Why did the scarecrow win an award?  Because he was outstanding in his field.

The Hartford Board of Education will soon be seeking an award from the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE) to be recognized for their outstanding work as a board of education.

Yeah, I didn’t laugh at the first joke either.

CABE gives out a yearly “Recognition Award” to boards of education in Connecticut which “exhibit…effective leadership,” characterized by their ability to work together as a “team.”  As a “team,” the Hartford Board has approved over 106 consecutive issues that have come before them for a vote.  If you squint your eyes and look sidewards, this could be interpreted as teamwork, I suppose.

This is the “Level One” CABE Leadership Award.

“Level Two” Leadership Awards are given to recognize “truly exemplary” boards of education.  A board can only receive a “Level Two” if they have received at least 2 “Level One” awards in the past 4 years.  The Coventry Board of Education has received 8 straight CABE Leadership Awards, including 2 Level Two awards.

It doesn’t appear that the Hartford Board has ever been honored with these awards, and, perhaps recognizing their own inabilities, for the current Board at least, has not apparently ever submitted the application to receive CABE recognition.

The application for these awards are basically a self-assessment of how the Board feels it conducts itself as an official Board.  You can find the application and the required criteria on BoardDocs as an attachment to the February 6, 2023 Policy Committee meeting.

Reading the first 9 criteria elements and deciding 7 of them did not apply to this Board, I thought of the scarecrow in the field and put this down as one of those jokes you constantly hear but never laugh.

Only fans of self-assessment or self-evaluation serving as a basis for extending contracts or earning trophies would shy away from objective third parties judging performance.  This is why Donald Trump did not receive the Medal of Honor.

Discussion of the CABE Leadership Awards has been on the Board’s agenda for a few meetings this year, but due to time issues and discussions on legitimate matters, it has yet to be brought up for discussion.  Not completing your agenda due to your own time constraints is a poor way in which to convince others of your commitment to the “team” and that you deserve an award.  Poor meeting attendance, ignorance of and ignoring bylaws, not giving shine to established and accepted parliamentary procedures, publicly criticizing fellow board members…why did the scarecrow win an award?