High School In The Community, New Haven Turnaround School Run By Teachers, Union, Has Turbulent History: Report

The "principal" of this school is a teacher, elected by the other teachers. He wrote a proposal to the state. In it, he made these recommendations:

• Hire a truancy officer or “parent liaison” to help with chronic absenteeism.

• Hire former Wilbur Cross teacher Chris Kafoglis as a new “academic coordinator” focusing on student achievement.

• Hire a magnet resource officer to boost student enrollment.

• Hire a full-time substitute teacher, to cover classes when teachers are away at trainings.

• Pay teachers to stay after school an extra hour each day, four days a week, for training, planning, and, twice a week, mandatory after-school catch-up sessions for students. Teachers will also show up four days early for the school year, and stay four days after it ends, for prep work and data analysis.

• “Rebuild the identity of the school” as an “Academy for Law and Social Justice.”

• Upgrade technology, including: Smart Boards, iPad carts, Macbooks and iPads for teachers, iPads for students, computers, and in Year 3, a Mac computer lab.

Huh? Whataya think? I hope it works--I'm excited for them.