No, I have never been a member of a board of education, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn once (watch the video), and since 2022 I’ve watched the Torres-Rodriguez/Rigueur board at Hartford Public Schools firmly cement itself into the plausible position of being the worst board of education in HPS history, well, except for the period of the state takeover of HPS when there wasn’t a board, and notwithstanding the Torres-Rodriguez/Rigueur board being awarded a Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE) award last year (“Even the Worst Players Receive a Participation Trophy”) while HPS board members  Johnson and Rigueur sat on CABE’s Board of Directors.

So, yeah, this all makes me well qualified to speak on what would make a good board member.  However, let’s just use a real-life example from the Torres-Rodriguez/Rigueur board to illustrate the exact opposite of a good board of education.  One could go back in time and find many examples, but we’ll just focus on the most recent display of WTF.

First, some administrative must-know.  BOE Policy 9322.1 states that the board “will require the Superintendent to provide data and other information necessary to document effective execution and results.”  CABE will tell incoming BOE members that a “good board member” will “get the information necessary to make good decisions” and “demonstrate critical thinking skills,”  and, “effective board members know that only informed decision-makers make sound decisions.”

And now let’s see how the Torres-Rodriguez/Rigueur board encapsulates the above must-knows.

At a Committee of the Whole Meeting on May 1st and at the board’s monthly Regular Meeting on May 21st, members discussed and approved the fourth contract since January of 2023 for the group Stay PluggedIn (SPIN) to provide the infrastructure and resources necessary to create Esport programs in Hartford magnet schools.  Since January of 2023, SPIN has created Esport spaces in seven Hartford schools.  The seven schools are: University High School, Sports and Medical Sciences Academy, Betances Stem, Classical Magnet, Noah Webster Magnet, Annie Fisher Stem, and now with the latest contract, Hartford Magnet at Trinity College (Classical Magnet has been a two-time beneficiary of SPIN’s paid services since January of 2023).

As stated in HPS’ contract summary/sales pitch for these four contracts over the last year and a half, students who join Esports have better attendance and better GPAs.  So, the half-million-dollar question, which is nearly the total amount HPS has paid to SPIN over the last year and a half, how has the Esports programs in the seven Hartford schools affected the attendance and grades of those students in the program?  In other words, show us that these programs have been effective.

After a year and a half, after spending nearly a half million dollars, and after at least eight BOE meetings concerning these programs, there has not been one iota of data presented to show that Esports programs have been effective at HPS in improving the attendance and grades of those students taking part in the programs, and, only one board member, Mr. Walker, has even brought up the idea of proving effectiveness through the use of attendance and grade data.  For members Browdy, Johnson, and Rigueur, the concern is for how many Hartford students are taking part in the programs versus students living outside Hartford and attending HPS magnet schools, and what the demographics of the students look like.  Ignoring effectiveness for equity results in neither.

How many students at HPS are taking part in the Esport programs?  We don’t know and nobody has asked.

How has attendance improved for the students in the Esports program?  We don’t know and nobody has asked.

How have grades improved for the students in the Esports program?  We don’t know and nobody has asked.

In the context of student demographics, board member Johnson stated that “we’ve done enough of these to have some data.”  So too have they “done enough of these” that some data proving effectiveness ought to be available.

During the many meetings held on Esports, this has not been a board requiring data to show “effective execution and results.”  This has not been a board “demonstrating critical thinking skills” and looking to “get the information necessary to make good decisions.”

Oh, look, the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) application for the magnet school athletic grant, which is funding the latest Esport initiative at HPS, states that the district must describe, among other things, “how new or enhanced athletic programming will enhance the educational experience, improve compliance outcomes, and increase applicants’ interest in the school,” and, “grant recipients must submit interim and annual status reports” to the CSDE. (view the grant guidelines here).  In other words, the CSDE is requiring the district to show the effectiveness of the program while the Torres-Rodriguez/Rigueur board’s method of operation has been to ignore such details.

So, we can look back at the delusional and nauseating statement made by former BOE member Yahaira Escribano as a ‘do as I say, not as I do’ lesson for the new HPS board of education which, if followed, will totally differentiate them from the Torres-Rodriguez/Rigueur board: “We vet every proposal, every contract.  We ask very detailed questions.”

For further instruction on what makes a good board of education member, please visit the Holiday Inn on East River Drive in East Hartford.