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By Kerri Provost, February 1, 2012 7:23 pm

Stokely Carmichael / Still from The Black Power Mixtape

A series of politically-themed films will be presented at Cinestudio this Spring.

The series begins Thursday night (2 Feb 2012) at 7:30 with a screening of the 2008 German film The Wave.  Professor Johannes Evelein will lead the discussion that follows. The Wave (Die Welle) is about how a high school teacher teaches his students about dictatorships by starting a social experiment.

The Black Power Mix-Tape, scheduled for February 9th, was screened at Real Art Ways last year.The film is divided into segments, one for each of the years between 1967-1975 when footage was taken. This includes archival footage of Stokely Carmichael, Eldridge Cleaver, Angela Davis, Huey P. Newton, and Bobby Seale. Seth Markle, Professor of History and International Studies at Trinity College, will lead the discussion afterwards. Continue reading 'Free Admission to Democracy in Film Series at Cinestudio'»

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By Kerri Provost, January 25, 2012 12:44 pm

Successful teachers know that students learn through a variety of avenues. Hands-on activities are particularly engaging and memorable.

Starting on Monday, January 30th, students at Pathways to Technology Magnet High will have the both the opportunity to create something resume-worthy: apps.

This curriculum is being piloted here and in only four other schools nationwide. The program was designed by Lenovo, a technology manufacturing firm, which has provided Pathways with thirty ThinkPad tablets and six ThinkCentre HD All-in-one computers. The National Academy Foundation is collaborating on this.

This class, to be taught by Raul Vargas, will allow the eighteen students to work together to brainstorm ideas for apps, create a business plan, and then do the coding and development necessary to make them work. After this, the school will select the best app idea and send it off to experts.

So long as it fits into their schedules, students of all grade levels at Pathways will be eligible to enroll in this course.

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By Kerri Provost, January 19, 2012 10:49 am

First on the agenda for Monday evening’s City Council meeting: discussion of who will be replacing those appointed to the Board of Education.

Israel Flores, Ada Miranda, Pamela Richmond, and David MacDonald — all appointed by former Mayor Perez — are up for replacement, as is Sharon Patterson-Stallings, who was appointed by Segarra.

Before this can be passed through, City Council must weigh in on a matter for which former Mayor Perez received much criticism: conflicts of interest, especially those that present themselves by one individual holding two or more positions in City government. Continue reading 'Conflicts of Interest on Board of Education'»

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By Kerri Provost, January 18, 2012 8:57 am

Great Path Academy / Photo courtesy of Hartford Public Schools

Beginning on July 1, 2012, Great Path Academy — a “middle college high school” located on the Manchester Community College (MCC) campus — will be managed by the Hartford Public Schools. It is currently managed by the Capitol Region Education Council (CREC).

Students at Great Path Academy follow the college semester calendar, have access to MCC’s resources, and primarily reside in Manchester, Tolland, East Hartford, Glastonbury, Bolton, and Coventry; 29% of Great Path Academy students are Hartford residents. The 2010 enrollment of 283 represented 15 towns in all. Current enrollment is at 247. David Medina, Director of External Communications for the Hartford Public Schools says that now Great Path Academy serves students from only seven other towns in Greater Hartford. No explanation was provided for the drop in enrollment and range of towns represented from 2010 to 2011. Continue reading 'Kishimoto Calls Decision to Manage Another School “Logical”'»

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By Kerri Provost, January 13, 2012 3:45 pm

Not a corset, but part of a woman's dress that requires a corset. It looks smaller than a size zero.

Back in 2002, when Abercrombie & Fitch sold thong underwear for children, many understandably interpreted this as the beginning of the erosion of America’s moral fabric.

They were wrong.

There’s proof — in the form of a corset designed to be worn by a four-year-old girl — at the Connecticut Historical Society (CHS) that this trend of sexualizing young girls did not begin this century.

Starting on January 14th, CHS will be leading two behind-the-scenes tours every second Saturday of the month to give visitors the chance to see other quirky items, such as as a body preserver. This was a type of casket with space for ice, a spigot for draining out melted ice, and horse hair insulation. A lever allowed mourners to adjust the position of the corpse for better viewing. Emily Dunnack, the Head of Education Programs at CHS, said that other strange-to-us death customs from the past included making jewelery out of the deceased person’s hair, and evidence of this is also among items at CHS. Continue reading 'What’s Behind the Mantel?'»

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By Kerri Provost, December 26, 2011 11:44 am

In late September, the Connecticut State Department of Education’s (CSDE) Bureau of Special Education published its Monitoring Visit Report in which it outlined how the Hartford Public Schools (HPS) were found to still be in noncompliance with federal and state special education requirements; in 2005 it was found that HPS did not implement students’ individualized education programs (IEPs), among other failings. The September report follows a monitoring visit that took place in December 2010.

