Cops And Cuts, City Council Candidate Weighs In On School Board Decisions

Maria,
Kyle Langan IS a “teacher in Bridgeport”. That is a fact evidenced at a minimum by a paystub from his employer, Achievement First, a school with a Bridgeport address and a Charter that receives public funds from CT. As a non-profit it also raises and receives significant sums from charitable donors that provide revenue in addition to the $11,000 per year per student CT charter formula. But you have charged him with unethical behavior because he did not identify his employer? And the reason you advance is that public schools are the only centers of learning that employ “true teachers”? But you fail to define such differences further and it is vital to your cause because after all these years of your revealing the “billionaires and millionaires” getting rich on charters, you have failed to show John Q. Public how that might work. When CT charters are non-profit (although salaries and benefits may seem generous as in universities and hospitals, but those are not the wealthy billionaires you routinely throw under the bus!)how do those in 1% actually benefit? And is their benefit relatively greater than the opportunity provided to inner city families seeking an alternative?

Kyle Langan attended Bridgeport schools. Like a fair number of able and prepared local eighth graders he pursued his high school years at Fairfield Prep before going to Boston University. He has had varied experience of classrooms, teachers, and resources beyond what was offered to him through his elementary years. He pursued and received a Masters Degree in Educational Management, Leadership, and Policies from Seton Hall while in New Jersey.

He spent three years in a Newark, NJ PUBLIC SCHOOL called Eastside High School where he taught English in grades 9-11 for which he was prepared and certified though because of “emergency conditions”, he actually worked with Special Education students under an ’emergency procedure’.

Returning to Bridgeport ( CT certified to teach English to grades 7-12) with purpose to “make a difference” by educating Bridgeport youth in the summer of 2016 he sought local assignments including filing with the Bridgeport Public School system on Applitrack as well as opportunities with other schools. He has stated that he never received a response from the public school system. To me that is ‘another’ fact….perhaps something that the BOE might look to administration to report on….not just the instance of one application but how many come in over the transom, so to speak, and how they receive a response? And, yes, he did receive an offer from a Charter School with compensation about $15,000 more than the Bridgeport Public Schools would pay for someone with his credentials. I know that the BOE is aware of the “cost of living” locally and their own fiscal poverty that sustains unattractive pay and benefit differentials, but is the public aware of such a wide disparity?

Personally I salute homes where parents make a big point with their offspring that school is the work of each youth and that success on that ladder can lead to many successes in life, no matter how you spell success. Reading goes on in the home with materials for all ages. Stories from infancy are told and treasured. Teachers are respected automatically, but checked in with when something seems amiss. Showing up at school, prepared for assignments of the day, and on time every day is so basic as to require no discussion.

When a family believes that they are not being offered what they desire for educating their children, I understand why they may seek a solution outside the public school system. When there are ‘waiting lists’ for magnet schools, charter schools, etc. what are the possible reasons for those lists? One answer likely is that some folks feel the opportunity and challenges elsewhere look more attractive?

How much time does the BOE spend on assuring that the positive developments in the system are identified, quantified, made open and transparent to the public, and watched closely for sustainability? Might that be an alternative use of precious time spent on placing a negative spin on a young man who earned a degree that allows him to teach, has experience in two urban locations and two varieties of education open to students with taxpayer supported ‘public’ funding, an additional education specific degree and who is working with Bridgeport youth from a variety of backgrounds?

Lots of facts (as well as questions) to reflect upon dispassionately perhaps? When will life become more fair? How quickly will our energy and activity in a certain direction move the justice meter? Time will tell.