Board of Ed April 15 Hearing

Thanks to all the PTAs for organizing and parents and teachers for partipating in the Emergency PTA meetings that have been going on the last week or so.

Your involvement is our greatest guarantee that your school and the rest of the Hamden Public School system will make it through whatever setbacks come our way.

As you have all now discussed, teacher layoffs, larger class sizes, elimination of many programs and redistricting, are just a few possible sacrifices we may be asked to make if the Town Council does not fully fund the Superintendent's recommended budget.

Here are actions we need you to take:

Stand with those that feel a strong public school system is a "must fund" investment on Wednesday, April 15 at Town Hall at 7PM, where there will be a public hearing for the Board of Ed budget.

You will need to sign up to speak between 6 and 6:30. Expect there to be a line to sign up, so get there even earlier.

The hearing starts at 7 PM. The council will not be answering back, but simply hearing comments on the Board of Ed's budget and arguments to give the BOE as much funding as possible.

Feel free to bring your children and show them what being an advocate really means. However, be aware that this event could go well past 9 PM.

If you can't go, sign the petition at www.supporthamdeneducation.org or contact your local representatives www.hamden.com/content/43/default.aspx. You could also have your children write letters or draw pictures to send to council members.

April 15 is just the beginning of the deliberation process, so continue to be in touch with your councilperson(s) over the next several weeks. There will be other opportunities for public comment and you will be notified of those events.

In addition, please contact your state representatives. While the local government is working on their budget, the state is working on their's, which is not due until mid June. Every call or email represents several dozen more. Remember that they work for you and will vote based on what they hear from their constituents. They won't know what you think if you don't call. Find and contact your reps at www.cga.ct.gov.

Finally, once the Board of Ed has it's allocation from the town in mid May, they will begin the process of figuring out where to spend that money. Your input in that process is greatly appreciated. All meetings of the Board of Ed are posted at www.hamden.org. They are held at 60 Putnam Avenue and, with the exception of the executive session, are open to the public to listen and comment.

If you have questions or comments about anything regarding our public schools, Superintendent Rabinowitz has an open door policy and welcomes your calls and emails. She can be reached at 407-2090 or frabinowitz@hamden.org.

Thank you for your attention and participation,

Marjorie Clark
President, Hamden PTA Council
http://www.hamdenpta.com
http://www.hamdenpta.ning.com (Join Your PTA's Group)
288-6831
marjorie@littlefishstudios.com

PTA in Transformation

The new National PTA CEO, is Byran V. Garrett, not only a man, but an African American.

In addition, the new national president-elect is a Charles J. Saylors. For the first time, since it's inception, PTA will be run by a dad. Considering that a child is 40% more likely to earn A's if a male role model is involved in their education, I think it's a great thing.

To that end, I would encourage all units to specifically invite dads and the male adults in your school community (uncles, grandfathers, etc.) to contribute time to your schools. Have them read a story, run a car wash or chaperon a baseball game: stuff they’re comfortable doing that doesn't require a lot of meetings. :)

National PTA has launched a new initiative called PTA MORE — Men Organized to Raise Engagement to help units with this idea.

If you haven't already guessed, this is NOT your mother's PTA. It is no longer a gaggle of moms who sit around gossiping over tea in the afternoon. In fact, nationwide, PTAs are finding it increasingly difficult to get members together to talk about what's going on or about getting organized. Our time is divided by multiple jobs, school and/or aging parents; a two hour meeting in the middle of the week, ten times a year is more time than most parents can afford. Not only that, but it's a relatively poor use of their time. After all, Rome wasn't built by having meetings, right?

Our children's generation is the first to never have experienced life without iPods, cellphones, IM, email, Ethernet and social networking. Our adaptation of these tools for running our organization will not only give us the technological knowledge to keep up with our kids, but keep us relevant as an organization.

This is the moment when we evolve or become irrelevant.

Hamden Public Schools has created a space for all Hamden PTAs on their website, www.hamden.org. The hope is that units and HPS will use this platform as a way to keep the vital link between children, family, teachers, administrators, school board and town strong. Please subscribe to their newsletter to be notified of happenings and emergencies via email.

And the winner is...

