Charlie Coviello, three-time mayoral candidate, is among three announced Democratic challengers to Mayor Bill Finch. In his opinion piece below Coviello writes the Board of Education is a disaster that requires a state takeover. From Coviello:
BRIDGEPORT EDUCATION SYSTEM A MORAL, ETHICAL AND FUNCTIONAL DISASTER
It is literally impossible to describe the dysfunctional Bridgeport school system because there is no easy way to characterize the depth of their problems.
When the citizens allow a group of misfits, this includes most of the Board Of Education and the administrative staff, to randomly hire the rejects of society, make terrible functional mistakes and have unsupervised control over $215 million per year, we get what we pay for. Nothing!
Why should we be surprised when the few children who actually graduate (3 out of 10 make it to graduation), have to struggle while the rest who drop out along the way become functionally illiterate. This includes those children who get a GED which is nothing more than a worthless piece of paper. Who will employ a young person who can’t read, can’t follow instruction or do simple math?
The recent CT Post article about Robert Henry, Chief of Staff in the school administration, is an indication of the corruption of our school administration. Henry is the number-two executive under Superintendent John Ramos. He was released from a similar job in Hartford and now he has repeated the same kind of offense here in Bridgeport.
Ramos hired Henry, even with his history of sexual harassment. With such an important position, how did Henry pass a due diligence review? Why is his salary being paid from grant money which also covered the settlement amount of $50,000 for the sexual harassment suit? Henry isn’t the only employee of the BOE with a controversial background.
Where was the outrage by his boss over this occurrence? What action has been taken to deal with this unacceptable situation? Nothing!
When we have a Superintendent of Schools who has proven that he is incapable of managing the schools, managing his administrative staff or making sound decisions. Yet with this total collapse of standards, morality and learning, our BOE has rewarded Ramos with an unwarranted raise. The real Ramos track record is about his making predictions of success that turn into in failures. Failure not just for the community, more importantly, it is a failure for our children.
Over the last three report cards, over 55% of our high school students have failed at least one or more classes. The mirage of having every student college ready is a pitiful joke on all of us. The administrators and the teachers bend over backwards to fail as many students as they can. Just look at the number of improper and illegal, in school and out of school suspensions, handed out to the children randomly.
When a child has a problem, it is the obligation of the school system to try and help them solve the problem. The objective should be to keep the kids in school.
With our school system, it is the exact opposite. The only thing they are good at is pushing our children away from the school environment. Even the Substance Abuse Program, which two faculty members developed in 2005 that helped children get off of drugs and alcohol, was demolished. Why?
Basically because the Substance Abuse Program brought more children back into school. They were Children who had already dropped out or were about to drop out. The lack of logic here demonstrates a clear bias on the part of our school administrators for children at risk.
Even when the Substance Abuse Program was evaluated by Yale University who gave the program a top rating and glowing support, the school administrators rejected these findings. Why?
Our school administrators under Ramos has one primary goal. To select those few students who want to learn and discard everyone else. Regardless of the reason. Is this why the schools order books for all our children but don’t hand them out?
Our High School children get mimeographed pages from the chapter the teacher is covering at an extra cost of over $500,000 per year. Wouldn’t it be easier and less expensive to give out the books we have already purchased? We buy new books every year. What happened to the old ones that are replaced?
How can our children learn if 40% of our High School student bodies are doing drugs and drinking alcohol in school. The administrators know all about this. They just don’t want to deal with it.
Our kids can’t learn if they are under the influence of alcohol and drugs. The permissive school environment is currently run to benefit drug dealing and using in school. They won’t allow drug sniffing dogs into the schools, There are never arrests for marijuana possession and offenders have their supply confiscated by the security guards who mysteriously dispose of it personally.
The massive substance abuse problem IS the real reason behind our continuing dropping in achievement levels. How else could you explain a 65% dropout rate?
The unfortunate part of this tragedy is that it has been fully supported by Mayor Finch. Frankly, Finch has total control over the Board Of Education and their voting proves it. Look at the people who are nominated by the Democratic Party and their voting records. Issues of importance are never addressed or acted upon by the Mayor who controls six of the nine elected Board Of Education members.
It is time to dismantle the entire system and the people who are not performing. The school administrators now have the right to make unsupervised decisions in closed-door sessions. There is no accountability, no discussion of the issues with the community and an organization that has no plan of operations.
Because the politicians created this mess, they should be the last people who have a say in the fixing this problem. The State of Connecticut has to take over the supervision of this transitional issue.
We need an independent, non-political school czar who has the final say in reorganizing our school system. We need to change the way members of the Board Of Education are selected and qualified. We need complete transparency in every aspect of the entire teaching and supervisory process and we need a community selected overseeing board to also have a say in what is happening with our children.
Bridgeport used to have a quality school system. We had it once and we can have it again. It is the time to take our schools back and protect our children’s future.
Charlie Coviello
Candidate for Mayor
I don’t doubt Mr. Coviello has the facts to back up his analysis of Bridgeport’s school system. We all know it is probably the worst in the state. It is a broken machine, badly in need of repair. He is right on a lot of things. The management of Bridgeport’s public education system needs to be overhauled, from the top down.
All three non-incumbent mayoral candidates have brought up many important issues that are intertwined. Successive DTC-endorsed mayors
have failed on several points:
Fixing the lousy lousy economy by attracting investment and jobs to Bridgeport;
Overhauling a chronically dysfunctional school system (including an intransigent Board of Education);
Making Bridgeport City Hall’s business more transparent.
