GED Classes Come To The Q HouseMaya McFadden
November 3, 2023 New Haven Independent Every day last spring, Latoya Armstrong dropped her daughter off for camp at the Q House. One day in April, on her way out she scanned a flyer QR code to learn about the programs at the Dixwell community center and found a perfect fit for herself: GED classes by the New Haven Adult & Continuing Education Center. Thanks to a pilot General Education Development (GED) program between partners at Adult Ed and the Q House, Armstrong is one step closer to getting her high school diploma. Click to read more. |
Students Rally For The Right To Read
Lucy Gellman
November 3, 2023 Arts Council of Greater New Haven When Jeremy Thanes picked up Mike Curato’s Flamer for the first time, he didn’t see the most-challenged book of the 2022-2023 school year. His mind didn't go to Newtown, where a school board fought bitterly over banning the book in June. Or to Westport, where a single parent tried to remove it from a high school library alongside Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer and Juno Dawson’s This Book Is Gay. Instead, he saw himself—and the right that all young people have to be comfortable in their own skin. Click to read more. |
New Haven students rally for ‘freedom to read’ Hudson Warm
November 3, 2023 Yale Daily News New Haven public school students took to the streets Thursday afternoon with signs as they marched in support of the free exchange of ideas and expression. Students from six local New Haven schools marched from the Temple Street Plaza to the New Haven Free Public Library on Elm Street to the Beinecke Plaza, holding signs with individual words that together formed statements from the American Library Association’s 70-year-old “Freedom to Read” statement. Click to read more. |
Hillhouse Auditorium’s Leaky Roof ReplacedMaya McFadden
November 2, 2023 New Haven Independent Hillhouse High School’s auditorium now has a new, leak-free roof thanks to a nearly $300,000 replacement job completed in six months, rather than a year — as was originally predicted for the construction. Click to read more. |
New Clemente Principal Hired; 3 Veteran Teachers RetireMaya McFadden
October 26, 2023 New Haven Independent A new principal is en route to Roberto Clemente Academy, thanks to the Board of Education’s appointment of longtime Waterbury administrator Adela Jorge to fill the shoes of the soon-to-retire Mia Edmonds-Duff. Click to read more. |
US teachers demand relief from classroom extreme heat
David Sherfinski
October 24, 2023 Reuters With the effects of climate change expected to worsen, demands for protection against extreme temperatures through "climate controlled" classrooms are increasingly playing a role in negotiations with teachers' unions. "When teachers go to the bargaining table, we do have the potential power to put those things in a contract and ultimately improve conditions and experiences for everybody in the building," said Leslie Blatteau, president of the New Haven Federation of Teachers. Click to read more. |
Madeline Negrón breaks barriers as New Haven’s first Latina superintendent of schoolsLua Prado
October 17, 2023 Yale Daily News “I am looking forward to her attention, to detail, her clarity and her work ethic. I think those three things are really going to help New Haven Public Schools move in a direction that we need to go,” Leslie Blatteau, president of the New Haven Federation of Teachers, said. Click to read more. |
School Maintenance Rx: “We Need More Staff”Laura Glesby
October 6, 2023 New Haven Independent The school district currently has 12 repair workers to cover 56 buildings — posing perhaps the largest roadblock to keeping schools open amid heat waves. The Board of Alders Education Committee discussed the dearth of maintenance workers in New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) at the committee’s Sept. 27 meeting. Click to read more. |
Floyd Little Track Repair Costs Bubble Up & UpMaya McFadden
October 4, 2023 New Haven Independent The city school district’s facilities team is sprinting towards a roughly $100,000 short-term fix for dozens of moisture bubbles and tears in the Floyd Little Athletic Center track surface — in the runup to a longer-term $1.3 million needed overhaul. That subject was taken up by the Board of Education’s Finance & Operations Committee Monday afternoon during its biweekly virtual meeting on Zoom. Click to read more. |
Roberto Clemente Principal To RetireMaya McFadden
October 4, 2023 New Haven Independent It wasn’t until Roberto Clemente Leadership Academy Principal Mia Edmonds-Duff looked over at a “longevity plaque” on her office desk thanking her for three decades of work in NHPS that she thought to herself: “I was having so much fun I didn’t realize how far along I was.” With that revelation, Edmonds-Duff has decided that, after 38 years working for the city’s public school district, it’s now time to retire. Click to read more. |
New School Year, New Approach To Teaching ReadingMaya McFadden
October 3, 2023 New Haven Independent In an effort to improve reading levels for the city school district’s youngest students, New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) has created a new 90-minute literacy block outline for kindergarten through third-grade educators — all based off of the district’s recently adopted core literacy program. That block includes 30 minutes of phonics instruction, 20 minutes of whole group structured literacy learning, and 40 minutes of small group instruction. Click to read more. |
New Haven Public School administrators discuss district priorities as federal funding end nearsGryffin Wilkens-Plumley
October 2, 2023 Yale Daily News City alders and New Haven Public School administrators met Wednesday evening to discuss the how the city’s schools have made use of major federal funds for education. New Haven Public School administrators — including NHPS Superintendent Madeline Negrón, Assistant Superintendent Keisha Redd-Hannans and Chief Operating Officer Thomas Lamb — began the meeting with a presentation, which began by explained how the district has thus far used $37 million of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds ESSER funding, which was part of the American Rescue Plan Act, included a three-round set of stimulus grants from the federal government to public school systems across the country. Click to read more. |
