New Haven Public Schools Seek Public's HELP in Reform 2.0

[N'Zinga Shani]

  OneWorld Progressive Institute, Inc is a 501(C)3, 100 percent volunteer  organization serving Greater New Haven and the broader CT  community since 1996.  Please visit our YouTube channel at: https://goo.gl/q3YhD6    Our comprehensive Education Section is here: http://www.oneworldpi.org/education/  We ask that you share us with others.  It is imperative that all parents know that they have the right to advocate for their children.  Effective advocacy is not the exclusive province of the wealthy and the powerful.  At OneWorld we show parents how they can be effective advocates.

New Haven schools officials called out to the public Wednesday to help them roll out this year’s “change” plan. (However, this call is coming much after the fact. Please read the entire article)

At a press conference at 54 Meadow St., Superintendent Garth Harries described the need for an operating plan engaged the public, in part by asking community members to engage in facilitated focus groups to figure out how to improve the schools.

The focus groups are a new part of the updated “School Change 2.0” effort, which includes higher numerical goals for students and a commitment to social-emotional support.

• This summer, 88 community and school leaders were trained to lead focus group discussions that will start this month and end in November, said Lola Garcia-Blocker, chief of staff. Students will also get training so they can lead some of the focus groups.

• The notes from those focus group conversations will be posted on the schools website.

• “Our goal now is to fine-tune the priorities and metrics of all of our departments,” Garcia-Blocker said.

• The comments posted to this article are enlightening and need to be read by all.

Rev. Samuel Ross-Lee posted a comment that encapsulated the crucial points of this NHPS scheme. Below are the main points in his comments; please read it carefully.

• “It is my suspicion that the “trained facilitators” have been ‘trained” to not only direct the conversation but to control it to the point that the public will not be able to provide intelligent insight outside of the parameters of those set by the facilitators. In other words, this is not about involving the public in a genuine conversation, but is more about, as one commenter as already hinted, political posturing, with a dose of making us “feel” connected to the “process.”

• “The conversation suggested here is inherently fallacious, as such a conversation is not one that should be “facilitated” by the school system. The fundamental issues affecting the education of most underprivileged students are not issues that the school system should be asked to tackle. These are issues that the society which elects a government should try to engage hoping to find solutions to solve those problems through our political system to help the under-resourced and less capable as a result.

• The fact that the NHPS system feels the need to provide us a new gimmick every season should be proof that their aim is not to fix anything, but merely to appear to be doing so."

http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/schools... 

Below are links to some of the education-related programs produced by volunteers/educators at OneWorld Progressive Institute, Inc:

• Parents & Teachers, Working Together, Help Students' Succeed: https://youtu.be/b_vjtSflhe0 This has been our most popularly requested program from teachers and administrators in other states. Women of Color Pursuing Careers in Science and Medicine:  https://youtu.be/eI7iV9fvLKM

• Defining the Common Core in NHPS District: https://youtu.be/Uaa1STCJhWI
• Engaging Students Positively In Education and Politics:   https://youtu.be/u-XVPAogMXg
• Building Success Pathways for ALL Students:  https://youtu.be/nXeZgf7VXNk

OneWorld Progressive Institute, Inc is a 501(C)3, 100 percent volunteer organization serving Greater New Haven and the broader CT community since 1996.  We produce three categories of television programs: health literacy, education and civic engagement. We also engage the community, and particularly students, in critical-thinking forums, an oratory competition and radio discussions. What we do depends largely on what we can financially afford to do at any given time and on an ongoing basis.  We invite and appreciate technical and financial support.

We at OneWorld invite you to visit our YouTube channel at: https://goo.gl/q3YhD6   Face Book is here: http://goo.gl/8v19VB  If you like what you see, please “LIKE” our FB page and please SHARE us with others.  We are all about good information and building a POSITIVE community.  We welcome financial and technical support. Write to us at: OneWorld, Inc. P.O. Box 8662, New Haven, CT 06531

[N'Zinga Shani]

This program on Parents and Teachers Team-Building was recorded several years ago.  However, it is timeless in its value and has been the most popularly requested DVD (not in CT, but in several other states such as: Arizona, Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia and Alabama).  An educator from the University of Virginia uses this program to teach teachers.  We encourage you to watch and share this program in Connecticut. 

Parents & Teachers, Working Together, Help Students' Succeed: https://youtu.be/b_vjtSflhe0

This has been our most popularly requested program from teachers and administrators in other states. Women of Color Pursuing Careers in Science and Medicine:  https://youtu.be/eI7iV9fvLKM