*** Sign of the times or what? About 23,000 public school kids in Bpt. yet only a small % of parents or guardians complain or actually get involved in school issues, why? The whole system has needed an enema for quite some time. *** HERE WE GO! ***
The parents and guardians don’t get involved in school issues because of endemic pessimism. They can complain but no one would listen. I personally know three teachers working in Bridgeport public schools. Not one of them has anything to say about John Ramos, but that’s just Yankee courtesy–if you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say anything at all.
Coviello is generally full of effluent, but not in his observations about the graduation rates of the Bridgeport BOE. The data is available for all to see. Check it out yourself. The data indicates 3 out of 10 children graduate in the Bridgeport school system. But graduation rate is only one of the many failures the BOE is incapable of correcting due to the incompetency of the leadership, regrettably at all levels. Surely there are people who work for the BOE who are dedicated professionals. These people are unconnected and therefore unnoticed. I do agree with Charlie that an outside independent oversight entity must come in and take over. Without corrective measures we are robbing this town of our future. It is sad that the BOE cares little about the academic preparation of our youth; our vital resource for future growth and development. The BOE is nothing more than an employment agency providing sustained income to the undeserving who serve in jobs they may be qualified to do but care little about getting results. Most retire in place then return as “consultants” earning as much or more than their final BOE salaries. It is a truly sad state of affairs that Education can be influenced by the agendized. It’s frustrating to watch. A new mayor who will pledge to restore competence and efficiency to the BOE would be nice. What say you Gomes and MJF?
I wonder what happens to the 3 or 4 out of 10 who do graduate from the Bridgeport Public Schools.
Those who don’t graduate are condemned to a life of degradation, then they bloat the entitlement rolls, then they become bloggers.
Seriously! Ernest “T” was once hired by the BBOE as a TEACHER???
Without adult participation you can have PhDs teaching but if the kids get no or little support from home it will be a lost cause. If the adults start getting fined for cut classes and disciplinary behavior problems then action may take place.
Unless and until the mayor’s office and the city council can see past their political allegiance and actually do something concrete to create jobs, education will not be a priority for many. For all of the cultural vibrancy in Bridgeport there is a lot of chronic despair. There’s a common feeling the politicians don’t give a damn about the little people. It isn’t necessary to scratch very hard to see why people feel that way.
What if every blogger on OIB applied to School Volunteer Association (SVA) and agreed to spend 45 minutes to one hour per school week being a friend to one youth. SVA has a list of young men and women who for one reason or another can use another adult in their life who has received an education, is a contributing member of society and can see their way to this commitment.
Very interesting what you learn about what is happening in schools. And about what a young person must deal with day in and day out. Great time to listen and be a friend. How about it? SVA can be reached at 203-576-7808. They’ll be happy to hear from you, answer your questions, provide some training and assist one youth as well as the system.
BEACON2,
I commend you on your noble thoughts but I also have a question. Why aren’t their parents more involved? If a child displays a problem with a subject, the parent could learn to help them. If the child is disruptive in class wouldn’t they think twice about acting up? The parents say they would do anything for their children, well do this–shut off the wide-screen TV, get off your ass & help your own children.
AT,
I made a practical suggestion. One youth at a time. Can’t serve everyone or necessarily save anyone, but it is most important to try. I participated in the raising of three boys who have completed their educations (almost, two more years of law school for one who has already worked for six years in the real world) and are voting and taxpaying citizens.
Separate from the rant that forms in your mind, and focus on the potential you may provide with support. Your interest in one youth may change a whole world for that youth. And lots of kids grow up with only one active parent. I grew up in such a home as an adolescent. If Mom is working to hold things together, lots of things can happen. Many of them negative.
But your friendship, thoughts, and willingness to share time as an adult with a youth may overcome cultural and learned responses that otherwise might seem the only way to act. In this life journey, many of us see many choices. Others see none. A friend may lay out different courses or better yet have conversations that suggest areas to explore for the younger person.
Good luck. It is what you do that you can control. I can control my thoughts and activities within a certain range. Other people make their own choices.
BEACON2,
Sorry if you felt that came off as a rant, that wasn’t my intent. I only implied parents could assist in raising their own kids by any means necessary. This is the same premise of “It takes a village to raise a child.” Sadly in Bpt that village is Father Panik. I’m from here & know very many single parents who raised some of the smartest, kindest children imaginable & they are bringing up their children in the same fashion. These remain some of my nearest, dearest & most admired friends. Your Mom like many others overcame hardships in raising fine offspring in the face of adversity. I don’t want you to take this the wrong way but I would be willing to bet you your Mom was at your school if there was ever a problem. I only implied many parents could get involved & should get involved. I admire your suggestion & will try to become involved in the future.
Mom was at the school. You were right. She was there because she was a teacher and her job was very important to her. That meant, we learned, that we had to become more responsible, independent and walk a straighter line than others in our grades. Not easy, but it stuck.
Thanks for considering my suggestion as a volunteer. There is a great payback for the youth, for you and for the community.
There’s a self-fulfilling prophesy here. Many parents do not get involved in their child’s schooling because their parents weren’t involved. It’s a cultural thing. Bridgeport has a lot of bad neighborhoods. For some of the residents the horizon is too close to see beyond the next street.