Sonia Turner from the Annie Fisher STEM Magnet School was honored last night as Hartford’s Teacher of the Year.  But even as she celebrated with her husband Corey and Principal Sheri Tanner, Ms. Turner applauded her colleagues and even more so her students, saying she felt it was her duty to give back, to teach her students to persevere through the struggle, and to expect greatness from every child.

Truthfully, every one of the dozens of annual Hartford Teacher-of-the-Year nominees is deserving, as are so many unmentioned others.  This year, we asked the three 2017 finalists to provide a lens into one of the hardest and least rewarded jobs anywhere.  The questions were tough and their answers did not disappoint.  Please take a read to get a view from the opposite of the cheap seats.

Here’s what we found and commend to your attention:

• 2017 Teacher of the Year Sonia Turner was born and raised in Hartford. From Bulkeley High School and the Hartford College for Women, she went on to the University of Hartford and Central Connecticut State University, where she earned her master’s degree in Remedial Reading and Remedial Language Arts. With 18 years logged at Annie Fisher, Mrs. Turner has served as classroom teacher, literacy coach and reading intervention teacher, among other roles, and also is an active church member.

Here is a synopsis of her views:

What makes you optimistic – or have some doubts – about the process of school improvement in Hartford?

In the past 18 years of teaching in Hartford, I have seen numerous changes within the Hartford Public School system.  Although I have seen positive implementations of districtwide initiatives, I am deeply concerned of our economic status and the negative impact that it has on our public schools. Without proper funding many of us ask:  How can we supply our schools with the resources, proper staffing or field experiences that our students need?  Evening the economic playing field for all schools in Hartford is of the utmost priority. All students and educators deserve the necessary tools and resources as well as a safe, updated learning environment. We need to work to provide equality for all students in every school.   Secondly, the turn-over of staff in the district is high.  In my time, I have had several administrators and superintendents.  With every new staff member comes new curriculum, procedures and protocols.  I am always waiting for the next change.  Finally, we have moved away from looking at students as individuals and we only see them as a number or score.  We don’t look at the growth students make; instead we only look at the students who have made proficiency.  We need to view both.  Students might not make proficiency, but they have made tremendous growth and moved closer to proficiency.  If we can combat these issues, I will be optimistic that Hartford public schools will improve so all students can thrive and succeed.

What qualities do you believe characterize the best – and the least – prepared teachers?

The best prepared teacher is the one who will settle for nothing less than the best from every child.  The best teacher sets goals and expectations for her children and does not accept excuses.  You meet the children where they are and you bring them to great heights.  That means going beyond the curriculum.  That means effectively teaching Tier 1 and differentiating and adjusting instruction accordingly.  Effective teaching is having the students self-reflect and evaluate themselves.  The students must take ownership of their learning.  Finally, the teachers must plan ahead and be willing to reflect when given constructive feedback to enhance their craft. Self-reflection is critical; we must model these practices for our students.

The least prepared teachers are the ones who do not take the time to know their students and their needs.  It is the teacher who does not self-reflect and evaluate their own instruction. It is the teacher who wants to become friends with their students – instead of setting boundaries and managing the classroom setting.

How do you recommend teachers be evaluated … or not?

Teachers must be evaluated frequently and given timely feedback to reflect and revise instructional practices.   I believe the most effective way to evaluate teachers is for the administrators to make observations weekly/bi-weekly to view how instruction is taking place within the classroom. Consistent feedback and use of data teams can significantly impact student learning. Creating professional learning communities within schools can transform the culture and climate of any building. Effective coaching and leadership is essential in every school.

• McDonough English Learner Coach William Conroy hails from Bridgeport and Stratford.  If the cliché that “the apple doesn’t fall very far from the tree” is under any suspicion, his mom’s teaching of ESL, Portuguese, and Multicultural Studies should settle that!  From his undergrad and master’s degrees at the UConn Neag School of Education, Mr. Conroy has vaulted several times in Hartford, into 10 years of teaching at Batchelder, Capital Prep, Bulkeley, and now at McDonough.

Here is a synopsis of his views:

What makes you optimistic – or have some doubts – about the process of school improvement in Hartford?

I am optimistic about school improvement in Hartford because I believe that more voices are being heard from diverse stakeholders including families, students, teachers, and building administrators in the process.  I also feel that we are getting better at codifying ways to reflect on our instruction throughout the system.  As tough decisions are made to consolidate schools, I believe that resources will be reallocated in better ways to serve the needs of our children.

What qualities do you believe characterize the best – and the least – prepared teachers?

The best prepared teachers have three key components in my opinion.  Teachers must be experts in the content areas in which they teach.  Teachers must be reflective practitioners constantly seeking to improve instructional and affective practices.  Teachers must also be resilient and be able to bounce back from the myriad challenges we face.

How do you recommend teachers be evaluated … or not?

