Yesterday was the Annual Amity Budget Referendum. Only 471 people from Woodbridge turned out to vote out of a total of 1412 people across the school district. While this was a disappointing result, it was only 16 less people from Woodbridge than the year before, and only 26 less for all of the three towns.

The individual numbers weren’t really all that different in Woodbridge either. There was a slight movement against the budget in Woodbridge this year with 23 less people voting for the budget and 7 more people voting against it.

Bethany actually saw six more people vote in 2011 than they saw in 2010. Fifteen less people voted for the budget and twenty-one more people voted for it.

Orange saw the biggest changes. Overall they only had sixteen less people voting. However, because of the increase in the number of students from Orange at Amity, they will be hit harder than the other towns in terms of the budget. This resulted in 95 less people voting for the budget and and 79 more people voting against the budget.

As people hung around the Center in Woodbridge waiting for the polls to close some suggested that the issue in Orange is a belief that they could build their way out of a financial problem. The problem with building more houses is that more people live in the houses and it costs more to provide services to these people, such as the cost of educating the children in these new houses.

Another interesting tidbit came up. I did not know that you did not have to be registered to vote in the budget. Besides registered voters, U.S. Citizens who are listed on the property tax rolls as having at least $1000 worth of property in town can vote. One person showed up in Woodbridge who was not registered, was a property holder, but it turns out was not a U.S. citizen and because of this didn’t end up getting to vote.

With that, here are the results for last year and this year:

2010 Results

2011 Results

The reassignment of a second grade teacher to be a reading specialist and the hiring of a new teacher to fill her place brought out one of the largest crowds to attend a Woodbridge Board of Education meeting in recent years.

Over the summer Language Arts Specialist Diane Krivda accepted an assistant principal position at the Bethany Community School. Ms. Krivda was a valued member of the Beecher Road community and it was with mixed feelings that her resignation was accepted. There was sadness that a great educator was moving on mixed with joy about the continued success of her career.

As the Woodbridge School District sought a replacement, second grade Teresa Nakouzi stepped forward and sought the position. Ms. Nakouzi has worked hard at Beecher Road and has many admirers. She has continued her education to focus on being a reading specialist and this seemed like a great opportunity to continue her career path while remaining in the Beecher Road community.

A new second grade teacher was found. Michelle Shepherd, who was well regarded as a Second Grade teacher at Beecher Road School in the past was interested in returning. The administration decided that the best course of action was to have the Ms. Shepherd begin during the school year so that Ms. Nakouzi could take up her responsibilities as a reading specialist as soon as possible.

Parents of some of Ms. Nakouzi’s students expressed concern about the reassignment at a special Board of Education meeting which took place on October 4th. Board Chair Sheila McCreven informed the parents that since this was a Special Meeting of the board, changes to the agenda were not allowed and that it would be best for the parents to attend the Regular October Meeting where the issue could properly be discussed.

During the initial Public Comment part of the meeting Woodbridge Education Association Board member Sandra Simowitz rose to speak in support of the teachers and the administration’s decision to handle the teacher reassignment the way they did. She suggested that some of the parents crossed the line from advocacy on behalf of their children to actions bordering onto abuse.

One of the parents spoke up to ask how the process could have been handled differently. Would it make sense to establish a human resources committee? Could the information have been disseminated in a more effective manner?

Regular attendees of Board of Education and Parent Teacher Organization meetings noted that issues of board structure and school communications have been worked on by both bodies recently and several expressed hope that the parents would become more active in the PTO and regular attendees of Board of Educations meetings.

Despite the large crowd and the public comments, the October Board of Education meeting was fairly short. Dr. Stella gave his report talking about how the school band performed at the opening Sound Tigers game. It was noted that the district has been chosen to host a Winter Guard Tournament which will take place in January. It is a honor for an elementary school to be so chosen.

Dr. Len Tomasello who has started as Interim Intermediate School Principal shared some of his initial experiences of the school. He spoke about spending time meeting with the students and how impressed he was with the social maturity of the children. He also had words of praise for the teachers, noting that this is his seventh position as an Interim Principal and he was especially impressed with the strength of the reading and writing programs at Beecher Road School.

