Bulletin Bulletin
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BULLETIN BULLETINThe Connecticut Association of Schools The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference Affiliated with the National Association of Secondary School Principals g Member National Federation of State High School Associations g Member National Middle School Association VOL. 81 / NO. 4 JANUARY 2007 FAILING SCHOOL ME ARSE PAT LLODRA JOINS CENTRAL OFFICE STAFF (OR, CALL ME A LIAR, MR. PRESIDENT) By Michael H. Savage, Executive Director Patricia Llodra, former princi- pal of Northwest Regional High Today, I had one of the most wonderful and memo- School in Winsted, has joined the rable educational experiences of my 47 year career. I was central office staff as an assistant invited to and visited an NCLB and State of Connecticut executive director for the CIAC. A "FAILING" school. I needed to experience first hand 29-year veteran educator and for- what NCLB and, consequently, the Connecticut State mer chair of the CIAC Board of Department of Education classified as a failing school for Control, Pat has assumed many of three consecutive years. the responsibilities of recently I accepted an invitation from Principal Dr. Leroy retired Assistant Executive Direc- Williams to visit Roberto Clemente Leadership Academy, tor Tony Mosa. Pat is overseeing a K through grade 8 school in New Haven. It is located in fourteen CIAC sports committees one of the poorest sections of the city. Its student popula- and is serving as liaison to the tion consists of nearly 100% Spanish and African-Ameri- CIAC Eligibility Committee and can students. the CIAC Eligibility Review Upon arrival, I was asked to meet with one of the par- Board. As such, she is responsible for processing and monitoring all ents. Her name was Patricia Gore, the parent of four chil- tees, including the Eligibility appeals of eligibility committee dren, three of whom attended and one who is attending Review Committee, and the Girls’ decisions. Pat is also serving as a Clemente. The oldest child is now graduating from Temple Tennis Committee. She was also a clinical supervisor for the Stamford University; two are matriculating through Career Acade- member of the CIAC Girls’ Bas- cohort of the University of Con- my, a magnet high school in New Haven; and the youngest ketball Committee and the High necticut Administrator Preparation is now in grade two. Mrs. Gore was originally from Stam- School Professional Studies Com- Program (UCAPP). Pat settled ford and, upon moving to New Haven, had to be strongly mittee. A respected and decorated into the central office and began persuaded by Dr. Williams to enroll her children at administrator, Pat was awarded a her new duties last month. Clemente. Her reluctance stemmed from the reports both CAS Citation, the association's Pat earned a bachelor of sci- continued on page 6 highest honor, in 2000, and was ence in psychology from the Uni- named Connecticut High School versity of Bridgeport and a master Principal of the Year in 2001. of science in education from West- CAS Names 2007 "Pat has been one of the ern Connecticut State University. strongest leaders in the history of She began her professional career the association," said CAS Execu- Assistant Principals in 1978 as a mathematics teacher tive Director Mike Savage. "With at John Read Middle School in her incisive grasp of CIAC issues Redding. After four years at Read, of the Year and her ability to maintain a global Pat became a math teacher and view of athletics as but one factor computer coordinator at Non- in the overall education of our stu- newaug High School in Woodbury, dents, Pat possesses the ideal skills where she also served as an assis- and perspective to advance the tant principal. In 1989, Pat interests of CAS-CIAC and of high assumed the position of principal school athletics in Connecticut." of Northwest Regional, where she Since her retirement in 2004, worked until her retirement in Pat has served as interim principal 2004. DONNA M. JALE L. DONNA D. at Newtown High School; as a During her tenure as principal, CULLEN HALE RUSSO leader in residence for the Con- Pat was an active and dedicated necticut State Department of Edu- member of CAS-CIAC. She Elementary School Middle School High School cation School Improvement Unit; served as chair of some of the Assistant Principal Assistant Principal Assistant Principal and as an executive coach for the of the Year of the Year of the Year association's most important and National Governor's Association challenging boards and commit- See page 9 See page 8 See page 7 Grant. 