenthe logo in the center of the floor it hadcopied off the Internet turned out to be aspecially-designed letter that was copy-righted.

Districts must be vigilant in two relat-ed respects. First, the right to use intel-lectual property is often limited to aparticular use. For example, if the district

has purchased sheet music, it has the rightto use that music, but not to copy it.

Similarly, if a district purchases tenlicenses for a software program, makingan additional copy is an infringement forwhich the district is liable. Even moviescan give rise to a claim. A movie pur-chased for home use cannot be shown inschool for entertainment, because thelicense one purchases is for personal use,not for the entertainment of others.

Second, school districts can be alsoliable for what is called “vicarious in-fringement.” That can happen when aschool district permits another party, e.g.,

the PTA, to post on itswebsite and that partyinfringes a copyright.If copyrightedmaterial is postedwithout permission,there may be liability,even when a thirdparty commits theinfringement un-wittingly. Educationand vigilance are thusessential

As usual, theactivities of the

Nutmeg Board of Education also raiseFreedom of Information Act issues.Under the FOIA, boards of education canonly deal with matters on their agenda(including items that they may add at aregular meeting by a two-thirds vote).

Bob’s sense of urgency did not justifydealing with the issue of public relationseven though it was not on the agenda.Significantly, action is not required. Anysubstantive discussion by the Board of amatter not on the agenda is a violation.

By contrast, when Bob talked aboutfiring the webmaster in open session, hedid not violate the FOIA. The Act per-mits discussion of employment and dis-missal of an employee in executive ses-sion, provided that the employee hasadvance notice and the opportunity torequire that the discussion be held onopen session.

However, it does not prohibit opensession discussion of an employee’sperformance. Keeping such matters con-fidential is a matter of good practice, notlegal obligation.

Finally, the ill-conceived contest alsoinvolved an FOIA violation. Boards ofeducation can convene in executive ses-sion only for purposes specified in thelaw, i.e., discussion of personnel, claimsand litigation, purchase of real estate,deployment of security personnel anddevices, and discussion of informationcontained in confidential documents (e.g.,student records).

Selecting a winner in such a contest isnot such a topic, and though perhaps itwould have been awkward, the Boardshould have held that discussion in opensession.

Attorney Thomas B. Mooney is a part-ner in the Hartford law firm of Shipman &Goodwin who works frequently withboards of education. Mooney is a regularcontributor to the CABE Journal.

“Therefore, it is veryimportant to makesure that the schooldistrict has a licenseor other permissionto use any material

on its website . . . .”


Vincent A. Mustaro, Senior Staff Associate for Policy Service, CABEThe Policy Corner

Policy guidance needed for political activitieson school board property

Presidential, as well as congressional,local and state elections have becomehotly contested political events. Manystates are again emerging as battlegroundstates and the public schools in all stateswill not be immune from the fury ofpolitical activity.

The fall elections are drawing near.Therefore, it is appropriate to reviewissues related to the political activities ofstaff and of political activities on schoolgrounds and how policy can providenecessary direction.

Political activity and the distribution ofcampaign materials and visits by candi-dates and/or their campaigning supportersat public schools remains a controversialissue. The courts have provided someguidance.

Free speechIn the often-cited Tinker v. Des Moines

School District case,the United StatesSupreme Courtdeclared that“Neither students norteachers shed theirconstitutional rightsto freedom of speechor expression at theschool house gate.”However, this doesnot mean thatteachers and studentsenjoy the freedom tospeak on any topic atany time.

In the BethelSchool District v.Fraser ruling, theU.S. Supreme Courtindicated thatschools need nottolerate “lewd,indecent or offensivespeech.” Schooldistricts also cantake appropriatesteps to distance itself from certain kindsof speech, such as in a school newspaperor school website, when such speech maybe inconsistent with the school’s basiceducational mission.

Therefore, within these principles, aresult of Supreme Court rulings, boards ofeducation may set reasonable time, placeand manner restrictions on studentspeech, even if the speech is “protected.”This could result in the school’s interestsin preserving the classroom for educa-tional purposes to outweigh the student’sinterests in engaging in political speech.

The courts have taken a similarposition with district employees, espe-cially teachers. When the speech pertainsto a matter of public concern, the courts

must balance the employee’s right to freespeech against the interests of the schooldistrict.

In addition, time, place and mannerrestrictions may apply. Boards mustrecognize that professional employeesenjoy private lives and may associate withothers outside of school for political,economic, religious, cultural or personalreasons. The board’s supervisory staff,however, has the responsibility toevaluate employees in terms of theireffectiveness in discharging assignedduties and responsibilities.

When non-school activities impactupon a staff member’s effectiveness andjob performance as a school districtemployee, the board reserves the right toevaluate the effect of such non-schoolactivities upon the staff member’sperformance of employment responsibili-ties in the school district.

Generally, school board employeeshave the right toactively participatein political activitieson behalf of anycandidate, party orissue providing suchactivities are outsidetheir assigned hoursof employment.

Rights toinformation

Also to beconsidered are theissues of candidates’rights to information,employee participa-tion in politicalcampaigns, distribu-tion of campaignliterature and visitsof candidates or theircampaigningsupporters to schoolsand school classes

and/or functions.Any candidate for any office, whether

or not currently in office, has the sameright to public and existing information asdoes any other citizen. This includes theright to meet with an administrator for areasonable period and to be given a tourof the school facilities, if requested.

District employees should not partici-pate in nor may district facilities be usedin political campaigns during school orwork hours. Neither candidates nor theirsupporters, including school districtemployees, should be allowed to cam-paign on school grounds during schoolhours.

Anyone wanting to use district facili-ties for political activities outside school

hours should apply for such use inconformity with the district’s “CommunityUse of School Facilities” policy.

It is advised that if a class or school-sponsored group plans a political debateduring the school day, the principal/teacher/sponsor should ensure that allcandidates for the same public office orwho have differing opinions on a politicalissue are given equal opportunity toparticipate.

Political candidates or their supportersshould not be allowed to appear at aschool unless they are invited to visit orspeak to a class or other school-relatedactivity during school hours. The require-ments for debates or forums should applyand other candidates for the public officeshould be invited to visit at the same timeor be provided an equivalent opportunity.

Distribution of campaign literature andpolitical statements by candidates or theirsupporters may occur in class and at aschool event only as part of an instruc-tional discussion of controversial issues.Teachers can use political materials aspart of the instructional program, pro-vided the material is germane to theinstructional objectives of the class/course. Any presentation of politicalmaterials, or issues, or expression of view,however, must be balanced, fair andsubject to policy parameters.