Woodbridge Selectwoman Sandy Stein spoke about the progress of the building committee. At a previous Board of Education meeting, the building committee had presented three different schemes for renovating Beecher Road School. The building committee was now recommending that the Board of Education pursue scheme B, which is projected to bring many improvements especially in providing more efficient heating and cooling as well as bringing the school up to code in many areas. The cost of the project is currently projected to be $17 million and will be further discussed by the Boards of Education, Finance and Selectmen. This topic was returned to as the board approved the schedule for the capital budget requests.

The board meeting ended with a second opportunity for public comment and parents who did not prevail in preventing the reassignment of Ms. Nakouzi expressed their frustrations. They said that because they did not get their way, their words must have fallen on deaf ears and the board must simply be acting as a rubber stamp. Various members of the board disputed this interpretation of the events noting their empathy for the parents, similar struggles they had been through to get the school do take actions they had wanted. This had led to their decisions to become more involved with the process by becoming Board of Education members.

Hopefully the next Board of Education meeting will be as well attended even if it is not as contentious.

Monday, the Beecher Road School PTO held its first meeting of the new school year. Mothers, fathers, teachers and administrators were all in attendance to hear Second Grade teacher, Peter Halsey talk about the Responsive Classroom.

Mr. Halsey has been a long time responsive classroom consulting teacher. He spoke about the importance of teaching students good social skills to complement their academic skills. To do this, the classroom environment should be child centered with as much intrinsic motivation instead of extrinsic motivation as possible. Students who have choices in how they will learn their academic material will be better motivated.

Key aspects of the responsive classroom is the morning meeting and teachers not only talking about appropriate behavior, but modeling it. The teaching methodology fits nicely with the Reading and Writing Workshop methodologies that the school has adopted based on work at Columbia Teacher's College.

Woodbridge School District Superintendent Dr. Guy Stella also attended the PTO meeting and talked about how the responsive classroom related to the school climate project. This project tracks improvements in student behavior. Just as data from the Connecticut Mastery Tests is being used to continually improve the academic performance of Beecher Road School Students, data from the school climate project can be used to improve the social performance through programs like the responsive classroom.

The meeting ended with a vote to approve the PTO budget and a discussion about various PTO goals for the year. Popular events like the Halloween Hoot are returning and there are many opportunities to help with the PTO. To encourage greater participation, the PTO continues to have babysitting available during PTO meetings and is now having a raffle for attendees. All parents and teachers are encouraged to participate in coming PTO meetings and activities.

Monday night, the Woodbridge Board of Education, at its regular monthly meeting explored several aspects of achievement as well as the state of the Beecher Road School building infrastructure.

The meeting started off with an executive session where the board conducted an exit interview with outgoing Principal Mary Lou Torres. Principal Torres has been an important part of the Beecher Road School administration and is moving on to a new position starting in October. While the primary focus of Beecher Road School is the success of the elementary school students, good educational programs recognize that we all remain students throughout our lives, and celebrates the successes of not only the young students, but also the students that are part of the staff.

Early on in the meeting, Principal Torres, assisted by sixth grade teacher Nancy White spoke to the board about the Tri-State Consortium.

The Tri-State Consortium is a learning organization devoted to assisting its member public school districts in New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey in using student performance data to develop a rigorous framework for systemic planning, assessment, accreditation, and continuous improvement.

Last year, the Tri-State Consortium visited Beecher Road as part of the administration's ongoing effort to improve the quality of education at the school. The consortium recognizes the successes of the school and made recommendations about areas where the school could improve. A key area that they focus on is professional development and professional learning communities. Beecher Road School does well with its profession development, and Principal Torres' successes are a good example of this.

Following the discussion of the Tri-State Consortium report, there was a lengthy discussion of the results of last year's Connecticut Mastery Tests (CMT). The test results are usually reported in the context of schools in similar districts, called a District Reference Group (DRG).

Woodbridge scored well in its DRG as well as compared against the state as a whole. In terms of the No Child Left Behind Act, Woodbridge made Adequate Yearly Progress. However, for a high performing school district like Woodbridge, adequate may not be enough, and the board discussed how the CMTs fit into a larger framework of student assessment and other methods of analyzing the CMT scores so that the district can continue to learn from its previous experiences and improve the quality of education that is provided.

The presentation of the CMT results was the last one that Principal Torres and Ms. White will give together as Principal Torres moves on. Her service to the school district was recognized and the board moved on to the next item on the agenda.

