During a March 29 Teaching & Learning Committee meeting, where Effective School Solutions (ESS) was proposing to extend their $1.7 million contract to provide mental health services to Hartford Public School students, CEO Duncan Young shared data which said that 90% of school administrators believe that there is a growing youth mental health crisis in this country, while only 57% of parents felt the same way.  This reminds me of the “throw out your dead” scene in Monty Python’s “Search for the Holy Grail:” “You are dead.”  “No I’m not.  I feel quite good actually.”

Also at the 29th Committee meeting, was presented an update on the district’s new math curriculum.  HPS’ Director of Mathematics, Mario Carullo stated that “the math curriculum was selected by the teachers.”  The teachers in the room or by a consensus vote of all district math teachers?

Mr. Carullo also stated that the reason for implementing a new math curriculum at HPS was that there was a “lack of coherence” between the 3 curricula in place, Eureka, Carnegie, and the state curriculum.  He stated that as grade 7 students, who were using the Eureka curriculum, passed into 8th grade, where the Carnegie curriculum was in play, students were “not set up for success in grade 8” (not a great endorsement of Eureka Math).   However, going forward, grades K-5 will be using the new and improved Eureka Math2, while grades 6-12 will be using the “HMH” math curriculum.  Is there “coherence” between these 2 curricula?  Will grade 5 students passing into grade 6 and switching to a different curriculum be “set up for success” in grade 6?

There’s going to be a joke someday which will read, “How many folks does it take to implement a math curriculum in Hartford, CT?”  In Hartford we have the curriculum folks themselves, a bevy of district coaches, teachers, ANet, TNTP, and ReVisions Learning, to name what is probably a truncated list.

During a Family & Community Engagement Committee meeting on April 6, we heard from F.A.C.E.S member T’challa Williams about problems she is hearing from the group’s community conversations.  Williams told the Committee that bullying is being handled differently by each school despite there being a district wide policy on the issue.   Despite the state’s recent investment and public spectacle of announcing a new high-speed internet project in the North End, Ms. Williams said that a big problem for her group is the lack of internet for many parents.  The next one is hard to understand.  Ms. Williams stated that the lack of Spanish translation is also a problem for the F.A.C.E.S. project.  How can this be?

Harford Public Schools is now taking bids for outside contractors to provide summer programs for students.  The bidding will last until April 14 at 2 p.m.  However, there is no mention of the bidding process or link to the bidding site available on the Superintendent’s website (as of April 9th), but the link is given on the agenda documents for this meeting.  The district has also sent out invitations to contractors throughout the city to submit their bids.  My guess is that the absence of a clear path and clear advertisement to the bidding site via the Superintendent’s mess of a website, is that the end game has already been determined.  The Superintendent’s Chief Engagement & Partnership Office, Nuchette Black-Burke told the Family and Engagement Committee on the 6th that the bidding is open “to any provider in the city.”  Good luck with that.  HPS gives a whole new meaning to the term “competitive bidding.”  Shameful, and damn near criminal.  Bids go through the City’s portal and then will come to HPS for “review,” and I’m sure to be “vetted,” in their own special way, then they will go on to the full board where they face certain approval.

It was also announced at the Family & Community Engagement Committee meeting that School Choice applications for 2024 were now being accepted.  EducationWeek did research and a story on school choice and they stated that parents often times do not pick the “best” school available, but often will pick based on staying in their own neighborhood.  Whatever the choice may be, the time to apply closes on April 17th.  That bidding information is available here.  It was easy to find; it must be state mandated.