2 CAS Bulletin ct news & notes Study Spotlights Need for Afterschool Programs BE ON THE LOOKOUT! The results of a 2005 survey conducted by the Connecticut After School Network revealed Are you a member of a CAS committee and that the families of afterschool program participants are benefitting from afterschool pro- aren’t sure if you have a meeting next week? grams in a variety of ways: Has your basketball team qualified for the • 88 percent of parents agree that knowing that their child is in a supervised afterschool pro post-season tournament and you don’t know gram helps them better focus on their jobs during the after school hours. when the entry form is due? Did you forget • 78 percent agree that having their child in a supervised afterschool program helps them the registration deadline for the upcoming miss work less often. workshop on CMTs? If so, just look for the • 93 percent agree that the hours of operation meet their needs. weekly “News and Events” e-mail from this • 93 percent agree that the child enjoys the program that he or she attends. office. The weekly broadcast contains timely • 79 percent agree that the afterschool program helps that child do better in school. news and announcements as well as a listing The survey also revealed that afterschool programs are in great demand in the region. of CAS-CIAC meetings and activities for the Only ten percent of Connecticut children currently participate in a structured afterschool pro- upcoming week. It is sent out every Thursday gram, while 60 percent of parents with children who do not participate in a program agree evening to all member school principals, that their children would be likely to attend a convenient, affordable, quality program if it were assistant principals, CAS-CIAC committee available. members and athletic directors. (Source: New England after 3 PM: Spotlight on Connecticut, Afterschool Alliance) CT Ranks High on Chance for Success Index O Teenagers in Connecticut die at the low- According to a report released earlier this month, a child born in est rate of anywhere in the United States; Virginia is significantly more likely to experience success through- and Connecticut ranks 14th in the number out life than the average child born in the United States, while a of children 17 and under without health child born in New Mexico is likely to face an accumulating series insurance. The state’s high rankings are of hurdles both educationally and economically. The analysis by attributed to the wealth of its residents and the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center is based on the to its progressive health care policies, "Chance-for-Success Index," which tracks state efforts to connect including immunizations. See tables below. education from preschool through postsecondary education and training. The index was developed by the EPE Research Center for State rankings in teen deaths Quality Counts 2007: From Cradle to Career, Connecting American Education From (rate per 100,000) Birth to Adulthood, produced by Education Week. The “Chance-for-Success Index” pro- vides a perspective on the importance of education throughout a person's lifetime and is 1 Connecticut (lowest) 40 based on 13 indicators that highlight whether young children get off to a good start, suc- 2 New Jersey 42 ceed in elementary and secondary school, and hit key educational and income bench- 3 New Hampshire 46 marks as adults. Connecticut ranked second, behind Virginia, at the top of the index, 4 New York 48 while Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas, Arizona, Louisiana, and New Mexico were at the bottom. States gain or lose points on each Chance-for-Success indicator 5 Massachusetts 51 based on how they perform compared with the national average. Putting that picture 6 Maine 53 together across each of the 13 indicators reveals a state's educational trajectory from 6 Vermont 53 childhood through adulthood. See Connecticut's scores below. The report is available 8 Hawaii 54 online at www.edweek.org/go/qc07. 8 Washington 54 10 Michigan 55 50 Alaska (highest) 105 State rankings in % of children 17 and below without health insurance 1 Vermont (lowest) 5% 2 New Hampshire 6% 2 Wisconsin 6% 2 Nebraska 6% 2 Rhode Island 6% 14 Connecticut 8% 59 Texas (highest) 21% (Source: Annual Kids Count Survey, Annie E. Casey Foundation) january 2007 3 . .more ct news & notes national news & notes O A state report shows that, since the PJ vs O To assess the prevalence of cigarette issue of the Journal of Public Economics. State of Connecticut settlement four years smoking among youths aged 12-17 years Students at schools with teacher pay-for- ago, the number of mentally retarded chil- in six major racial/ethnic populations in performance programs scored an average dren in regular classrooms has tripled - the United States, the Substance Abuse of one to two percentage points higher on increasing to 34 percent. The 2002 court set- and Mental Health Services Administra- standardized tests than their peers at tlement requires the state to ensure compli- tion and CDC analyzed self-reported data schools where no bonuses were offered, ance with the federal “Individuals with Dis- collected during 2002-2004 from the Figlio said.