Beecher Road School was built in phases starting in 1960, with important parts of the infrastructure being nearly fifty years old. There are major concerns about the boiler, sections of the roof and the air quality in sections of the school. A building committee has been investigating what it would take to update the infrastructure, including getting sections of the school to meet new building code standards and be more energy efficient. Such a project will be expensive and the board sought to understand which parts are most urgent, and which parts might be deferrable until we are in a better economic time.

The long board meeting continued with addressing its regular business, including correspondence, approving financial reports and hearing reports from various committees. During public comment, one parent spoke up expressing his thoughts about the CMT scores. The meeting ended with the board settling in to its continued discussion about the long term goals of the board.

Woodbridge Board of Education meetings typically occur on the third Monday of each month and are open to the public to observe and comment. Citizens are encourage to attend and participate.

Parents- would your son like to learn rugby, the newest* Olympic sport? Well Amity now has a fine program started and we are setting up our program for 2010-11.

Practices this fall and winter will lead to play next spring against other clubs around the state.

Amity along with our united team partner Madison finished 3-2 with some doubt that a bad call cost us one of those loses. We have returning veteran players who will help the club and younger players.

Learn more about the club at www.amityrugby.org or on facebook (Just search "Amity Rugby"). Call me at 203-397-0243.

We are ALWAYS looking for sponsors so please consider helping out!

*rugby was an Olympic sport until 1924 when the USA won the Gold.

The following is Superintendent Brady's email about the Amity Board of Education Meeting.

The Amity Board of Education held its first regular meeting of the school year last night. Highlights of the meeting follow:

1. Principal’s Reports on the opening of school.

Dr. Britton, Dr. Dellinger and Ms. Cutler reported very smooth openings. Each principal commented on the high quality of the new faculty members that have been hired.

At the high school, Dr. Britton welcomed Emily Clark and Ann Wellspeak in English, Christine Young for a French/Latin position, Elena Serapiglia in Spanish, Donald Brechlin for a math assignment and Joanna Najarian-Garb as the new reading teacher/literacy content leader. He also noted that Ms. Jill Polisson, strings teacher, has been assigned full-time to the high school.

Dr. Dellinger welcomed Amy Browning in English, Marissa Manzelli in social studies and Lisa Serio as the new strings teacher who will be working at both middle schools.

Ms. Cutler welcomed Elaine Hashemian for a Spanish position and Sharon Remigio as the new school counselor.

2. Sheila Wycinowski reported on the 2010 Connecticut Mastery Test (grades 7+8) and Connecticut Academic Performance Test (grade 10) Results. The scores in grades 7 are the highest in Amity history. Grade 8 students performed better than they did in grade 7. Year to year growth of the same students is a key indicator of the effectiveness of the academic program.

In grade 10, reading and writing scores were among the highest in Amity’s comparison group. Science improved slightly over last year’s results but both math and science results remain below expectations. We have identified structural anomalies in math where freshmen, sophomores and junior students have been assigned to the same classes. It is very difficult to focus instruction on skills tested on the CAPT when some students in a class won’t be taking it in a given year (freshmen) or have already taken it (juniors). We have identified the group of students who most need attention to skills and competencies assessed on the math subtest of the CAPT and we have created classes of just freshmen and just sophomores. We are now able to focus instruction on CAPT preparation. This is not to say that Amity’s curriculum will be sacrificed. We are taking a balanced approach which incorporates CAPT skills and competencies into areas of the Amity curriculum that are appropriate. Board members expressed their concerns that math and science results were below the high expectations Amity has for student performance.

3. After completion of the 2010-2011 budget, the administration began working on a review of all Amity’s operations to begin to identify areas that might yield greater efficiency from a cost perspective. The initial phase of this review was presented to the Board. It is entitled “Superintendent’s Program Review Report”. This phase of the review takes a historical view of efforts of the past six years to gain efficiencies in expenditures (please open and read the report in the attachment box above). You will find in the report considerable tangible improvements to Amity’s operations that have saved millions of tax payer dollars. It is these efforts that resulted in Amity being identified last year as one of the 20 most efficient school districts in Connecticut by The Connecticut Economy. As we move forward into budget development for the 2011-2012 year, and we look for additional efficiencies, it is important to understand that Amity is already operating in a highly efficient manner. Nevertheless, we will present to the Board at the October regular meeting some tentative ideas for consideration as we consider the 2011-2012 spending plan.