ESSER Update: $43M Left To SpendLaura Glesby
September 29, 2023 New Haven Independent New Haven’s school system has spent over $37 million of the last batch of federal ESSER pandemic-relief funds — on everything from salaries to school supplies to HVAC upgrades — leaving $42.9 million still to spend by October of next year. The Board of Alders Education Committee heard that update from New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) leaders on Wednesday evening during a meeting held in the Aldermanic Chamber on the second floor of City Hall. Click to read more. |
Absenteeism Update: “Encouraging,” So FarMaya McFadden
September 28, 2023 New Haven Independent Hopes are high among chronic absenteeism-combatting public school district leaders, as average daily attendance rates show that 85 to 90 percent of students showed up during the first two weeks of the school year. Click to read more. |
Education leader Randi Weingarten showcases New Haven's Wilbur Cross: 'Connecting students to their passions'Mark Zaretsky
September 27, 2023 New Haven Register It's not enough for public schools simply to educate students; they need to "give them choices" that will help them after they get out of school, the national president of the American Federation of Teacher said Wednesday during a visit to Wilbur Cross High School. Click to read more. |
American Federation of Teachers president makes a stop at a New Haven high schoolLesley Cosme Torres
September 27, 2023 Connecticut Public Radio The head of a national teachers union visited Wilbur Cross High School in New Haven Wednesday to highlight the work educators are doing in public schools across the state. American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten toured the school, viewing career pathway programs offered to students as alternatives to college. EMT certification, culinary arts, and teacher pathway programs are all offered at the school. Click to read more. |
AFT Prez Gets Hands-On Education At CrossNora Grace-Flood
September 27, 2023 New Haven Independent American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten returned to New Haven — a decade after helping turn the city into a national model for school reform — and lauded Wilbur Cross High School as a potential leader in hands-on schooling amid a new era of learning loss. Over the course of Wednesday morning, Weingarten watched as students pumped mannequin chests, printed bathroom passes, baked pastries, and spoke in small groups about emotional well-being. She did so as she sought to pick up in her own hands-on fashion on programming that public schools are successfully employing to make school productive and fun in the post-pandemic age. Click to read more. |
Possible Futures Looking Bright On EdgewoodAllan Appel
September 26, 2023 New Haven Independent Over the course of just three days, the following all unfolded on the modest corner of Hotchkiss Street and Edgewood Avenue: A regular monthly meeting of a major local nonprofit; a happy hour for exhausted educators; three authors’ readings, and a two-hour-long neighbors’ knitting circle smack dab among the displays, plants, comfy couches, and shelf after shelf of shiny, new, colorful volumes. Is that any way to operate a book store? Click to read more. |
Connecticut is facing teacher shortages. New Haven Public Schools is turning to university students to fill the gaps.Elizabeth L.T. Moore
New Haven Register September 26, 2023 Amid a national and statewide teacher shortage, New Haven Public Schools is trying a new approach to staff its classrooms: hiring higher education students. The district, which as of Monday has 77 classroom teacher vacancies across its 41 schools, is currently relying on its pool of more than 100 substitute teachers, according to Coordinator of Recruitment and Retention for NHPS Human Resources Sarah Diggs. Click to read more. |
“We’re Going to Turn the Halls of Power into Union Halls” – Richard Trumka, Former AFL-CIO President
Meghan Portfolio
September 22, 2023 Yankee Institute As absentee ballot shenanigans in Bridgeport occupy the front page, the AFL-CIO — one of the state’s largest labor unions — is quietly interviewing candidates who endorse a range of social justice initiatives and benefits that primarily serve their union’s interests rather than the broader voting constituency. But could these endorsements come with a quid pro quo arrangement? Click to read more. |
Teacher burnout persists, but solutions are emerging
American Federation of Teachers
September 22, 2023 eschoolnews The American Federation of Teachers teamed up with Educators Thriving for a yearlong study culminating in a new report, “Beyond Burnout,” which details practical, research-based solutions to improve the chronic levels of stress and burnout that are plaguing teachers and support staff in K-12 schools and contributing widespread teacher shortages. Click to read more. |
AFT back-to-school grants provide funding for real solutions for schools and communities nationwide
September 21, 2023
American Federation of Teachers “With the support of this AFT back-to-school grant, school-based teams of NHFT members will engage in action research to identify how we can make our schools more safe and welcoming and put these best practices to work,” says New Haven Federation of Teachers President Leslie Blatteau. “This includes strengthening our partnerships with parents and families and community partners." Click to read more. |
Opinion: Too Few Teachers, Too Many AdminsMax Bakke
September 21, 2023 New Haven Independent We are nearly a month into the new school year and here in New Haven there are still 80 teacher vacancies, according to the district’s website. So much ink has been spilled already about quitting teachers, and here is more evidence that the current crisis will not abate anytime soon. Here, the district even hired dedicated staff to fix this issue. Still, the vacancies remain. Click to read more. |