Distribution of materialAnother issue to be considered is the

distribution of political or campaignliterature. The U.S. Supreme Court inPerry Educational Association v. PerryLocal Educators’ Association establishedthat teacher mail boxes in a schoolsystem’s interschool mail system are“nonpublic” forums, meaning they are notopen to general debate or the freeexchange of ideas.

A district may impose reasonableviewpoint-neutral restrictions on teachermailboxes in order to exclude speakers orliterature that would disrupt the system orhinder its effectiveness. Restrictions onaccess to teacher mailboxes may beconsidered reasonable when it is clear thatthe mailboxes are used exclusively forschool-related purposes.

The courts will look at the availabilityof other channels of communication. Inaddition, the courts have acknowledgedthe school district’s need to avoid anyappearance of political favoritism.

A regular newsletter of an employeeorganization that is normally distributedvia the teacher mailboxes is not consid-ered political material if it simplycontains news of a political nature takenby the organization.

However, a publication from, ornewsletter primarily containing news ordiscussion about, any political actioncommittee is considered political materialand may not be distributed through thestaff mailbox system.

A board of education’s policy prohibit-ing the distribution of political materialsmust not distinguish between politicalparties, candidates or viewpoints. If itdoes, the district potentially opens themailboxes to all political expression andfaces charges of discrimination.

A number of policy areas are impactedby this topic. Policy #1311.2, “PoliticalActivities in the Schools” is availableupon request. Other policies which areapplicable to this issue include: (1)#1140, “Distribution of Materials byStudents,” (2) #1311.1, “Political Activi-ties of School Employees,” (3) #1330/3515, “Community Use of SchoolFacilities,” (4) #3543.13, “ Mail andDelivery,” (5) #4118.21, “ AcademicFreedom,” (6) #6144, “ControversialIssues,” and (7) #6153.2, “StudentParticipation in Election Process.”

“A board ofeducation’s policy

prohibiting thedistribution of political

materials must notdistinguish between

political parties,candidates or view-points. If it does, the

district potentiallyopens the mailboxes toall political expressionand faces charges of

discrimination.”

2012 CABE/CAPSS Convention Committee subcommittee, Superintendents Dave Erwin (Berlin),Irene Cornish (Stratford) and Board Members Beverly Washington (Groton), Doug Smith(Plainfield) served on the Talented Students Selection Committee which met in June. TheCommittee selected the Mystic Middle School Jazz Band to perform on Friday morning and theWaterbury Arts Magnet School High School Chorus to perform on Saturday morning.

Talented Student Subcommittee


Heads up and hats off!Emerging changes in Protective Service in Connecticut:

Implications for educationAnn GruenbergMember, Hampton Board of EducationVice President forGovernment Relations, CABE

Collective Bargaining Workshop

Kelly Moyher, Sr. Staff Attorney, welcomed everyone to the workshop.

Attorney Fred Dorsey, Siegel, O’Connor,O’Donnell & Beck, talked about such trendsas dealing with the economy, languageissues and employee contributions.

Attorney Kenneth Weinstock, Kainen,Escalera & McHale, talked about board andteacher strategy at the negotiations table,step schedules and health insurance.

Patrice A. McCarthy, Deputy Director andGeneral Counsel, shared with participantsan update on what’s happening at the PEACmeetings.

Participants listening intently as Patrice A. McCarthy talks about the new EducationReform legislation.

With the busy legislative session overand change an ever-present reality, thoseof us involved with education may antici-pate a little “down time” during the sum-mer. In fact, in addition to multiple edu-cational initiatives, there is another waveof momentum from the systems focusingon child protective services.

Specifically, the Department of Child-ren and Families, under the leadership ofCommissioner Joette Katz and DeputyCommissioner Janice Gruendel is fullyin gear for some major paradigm shiftsand new initiatives which promise to havefar-reaching impact across systems, in-cluding education.

The seeds of some of these initiativeswere planted last autumn, when a repre-sentative team from Connecticut partici-pated in a New England Early Develop-ment, Science and Child Welfare Summitin New Hampshire. This was described ina previous article (Gruenberg, December2011). The Summit was fully sponsoredby the Casey Family Services.

It was based on a cross-sector, collab-orative model of addressing concerns andpossibilities regarding child protectiveservices, based on accurate and currentresearch about child development, toxicstress and the importance of healthy rela-tionships in the lives of children.

The intent was that each statewideteam would be fully representative ofvarious agencies, such as public health,social services, education, etc. Experts inthe field presented relevant research, withimplications for practice.

Those involved from each state werecharged with following up locally, basedon the six state summit. Connecticutteam members reconvened, and beganplanning a follow-up event. The eventoccurred on June 18, 2012, in the Legis-lative Office Building.

Both Governor Dannel Malloy andLieutenant Governor Nancy Wymanaddressed the group; with morning andafternoon sessions, the content was shar-ed with over four hundred participantsfrom across many agencies, who appreci-ated the urgency and scope of the workbeing done.

The initiative has been termed the

“First 1000 Days”, to highlight the sign-ificance of early development and the needfor a shared commitment. The keynotespeaker in both sessions was MatthewMelmed, Executive Director of Zero-to-Three based in Washington, DC, who wasalso a major speaker at the New EnglandSummit.

He shared crucial information about theimportance of early experience and rela-tionships as they relate to ongoing braindevelopment in young children. The riskof toxic stress is well-documented, as wellas the potential positive impact of healthyprotective factors.

The evidence supporting the science ofearly childhood is compelling. Both themorning and afternoon sessions also in-cluded panel discussions with Commis-sioners from a range of agencies, includingpublic health, the judicial system, the De-partment of Developmental Services, theDepartment of Social Services, and Educa-tion. Some of the key themes emergingfrom last fall’s Summit and the event inJune included the following:

• The urgency of working with youngchildren and their families to en-hance their optimal development,especially when there are mentalhealth and/or substance abuse issues;systematic improvement of preven-tion.

• The importance of prevention, usingdata to increase accountability andinform practice. This includes a dif-ferential response system, throughwhich DCF can prioritize situationsbased on imminent severity and risk.

• The consistent focus on healthy rela-tionships, helping parents understandthe significance of their engagementwith their children.

• The significance of emerging know-ledge regarding neuroscience and thecrucial role of experience on earlybrain development; the potentialcompounded effects of AdverseChildhood Experiences and toxicstress, compared with protectivefactors and support.

• Cross sector participation, includingeducation; agencies and com-munities all doing what is possible toprovide supports.