That it took nine months to create said report was noticed by Superintendent Kishimoto, who had not received the report initially and requested a meeting with then-Acting Commissioner Coleman and Associate Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker. Kishimoto, not an outside hire, should have been aware of the report, which would have been in development when she served as Assistant Superintendent, a position which seems to require knowing about major issues with the school system, such as noncompliance.

During the visit last year, officials reviewed student files, interviewed principals and school employees, observed classrooms, and consulted with central office special education administrators. They visited Bulkeley (Upper and Lower), High School, Inc., Hartford Public High School Freshman Academy, HPHS Law and Government Academy, OPPortunity High School, Pathways to Technology, Weaver Journalism & Media Academy, Culinary Arts Academy, Joseph A. Bellizzi School, Breakthrough Magnet School, Ramon E. Betances School, Martin L. King, Jr. School, James H. Naylor School and Parkville Community School.

The report indicates that while some improvements were made since 2005, when CSDE began requiring that HPS “redirect a portion of its entitled funds under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) to improve special education services for students with disabilities (3), the Bureau of Special Education received formal complaints between 2008-2010, with over one-third of those complaints related to services provided for students with emotional disturbances. Continue reading 'Striving for Compliance in the Hartford Schools'»

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By Kerri Provost, December 1, 2011 1:15 am

A cheaply-made plastic toy that fails after a few months, or knowledge?

Regardless of your income, you can give the latter to some 550 Hartford schoolchildren.

That’s the number of youth who are served by Everybody Wins! CT, a literacy organization based on Arbor Street. Statewide, they provide reading assistance to approximately 800 students between the ages of 5-18, annually.

The organization explains that “50 percent of the chronically unemployed are not functionally literate– in Hartford 68 percent of adults are illiterate.”

A literate population is a more employable population.

One goal of the organization is to give three new (or like new) books per year to each child who is in the Everybody Wins! Power Lunch program.

While monetary donations are always welcome, Allison Holst-Grubbe — Program Manager at Everybody Wins! CT — says the need for Reading Mentors is great. Continue reading 'The Must-Have Gift this Season'»

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By Kerri Provost, November 1, 2011 6:46 pm

Hartford’s public schools will reopen on different days.

Right now, those rescheduled to open on Thursday, November 3rd include: Bulkeley, Capital Prep Magnet, Classical Magnet, High School, Inc., Hartford Public High School, Opportunity High School, University High School of Science & Engineering, Achievement First, Hartford Magnet Trinity College Academy, America’s Choice at SAND, Asian Studies Academy Dwight/Bellizzi, Breakthrough Magnet School, Burr Elementary, Early Reading Lab at Betances, Mary Hooker Environmental Sciences Magnet School, Global Communications Academy, Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary, Montessori Magnet at Annie Fisher, Naylor, Parkville Community School, Maria Sanchez Elementary School, STEM Magnet School at Annie Fisher, and West Middle. Also, the Adult Education Center and HALO.

Those that may reopen on Monday, November 7th include: Pathways to Technology, Sport & Medical Sciences Academy, Weaver, Rawson, Batchelder, Breakthrough II Elementary, Clark, M.D. Fox, Milner, McDonough, Moylan, Kennelly, Kinsella, Latino Studies Academy at Burns, Simpson-Waverly, Noah Webster, and Wish.

This message comes from information provided by the City of Hartford.

[updated on 2 Nov 2011]

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By Kerri Provost, September 20, 2011 7:33 am

Photo courtesy of Monika Leon

While most Connecticutians were navigating the crowded grocery stores, topping off their gas-guzzlers, or filling their bathtubs with water early on that Saturday morning in anticipation of Hurricane Irene, others set out for a bicycle education class arranged specifically for members of the media. Given that I typically walk or bike to events that I cover when wearing my media hat, I thought it appropriate to attend.

Real Art Ways hosted the event, which was coordinated and taught by Bike Walk Connecticut instructors who received certification from the League of American Bicyclists. Coffee and bagels made the dreary morning more manageable as we settled in for a video that demonstrated street cycling techniques. This was followed by a Powerpoint presentation mainly concerned with “taking the lane,” something that new road cyclists tend to not know they can do, not understand the best way to do so, or are completely terrified of trying. The main point of this lesson: bicyclists should behave like motorists in terms of which lanes to use. Making a left turn? Get in the left turn lane.

For me, a lot of this was review, so I asked questions about more complicated maneuvers. I envisioned how I might run errands in the West Farms sprawl region and asked what apparently amounts to survival techniques. Continue reading 'Schooled on the Street'»

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By Kerri Provost, August 31, 2011 2:54 pm

photo courtesy of Afonso Lima

Click here to read about how a student in Hartford opted out of the Connecticut Mastery Test.

The Connecticut State Department of Education website makes the No Child Left Behind threats both clear and obscure at the same time:

Schools will be responsible for improving the academic performance of all students, and there will be real consequences for districts and schools that fail to make progress.

The phrase “academic performance” is Continue reading 'Back to School Guide: Reclaiming Your Child’s Education (2/2)'»