Climate Movement Pushes City Hall On Action
Abiba Biao
September 20, 2023 Arts Council of Greater New Haven When Yale College sophomore Amelia Lee first moved to the U.S. in high school from her home in Beijing, China, she thought she would be free from the air pollution and low Air Quality Index Scores that plagued her city. However when she made it to the Elm City and the dusty gray sky and polluted air greeted her, a sight she was sorely familiar with. Click to read more. |
80 Degrees At School? Time To Go HomeMaya McFadden
September 15, 2023 New Haven Independent After high heat and broken air conditioning systems sent students home early two days in a row last week, New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) Superintendent Madeline Negrón has established an “extreme temperature protocol” that considers closing school buildings if classrooms get above 80 degrees. Next up, she plans to put together a long-awaited district preventative maintenance program. Click to read more. |
CT is among the wealthiest states in U.S., but teachers still rely on donations for their classroomsLesley Cosme Torres
September 11, 2023 Connecticut Public Radio At the beginning of every school year, teachers across the country and in Connecticut spend their own money on classroom supplies and programs they believe their students can benefit from. They’re often faced with the daunting task of fundraising for their own classrooms through fundraising platforms like GoFundMe. Click to read more. |
Heat, AC Problems Close Schools EarlyThomas Breen and Maya McFadden
September 6, 2023 New Haven Independent Svetlana Frazeur had to pick up her daughter Lenochka from Pre‑K at Fair Haven School at noon on Wednesday — before rushing off to retrieve her son from Benjamin Jepson School, before rushing off to her 1 p.m. shift at an ALDI’s grocery store — as early dismissals due to high heat and broken air conditioning systems shuttered schools citywide. At 10:42 a.m. Wednesday, New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) Supt. Madeline Negrόn sent out an email alert to public school families across New Haven announcing that schools would be closing early on both Wednesday and Thursday. Click to read more. |
Randi Weingarten on Education Policy and Public SchoolsSeptember 7, 2023
C-SPAN American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten talked about the Biden administration and issues impacting public schools. Click to read more. |
Metro Class Readies For Restorative JusticeMaya McFadden
August 31, 2023 New Haven Independent In a bid to expand its restorative justice practices, Metropolitan Business Academy has put together a class for the second year in a row that focuses on helping high schoolers learn that “there are other ways to deal with harm.” Metro English teacher Stephen Staysniak discussed the academic work happening with both teaching students about restorative practices and supporting students through rehabilitation and reconciliation instead of just punishment when they make mistakes. Click to read more. |
New Haven starts school year with ongoing, but improving, teacher shortageEddy Martinez
August 31, 2023 Connecticut Public Radio New Haven resident Zoe Williams started first grade on Thursday at Edgewood Magnet School. She was antsy when her father, Josh Williams asked her how she felt. “A little scared,” Williams said. Zoe is starting school, but she may not have a full-time teacher dedicated to her class. That’s because Edgewood has four teacher vacancies according to its principal, Nicholas Perrone. Click to read more. |
New Haven students start new school yearJennifer Joas
August 31, 2023 NBC Connecticut A new school year began on Thursday for 19,200 students in the 41 school across the New Haven Public School District. The district still has approximately 84 teacher vacancies, but the current staff was excited to welcome students back into the classroom, according to Dr. Madeline Negron, the district’s new superintendent. Click to read more. |
At Convocation, NHPS Dances To School Year’s StartMaya McFadden
August 29, 2023 New Haven Independent The nation’s top education official, Miguel Cardona, offered a custom playlist with a song for every occasion for New Haven teachers as they get ready for the start of the school year on Thursday. Track 1: “Vivir Mi Vida” by Marc Anthony, as a reminder to enjoy the work you do. Track 2: “Respect” by Aretha Franklin, for when politics tries to creep its way into the classroom. Track 3: “Livin’ on a Prayer” by Jon Bon Jovi, for January when “we’re halfway there.” Track 4: “Valio La Pena” by Marc Anthony, to know it’s worth it. Click to read more. |
Classroom Teacher Vacancies Reach 84Maya McFadden
August 17, 2023 New Haven Independent With two weeks to go before the start of the school year, New Haven’s public school district has 84 classroom teacher positions still open — a vacancy number that is down from 106 earlier this week. On Thursday morning, New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) spokesperson Justin Harmon told the Independent via email that the district has 84 vacancies among classroom teacher spots. Click to read more. |
Proposed education funding cuts concern Connecticut teachers
Kent Pierce
July 21, 2023 WTNH A Connecticut congresswoman is sounding the alarm about proposed education funding cuts. U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-3rd District) joined educators Friday to discuss what Republican proposals would do to schools. Some teachers have dire predictions. “It would mean less of us in the classrooms with the students who need it the most,” is how New Haven teacher Da’Jhon Jett summed it up. Click to read more. |
Marco Cenabre Named New Haven’s Teacher Of The YearJul 19, 2023
New Haven Independent Marco Cenabre, English Teacher at New Haven Academy, has been selected as 2023 – 2024 New Haven Public Schools Teacher of the Year. He will be the district’s applicant for Connecticut Teacher of the Year. Click to read more. |