• The need for restructuring systems,including hospital protocol.

• Wide dissemination of information

about recommended practices;moving “From fact to act”.

A Painful Case in PointSince the event in June, the Depart-

ment of Children and Families has con-tinued to be in the news. A recent ex-ample includes the continued investiga-tion of a heartbreaking tragedy, with athree year old having been beaten todeath by her mother’s boyfriend.

Information about how the school inwhich this child was enrolled followedprotocol has been discussed. The factthat school personnel made a report onsuspected abuse has appeared on thefront page of newspapers as well as T.V.news coverage. Increasing scrutiny acrosssystems means it is imperative thatschools and Boards of Education be fullyup-to-date with changes and require-ments.

In light of the tragic death of Athena,Commissioner Katz is proposing signifi-cantly revised protocol for hospitalsaddressing medical concerns when thereis reason to suspect child maltreatment.This changing protocol includes anincreased focus on consideration of thewell-being of the whole child and in-creased coordination of information fromone medical visit to the next.

There is ample evidence that the cur-rent representative team of leaders focus-ing on child protective services isthoroughly committed to reformingsystems in any and every way necessaryto reduce the occurrence of child mal-treatment in Connecticut, and increaseoptions for foster care. Such a cross-sector initiative is much needed.

The Governor and the LieutenantGovernor have recently visited theDepartment of Children and Families,further demonstrating their dedication tothis important initiative, and offeringsupport to all who work in this agency.

As tragic as some circumstances are,there is some hope in an initiative thatsystematically coordinates all resourcesto more effectively provide for the needsof young children and their families,without avoiding the degree of serious-ness of these issues. There is clearly acommitment to much-needed reform inthe systems, within and between agen-cies.


A B E / C A P

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C N T I 0 N

Boards and Superintendents:The Challenges and Opportunities Involvedin Reforming and Transforming Education

Workshop LineupWhile most of us are thinking of

summer vacation plans, the CABE/CAPSS Convention Committee hastheir sights set on November 16 and17. The 2012 CABE/CAPSS Con-vention promises to be another qualityprofessional development experiencefor board members and superinten-dents. There will be workshop of-ferings appropriate for everyone fromnewly elected board of educationmembers to experienced board mem-bers and superintendents.

Issues to be discussed at the 2012Convention include, but are not limitedto: Negotiations, CT FOIA, Roles andResponsibilities, Effective ParentEngagement, The Role of Arts Educa-tion, Secondary School Reform, TheSchool Board and the School Gover-nance Council and the Annual Meet-ing of the Nutmeg Board.

Register now!Members of CABE and CAPSS - Be

sure to register early for the CABE/CAPSS Convention to secure your spot atthis annual event and to save your districtmoney. Registration fees increase onSeptember 1. You may register online atwww.cabe.org or complete and return theregistration form that was mailed to you atthe end of June.

Convention LodgingThose attending the annual CABE/

CAPSS Convention have been guaranteeda room rate of $149 at the Mystic MarriottHotel. When making your reservation, besure to mention that you are with theCABE/CAPSS Convention in order to takeadvantage of this special room rate.

This rate of $149 is guaranteed onlyuntil 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October17, 2012. After this date, reservations forConvention participants will be based onavailability and are offered at the pre-vailing rate.

You may make reservations directlywith the Mystic Marriott’s reservationdepartment by calling 866-449-7390. Youmay also make reservations online atwww.cabe.org/page.cfm?p=408. Theonline code is already entered in the ap-propriate field. Purchase orders are NOTaccepted.

For More InformationGo to the CABE website http://

www.cabe.org/page.cfm?p=408. Besure to watch your email and read theCABE Journal for more CABE/CAPSS Convention news!

Lisa SteimerSenior Staff Associate

for Professional Development

CABE-Meeting

Learn more:

CABE-Meeting is a user-friendly, web-based service specifically designed to assist the board, superintendent and central office staff in preparingfor and running board of education meetings.

An exciting feature designed for use by committees, in addtion to boards of education, was recently added to CABE-Meeting. Now all yourboard work and committee information is conveniently located in one place!

• Do you want to save your district money?• Do you want to utilize technology to enable staff to be more

efficient?• Do you want to focus more of your human and financial resources

on increasing student achievement in your district?• Do you want to enhance communication with your community?• Do you want to model the methods that should be used to infuse

technology in your schools?If you answered “yes” to at least one of the above questions, readon. CABE-Meeting can help you!

Take a few minutes and go to http://www.cabe.org/page.cfm?p=158to complete our CABE-Meeting cost analysis worksheet (located atthe bottom of the page) and see how much your district can save inone year. Districts can save thousands of dollars each year byusing CABE-Meeting.

For more information or to schedule a demonstration for your board,call Lisa Steimer at 800-317-0033 or 860-571-7446 or [email protected].

CABE-Meeting

Lisa SteimerConnecticut Association ofBoards of Education81 Wolcott Hill RoadWethersfield, CT 06109www.cabe.org

Is CABE-Meeting for you?


Labor Management Collaboration at the National LevelIn the midst of sometimes contentious

labor management discussions in Connec-ticut about various aspects of educationreform, I had the opportunity to attend theU.S. Department of Education’s secondLabor- Management Conference-Collabo-rating to Transform the Teaching Profes-sion.

The Conference, convened by U.S.Secretary of Education Arne Duncan,included leaders of all the national educa-tion organizations – the National SchoolBoards Association, Council of the GreatCity Schools, Federal Mediation and Con-ciliation Service, American Association ofSchool Administrators, National Educa-tion Association, American Federation ofTeachers and Council of Chief StateSchool Officers – as well as labor –man-agement teams from individual schooldistricts. The national organizations havecommitted to sustained collaboration toimprove student learning and educationalequity. They identified and agreed to thefollowing elements of a transformedprofession:

A Culture of SharedResponsibility andLeadership:

In a transformed profession, educatorstake collective ownership for studentlearning; structures of shared decision-making and open-door practice provideeducators with the collaborative autono-my to do what is best for each student;and the profession takes upon itself theresponsibility for ensuring that high stand-ards of practice are met. In this profes-sional culture, teachers and principalstogether make the primary decisionsabout educator selection, assignment,evaluation, dismissal, and career advance-ment - with student learning at the centerof all such decisions.

Top Talent, Preparedfor Success:

Students with effective teachersperform at higher levels; they have highergraduation rates, higher college-goingrates, higher levels of civic participation,and higher lifetime earnings. Thus,attracting a high-performing and diversepool of talented individuals to becometeachers and principals is a criticalpriority - whether these are new graduatesor career switchers, and whether theyenter the profession through traditional oralternative pathways.

