Some of it may be personality issues, but clearly something is wrong. The common theme seems to be a lack of leadership by the people at the top. Leadership can not be obtained with a college degree, in many cases it needs to be taught by those willing to mentor the next generation to follow them.
That is not happening in the Hartford Schools, despite the numerous high price, overinflated salaries being paid out for the Superintendent and her minions. That failure is compounded by a Board of Education comprised of puppets who have no idea why they are there. These "so called" education experts should start every day off by asking themselves "are we doing the most we can and the best we can do for the children in our care". They would be lying to themselves if they said yes.
I would hope they were asking that, but they are probably more concerned about what to pack for their next junket to Orlando, or Dallas or wherever the next taxpayer funded trip is being held. And if they aren't planning for travel, they are probably planning the menu for the caterer's for their next meeting, again paid for by the taxpayers..
If Leslie Torres-Rodriguez was really interested in turning around Hartford's Schools, she wouldn't be waiting for them to implode with the excuses to "restructure and rebuild". But that would require leadership, something sadly missing in the Torres-Rodriguez circle.
If one tenth of what is being said about Hartford High being a "powder keg" ready to explode is true, I would think that would stir a genuine leader to action before, God forbid, the blood is on her hands. I would think that a real leader would have been forming an action plan long ago to restore order and education back to the halls of 55 Forest Street.
I would think that the orders would have come down from the golden towers of the Hartford Schools to "FIX IT". Some of those high priced salaries should have taken up residence in Hartford High School long before now and the Principal should be mentored to do the job properly. Hartford High is probably not the best spot for "on the job training" for a principal, but it is what it is, make it work.
Anyone with a sense of smell should be able to identify the unmistakable smell of marijuana as soon as they enter the building. There are more students wandering the hallways when they should be in class than there are commuters during rush hour in a New York subway.
What is going on in the Parkville School is a travesty. The only ones suffering from this mess will be the children. I have received a lot of calls and information about the bad things happening there. I have also received phone calls from people that personally know the principal, and tell me she is a good person. Now there is a big jump from gym teacher to principal running an elementary school, but it is not impossible. A true leader would recognize that and set the gym teacher/principal up to succeed rather than dooming her to failure.
Failure will mean that the students fail also. Maybe some proper mentoring and support and a little leadership on the part of Leslie Torres-Rodriguez could begin to heal the Parkville School community and pave the way to success rather than failure
I really wonder when the last time was that Leslie Torres-Rodriguez made an unannounced visit, without Security Officers accompanying her, to Hartford High or to meet with teachers at the Parkville School. When was the last time a Board of Education member took a walk though Hartford High to observe the conditions themselves.
What are they waiting for? That is what leaders do if they really care.
We have a lot of great teachers and employees in the Hartford Schools who really want to do the right things to benefit the students. If only we had some leaders ready to bring it all together
Leslie, you are being paid very well to do a job, please start doing it
Here is the kicker, the Pricipal that Leslie had in the barrel for a while for the new Weaver has been the mentor/coach for the administrators at Hartford High...well that's going well. Circular incompetence with blah blah blah of education-psycho babble to dazzle the irrelevant non connected BOE
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteCOME ON NOW LESLIE TORREZ COMES IN EVERY DAY LATE SHE LEAVES EARLY.
She makes all that money $276,000 Dollars and does nothing.
I should know I work there. Whites have to be on time --Do all the work can't leave early.
Blacks and Hispanics do nothing But Leave early complain all day-- Take long Lunches.
All Leslie does is Talk on her phone --watch tv and play with the computer.
Fire her but they won't just give her all that
unearned money and a city car.