New Haven schools offering cash incentive to retain, recruit staffLinda Conner Lambeck
May 25, 2023 New Haven Register The city school district will pay nearly all full- and part-time staff a financial incentive to stay in the district, or come work there. All current full-time employees — except for Superintendent of Schools Iline Tracey and eight other top district administrators — will get $1,000 in their last paycheck in June as long as they were working in the district as of May 1. Click to read more. |
Education Justice Vision Takes ShapeMaya McFadden
May 1, 2023 New Haven Independent Higher quality school lunches. More reliable school bus transportation. Enough hand soap and paper towels in all school bathrooms. And better work opportunities for public-school students under the age of 16. New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) students put forward those goals among many others as they joined parents, teachers, and education allies in defining what a fully funded city school district could look like. Click to read more. |
New School Superintendent Picked in New HavenMatt Austin
April 19, 2023 NBC Connecticut It was a historic day for New Haven Public Schools. The school board confirmed Dr. Madeline Negron as the new superintendent, and she will be the first Hispanic leader of the district. “I am overwhelmed with emotions, but I am extremely excited,” said Negron. Click to read more. |
Mayoral candidates report first quarter campaign fund haulsYash Roy
April 18, 2023 Yale Daily News Combined, New Haven’s four democratic mayoral nominees have raised roughly $400,000 for their campaigns. Incumbent Mayor Justin Elicker, former Beaver Hills alder and police sergeant Shafiq Abdussabur and former Hartford Inspector General Liam Brennan raised $102,470.50, $47,200.82 and $31,788.56 respectively. Since each of these candidates have abided by the city’s Democracy Fund’s requirements — to not accept donations over $440 or take PAC money and to raise donations from at least 200 New Haven voters — their donations will be matched in part or in full by the fund. Click to read more. |
New Haven advocates rally for education funding
Braley Dodson
Apr 18, 2023 WTNH Dozens of students, educators and parents rallied Tuesday afternoon near Wilbur Cross High School to call for funding for the state’s public schools. The Recovery for All coalition is asking for higher taxes on the wealthy to fund schools, stating that Connecticut has an “upside down” tax structure, according to an announcement. The group also wants Gov. Ned Lamont to invest the state’s billions of surplus dollars. The current tax structure has led to underfunded schools, larger class sizes and thousands of teacher vacancies, according to Recovery for All. Click to read more. |
In-Person Teachers Watch Online School BoardMaya McFadden
March 14, 2023 New Haven Independent Several dozen city teachers, parents, and public-school advocates were able to hear each other clap and cheer — live, in person, in the same room, together — during an in-person watch party for a Board of Education that has been meeting online only for the past three years. The New Haven Federation of Teachers (NHFT) held that Board of Education meeting watch party Monday night at the union’s 267 Chapel St. headquarters. Click to read more. |
Advocates, students back renewed effort to tax Yale’s and private colleges' endowmentsChatwan Mongkol
March 7, 2023 New Haven Register Efforts to make private colleges and universities pay their fair share renewed at the State Capitol. This time, a proposed bill would allow municipal governments to tax their endowment funds. New Haven-based advocates and university students testified last Friday before the Committee on Planning and Development in support of the bill saying if Yale University — which has $41.4 billion in endowment value as of last June — pays an endowment tax, the city would be able to improve in many ways, especially with the public schools. Click to read more. |
On The Record: Leslie BlatteauPaul Bass
March 1, 2023 New Haven Independent School fights and lockdowns. Teacher flight. Staff shortages. Fights for funding. Calls for more elected school board members — and a school board willing to meet in public in person. A search for a new superintendent at a crucial juncture for public education. Fourteen months into her presidency of the New Haven Federation of Teachers, Leslie Blatteau has found herself in the middle of these and other pressing public controversies. As a public school parent, as a New Haven teacher with 16 years in the classroom, and now as a labor leader, she has thought long and hard about these issues. Click to read more. |
Dateline New Haven: Leslie Blatteau
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Obama Students “Caught Being STRONG” At Black History CelebrationMaya McFadden
February 17, 2023 New Haven Independent Perfect attendance, Black trailblazers, and the ability to gather in-person as a school again were all causes for celebration Friday, at a student-and-staff-led Black History Month event hosted by Barack H. Obama Magnet University School. The celebration of Pre‑K through fourth-grade student achievements and talents began around 9 a.m. Friday at the 69 Farnham Ave. magnet elementary school. Click to read more. |
New Haven hopes proposed raises will stem teacher shortageMarc Zaretsky
February 15, 2023 New Haven Register The New Haven Public Schools administration is asking the city to approve a tentative three-year contract with the teachers union that administrators hope will address a teacher shortage by raising salaries to make the district more competitive with other communities. "We use these contract negotiations to do what's right by our teachers," said Keisha Redd-Hannans, assistant superintendent for instructional leadership, who discussed the contract with the Board of Alders' Finance Committee this week. Click to read more. |
New Teachers Union Contract AdvancesLaura Glesby