We must support programs thatprepare highly effective educators andoffer high quality and substantive cur-ricula and clinical preparation experi-ences. We should expand the mostsuccessful programs, help other programsimprove, and close down the lowest-performing programs if they fail toimprove after receiving support. Prepara-tion should include significant clinicalopportunities that involve highly effectiveteachers or principals to oversee, mentor,and evaluate aspiring educators (prefer-ably in the school environments in which

the candidates will ultimately work).Further, aspiring educators must meet ahigh bar for entering the profession,demonstrating strong knowledge in thecontent they teach; have mastered arepertoire of instructional strategies andknow when to use each appropriately;have the dispositions and aptitudes towork effectively with students and withcolleagues; and are learners themselveswho know how to plan purposefully,analyze student learning outcomes, reflecton their own practice, and adjust asneeded.

Continuous Growth andProfessional Development:

Effective teachers and principals arecareer-long learners. Effective schoolsand districts are learning communitieswhere teachers and principals individuallyand collaboratively continuously reflecton and improve their practice. Suchcommunities of practice thrive when thereis structured time for collaborative workinformed by a rich array of data andaccess to internal and external expertise.

We must take seriously the need toevaluate the efficacy of professionaldevelopment so that we can more me-thodically improve it, channeling ourinvestments into activities and supportsthat make a difference. From induction fornovice teachers designed to acceleratetheir growth and development, to replicat-ing the practices of the most accom-plished teachers, professional develop-ment is a critical lever of improvement.

As a profession, we must developgreater competency in using it.

Effective Teachersand Principals:

Effective educators have high stan-dards of professional practice anddemonstrate their ability to improvestudent learning. Thus, effectiveness mustbe evaluated based on measures ofstudent academic growth, evidence fromclassroom and school practice, andcontributions to colleagues and the schoolcommunity.

The results of the evaluations shouldguide professional support and develop-ment and inform personnel decisions suchas teacher and principal assignments, thegranting of professional status (e.g.,tenure), promotion to leadership roles,and dismissal for those who, despitereceiving support, are ineffective. Goodevaluation systems should providefeedback to educators from both col-leagues and supervisors that is meaning-ful, credible, and actionable, and shoulduse evidence-based processes that are fair,accurate, and transparent.

A Professional CareerContinuum with CompetitiveCompensation:

Educators are one of our nation’s mostvaluable resources. We must create a

profession that attracts great people intoour schools and classrooms - and keepsthem in the profession. To do this, weneed to offer educators career pathwaysthat provide opportunities for increasinglyresponsible roles, whether they choose tostay in the classroom, become instruc-tional leaders, or move into administra-tion. And these roles must be coupledwith compensation that is high enough toattract and retain a highly skilledworkforce; reflects the effectiveness,expertise, and contributions of eacheducator; and is consistent with thesocietal regard accorded to comparableprofessions.

Conditions for SuccessfulTeaching and Learning:

High-functioning systems can amplifythe accomplishments of their educators,but a dysfunctional school or district canundermine the impact of even the bestteachers. We need schools and districtswhose climates and cultures, use of time,approaches to staffing, use of technology,deployment of support services, andengagement of families and communitiesare optimized to continuously improveoutcomes for the students they serve.

Further, we must be prepared to get thebest teachers and principals to thehighest-need students (including low-income students, minority students,English learners, and students withdisabilities), and to ensure that allstudents have access to the other re-sources (such as technology; instructional

materials; and social, health, and nutri-tional services) necessary to support theiracademic success.

Engaged Communities:Finally, no community can flourish

unless its children are safe, healthy, well-nourished, and well-educated; and noschool can be a strong pillar of a thrivingcommunity without deep communityresponsibility for and ownership of theschool’s academic success. Thus, recog-nizing that the fate of communities andtheir schools are inextricably linked, wemust make schools stronger by educatorsembracing community resources, exper-tise, and activities; and we must makecommunities stronger by anchoring themaround highly effective schools.

Discussions at the Conference

(please see LABOR page 10)

The 600 attendees discussed some ofthe critical challenges to transformingteaching. Similar to the discussions inConnecticut that led to the changes in theteacher and administrator evaluation andsupport system, there was emphasis on theneed for multiple measures of studentachievement, strong and uniform stan-dards for teacher preparation, buildingcapacity for teacher preparation andprofessional development, and the needfor time – for collaboration, coaching andplanning.

One of the breakout sessions focusedspecifically on expanding learning timethrough such mechanisms as flexible

CABE: working for YOUIndividualized Workshops • Professional Development Opportunities

Legal Services • Policy Services • Representing You Statewide and Nationally


Below are the highlights of activities thatthe CABE staff has undertaken on yourbehalf over the last month. We did this:

✦ By ensuring membersreceive the most up-to-datecommunications:• Planned and attended CABE

Collective Bargaining workshop.• Distributed issue #4 of the Policy

Update Service publication whichcontained the policy implications ofrecently passed bills.

• Prepared Custom Policy Servicematerial for Brooklyn, Park CityPrep Charter School, Putnam,and East Windsor.

• Met with Teresa Kane, superinten-dent, East Windsor, to review thepolicy project.

• Entered in a contract to develop anew policy manual for Columbia.

• Updated list of required andrecommended policy were placedon the CABE website.

✦ By representing Connecti-cut school boards on thestate or national level:• Participated in PEAC Committee

and subcommittee meetings.• Worked on legislative issues with

“Big 6” Coalition.• Attended U.S. Department of

Education Labor-ManagementConference.

• Attended Connecticut Coalitionfor Justice in Education Fundingannual meeting.

• Attended CAPSS’ InternationalEducation Committee meeting.

• Discussed education reformlegislation on WTIC.

• Planned and attended joint Con-necticut/Massachusetts SchoolAttorneys meeting.

• Participated in State Departmentof Education panel on excused and

unexcused absences.• Attended Achievement Gap Task

Force meetings.• Attended State Department of

Education Alliance Districtmeeting.

• Participated in Financial LiteracyCoalition meeting.

• Attended NEASC internationalschool accrediation training.

• Attended ECS Task Force meet-ings.

• Attended State Board of Educa-tion meetings.

• Attended CSAE LeadershipSymposium and participated inCSAE Board of Directors meeting.

• Attended the Connecticut Associa-tion of Schools’s Governor’sScholars Luncheon.

• Participated in meeting of ExecutiveDirectors to discuss NSBA’sstrategic planning and executivedirector search.

