East Granby School Board Given Course in Effective Leadership

The members of the East Granby Board of Education went to school themselves, so to speak, at a regular meeting Monday evening with a presentation on effective leadership.

Melanie Dunn, an attorney with Hartford’s Siegel, O’Connor, O’Donnell & Beck, spent two hours providing school board members with, among other things, an overview of laws, including the state’s Freedom of Information Act, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and student expulsion hearings.

She also provided insight as to what makes a successful school board member (e.g. communicating effectively and avoiding micromanagement), as well as ethical considerations from the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education.

Superintendent of Schools Christine Mahoney said that the presentation was arranged in light of the turnover on the school board and to provide a refresher course for more senior members.

“It’s important for [new board members] to understand the foundation that guides their work on the board of education,” said Mahoney, noting the complexity of the laws that are now on the books at the federal and state levels. “This narrows their interpretation into a single, correct interpretation of the law. It makes it easier for decisions to be made.”

In other business, the school board passed six new or revised policies on hazing/bullying and acceptable use of the Internet.

At the beginning of the meeting, Mahoney noted the , who died last Thursday of carbon monoxide poisoning in her home in Massachusetts.

Mahoney was said that she was pleased with the way in which her staff responded upon learning of the tragic news on Friday morning.

“We mobilized our crisis team and had counselors in place, as well as sent notices to students, parents and board of education members as to what had taken place,” Mahoney said. “We usually work very well together in support for our personnel and students in any kind of situation. Everyone came together well to support each other.”

The response to the crisis was made somewhat easier logistically because the students at had been moved to the East Granby Middle School/High School building Friday to accommodate contractors working on the school’s expansion/renovation project. That winnowed down the number of building that counselors had to be deployed, according to Mahoney.

During public comment, two parents spoke in favor of the school district possibly implementing all-day kindergarten for the 2012-13 school year, but also requested that first-grade classes be kept small during the transition year.

East Granby resident Karen Coushaine said that she was in favor of all-day kindergarten, particularly in light of the new core standards that are coming down the pike from the state. The hour and a half of instruction at half-day kindergarten is inadequate to meet the demands of those new core standards, Coushaine said.

“You need full-day kindergarten,” Coushaine said. “Because of the new standards, I don’t see it as being optional.”

With that said, Coushaine said that she has a child who is currently attends half-day kindergarten in East Granby and will attend first-grade with children who went to kindergarten for a full-day in other programs. The smaller class sizes will help the children who attended half-day kindergarten bridge the gap with those who attended full-day kindergarten, Coushaine said.

Fellow resident Christine Gallagher agreed, stating that she didn’t want to see first-grade classes expand to 20 to 25 students during the transition year.

Gallagher and Coushaine brought the issue up to the board after having attended the school district’s Jan. 17 community forum, at which the K-12 core curriculum standards were discussed.

School board Chairman Kirby Huget said that about 70 people attended the event.

“I was delighted at the strong showing,” Huget said “I was also pleased at the level of feedback and support the community showed with the existing program.”