February 14, 2023 New Haven Independent Frustrated by years of working extra jobs to support her family, Fana Hickinson nearly left the teaching job she loves at New Haven Academy — until a draft union contract promised her a salary increase that convinced her to stay. The Board of Alders Finance Committee heard from Hickinson on Monday evening as local legislators reviewed the latest proposed contract between the New Haven Federation of Teachers (NHFT) and the New Haven Public Schools (NHPS). That contract — which won the Board of Education’s vote of support in November, and which now heads to the full Board of Alders for a final vote — would grant a nearly 15 percent raise over the course of the next three years. Click to read more. |
New Haven students, teachers share visions for new superintendentChatwan Mongkol
February 14, 2023 New Haven Register Teacher involvement in program design, appropriate staffing, access to diverse curriculum and financial stability were some of the things some city teachers, parents and students said the district's next superintendent should work to address. They voiced that message on the steps of City Hall this week as the Board of Education began its search process for the new schools chief with the help of national firm McPherson & Jacobson. Current Superintendent of Schools Iline Tracey plans to retire at the end of the school year. Click to read more. |
Union Assigns School Reform HomeworkLaura Glesby
February 14, 2023 New Haven Independent The city’s teachers union envisions a school system less reliant on test scores, more attuned to students’ emotional and cultural empowerment, and more pliable to input from every corner of the school community. Over 20 teachers and allies gathered outside City Hall to call for the next superintendent to act on those values — and for a transparent, inclusive process for selecting the next top school administrator. Click to read more. |
City leaders call for more elected members on Board of EducationYash Roy
February 14, 2023 Yale Daily News With New Haven’s charter revision ongoing, city leaders are calling for the Board of Education to increase the number of elected members from two to four. At the first public hearing of the newly empaneled Charter Revision Commission on Thursday, members of the New Haven Federation of Teachers, or NHFT, submitted testimony calling on the commission to recommend changes to the Board of Education. These suggested changes include increasing the numbers of elected members on the BOE, as well as removing the mayor’s voting powers on the Board. Click to read more. |
New Haven teachers’ union outlines vision for next superintendent
Jayne Chacko, Ken Houston
February 13, 2023 WTNH Teachers, educators and community members rallied Monday to voice the expectations they have for the next New Haven Public Schools superintendent. The New Haven Federation of Teachers rallied on the steps of city hall Tuesday to express its concerns. The biggest issues include proper staffing, diverse and varied curriculum, adequate funding, and safety and stability in schools. Click to read more. |
New Haven teachers lay out vision for next superintendent of schoolsGabby Molina
February 13, 2023 Fox 61 The New Haven Federation of Teachers led a rally Monday evening, joined by parents and students voicing their expectations for the district's future leader. "Collaboration, understanding that we want someone who’s going to see the ways in which we’re all working together and we need one another to work together and that’s going to come and do the work with us," said Steve Staysniak, a New Haven Public Schools teacher. Click to read more. |
New Haven Teachers Want a Say in Picking New SuperintendentFebruary 13, 2023
NBC Connecticut Members of the New Haven Federation of Teachers want their voices heard when it comes to picking a new superintendent. Click to read more., |
Facing Down Phones, Riverside AdaptsMaya McFadden
February 6, 2023 New Haven Independent A trio of 3D printers worked at lightning speed making hydroponic-friendly pots in Riverside teacher Camar Graves’ classroom — as the alternative-public-academy educator worked just as diligently finding novel ways to connect with his students at a time when many remain glued to their phones and struggling to focus. Riverside Academy at 103 Hallock Ave. in the Hill is New Haven’s last standing alternative high school for at-risk students. Click to read more. |
Ed Advocates To State: Let $ Flow FasterLaura Glesby
February 6, 2023 New Haven Independent New Haveners joined teachers, students, and public education allies from across Connecticut for a marathon legislative hearing at which they called for more state funding for school districts that serve the most vulnerable students. The state legislature’s Appropriations and Education Committees heard hours of testimony on Friday regarding Proposed House Bill 5003, a bill that would accelerate a phased overhaul of school funding so that high-poverty and English language learning districts receive more state funding per student. Click to read more. |
State Of The City: Signs Of HopeLaura Glesby
February 6, 2023 New Haven Independent While low test scores and attendance rates speak to profound challenges in New Haven’s public schools, the daily perseverance of dedicated staff and a curriculum overhaul are just some of the reasons for hope. Mayor Justin Elicker offered that message in his annual State of the City speech before the Board of Alders on Monday evening, during which he declared that New Haven’s status is “bright.” Click to read more. |
What Would Hazel Say?Maya McFadden
January 25, 2023 New Haven Independent The late longtime public education advocate Hazel Pappas was present yet again, this time in memory only, at the Board of Education this week — as current New Haven educators invoked the impact she had on countless local students, parents, teachers, and school staff who were able to meet her face to face at in-person meetings. Ashley Stockton, a sixth-grade English teacher at Wexler-Grant School, spoke up about Pappas’s impact on school board meetings more broadly, and on her own career as a New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) teacher in particular, during Monday’s latest full Board of Education meeting, which was held entirely online via Zoom. Click to read more. |