• Attended dedication of auditoriumin Mary Broderick’s honor at EastLyme High School and receptionthereafter.

• Attended two meetings of theConnecticut Coalition for PublicEducation discussing issues such asState budget, committees, otherinformation.

• Participated in PerformanceEvaluation Assessment Council,and its subgroups on Principal andTeacher evaluation.

• Spoke before Bridgeport SchoolGovernance Councils.

• Presented award at the ConnecticutHigh School Musical TheatreAwards.

• Participated in What Will OurChildren Lose teleconferences.

• Attended Dr. Diane Ullman’sretirement from Simsbury reception.She is now Associate Commissionerfor Talent at the State Departmentof Education.

• Participated in meeting of the State

Advisory Committee on SchoolGovernance Councils.

✦ By providing services tomeet members needs:

• Provided workshop on educationlegislation for C.E.S. administrators

• Provided Legislative Wrap-Upworkshop

• Prepared Education Law Summa-ries.

• Facilitated Montville goal-settingworkshop.

• Provided workshop on educationlegislation at CASBO Conference.

• Provided workshop on schoolfinance for the Norwalk EducationFoundation.

• Provided legislative update forLEARN Board of Directors.

• Staffed and participated in Resolu-tions and Government RelationsCommittee meeting.

• Provided webinar on AllianceDistricts legislation.

• Participated in meetings of CABECommunication’s Committee onhow to strengthen CABE communi-cations with our members.

• Attended Hartford Foundation’sworkshop on communicationstrends for nonprofit leaders.

• Attended and planned CABEmortgage burning which, in the longrun, will help CABE find resourcesfor better helping our members.

• Met with Madison Board ChairDebbie Frey and SuperintendentTom Scarice on CABE services,programs and activities.

• Met with Dean Ralph Mueller andothers from the University ofHartford College of Education,Nursing and Health Profession onworking together.

• Entered into contract to place policymanual of the Windsor PublicSchools online.

• Custom Policy update materialswere sent to Ansonia, Columbia,East Hampton, East Windsor,Franklin, Gilbert School, Hebron,Marlborough, New Fairfield, NewHartford, Newington, NorthStonington, Old Saybrook,Oxford, Region #6, Stafford,Sterling, West Haven, Westbrookand Windham.

• Contracted to do an audit of thepolicy manuals of Scotland, andWatertown. The audit for thesedistricts is in progress.

• West Haven policy manual wasplaced online.

✦ By providing opportunitiesfor members to learn howbetter govern their districts:• Demonstrated CABE-Meeting for

the Glastonbury, Naugatuck andStratford Boards of Education.

• Entered into an CABE-Meetingagreements with Lyme-Old Lyme

(Region 18) and Windsor.• Attended New London Board of

Education meeting with EducationCommissioner Pryor and otherrepresentatives of the State Depart-ment of Education.

• Facilitated workshop on Roles andResponsibilities for Marlboroughand Scotland.

• Facilitated Board Self-Evaluationworkshop with the New London,Stafford and Stonington.

• Met with the New London Chair todiscuss effective meetings.

• Provided policy information to 53districts, one RESC, four newspa-pers, and one attorney through 80answered requests for informationor sample policies, on 62 topics.The topics of greatest interestincluded bring your own devices toschool (BYOD), school healthservices social networking, E-Rate,dress codes, workplace bullying,and attendance and truancy issues.

✦ By promoting public edu-cation:• Answered questions about the

current legal issues facing boardsof education. “HOT topics thismonth were: board evaluation,public attendance rights at meet-ings, negotiations committees, emailbetween board members, andresidency determinations.

• Helped Manchester High Schoolprepare for upcoming strategicplanning meetings.

• Took part in three meetings of theGovernor’s PreventionPartnership’s Ad Hoc ImpactCommittee and meeting of its Boardof Directors.

• Attended CAPSS RetirementMembers Subcommittee and CABEBoard of Directors.

✦ By helping school boards toincrease student achieve-ment:• Met with and participated in the

meeting with Alliance Districtboard chairs and superintendents ontheir need for help from CABE asthey implement new work.

• Provided Lighthouse training forthe Killingly, Norwich andShelton.

• Facilitated Goal Setting workshopwith Stafford.

• Sent four issues of Policy High-lights via email covering topics thataffect student achievement. Theseincluded the use of restraint andseclusion, board self-evaluation,summer and student learning,absenteeism and student achieve-ment, USDA meal standards,workplace bullying, cyber bullyingeducation, E-rate program policyimplications, and required andrecommended due process parentalnotification.

Labor Management Collaborationat the National Level

(continued from page 9)scheduling and moving beyond thecurrent framework of the teacher daybeing equivalent to the student day.

Other strategies included the use oftechnology to provide students withacademic support, staggering the teacherwork year, and providing the opportunityfor high school students to experienceinternships twice a year. (For additionalinformation, go to www.timeandlearning.org/ELTtransformsteaching.)

There was also discussion of the needto change the collective bargaining mind-

set from a list of demands to a problemsolving process.

Representatives from both the NewHaven and Meriden public schools hadthe opportunity to present sessionshighlighting the significant changes theyhave made as a result of the collaborativeprocess.

Meriden’s focus is on their continuousimprovement system, and New Havenprovided an update on their SchoolChange Initiative.

Patrice A. McCarthyDeputy Director and General Counsel, CABE


Kelly B. Moyher Senior Staff Attorney, CABE

The Connecticut Supreme Court ruledin February that the State violated the lawwhen it disbanded the City of Bridge-port’s elected board of education lastsummer and replaced it with an appointedboard. The high court’s decision wasviewed as a setback by school reformers.

Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch beganpressing for the take-over in early 2011 asa means of asserting greater control oflocal school spending.

Specifically, the justices of theSupreme Court found, based on Connecti-cut law and relevant legislative history,that:

• the training provision is a conditionprecedent (i.e., a preceding require-ment to taking action) to the stateboard’s authority to authorizereconstitution,

• the failure to satisfy the trainingprovision renders the State Boardpowerless to authorize reconstitu-tion, and

• because the training provision con-cerns the scope of the Legislature’sgrant of power to the State Board,the local board, as a separate agentof the state and a body inferior tothe legislature, could not alter thescope of the grant by waiving theprovision.

The decision states, “Simply put, thestate board cannot reconstitute a localboard of education without first requiringthe local board to undergo and completetraining. Requiring training is therefore acondition precedent to the state board’sability to authorize reconstitution.”

