Concerned with Hartford Public Schools students’ unequal access to a “standards based, high-quality arts experience,” Superintendent Stephen Adamowski, in 2009, created HPS’ very own non-profit organization “to infuse arts education throughout the city’s schools.”

That organization, Hartford Performs, Inc. (HP), continues to this day, providing what current Superintendent Torres-Rodriguez describes as “the sole opportunity” for many students to engage in the “crucial development activities” of music and visual arts because some schools lack dedicated instruction for these activities. 

One example of HPS’ failure in that department lies within Naylor Elementary School.  It was noted at the Board of Education’s July 11th Committee of the Whole meeting that Naylor does not have a full-time art teacher and HP provides a “5-week art residency” for students to “cycle” through and receive their art experience.

This has raised concerns about the privatization of the Hartford art curriculum, by Hartford Federation of Teachers (HFT) President Carol Gale last year, and by Board Member Browdy at the July 11th BOE meeting.  Ms. Browdy was concerned that the HP folks were going to take the place of HPS art teachers, and she asked for district vacancy numbers and if those vacancies had been budgeted for (many vacant certified teacher positions were eliminated during this year’s district budget crisis in the name of deficit mitigation).

As for Ms. Browdy’s data request, she received the standard district answer; we don’t have that information with us, but we will get it to you.  As for the tax paying public, we’ll never get that information.  However, we can see that the Adams & Knight professional marketers for HPS have posted an Indeed ad for a Hartford Schools art teacher, although the less than definitive need language for that position may turn some away from applying:  “Note: This posting does not necessarily reflect vacancies in the respective subject area and is solely intended to generate a talent pool for current and future certified teaching opportunities.”

Not only can the outsourcing of teaching be questioned, but so too can questions be raised on the outsourcing of what Hartford Performs, Inc. provides to HPS.

HPS receives federal, state, local, and private funds throughout the year to give all of Hartford’s beautiful and talented children a shot at a good education.  They take a portion of those funds ($400,000 this year) and pass it on to a non-profit organization that they themselves created, Hartford Performs, Inc., and the Board of Directors of Hartford Peforms, where sit HPS Superintendent Torres-Rodriguez and HPS Director of Arts, PE & Wellness, Tracy Avicolli, take that $400,000, along with any other donations and grants they may have received ($916,000 total for fiscal year 2021), and vote on how to spend it to support arts education in HPS ($371,000 for “artist and teacher fees,” and 42% or $329,000 for salaries, wages, and compensation in 2021).

It's like robbing Peter to pay Paul, who then turns around and spends it on Peter at the bequest of Peter.  Not being as non-profit savvy as Chaka Felder-McIntire, I’m at a lost to ascertain the legitimate purpose for this organization’s existence.  The fact that HPS contributes at least 33% of HP’s annual revenue may have something to do with it as this keeps their status from falling under the label of a “private foundation.”  HPS likes to call this a “private/public partnership,” but the fact that it was created by HPS, and the fact that 2 members of HPS leadership have a vote on who runs the show, the only thing private about it is the data to assess that they do not share.

In their fiscal 2021 tax filing, HP reports that they have 7 employees (including Rie Poirier-Campbell, Executive Director since 2014, who apparently gave up 11 years, including 3 as CEO, at the Greater Hartford Arts Council for a position with a salary of $113,000 a year), and 62 volunteers.  These folks bring into HPS “teaching artists,” who “inject joy into the school day” but also school and coach HPS teachers on how to infuse art into their lessons.  The “teaching artists”/coaches are non-union, independent contractors hired by HP/HPS, which could be done without the HP part. 

At the July 11th BOE meeting, HPS central office team member/HP Board of Director member Ms. Avicolli revealed survey data which showed that only 46% of teachers “plan to incorporate changes based on their Hartford Performs experience.”  But joy was injected into the school day, so that’s something. 

HP reported that although 83% of students “reported looking forward to coming to this class” based on HP programming, only 64% of teachers “reported observing a minor, moderate, or major effect on student attendance whey they knew HP was coming.”  Could you be more non-explicit with your data?  Does the HP Board of Directors, including HPS’ superintendent and HPS’ arts director, have a hand in creating HP’s data reports?  The only thing we know for sure from this data is that a third of teachers said HP programming had no effect whatsoever on student attendance.

One could say that it appears Hartford Performs is underperforming based on these performance metrics.  Which could be assumed based on its status as the red-headed step child of Hartford Public Schools, created by and for HPS.