Wellbeing Course Teaches Teachers To “Thrive”
Maya McFadden
January 24, 2023 New Haven Independent After a too-long stint of feeling way too isolated, Brennan-Rogers second grade teachers Samantha Conway and Tracey Peterson found a way out of their ruts thanks to an investment in their professional wellbeing by the teachers union and the city’s public school district. Conway and Peterson shared those experiences during the latest monthly meeting of the Board of Education’s Teaching and Learning Committee, which was held online via Zoom last Wednesday. The local educators spoke up as part of an update to the ed board committee on a partnership between the New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) and the New Haven Federation of Teachers (NHFT). Click to read more. |
Should CT increase taxes on state's wealthiest? Advocates call for changeKen Dixon
January 19, 2023 CT Insider Progressive Democrats in the General Assembly joined faith and labor leaders on Thursday in what has become an annual push for higher taxes on the wealthy in order to support social service goals. Leslie Blatteau, president of the New Haven Federation of Teachers, said urban school systems like hers are suffering. Click to read more. |
New Haven students, teachers talk issues beyond schools ‘crisis’ that ‘aren’t talked about enough’Chatwan Mongkol
January 11, 2023 Shelton Herald While many called what’s happening within the New Haven Public Schools system “a crisis,” local teachers and students offered another side of the story they said has gone untold. A virtual panel Tuesday night explored the “problematic narrative” of learning loss and emotional impact on students when their teachers resign, among other perspectives. Click to read more. |
New Haven proposes tutoring program to offset low math, reading scoresChatwan Mongkol
December 20, 2022 New Haven Register The Elicker administration proposed a $3 million after-school and summer tutoring program to help public school students who struggle with reading and math, the mayor announced Monday. The proposal before the Board of Alders came with the backdrops of low literacy and math test scores among students, chronic absenteeism and district-wide staff and teacher shortages. Click to read more. |
Proposal aims to get New Haven students extra help with reading and mathJ.D. Allen
December 20, 2022 WSHU New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker has proposed a citywide literacy and math initiative to provide afterschool and summer tutoring for students in first to fifth grades. Elicker wants New Haven to spend $3 million in federal aid for the city’s education partners to build out a tutoring program for public school students to catch up on learning lost during the pandemic. The program needs approval from the city Board of Alders. Click to read more. |
$3M Reading, Math Tutoring Plan PitchedThomas Breen
December 19, 2022 New Haven Independent The Elicker Administration is looking to spend $3 million in federal aid to build out a new math and literacy tutoring program designed to help up to 1,500 public school students catch up on lost learning during the pandemic. Click to read more. |
Proposal aims to get New Haven students extra help with math, reading
Eva Zymaris
December 19, 2022 WTNH New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker detailed a proposed citywide initiative to get students extra help with math and reading. The plan would provide tutoring opportunities for kids during the school year and summer. Studies found that students who are not proficient in reading by the end of the third grade were four times more likely to drop out of high school. Click to read more. |
Amistad Awards Fête Collective ActionCorey Schmidt
December 12, 2022 Arts Council of Greater New Haven A champion of labor rights whose own experience led her to organizing. An educator whose advocacy took her from the classroom to union leadership. A steadfast supporter of transit workers who has become a voice in environmental activism and job creation in the state. The gymnasium at the Dixwell Community Q House welcomed those organizers Saturday afternoon, as the Connecticut People’s World Committee (PWC) returned with the first in-person Amistad Awards ceremony since 2019. Click to read more. |
Those Who StayCaroline Reed
December 8, 2022 The New Journal at Yale It’s 8:35 on a weekday morning, and students are filing into the Augusta Lewis Troup school in New Haven. Visible through the glass face of the building, clusters of middle-schoolers chat unhurriedly. Backpacked students bottleneck at the school’s front doors and spill out onto the wide stretch of pavement outside. Click to read more. |
Connecticut schools in crisis amid 'long-term burnout and demoralization' among teachersAlex Putterman
November 19, 2022 CT Insider More than two and a half months into the current school year, many Connecticut school districts are in crisis... In New Haven, at least, higher pay is coming soon. This week, the city's Board of Education approved a new contract for teachers in the district that will increase salaries nearly 15 percent over the next three years, raising the the starting salary for new teachers to $51,421. Click to read more. |
New Haven teachers ready for life-changing pay increase |
New Haven teachers contract calls for big pay increases for educatorsLinda Conner Lambeck
November 15, 2022 New Haven Register The city Board of Education approved a new contract with teachers that will increase salaries nearly 15 percent over three years and eventually raise the starting salary for new teachers to $51,421. Leslie Blatteau, president of the New Haven Federation of Teachers, called the contract life-changing. “This is huge,” Blatteau said. “This contract makes teachers feel valued.” Click to read more. |