In other words, the State Board lacksthe power to authorize reconstitution untilit first has required the local board toundergo and complete training…”

The court rejected arguments by the

state and by Bridgeport that the takeovercomplied with the law because a 6-3majority on Bridgeport’s elected boardessentially dissolved itself when it votedin July to authorize the takeover. Take-over supporters had argued that the Julyvote effectively waived the trainingrequirement.

The Court went on to state that “only ifthe state board chooses to exercise theextreme remedy of reconstitution will alocal board of education be entirelysupplanted by state appointed boardmembers”.

The Bridgeport Board of Educationreceived two session of training in 2010with CABE, but not all board membersattended those meetings.

Duties of Local BoardsThe Court went on to find three gen-

eral principles of legislative intent behindConnecticut General Statute section 10-223e, the statute which governs the re-spective duties of the state and localboards of education:

First, the Court found that reconstitu-tion is an extreme remedy, to be used onlysparingly after it becomes apparent thatother remedial measures have failed toproduce results.

Second, the testimony and remarks oflegislators track the plain language of thestatute, which mandates that the StateBoard require a local board of educationto undergo and complete training beforethe State Board authorizes reconstitutionof the local board.

It also appears that certain legislatorsanticipated that the State Board wouldreassess its initial decision to pursuereconstitution after the local board hadsuccessfully completed its training.

Third, any time that a legislatorexpresses concern over the ramifications

of allowing the State Board to authorizereconstitution of a local board of educa-tion, that concern was grounded specifi-cally in the usurpation of local demo-cratic will, or more specifically, thatreconstitution, especially one without anyprocedural check in place, would tramplerights of the people who had duly anddemocratically elected their representa-tives to the local board.

It appeared to the Court that thelegislative intent presented little concernregarding the rights of the local boards ofeducation or its members and there wasapparently no discussion amongstlegislators about whether local boardscould seek out reconstitution or could

Bridgeport case focuses on crucialboard member training in Connecticut

waive the State Board’s obligation torequire training.

In summary, the Court found that theLegislature intended that the State Boardfollow a clear, transparent and deliberateprocess if it decides to authorize reconsti-tution of an underperforming local boardof education and that the statutoryprovision could not be waived by a localboard of education.

CABE will continue to work withConnecticut’s boards of education to helpensure that reconstitution or any otherusurpation of a local board, takes placeonly in extreme circumstances (seeeditorial, page 3).

Alliance districts meet

In light of recent legislation, CABE called the Alliance Districts together to brainstorm onhow CABE could help them as their districts move forward. The Districts who sent representa-tives were: Derby, Killingly, Naugatuck, Simsbury, Stamford, Winchester, and Windsor.

Resolutions and GovernmentRelations Committees meet

CABE’s RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE met on June 20 to review the Resolutions process; theydiscussed any possible Committee Resolutions and all Resolutions send in by school boards.The GOVERNMENT RELATIONS COMMITTEE reviewed the 2012 General Assembly Session andCABE’s Day on the Hill; and they discussed the Distinguished Legislator Award andDelegate Assembly logistics. Those in attendance were: Bob Trefry, Bridgeport; RonaldGoldstein, Colchester; Cal Heminway, Granby; Jennifer Dayton, Greenwich; AnnGruenberg, Hampton; Becky Tyrrell, Plainville; Gail MacDonald, Stonington; and LydiaTedone, Simsbury. CABE staff in attendance were: Robert Rader, Executive Director, PatriceA. McCarthy, Deputy Director and General Counsel; Sheila McKay, Sr. Staff Associate forGovernment Relations; and Gail Heath, Administrative Associate for Government Relations.

Our School Transportation Division

transportation services, including:Consulting services including RFPs, contracts, analysis and trainingManagement of a districts transportation servicesRegionalization planning and/or managementVan transportation

Visit www.crec.org/transportation, call

860-524-4056 or e-mail [email protected]

CREC School Transportation


CABE’s Model Student andParent/Guardian Handbook

2011-2012Available on CD with

accompanying hard copy!

Check out the advantages of the Handbook on a CD:44444 FREES up staff’s time — no need for staff to do the

research.44444 All essential legal areas are covered. Provides listing of

mandatory, recommended and optional topics for ahandbook.

44444 Contains information that meets requirements forstudent and parent notification.

44444 References are made to appropriate existing policies, aswell as to Connecticut General Statutes.

44444 Modify the material on the diskette to fit your schooldistrict’s needs.

Major additions added this year are: advanced placementcourses, student support services, online course credit, computerresources and telecommunication devices. Plus many otherchanges that will bring your handbook up-to-date.

The handbook is available tomember districts for $200,plus $20 for additionalcopies of the CD. The cost tononmember boards is $500,plus $40 per extra CD. Toorder, please go to the CABEwebsite www.cabe.org/page.cfm?p=773.

(continued from page 1)the students and families a broad view ofChina from a cultural and historical lens.We also wanted to build in enough time atour sister school in Jinan so the studentscould make the connections we werehoping for.

With that in mind, we arranged forhomestays for the students and teachers inhopes of further enriching and authenti-cating the experience. I was able to con-tact the principal of the Zhangqiu PrimarySchool directly through email to makethose arrangements. I forwarded a bio-graphy that we had translated intoChinese of each student along with aphotograph.

My executive assistant worked hand-in-hand with the travel agency to organizethe group visas, passports, paymenttimelines and general organizationaldetails such as special diets and medical/insurance issues that needed to be ad-dressed and planned for.

Team Building We felt it was important to build asense of community within the group of21 travelers that included teachers, par-ents, students, grandparents, relatives, aformer Board of Education Chairpersonand community members.

Therefore, along with the three Sat-urday China sessions offered at CAS inCheshire, CT, the Hebron China PlanningCommittee decided to host evening for-ums with the parents where they coulddiscuss practical issues such as attire,food, cultural differences in social inter-actions, gifts for the host families, andbasic Mandarin Chinese lessons. Theteachers set up a Wiki so the families andstudents could blog about preparation forthe trip.

The teachers met with the six students(three fifth graders and three sixthgraders) every Monday to also build asense of teamwork among the children.They worked together on Shutterfly

Books that were to be given to the sisterschool and to the host families includingpictures of their families and pets, and atypical day in Hebron Schools. TheHebron Education Foundation donatedfunds so the students could design slingbackpacks for their host families.

School Preparation Prior to the departure date, the teach-ers and students going to China held aschool-wide assembly and a China Daycelebration which included ethnic food,music, art and cultural activities so theentire school could share this excitingexperience. Each student made a paperkite and puzzle that would be brought asgifts for the sister school students.