Teachers should be evaluated in a process that includes the reflective practices of thinking of strengths and weaknesses.  I believe teachers should be grown from a place of their strengths and then to allow them to grow and flourish.  Also, teachers should be evaluated on key problems of practice that they are investigating through continual improvement processes such as Data Wise where teachers select instructional practices to address student needs and instructional gaps.

• Breakthrough II Teacher Katelin Jacobs, from Danbury, earned her undergrad elementary education/history and master’s special education degrees from Central Connecticut State University. She brought a Therapy Dog program to Breakthrough II to help struggling students build their reading confidence; is on the School Governance Council; helps co-run Breakthrough II’s school garden; operates the school’s website; acts as a Cohort Literacy Lead; and has led several district professional development programs.

Here is a synopsis of her views:

What makes you optimistic – or have some doubts – about the process of school improvement in Hartford?

I am optimistic about the process of school improvement in Hartford because we are making decisions with students in mind.  As a city we servicing a large population of children, and it is our goal and mission to ensure we are providing quality education for each and every student.  The process of school improvement in Hartford is focused on each student and ensuring their success.

What qualities do you believe characterize the best – and the least – prepared teachers?

Dedication, passion, and the desire to continuously learn characterize the best prepared teachers.  There is an extraordinary amount of dedication in Hartford.  These are the teachers who are working to constantly know their students and curriculum better.  Dedicated teachers pour themselves into their work and it shows through their passion.  I am honored to work with an amazingly passionate staff.  These are the teachers who know their students’ home lives, who put everything they have into every lesson and those who learn alongside their students.  This brings me to the last quality, those teachers who are lifelong learners.  There is so much we teach our kiddos, but so much more they teach us.  Prepared teachers are always looking to be better through new learning.

In terms of least prepared, there are several factors that might account for that such as funding, inadequate resources or large class sizes.  It is our job as educators to make the best out of what we have and put our best foot forward each and every day.

How do you recommend teachers be evaluated … or not?

I personally believe teachers should be evaluated on student progress as opposed to student proficiency.  Students are working on different levels, and it is our job as educators to meet them at their individual level and instruct them with the goal of progress.  Some students may not reach proficiency for whatever reason that might be in their way.  Teachers are constantly striving to progress their students in their academic endeavors. It is an incredible feeling seeing a student who can’t write his name to being able to read a book on his own.  This child may not meet benchmark, but what they accomplished is still an incredible success and should be celebrated.

The Bottom Line

The three 2017 finalists for teacher-of-the-year recognition (and the dozens of others nominated by their schools) demonstrated to us why they … and the dozens of other nominees … don’t just deserve an annual award: They are the bedrock of our society every single day.  As such, they need our constant support if we want to keep the best, develop the novices, and take better care of our most treasured profession.

For those who missed our Inspire Hartford event, but would like a www.donorschoose.org gift card to invest in a Hartford classroom, give us a call.  Our keynote speaker, Charles Best, was a teacher turned philanthropist when he founded Donors Choose, and he was kind enough to provide everyone who attended our event with a way to support Hartford educators directly!

For too long, teachers have been told to simply do the best they can with what they have, untrained and under-resourced to address the sometimes serious mental, social and emotional health issues of their students.  Finally, education and health leaders have begun to come together to address trauma, violence, and other adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) that research now proves do indeed impact learning heavily – but also can be successfully mitigated.

Addressing trauma may not be what all educators, school staff, and administrators signed up for, but unfortunately, in meeting students where they are, effectively addressing trauma is a necessary part of doing the job well.  The good news is that educators don’t have to do it alone.

More than a buzzword approach to educating and caring for the whole child, trauma-informed practice promises to help school communities effectively address adverse childhood experiences.  ACEs are defined by the CT Department of Public Health as “traumatic events within the household that are widely believed to increase susceptibility for poor outcomes in adulthood”.

On May 24^th, the Trauma-Informed School Mental Health Symposium at UConn’s Neag School convened Connecticut experts, advocates, and leaders from multiple sectors to share key learnings on how to better address trauma in schools and beyond.  The event was co-hosted by seven partner organizations:  the Child Health and Development Institute (CHDI); Capitol Region Education Council (CREC); UConn Neag School of Education; Clifford Beers Clinic; UConn Collaboratory on School and Child Health; the Ana Grace Project; and the CT State Department of Education. Over 100 experts came from across the state.

Here are some key learnings from the Symposium, noting that, given the complexity of the problems, some lines of reasoning lead to answers … while others only raise more questions:

Silos Don’t Work in Addressing Trauma.  Despite advances in research and practice (and a trending interest in trauma-informed practice), we have not yet accepted a different role for education to address barriers to learning.  Bridges must be built between schools, mental health providers, families, and communities to address trauma in K-12 students.