“Life-Changing” Teachers Union Deal OK’dMaya McFadden
November 15, 2022 New Haven Independent The Board of Education unanimously approved a new teachers union contract that local educators described as “life-changing” — thanks in large part to a nearly 15 percent pay hike over the next three years. The new teachers union contract was negotiated by the new leadership of the New Haven Federation of Teachers (NHFT) and by the New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) executive team. Click to read more. |
Race Finds A Place In The ClassroomMaya McFadden
November 4, 2022 New Haven Independent Should former presidents like Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson have their faces on America’s paper currency? Sayvion Saley asked himself that question for the first time in English class as he and his Career High School classmates grappled with this country’s long, painful, sordid and complicated history of racism — with the help of a “present” book that seeks to set the record straight. The class is led by Career High English teacher Karen Robinson, who has worked in New Haven’s public schools for 17 years. As the nation engages in a fraught debate over how even to broach the subject of race in the classroom, Robinson had her students engaged in nuanced learning. Click to read more. |
Co-Op Teacher Tapped For Grammy Shortlist
Lucy Gellman
November 2, 2022 Arts Council of Greater New Haven A champion of music education has made the shortlist for one of the highest artistic recognitions in the country. He’s celebrating by doing what he’s done for a quarter of a century—walking into his College Street classroom, greeting dozens of young musicians, and striking up the band. That teacher is Patrick Smith, the music department lead teacher at Cooperative Arts & Humanities High School (Co-Op). Last week, he was named a semifinalist for the 2023 Music Educator Award by the Recording Academy and Grammy Museum. Since 1998, Smith has taught at Co-Op. Now, he is among 25 semifinalists from across the country, out of an original pool of over 1,205 nominees. Click to read more. |
Powerful Partnerships Institute: Fortifying communities with funding and support
September 30, 2022
AFT The New Haven Federation of Teachers in New Haven, Conn., will work to engage educators, families and students with Recovery for All Connecticut to advocate for progressive revenue and equitable school funding for New Haven and other deeply underfunded Connecticut districts. Click to read more. |
AFT Announces Powerful Partnerships Institute Grant RecipientsSarah Hager Mosby
September 29, 2022 AFT New Haven, Conn., will work to engage educators, families and students with Recovery for All Connecticut to advocate for progressive revenue and equitable school funding for New Haven and other deeply underfunded Connecticut districts. Click to read more. New Haven Offers Teachers Bonuses For Teaching Extra ClassesSeptember 14, 2022
NBC Connecticut In an effort to alleviate a teacher shortage, New Haven is offering teachers bonuses to teach an extra class each day. Click to read more. |
Ofrecen incentivo a maestros en New Haven ante escasez
September 14, 2022
Telemundo Nueva Ingleterra La escasez de maestros persiste en todo el país pero en la ciudad de New Haven, Connecticut están ofreciendo un nuevo incentivo. Compensarán a los docentes actuales que estén dispuestos a enseñar una materia adicional. Se necesitan maestros certificados para enseñar ciencias, matemática, educación especial y en New Haven maestros que enseñen diferentes idiomas. “Definitivamente un maestro certificado en la concentración, especialmente para New Haven tenemos una escasez de maestros bilingües”, dice Mia Comulada Breuler, Consejera Escolar y Secretaria de NHTF. Click to read more. |
Shortage in New Haven leads to overtime offer to current teachers
Tony Terzi
September 14, 2022 Fox 61 The New Haven Public Schools system is in desperate need of teachers, confirming this week they are dozens short. So, they have recently worked with the teacher's union on a temporary solution. After totaling up recent hires, retirements and resignations, New Haven Public Schools said they are currently 70 to 80 teachers short. Click to read more. |
Teacher Brings Home Lessons From FinlandMaya McFadden
September 13, 2022 New Haven Independent Carolyn Streets returned to her English language arts classroom at Engineering and Science University Magnet School (ESUMS) with new insights into how to teach reading in a supportive environment — gained from a six-month sabbatical at a place known for doing it well. Streets has taught at ESUMS for over a decade. In July Streets returned home from Jyväskylä, Finland, after a half-year research stay as a fellow for the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Research Program. Click to read more. |
Opinion: Special ed issue goes far beyond Hamden
Jeffrey L. Forte
August 31, 2022 New Haven Register Even for positions that are filled, there is evidence that Connecticut’s urban districts are being impacted the most. According to the president of the New Haven Federal of Teachers, Leslie Blatteau, “People are leaving urban districts for better-funded districts because those districts are able to pay more.” Click to read more. |
School staff shortages in New Haven-area districts most acute for special educationMeghan Friedmann
August 28, 2022 New Haven Register. “People are leaving urban districts for better-funded districts because those districts are able to pay more,” said Leslie Blatteau, president of the New Haven Federation of Teachers. Blatteau has been conducting exit interviews with union members leaving the district, she said, and many are going to jobs with $10,000 or $20,000 raises. Click to read more. |
CT Educators Stretched Thin in Teacher ShortageEdwin J. Viera