Managing the Unexpected On our way to the airport to see ourtravelers off, the principal and I receiveda phone call from Dan Gregg who wasalready on his way to China. Our sisterschool arrangement had fallen through.As we ran down the causeway to the gatefrom which our group was departing, Itried to think of what to say to thestudents and families.

I shared with the teachers that therewas a problem, but we would try our bestto get it resolved by the time they landedin Beijing nearly 24 hours later. It wasdevastating to think that the homestaysand school arrangements were all up inthe air and very possibly could nothappen.

Through the relentless efforts of DanGregg and his connections with theShandong Government, by the time thetraveling group left Beijing, a new sisterschool partnership was formed with theLin Yi School which is affiliated with LinYi University in Lin Yi, China. Whatcould have been a crisis, turned out to bea gift. The Lin Yi School made all thehomestay arrangements and school visitspossible for our travelers and have agreedto send teachers and students to Hebronthis fall.

Academic Connection Lin Yi School specializes in math,science and engineering which aligns withour district STEM initiatives. We are veryexcited about the possibilities that are yetto unfold. We have agreed with ourChinese partners to have a problem-solving focus in our shared work, and wehave started the process for welcoming ournew friends to Hebron in the fall.

The group of travelers has shared theirexperiences with the Board of Educationand has been interviewed on numerousoccasions by local newspapers. They havealso presented to the CAPSS InternationalCommittee. All of the parents that went onthe trip have volunteered to host thestudents and teachers from Lin Yi. Wehave been communicating on a regularbasis with our new sister school andcouldn’t be more thrilled with our un-folding relationship.

The Journey I am grateful for all the hard work putforth by the teachers and support staff aswe forged new ground in sister schoolpartnerships. Dan Gregg was so helpful infinding us another sister school in such ashort period of time. The parents wereresilient and understanding and the stu-dents made the trip worthwhile. Key ele-ments for a successful trip: dedicated andcommitted staff, ongoing and continuouscommunication, and perseverance. Welook forward to the sister school visit thisfall, and would welcome inquiries fromthose that would be interested in exploringa similar trip for their district. I can bereached at 860-228-2577 or email:[email protected].

I wish to thank Jane Dube, KarenConderino, Dan Gregg, Peng, VirginiaValace, Kim Pedersen, Kris Garofalo,Paula Graef, Laura Quarticelli, KateMaupin, Jason Kearns, Amy Campbelland Kathy Veronesi for their continuedcommitment and contribution to thisproject.

Sister school partnership

Hebron students who participated in the China trip.


Now that most of us have been able tohopefully enjoy a bit of a break thissummer, it’s time to start thinking aboutgetting prepared for the new school year.

Summer time is the perfect time tomake sure that your public relations,community outreach and crisis communi-cations plans are in good shape and up todate.

Getting prepared NOW on what, howand to whom you want to get pertinentinformation to will only make life easieronce school has started and you getbogged down with other priorities.

Here are some easy steps that you canbegin to do to make sure that yourcommunications vehicles are in place andcurrent. We all understand the impor-tance of communication to our schoolcommunity, so why not make sure youhave your plan in place with the follow-ing five core tasks that can make your joba whole lot easier?1. Sort through your contacts.

Whether you have a full-time commu-nications person or not (most districtsdon’t) make sure your contact infor-mation is up to date. People come andpeople go, especially in the mediabusiness, so make sure that if you are

CABE and Baldwin Media: Partners in Managing Communications

The Media Message from Ann Baldwin, Baldwin Media Marketing, LLC

Running adistrict ishardLighten yourload with anupdatedpolicymanual

You need an up-to-date policy manual to run your district effec-tively. CABE can help. Our policy specialists will assist in updat-ing your manual, ensuring your district’s policies are current andup-to-date with the Connecticut statutes.

Call Vincent Mustaro, Senior Staff Associate for Policy Service(860) 571-7446 or (800) 317-0033 to begin updating yourmanual today.

Make communications a priority this school year

is recruiting for

SUPERINTENDENTOF SCHOOLS

For more information contact, CABE Search Services,Jacqueline V. Jacoby • 860-539-7594

Randall H. Collins • 860-235-6340Paul Gagliarducci • 413-218-5692

P.O. Box 290252, Wethersfield, CT 06129-0252www.cabe.org/support • Equal Opportunity Employers

BETHANY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

DERBY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

EAST HARTFORD PUBLIC SCHOOLS

SCOTLAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS

STRATFORD PUBLIC SCHOOLS

For an update or more information onvacancies go to our website: www.cabe.org

going to distribute a press release or amedia advisory that you have the latestinformation on who you are going tosend it to. Also, make sure that youhave all of the relevant contacts onyour list. With online publicationspopping up more frequently, it isimportant to stay on top of where your“constituents” are getting their infor-mation.

2. Update you community outreach list.As we all know, a good districtcommunications plan goes beyond thebrick and mortar of the school. Inmany instances, it is also important thatcommunity and business leaders alsoare kept updated on what is happeningin your district. Therefore, this isanother list that has to be consistentlyupdated and inclusive to those folks inyour community who also have avested interest in what is happening inyour school system.

3. Review your website.Parents especially get frustrated whenthey go to a website and the informa-tion is outdated. This is why at thebeginning of the school year theyshould see a fresh letter from theSuperintendent welcoming students

back. Websites are also where peoplego for key dates and upcoming events,so staying on top of that will onlymake life easier and alleviate a lot ofunnecessary calls to the office withquestions that could easily be answeredon your website.

4. Dust off your crisis communicationsplan.Make sure it’s current and still relevantto potential threats to your organiza-tion. When working with CABEmember district’s my number onepiece of advice is; “Don’t wait until allhell is breaking loose to figure it out!Have a plan. If you never have to useit, great!”

5. Take time to actually plan yourcommunications strategy.

Before (or near) the beginning of theschool year is the perfect time to puttogether a yearlong PR plan with goals,objectives, strategies and tactics.Remember that Baldwin Media is

available to CABE members for anyinitial crisis communications advice.

During our nearly seven year relation-ship as the agency of record for CABE,we have assisted many board membersand superintendents through some verychallenging situations. We have alsoworked with several districts on assistingthem with their communications plans andpositive media outreach as well.

For more information on BaldwinMedia Marketing, go to our website at:www.baldwinmedia.net


(continued from page 1)“The EASTCONN health insurance

cooperative is a great opportunity …When the state began allowing towns andschool districts to group together forthings like insurance, we were excitedabout the possible cost savings this mightprovide,” said Beausoleil.

