Normally before a new school year begins, Hartford Public Schools issues reports on staffing numbers, teachers hired and teachers retained, etc., and the board of education holds meetings where Superintendent Torres-Rodriguez issues little slide presentations on these numbers (“HPS to Start School Year with 64 Teacher Vacancies”).  Before the start of the school year over the past two years, the superintendent also talks up the Paso a Paso program and other initiatives to shanghai foreign teachers and ship them to Hartford. (“HPS Attempts to Recruit Teachers With Low Pay and Sketchy Bonuses”).

However, as HPS readies for the beginning of the 2024-25 school year, we have heard nothing over several months on the state of staffing at Hartford Public Schools.  However, EdSight, the “states official source for education data,” has released staffing data for Connecticut school districts for the 2023-24 school year just finished.  Absent any recent staffing reports by the superintendent, this data will give us an indication of how well or not so well HPS will fair in staffing for the upcoming school year.

For the 2023-24 school year, HPS reported that they had six more certified “general education teachers and instructors” than they did the year prior.  This amounts to a less than 1% increase in educators, however, HPS also reported that certified staff “administrators,” whether at the school level or central office level, increased 3.5% from 2022-23 to 2023-24 (nearly double the state rate of 2%).  Hail the chiefs; screw the warriors.

“Non-instructional services and support” personnel at HPS increased 56% from 2022-23 to last school year.  Across the state during this same period, there was only a 9% increase in “non-instructional” support staff.

Between the 2022-23 school year and last school year, HPS’ special education instructors and paraprofessional ranks (certified and non-certified) decreased nearly 2% while rising nearly 1% statewide.

Over the past two years we’ve been given great reports by the superintendent on teacher pipelines and millions has been spent on recruitment efforts and staffing firms, however, one couldn’t produce a glass of wine from the fruit of these labors when compared with the poor retention efforts of HPS.

Meanwhile, the chief of personnel management at HPS, Tiffany Curtis, was awarded the assistant superintendent position at Bloomfield Schools.  Obviously not a position awarded based on expertise and past successes.