HARTFORD — Hartford school officials have announced plans to address stress and strain on teachers, families and administrators amid a challenging school year, the third affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The district is delaying rollout of a new English and language arts curriculum in the elementary schools until next year; hiring a new mental health clinician, new Student Assistance Program counselor and more behavior interventionists; bringing in more volunteers to help out; and letting teachers use their remaining in-service days as they please, Superintendent Tom DeBalsi said during a Dec. 8 School Board meeting.
“We need to do more to try to alleviate the stress and strain on the teachers and everyone, I think,” he said in a video recording of the meeting.
The changes came following a “community engagement” meeting the board held before Thanksgiving that focused on concerns teachers had expressed to DeBalsi and the board about the new curriculum, a staffing shortage and behavioral issues among students.
Nichole Vielleux, president of the Hartford Education Association, said teachers support the plan the superintendent outlined.
“I’m glad the district is giving the teachers the professional courtesy to use in-service time for the most pressing needs in their classroom and I’m thankful all timelines and requirements linked to (the new curriculum) have ceased,” she said. “We are hopeful that things will begin to improve.”
In addition to announcing new changes, Hartford school officials also outlined steps they’ve already taken this year to address various challenges, including COVID-19 safety measures, mental health issues, as well as teacher and parent burnout.
The district has mandated that all employees be vaccinated against COVID-19. It also has hosted vaccination clinics, and tried to help people access testing when necessary. Recently added to the to-do list is refining safety guidelines for the winter season, adding more vaccination clinics after school hours, and increasing access to testing, according to a PowerPoint presentation to the board at the Dec. 8 meeting.
The new mental health clinician and student assistance program counselor come on top of the mental health clinicians the district already has in each of its buildings. The district also offers an employee assistance program.
Similarly, the addition of new behavioral interventionists comes on top of five others hired earlier this year.
In addition, the district had previously hired a kindergarten behavior paraeducator, a kindergarten interventionist, instructional interventionists and a new pre-kindergarten teacher.
The district hired the kindergarten interventionist and paraeducator just a few weeks before the community engagement meeting, Cathy Newton, the elementary director of curriculum, said during the meeting.
The “data is showing this is making a difference,” she said, noting that reports of problematic behaviors have decreased by about 50% since the new hires came on board.
“It’s not enough, but it is making an impact,” she said.
Before ceasing implementation of the new English and language arts curriculum, the district had allowed teachers to go at their own pace, given them the necessary materials to implement it, as well as some time within the school day for planning and collaboration, and time with the curriculum director.
Now, however, teachers can use the materials they deem appropriate for teaching the subject of English and language arts for the remainder of this year. Starting next fall, teachers will be expected to begin using the new curriculum, though teachers are still uncertain about the future of that program.
“There is much work to be done with the staff to figure out where we all stand with the program,” Vielleux said. “There are strong feelings on both sides, and somehow those need to be considered.”
DeBalsi said he plans to make himself more available to staff to hear their feedback, perhaps through regular listening sessions at each school.
To help support staff, the district plans to consider hiring a district-wide volunteer coordinator to recruit, onboard, schedule and organize school volunteers.
Board member Nancy Russell said she is concerned that the volunteers be appropriately trained for the roles they play in the schools.
“What do they know about working with kids?” Russell said.
DeBalsi said the volunteers would be used to help teachers and other school employees, not to replace them.
“This is not the answer to everything,” he said, noting that the volunteer coordinator would be tasked with sorting out which tasks are appropriate for volunteers and which aren’t.
In response to parents’ concerns about some delays for certain bus routes due to a dearth of bus drivers, Hartford officials aim to recruit for combined positions of bus driver and teacher or paraeducators.
Those hired for the new posts would drive bus routes before and after school. In the near term, the district also aims to rotate drivers so that the burden of busing delays won’t be borne by the same students day after day.
Bus drivers generally work about two hours in the morning and two in the afternoon, and though the bus companies pay “fairly” well, it’s “not enough for the average person to support a family,” DeBalsi said.
At the end of its Dec. 8 meeting, the board voted unanimously to accept the administration’s plan to address the community’s concerns. A monthly update will be provided at board meetings. The board is scheduled to meet next on Jan. 12.
Nora Doyle-Burr can be reached at ndoyleburr@vnews.com or 603-727-3213.