The cooperative, known formally asthe Eastern Connecticut Health InsuranceProgram (ECHIP), should provide somereal cost savings to its members, accord-ing to EASTCONN Executive DirectorPaula M. Colen. “We estimate thatparticipants in ECHIP will see an averagesavings of 5 percent over their pre-cooperative, projected employee healthinsurance costs,” said Colen.

EASTCONN will provide staffing forthe cooperative, whose new insurancepolicy period took effect on July 1. Thereare no membership fees to join thecooperative.

In addition, a district does not need tobe a member of EASTCONN to joinECHIP – assuming that a health collabo-rative doesn’t exist in their RESC regionat the time of their application, saidColen.

Though there are currently no plans toadd any other school systems or munici-palities, Colen noted that additionaldistricts and municipalities may requestmembership in ECHIP during the coming

fiscal year of 2012-2013 for fiscal year2013-2014.

If more districts and towns joinECHIP, prices could go down, notedColen. “Generally speaking, costs arereduced as membership increases basedupon the number of employees receivinghealth benefits through the cooperative,”she explained.

ECHIP aims to reduce health insurancecosts for all parties, while increasing localdecision-making related to the provisionof employee health benefits, according toJohn Baskowski, EASTCONN’s ChiefFinancial Officer.

EASTCONN has been working withmunicipalities, school districts, andinsurance carriers – in particular, CIGNA– to “hammer out” the details of thisinsurance cooperative for the last twoyears, said Baskowski. In fact, ECHIP’sformation on May 2 came nearly twoyears after the passage of ConnecticutPublic Act 10-174, which allowed schooldistricts and municipalities to jointlypurchase employee health insurance.

Beausoleil was pleased that her townwill join ECHIP without having to switchhealth insurance carriers. “And this ispossible without having to change thetype of benefits offered to our staff. It isthe same carrier that Coventry wasalready using,” she pointed out. “Ourtown and school district employees will

see no change in their coverage orcarrier.”

Brooklyn Board of Education memberSheila Johnson, who also serves on theEASTCONN Board of Directors, ex-pressed her support for ECHIP.

“Since insurance has been climbing atan alarming rate over the years, anythingthat can be done to help school districtskeep the cost at a reasonable rate is goodnews for towns, small and large, who arefacing shrinking tax revenues and risingcosts for transportation, heating oil, etc.,”she observed. “The more Boards ofEducation are able to use their limitedresources where they belong, in theclassroom, the better.”

Johnson’s district did not initially getinvolved with ECHIP, and she added that

New health insurance cooperative formed

Front row, l to r: Holly McCalla, Griswold Public Schools Business Manager; Kelly Vachon,Plainfield Town Finance Director; Executive Board Chairman Steve Werbner, Tolland TownManager; William Hull, Superintendent Putnam Public Schools; and Erik Christensen,Griswold Town Finance Director. Back row, l to r: William Guzman, Superintendent TollandPublic Schools; John Elsesser, Coventry Town Manager; alternate Beth Bauer, CoventryTown Finance Director; Doug Cutler, Putnam Town Administrator; alternate Robert Carroll,Coventry Public Schools Finance Director; Ronald Lussier, Plainfield Public Schools FinanceDirector; and John Baskowski, EASTCONN Chief Financial Officer. Missing from photo:Coventry Superintendent Dave Petrone.

“I really can’t say if they will join or not.They did not join for this budget yearbecause our cost went up very little.”

But not all districts are in that enviableposition and Colen said she hopes ECHIPis replicated around the Nutmeg State.“We hope that this successful collabora-tion will encourage other regions to takeadvantage of the changes in state law andcreate similar cost-saving opportunities,”she said.

Other founding members of ECHIP arealso excited about the new program’sprospects. “It’s a great start. Hopefully,it’s something that will save towns moneyand bring the region together collabora-tively to help all our employees,” re-marked executive board member WilliamHull, Putnam Superintendent of Schools.

On June 6, the CABE Board of Directors met and unanimously passed a budget for 2012-2013. Also, Commissioner Pryor attended the beginning of the meeting and discussed andanswered questions about current and upcoming legislation and education policy.

CABE Board of Directors meets


CABE’s Customized Policy Service tailors a policy manual for a subscribing board of education that reflects the specific needs and priori-ties of that community.

The service includes:• Review and analysis of existing policies for relevancy and

compliance with federal and state statutes and regulations.

• Review of current contracts and student and personnelhandbooks for explicit and implied policies.

• On-site consultation for school board members and schooladministrators by CABE staff.

• Update of existing policies

• Legal referencing of policies:

- Connecticut and U.S. statutes- Federal/state court decisions

• Development of needed policies and regulations.

• Use of CABE Codification System

• Printing of policies and arrangement in manual.

• Manual on CD

Fee is based on school district enrollment. For more informationcontact Vincent Mustaro at CABE 860-571-7446 or 800-317-0033.You can also email Policy Services at [email protected].

Does you policy manual look like this?Then you are the

perfect candidate for theCABE Customized Policy Service!

CABE recently celebrated the comple-tion of mortgage payments on CABE’soffice space at 81 Wolcott Hill Road inWethersfield.

This marks the first time in CABE’s106 year history that CABE owns its ownspace, free of all debt. The goal of apermanent headquarters for CABE waspromoted by the late Nino Canzonetti ofNew Britain when he was CABE Presi-dent in 1983-85.

In 2002, President Beverly Bobroskeof Bristol signed the purchase agreement,and in June 2012 President Lydia Tedone

Mortgage Burningof Simsbury presided over the mortgageburning. Members of CABE’s Board ofDirectors and staff maintained theircommitment to “home ownership”providing stability for the organization inthe future.

CABE’s home provides meeting spacein the Rovins Conference Room for theCABE Board of Directors, statewideorganizations and workshops, and is alsoavailable for school board retreats at nocost.

Patrice A. McCarthyDeputy Director and General Counsel, CABE

Robert Rader, Executive Director talks with representatives from Fletcher Thompson, whichhelped sponsor the event.

Robert Rader, Executive Director; Beverly Bobroske, Past President; Nicholas Caruso, Sr. StaffAssociate for Field Services; Lydia Tedone, President and Patrice A. McCarthy, DeputyDirector and General Counsel participated in the mortage burning ceremony.

CABE Presidents who attended were: (back row) Mary Broderick, East Lyme; Don Blevins,Waterford; Bob Hale, Madison; (front row) Beverly Bobroske, Bristol; Lydia Tedone,Simsbury; Patricia Luke, New Britain; and Cal Heminway, Granby.


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Documents

CABE Journal July/August 2012