4. The Superintendent informed the Board that Amity will be receiving $112,000 of Federal jobs money. These funds will be needed to help prevent layoffs in the 2011-2012 school year.

5. Dr. Brady congratulated Mr. Rob Kennedy, Director of Amity Creative Theater, for Honorable Mention by the Moss Hart organization for 2009 production of Anne Frank: and Then They Came for Me. This is just the latest in a series of awards and recognitions the Creative Theatre has received under Mr. Kennedy’s leadership.

6. Dr. Brady reported college acceptance data for the class of 2010. Each year we track students applying to the most selective colleges in the country and the percentage who are accepted.

The class of 2010 did extremely well. There were 129 applications to Ivy League schools 19 acceptances were received for a total of 14.7%. Over 60% of applications to highly and most selective colleges were accepted. We do not have comparative data from other high schools since there is no reporting requirement for this data.

7. Mr. Grande reported on the recent Facilities Committee meeting. Highlights included Board support for adding conversion of the choral room to a black box theatre on the five year capital forecast. The administration suggested placement of this work in the 2014-2015 timeframe. Several Board members suggested an earlier time if possible. Upon the recommendation of the Finance Committee, the Board took action to direct the administration to develop a lighting upgrade for sections of the high school that were not upgraded during the new construction. This upgrade would be at no cost to the taxpayers with estimated savings of nearly $900,000 over a ten year period.

The Board discussed roofing at Amity High School. The roof on the older sections of the building is approaching its 20 year lifespan. Director of Facilities Jim Saisa recommended a refurbishment of the roof at an estimated cost of $1.4 million as opposed to $4.0 million for replacement. The roofing work is currently slated for 2012-2013. Mr. Grande recommended that the Board begin to fund this project with any end of year balance being set aside in the capital non-reoccurring expense account after the audit of the 2009-2010 fiscal year is complete. These decisions will not be finalized until January.

Mr. Saisa presented his Facilities Report which documents work done over the summer. This report will be uploaded to the Amity District web site within the next couple of days.

The next regular Board of Education meeting will be held on Monday, October 18th at 6:30 p.m. in the presentation room of the District Offices.

Update: An addition email from Superintendent Brady included the following:

There was an additional highlight at the Board meeting this past Monday which was omitted from the previous report.

Ms. Yvonne Klancko, Director of Amity’s Adult and Continuing Education Program reported on enrollment and revenue for the program over the past three years. Under Ms. Klancko’s direction, the program has experienced significant growth. Enrollment in 2008 was 1,093. In 2010 it was 1,494.

In 2008 the fund balance was $29,287. In 2010 it was $74,705.

The Board expressed appreciation to Ms. Klancko for her efforts.

Everyone year around one hundred students move on from Beecher Road School in Woodbridge, CT. Most of them continue on at Amity Middle School. Some move with their families to other towns, and a few are adult students who are moving on with their careers.

It is an important perspective and a sign of a successful educational system where a lifelong love of learning is taught and when everyone is viewed as a student. So, it is with mixed feelings that Beecher Road School prepares to say good bye to one of its star students, Principal Mary Lou Torres.

Principal Torres has been at Beecher Road School for five years and has accepted a new position that furthers her career. Tuesday evening, the Woodbridge Board of Education regretfully accepted her resignation and shared many words of praise for Principal Torres. The board then moved on to appoint Dr. Len Tomasello as Interim Principal. Dr. Tomasello and Principal Torres made a brief appearance at the Board of Education meeting and additional commendations for Principal Torres were shared as well as some of the hopes that Superintendent Stella, Dr. Tomasello and the board all share for the transition period.

The Board of Education then continued on with its special meeting to address goals for the board of education over the coming year. There is an important need to address the aging infrastructure of the school building. The board hopes to further explore the quality of education at Beecher Road and the departure of Principal Torres provides a great opportunity for the Board of Education to reconsider the structure of the administration.

The next regularly scheduled Board of Education meeting on September 20th will address many of these issues and parents are encouraged to attend.

Wednesday evening, the Beecher Road School Parent Teacher Organization held its annual back to school Ice Cream Social. As with other years, it was a well attended event. Sen. Joe Crisco and State Rep. Themis Klarides were both on hand to help PTO members, Superintendent Guy Stella, and members of the staff serve ice cream to students, parents and community members.

