Superintendent Recommends Background Checks for Volunteers
http://www.connpost.com/valley/ci_7510858
Our outgoing Superintendent, who is done at the end of the calendar year, as one of her final recommendations to the board recommends doing background checks on volunteers in the district.
 Your thoughts?
December 10th, 2007 at 8:59 am
We could debate the merits of all-day kindergarten, there have been plenty of studies pro and con but that wasn’t my point. My point was that with test scores, which demonstrate our students ability to master specific skills that have been identified by educators as necessary to successfully further their education and therefore their ability to succeed in life, at their lowest during the superintendent’s reign and in recent memory, she focuses on instituting full-day kindergarten and after school programs with the Boys & Girls club as a high priority progamming need.
I’ve not read about a single initiative let alove a “high profile” initiative designed or offered by her or the past Board of Ed that specifically addresses this glaring inefficiency of our school district. As the old adage goes lets keep first things first.
In my opinion she came her to institute programs that would pad her resume for future employment. I think that’s also been demonstrated.
I hope the new Board of Ed will exert the leadership they are supposed to on the part of the community, address the MAJOR needs in the system and not be lead around by the nose by the school administration.
December 9th, 2007 at 1:47 pm
The all day kindergarten instituted for this past school year is a begining step to improving student test scores. Our students coming into kindergarten are already behind most districts as we do not have a formal preschool program.TEAM recently did a study showing that students entering our kindergarten programs do not have any educational training previously. I know it sounds crazy that children at this age already are behind but in this day, most children begin some form of education by the age of 3. Derby kindergarteners come in without knowledge of the simpliest things such as how to sit for a story, how to follow directions and most importantly how to get along. The teacher, whose role is to begin instruction, now has to spend the first few months teaching basic skills that most pre schoolers get. A full day gives the children more time to get the educational component they need as well as giving them basic socialization time. I think this program was a no brainer for success.
November 26th, 2007 at 11:42 am
I’m not against the background checks although being involved with a group that requires them of volunteers and employees it isn’t as simple as one might think to have people get fingerprinted and paying for the cost of background checks.
The point I was trying to make was concerning the “bigger hole” which is ignored at the expense of other much smaller and in some cases unnecessary things, which our attention and dollars are redirected to when our attention and dollars should be directed to improving test scores and the quality of education our schools provide.
Can anyone name a single program, initiative, approach, etc. developed to specifically improve the test scores of our student population?
November 24th, 2007 at 9:47 am
Why wouldn’t you do background checks on volunteers working with students? I understand there are a lot of other issues on the table but shouldn’t volunteers be looked over just as an employee is? Not to be paranoid, but I wouldn’t want a volunteer with certain criminal backgrounds to be working closely with my children. Especially since their jobs are not on the line as incentive to behave. Sorry if am misunderstanding but it seems like a simple thing to check of the to do list. I see it as every little step in the right direction can’t hurt, just as long as everyone remembers there is a much bigger hole to patch in the Derby Schools and moves forward from one issue and on to the next without stopping to clap about it. We’ll start clapping for everybody’s accomplishments when results start showing up in the classrooms.
November 20th, 2007 at 7:36 am
I think it’s just a further indication of how out of touch she’s been with the needs of the district and the community.
With all the difficulties our system faces this isn’t a priority, and no one else in the region does it. But then again neither was instituting full-day kindergarten or after school programs, when our kids test scores are in the toilet. It was always about resume building for her and it paid of for her handsomely in getting the Newtown job.