Let's not talk about how whites are doing all the work because they come in early and can't leave early. I work in Central Office as well and plenty of whites come in late and leave early. Have held positions in the supervisors union, while not having any staff reporting to them. What about the whites that go walking for an hour and sit at their desks and eat lunch for another hour. What about the white executive secretaries being transferred once problems arise with them. Blacks and Hispanics are shown the door. Whites are complaining just as much if not more than Blacks and Hispanics. What about the number of whites at Central Office in executive positions that are not qualified. So now it's a race issue because the majority in control are Hispanic and not white women. Contrary to your racist views, the problem is the LACK OF COMPETENT LEADERSHIP. It amazes me that you believe Central Office is operating solely by the whites. How pathetic. How much can you be contributing if you are watching everyone else. I am sure that you didn't save your complaints for blog only. With all of your observations, you have been walking around complaining just like the Blacks and Hispanics. One last note, there are whites who don't take lunch and eat at their desk. By the end of the week they leave early. This is done on a weekly basis. Eating lunch at your desk every day does not mean that you leave early. So get off the race issue and join in on demanding NEW AND COMPETENT LEADERSHIP. Remember it's not about the adults, it's about the students.
DeleteI don't think she gets a City car but she does get a substantial monthly car allowance
ReplyDeleteKevin you are correct, the Superintendent does not drive a city vehicle. The Superintendent works for the Board of Education not the City of Hartford. She does receive a car allowance as do all of the Executive Staff. I suggest individuals who want to comment, speak facts.
DeleteI believe her initial contract granted her $300 a month car expenses
ReplyDeleteLOL I was wondering who was gonna bring up the race issue hilarious. Diversity means Anti-White and Equality means Oppresion to the Entitled smh
ReplyDelete@ Madame X you are right on.. there are many in positions who are not qualified to be in them a few who were hired as support tech staff for programs to help teachers who now have grandiose ideas and think they are certified admins who can tell people off and dictate how it is going to be with no certification at all. It is not about race it is about competence or the lack of it in most cases stemming from downtown.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteWell Leslie Torrez is Hispanic
If She Was White Her Ass would be Terminated!!!!
FACT FACT FACT
Not so because Stephen Adamowski was WHITE and he was allowed to stay for eight years and the district still hasn't recovered. FACTS, FACTS, FACTS ANS MORE FACTS.
Delete@ 5:31 PM Torres would never have gotten the job if she were white. They chose her over Tim Sullivan. Sullivan was qualified Torres was not. Race and gender was chosen over qualification.
ReplyDeleteKevin, why are you posting all these racist comments. This is about the kids, who's competent, and who is/isn't doing a good job. Making it racial is just noise that gets in the way of that.
ReplyDeleteThis is not about race, it is about the failure of leadership in the past few administrations. Stephen Adamowski's admin was the last time the district saw real year over year gains in achievement. He did this by giving the responsibility to the leadership at the schools and held them accountable for success or failure. Many of the staff received performance bonuses for exceeding improvement goals. The best thing he did was clean out the wasted payroll in the central office. He created a ghost town down there. The subsequent administrations have rebuilt the centralized power and payroll. The amount of taxpayer funds that are wasted on coordinators, directors, coaches, and assistants for the superfluous data counters and collectors is resources that are not available for instruction. The current decisions are coming from Chief of Schools. She is bullying and berating anybody who does not KowTow to her wishes. Many think she has placed herself between the principals and the super. The queen's court are playing the emperor's new clothes and the super needs to open her eyes and see it. The principals cannot do what they know is good for the academic and social growth of their students because downtown rules with fear and intimidation. Check to see how many building level admins are on administrative leave. The board needs to eliminate the cabinet level positions, redesign a flatter and efficient management structure and hire competent leadership. The time is now. All administrators should have to reapply for their jobs. These changes will bring about success for the students rather than the enrichment of those at the top of the pay scale.
ReplyDeleteTo paraphrase Madame X Big Facts.