Parents sat in lawn chairs and compared notes of summer vacations and hopes for the coming school year as children ran around with their friends or danced to the music of a DJ.

Wednesday was a particularly hot day and many enjoyed the cold ice cream. Others talked about the effect of the heat on education. The Horace Porter School in Columbia, CT closed early because of the heat on Wednesday and the Laurel School in Bloomfield, CT is closing early today because of the heat. While there are currently no plans to close Beecher Road School early because of the heat, such a move would create complications with bus routes.

Indoor air quality is an important issue at schools that is too often overlooked. The EPA has an IAQ Tools for Schools Program and Connecticut has An Act Concerning Indoor Air Quality in Schools.

Beecher Road School appears to be adequately handling the current heat wave. While there have been scattered reports of students heading to the nurse's office because of the heat, it has not been at such a level that the administration has needed to take action, and so far, there is only one report of a class having to be moved because of excessive heat.

Indoor air quality has a significant impact on education which needs to be carefully considered at Beecher Road School. Events like the BRSPTO Ice Cream Social provide an important opportunity for members of the community to gather for a fun social event, as well as to share concerns about what is best for long term education in our town.

What started out as a dream for Head Master Sang Pil Kim a decade ago in a small store front in Amity Shopping plaza has become a booming entity with so many classes that he will be opening his expanded facility this week. Many would argue that 'Tae Kwon Do' [TKD] has transition from an "activity" to a genuine sport given there are very rigid training requirements and active regular local, regional and statewide competitions.

At the Woodbridge school (in Amity Plaza) classes run in age from tots to adults for fitness and real competition. http://www.bigkick.com/?news=379.

Few things are quiet as amazing than to see as a petite, 7 year old, 45 pound young lady give a whack to a kicking dummy with a big “THUNK”, it brings a cheer from the parents watching.

There is more to the story than the sport though, there is the side we parents love and that is the one on one interaction for our kids with Master Kim's wonderful staff. The life lessons the children are taught in self discipline, respect for others and personal achievement. In this world today it is great to see the kids respond to the earning of awards for being good and studying as part of the program.

Like baseball and soccer the kids involvement in 'Tae Kwon Do' here in Amity has sprouted many new relationships between local parents. One definitely feels a strong comradery and a part of the " Tae Kwon Do family". Master Ba Ny [Bonnie] made us all purel our hands last cold and flu season from the big bottle she shared. "Don't want our children sick" she said in her wonderful way with her no stop smile. As charming as she is as a blck belt instructor she is no nonsense when it comes to teaching the sport she loves.

Most of us sit together several times per week to enjoy watching our kids have a blast and strive towards their personal goals. Many of the TKD participants at the Woodbridge school like my son Tom picked this sport over tradional programs in baseball and soccer to focus on. He says it is more fun and closer to his kind of training. He is constantly at it when home to the point where I had to make him a space in the garage with a boxing kick bag. The kids at Beecher Road School all know about TKD and it has brought many new friendships.

The Woodbridge school is also branching more into adult level programs and features Adult Cardio Fitness Classes a few days per week.

Master San Kim is a fifth degree Black Belt and has a Bachelors Degree in Tae Kwon Do [TKD] from Kyung Hee University. Master Kim was a member of the elite Korean National Demonstration Team and has demonstrated Tae Kwon Do for major events such as the Asian Games and Tae Kwon Do World Championships. Master Kim is also certified as a Tae Kwon Do Referee and as a nun-chuck, sword and bo staff instructor. http://www.bigkick.com/index.php?news=16

Master Ban Ny Kim, 5th Dan Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do, works at World Champion’s Woodbridge location. Master Ban Ny’s specialty is Rhythm Tae Kwon Do, and cardio kick boxing. She has made TV appearances on KTV, MDC, and other Korean television stations, as well as Rhythm Tae Kwon Do demonstrations around Korea.

Master Kim holds a Bachelors degree from Suwon Women's University and has been a Instructor at Baesok University, Kyunjoo University, and the Rhythm Tae Kwon Do Association

From Superintendent John J. Brady:

The Amity Board of Education held its last meeting of the 2009-2010 academic year this past Monday. The meeting covered a number of important topics. I will highlight several below.