In November of 2023, the Board of Education approved Superintendent Torres-Rodriguez’s $112,000 plan to build a principal “pipeline” (“HPS to Build Principal Pipeline”).  The plan (“everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face” – Mike Tyson) is to develop HPS staff members who hold an 092 certification to become HPS principals, “to grow and develop into strong, highly-effective leaders.”

Fast forward to February of this year and we find our heroes approving another $110,000 to develop an assistant principal pipeline, using the same West Hartford based Partners for Educational Leadership (PEL), pals to Richard Sugarman, who is the father of HPS Chief propaganda guy (or, Sr. Advisor for Strategy and Institutional Advancement if you prefer), Jesse Sugarman.

Sounding like Republicans about to open the Keystone Pipeline, Torres-Rodriguez and new “Acting Assistant Superintendent” Daisy Torres-Hill, the former head of the World Language “department” at HPS who reigned over a WL community at HPS which has no curriculum for elementary and middle schools and where it is accepted by district leadership that world languages are something that can be learned by taking one class a week,  spoke about the excitement around the opening of the principal pipeline in November as being the impetus behind creating the assistant principal pipeline now.   “The interest in the principal pipeline prompted this contract” said Torres-Hill.  “There was an “overabundance of interest” in starting the principal pipeline, said Torres-Rodriguez.

Neither comment is quite accurate.

First, it was not the great interest in the principal pipeline which “prompted” the idea of an assistant principal pipeline.  The intent to create the assistant principal pipeline was clearly stated in November before funds for the principal pipeline had been approved: “We will seek a new contract to support the development of the Assistant Principal pipeline program…,” said the district in November.

Second, if there was an “overabundance” of interest in the principal pipeline as stated by Torres-Rodriguez, why were they unable to fill the 10 spots which they contracted for in November?  The presentation for the assistant pipeline in February states that there is a “$5,000 credit PEL has provided for the unused coaching hours of the principal pipeline program.”  Torres-Hill said at the February meeting that HPS “didn’t fill all of our spots” in the principal program.  She didn’t say how many they did fill, but just that it was not all of them.  The assistant program is looking to spark the interest of at least 12 staff who want to grow and become effective leaders.

Board members questioned whether folks would go through either program and then head for greener pastures outside of Hartford.  Torres-Hill stated that just like in the principal program, folks going through the assistant program must sign an MOU with the district, requiring them to payback the cost of the program if they leave HPS within two years.  In the same breath the district states that a measure of success for the programs will be the percentage of participants who remain with HPS for the “2024-25” school year (not a stated number, just “% of participants”).  Well, they are required to sign a 2-year MOU, so they are all most likely to be here next year.   That’s like taking credit for increasing the number of folks with health insurance after making it a crime not to have health insurance.

In neither presentation did HPS leadership mention to board members that PEL offers sitting superintendent’s admission into the “Connecticut Superintendent’s Network,” a professional development network for superintendent’s so that they may…excuse me…grow and develop into strong, highly effective leaders.