Leslie is the worst Super in the last 100 years
ReplyDeleteRumor has it 100% of current hphs administration will be reassigned prior to next. For the sake of the students when will Leslie be fired and a beautiful and capable administration be hired at hphs
ReplyDeleteyeah they'll spread the poop around
ReplyDeleteAdamaowski destroyed Hartford Public Schools! He is a shock doctrine storm trooper. The district's data was more cooked under Adamowski than it is now and probably ever was. He created too many schools. That and the transportation expenses that came with "choice" is why HPS is bankrupt. The choice nonsense was a scam as well. There is no choice in Hartford schools and never was. Central office sticks kids wherever they want and concentrates the most difficult ones in what's left of the old neighborhood schools. They assign the better students to the magnet schools and also fund the students at a greater rate. Then they scapegoat teachers for the low achievement in the schools that have been set up to fail. The charter school movement gives a lot of money to political campaigns, both democrat and republican. They want our schools and the tax money that goes with it. Everyone gets bent out of shape about DeVos and her policies, but democrats were doing the same things for the eight years before she came around. Remember Stefan Pryor? Remember the fiasco in Bridgeport with Paul Vallas? Arne Duncan? Mallow was an enemy of public education. The people behind this are still at it. Luke Bronin appoints the majority of the Hartford Board of Education. He took a lot of charter school money. Do you think it's an accident that the school district is in complete chaos? Now with the no discipline approach to manipulating discipline data, even the magnet schools are going to hell. What better excuse for privatization.
ReplyDeleteNo sweet cheeks at 12:56 big lies..Adamowski destroyed HPS. He was nothing but a raging drunk who harassed women. He set up school budgets to torpedo HPS just like the failing Cincinnati school district he ruined prior to HPS. Hired a moron to oversee special education who literally over night eliminated every continuum of service HPS ever had. Got rid of the only solid reading program the kids ever had and did not raise anything other than his own bank account balance that's for sure. Obliterated bilingual education because he "did not believe in it" and created the circus we all now live in. Christina was more of the same only with more central office fools to sort through and the know zero dame from Harvard was a waste of money and bad joke. Having the schools runs the show has lowered scores and left classrooms without supplies books paper and you know the actual item kids need to learn called a good curriculum but hey all these corporate big shots downtown are doing swell.
ReplyDeleteI concur with 12:05
ReplyDeleteThe current issues are just the snowballing effect of years of incompetence from downtown, now it is at its pinnacle
Bronin appoints the majority of the BOE. He could begin sweeping change tomorrow or make sure the central office staff is held accountable for a number of things including increased student achievement. He won't lift a finger, because he doesn't care.
ReplyDeleteHe wants the State to take over the school system so he can go on TV, take off his jacket and show how he "rolled up his sleeves" while others solve his problems for him again.
Torres should have been fired months ago. The Hartford Board of Education should have never hired her she was not qualified. Hartford Board of Education has no clue and has not for a long time.
ReplyDeleteIn corporate world you run an organization into the ground you get fired. At Hartford schools you run a school into the ground and you get reassigned. And the same story continues. Just look at next board meeting agenda
ReplyDelete@7:08 you know it..HR is spectacular at recycling the trash. It is the career mission statement for talent management with regard to administration in public education.
ReplyDeleteAnother Discrimination lawsuit against HPD is in Federal Court.
ReplyDelete11:02
ReplyDeleteDetails? Name?
Employment Discrimination by a former candidate, more details coming soon.
ReplyDeleteThe current superintendent of Hartford Public Schools does a lot behind closed doors; however, I can assure that what she does behind said doors is always in the interest of Hartford students and the community. The decisions everyone on this thread imply as being "better than" or "will solve these problems" have repercussions that are fathomable by those of you lacking position or experience. Further, the discussion of salary on all threads pertaining to Dr. Torres-Rodriguez is clearly out of spite and jealously as she works more hours than can legally be covered by her contract. Additionally, on the subject of politics, no superintendent, especially in the city of Hartford, can perform their role unparalleled to the cities politics and/or politicians.
ReplyDeleteThese threads are simply a sad, yet funny, demonstration of the inability of unhappy Hartford residents to intelligently express their concerns. The unheard state of these opinions have nothing to do with the superintendent or HPS administration, rather the failure of everyone on these threads to rationally and logically take action and be heard. Anonymously slandering public workers for their possession of the degrees and achievements you lack is exactly why they are in the positions they are in when you are not. Seeking validation in the way demonstrated on this website is psychologically proven to be a characteristic of low self esteem. One cannot possibly believe that they possess the ability to solve the problems of a city or public education system when they have yet to even identify their severe individual flaws such as the ones evidently present in most of you. Thus, I recommend seeking the root of your individual problems rather than attack others in an attempt to masque them.