Thank you to all who made our annual Hamden PTA Council Dinner a tremendous success:

• the executive committee: Mary Clough, Melissa Stasiak, Karen Leeper and Cheri Brooks
• CT PTA executive officers: Presdient, Melissa Johnson, 1st VP, Marne Usher and VP of Legislation, Mike Taylor
• Hamden Lights for Life and the Saint Raphael Foundation
• Mary Marrindino, Hamden Partnership for Youth
• Stephen Beck, 1000 Friends of CT
• Jim Pascarella, on behalf of Mayor Henrici, Hamden Town Council and Hamden Education Foundation
• Superintendent Rabinowitz and Assistant Superintendents, Dr. Portia Bonner
• Kelly Reilly, Nancetta Walker Scholarship Award Winner

Congratulations to all the Meg Nowacki Hamden PTA Council Recognition Award nominees. We are a greater school system because of all of your accomplishments and contributions. Thanks to the nominators for such heartfelt and compelling nomination speeches. The nominees were:

• Cathy Crowe, Bear Path School
• Sue Foraker, Dunbar Hill School
• Melissa Tommaselli, Hamden Middle School
• Jennifer Marchand & Susan Martinez-Sendroff, Ridge Hill School
• Andy DeBenedet, Shephard Glen School
• Evelyn Neuber & Elizabeth Shack, Spring Glen School
• Ruth Croll, West Woods School

And the winner is....

When asked about the nominee, one of her students said this:

“She’s really good at math. She’s always fair. She’s really into birds. She makes learning fun with math and spelling games. She knows when to give the right test to each kid.”

Mrs. Ruth Croll has been teaching at West Woods School since its opening, starting as a 3rd grade teacher in 1974. In those 34 years, she’s also taught 2nd grade, a readiness class and a combination 1st and 2nd grade class. But she’s been teaching 1st grade for 27 years. It’s her favorite grade because she loves to watch the kids grow, as they learn how to read and write and be part of the West Woods School family.

Since the beginning of her tenure at West Woods, she has been a representative from the teaching staff to the PTA. Whatever we ask of her, the usual response is “No, I don’t mind. I don’t mind at all.” In return, we supply her with as much bird seed and field trip money as we can afford.

As an avid bird enthusiast Mrs. Croll, or “The Bird Lady” as many students know her, has instilled in our children an appreciation for the natural world and all its wonders. Almost twenty years ago she joined forces with naturalist Flo McBride and integrated her bird watching and feeding habit into the fabric of life at West Woods.

The courtyard in the center of our school is the ultimate observatory for Project Feeder Watch, coordinated by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, to monitor the distribution and abundance of winter bird populations. She and her fledgling bird watchers have sent their data from November to March to Project Feeder Watch for the last ten years.

In addition, Mrs. Croll heads the Bird and Nature Club, a group of 3rd to 6th graders, which meets in the trails behind our school every Thursday morning. Not only does she lead the group in enjoying the natural classroom, but also helps them to maintain the trails.

The first graders are one of the most mobile classes in our school. Mrs. Croll and the other Oak Teachers always make good use of their PTA allotted funds and free transportation. The children annually go to:

• Lighthouse Point Park for the fall hawk migration
• the local fire station
• The Peabody Museum
• East Rock Park / Mill River for spring bird migration
• The Beardsley Zoo

Mrs. Croll’s class also has a thriving publishing company, producing 20 class books per year about their travels, family traditions and curriculum projects, with each child contributing a well written sentence or two and thoughtful illustration.

Lastly, here are five more reasons why the West Wood PTA recommends that Mrs. Croll be given the Meg Nowacki Hamden PTA Council Recognition Award:

1. She’s dedicated to her students and school (arriving at 7 am, often not leaving until 7pm), and to our PTA, attending nearly every meeting.
2. She balances curriculum requirements with the learning abilities of each student. It is a fortunate child who has benefited from an individual educational plan with Mrs. Croll.
3. She shows her classes how to practice gratitude. One PTA member put it best by saying “I'm going to miss those nice ‘thank you’ notes her classes always write us!”
4. She has taught parents, as well as their kids, how to identify a sharp shinned hawk from a red tailed hawk and a barn swallow from a chimney swallow. (Just wait, that skill will come in handy one day!)
5. Mrs. Croll is retiring this year and we feel this honor is fitting for a woman who has given our school, our children and our PTA so much of her passion, knowledge, integrity and dedication. The West Woods PTA’s relationship with Mrs. Croll is the epitome of what all parent/teacher relationships should be: a shared involvement in our children’s education, doing whatever it takes to help them achieve great things.

Congratulations, Mrs. Croll!