August 24, 2022 Public News Service In the New Haven School District, Leslie Blatteau, president of the local AFT chapter, said the ongoing cycle of teachers needing to cover those vacancies had led to faster burnout and sagging morale. She predicted that the upcoming school year won't be easy on educators. "Most likely in some schools, it's going to be some of my colleagues stepping up and working to provide the coverage," she said. "We're going to push for compensation for those teachers who are giving that extra time, because we want to send a message that teachers' time is important, and there is a fixed amount of hours in the day." Click to read more. |
Local school districts ramp up efforts to hire
Kimberly Drelich
August 20, 2022 The Day Leslie Blatteau, a public school teacher in New Haven and president of the New Haven Federation of Teachers, is both a member of the AFT Teachers and School Staff Shortage Taskforce and a member of the AFT Connecticut PreK-12 Council. Blatteau said teachers are leaving the profession because of the working conditions, which have been exacerbated by the stress and trauma of the pandemic, and the lack of respect that teachers are getting on the job. It then becomes a “negative cycle,” because the remaining teachers have to pick up the work from the vacant positions, which leads to faster burnout and increased demoralization — and more people leaving the profession. Click to read more. |
New Haven Public Schools focus on attendance and reading this school year
Gabby Molina
August 18, 2022 Fox 61 "We recognize challenges sometimes, obstacles sometimes, but we really want to collaborate with families this year to make sure that our students come to school, that they're well-rested that they come get their breakfast on time," said Leslie Blatteau, president of New Haven Federation of Teachers. There is also a focus on reading. The New Haven Federation of Teachers received 10,000 books they gave away to students Thursday, allowing everyone to take as many as they wanted. Click to read more. |
Alders press school officials to address reading, math grade levels as first day of school nears
Chatwan Mongkol
Aug. 17, 2022 New Haven Register There were four main issues the school district is facing, as Blatteau highlighted: teacher shortage crisis, underfunding at the state level, problematic working conditions and the quality of professional development for teachers. Click to read more. |
Tracey Rejects Reading “Crisis” Framing
Laura Glesby
August 17, 2022 New Haven Independent After Tracey and her team had a chance to present, teachers’ union President Leslie Blatteau and paraprofessionals’ union President Hyclis Williams shared an alternative vision for how schools should proceed. They called for schools to prioritize mental health, morale, and school relationships among both students and staff over test scores. Click to read more. |
Districts struggle with teacher shortage ahead of start of schoolChristian Colón, Evan Sobol, Roger Susanin and Rob Polansky
August 17, 2022 WFSB New Haven school and city officials met Tuesday night to discuss how to improve test scores and the classroom experience, but there was a cloud that loomed over the Elm City that teachers said needs attention. “If we want to address student achievement, we have to first and foremost make sure there is a certified teacher in every classroom. And we have to make sure they have the support so they can do the job they have been hired to do,” said Leslie Blatteau, New Haven Federation of Teachers. Click to read more. |
Connecticut school districts can’t find enough teachers: ‘We must address working conditions’
Alex Putterman
Aug. 13, 2022 CT Insider “Each and every one of our students deserves a certified teacher in their classroom when they show up for the first day of school and beyond for the rest of the year,” Blatteau said. “And right now we are not on track to meet that goal." Click to read more. |
Opinion: If Connecticut wants great teachers, we have to pay like we doLiam Brennan
July 25, 2022 CT Mirror According to surveys by the National Education Association, 37% of teachers were thinking about leaving the profession last August; by February, that number had jumped to 55%. Leslie Blatteau, the president of the New Haven teachers’ union, called the situation of dealing with teacher loss “demoralizing,” explaining how teachers at New Haven schools have to cover for empty spots. “There is a finite amount of time in the day,” she said, “if we have to spend time covering for empty positions, something else is going to fall.” Click to read more. |
The Connecticut teacher shortage: Too few substitutes, too many mandates and kids in crisis
Alison Cross
Jul 17, 2022 Hartford Courant Leslie Blatteau is president of the New Haven Federation of Teachers and teaches social studies at the Metropolitan Business Academy. She said the students in New Haven and other low-income urban districts were more likely to suffer from pandemic trauma and lose a family member to COVID-19. Click to read more. |
Educators call on New Haven Board of Alders to fully fund school budget
Jayne Chacko, Kent Pierce
May 24, 2022 WTNH For many school professionals, teaching over the past few years has been challenging with the COVID pandemic. Schools try hard to keep their staff, but many have left for higher-paying jobs just to get by. Click to read more. |
New Haveners, unions, teachers demand increased funding for schools
Yash Roy
April 1, 2022 Yale Daily News Community advocates came together to call for an increase in public school funding for K-12 education on the heels of pandemic disruptions. Click to read more. |
New Haven advocates call for more public school funding amid staffing shortageCatherine Shen
March 30, 2022 Connecticut Public Radio Parents, teachers and school workers marched along New Haven streets Wednesday to call on the state to give public schools more money to address what they say is a staffing shortage crisis. Click to read more. |
Unions, community members call for fully funded public educationChristine DeRosa
March 30, 2022 The Register Citizen About 150 students, parents, teachers, professors and school staff marched downtown on Wednesday evening to call on the state of Connecticut to make dramatic investments in the public education system, including higher education. Click to read more. |