Changing How Teachers Teach Requires Changing How Teachers Learn to Teach.  What impact will changes to how teachers learn to teach have on how students learn and grow?  How can we better support and prepare educators coming into difficult-to-impossible-to-succeed circumstances – when success for our children is necessary but remains impossibly elusive?

Educators can’t do this alone, and they should not be under-resourced, under-trained or otherwise left to fend for themselves.  How might the partnerships leading to new modes of teaching and managing schools alter the balance of resources and change the system forever, not just on a program basis?

The Bottom Line

The big question driving current concerns is “How will Hartford ensure both proper care and quality education for the whole child – reaching every single one?”

The big idea presented at the UConn Symposium was that the path to proper care for the whole child must travel through the land of trauma-informed practice.  Not only is this the case, but the need to move on this is urgent.

Yet our sense of urgency cannot overcome the need to get it right.

If we have any hope of living up to the HPS tagline of “every student thrives and every school is high performing,” really smart and effective implementation will be needed.  When Alice Forrester of the Clifford Beers Clinic says, “This is a movement, not a program,” we realize that the opportunity here is to change culture, not just provide more training.  But, do we know how to do that?  Time will tell.  Let’s all prepare to get on board.

On Again, Off Again?

As if pulling a rabbit out of a hat, the District Tuesday unveiled a plan to put the renovation of the Martin Luther King, Jr. School back on the table, after the City could not come up with a 20 percent match on an earlier $68 million plan.  With a new plan to house a magnet school in the building, along with a 400-student middle school, the renovation proposal comes with a broad idea to reconfigure the K-8 elementary school model for nearby schools.  As long as the quality of education exceeds the new building quality, this is going to benefit North Hartford.  Let’s launch the school design process right after next Tuesday’s vote.

Tuesday, at the Martin Luther King, Jr. School (the original Weaver High School), District and State officials promised that the building’s long-deferred renovation will be completed by the 2020-21 school year.  In a Wednesday follow-up letter, Superintendent Dr. Leslie Torres-Rodriguez referred to the coming adjustment as “a fundamental redesign that prioritizes high quality teaching and learning for all, and ensuring student safety within a fiscally sustainable model.”

On May 30, HPS officials will be recommending that the Hartford Board of Education approve the superintendent office’s North Hartford Schools Update plan unveiled earlier this week. This vote is needed to finalize submission to the state by June 30^th to obtain the 95% funding for the construction project needed to move the project forward.

State support for the construction aspects of the project includes the deployment of State School Construction Grants Office Director Kosta Diamantis, who Tuesday reiterated what everyone knows: Hartford has more school buildings than it can afford.  But he also gave his word that the MLK construction project would be completed if the district can meet the submission deadline with a quality construction proposal.

If the District can meet the June 30^th State deadline to submit a proposal, MLK could be restored in similarity with the beautiful, original Bulkeley High School revamp at M.D. Fox on Maple Avenue (and with the promised construction already underway at Weaver High School).  And, as noted by Superintendent Dr. Torres-Rodrigues, approval also means that by the 2020-2021 school year the long-neglected North End will have high quality buildings for both middle school (MLK) and high school (Weaver).

Expectations

With declining HPS enrollments, stagnating student outcomes, flat-lining funding, and ever-rising maintenance costs at nearly 50 sites (all further complicated by Sheff implications impacting the above mentioned areas and beyond), how can the District meet ambitious quality and equity goals for neighborhood children?

More plainly – starting with the redesign and constructions projects for Weaver High School and MLK Middle School in Hartford’s North End – how can the quality of the school buildings (finally) be met or exceeded by the quality of outcomes for the students therein?

Achieve Hartford! believes it is possible (we wouldn’t be here if we didn’t!), and certainly district leaders must also share that belief. But the gap between possibility and reality is potentially wide, and the last decade of history suggests more times than not that our hopes may be misplaced.  History more than suggests that results won’t come without a process of greater transparency and partnership in decision-making with a broad spectrum of engaged and informed stakeholders, tapping all the city’s assets.

The Bottom Line

In truth, it won’t be easy (either designing the process or ensuring the results) – and will certainly require decisive action by the Superintendent and Hartford Board of Education.  But lest we forget the lessons of the past, we cannot allow our sense of urgency to run roughshod over strong community-informed process.

Fortunately, a model for launching a community-informed design process has already emerged with promise to match the quality of building construction with that of educational outcomes and student opportunity. And we don’t have to look too far from MLK to see it: the Weaver High School redesign process.

Spending the next year engaging people for counsel as to the building construction will be a waste of time unless the District simultaneously plans to solicit community collaboration in determining the vision, standards, partners and resources to make this middle school the best school in Hartford.

That dual approach – of partnership in decision-making through a community design process that informs planning on real time – is one way to mitigate the calculable costs of yet another interminable delay and the far more important incalculable costs of failing yet another generation of students.