New Schools Superintendent Elizabeth Feser Meets the Media

On her third day as Milford’s superintendent of schools, Dr. Elizabeth (Betty) Feser opened her office to the media for questions and comments -- speaking about class size and possible budget cuts, among other subjects.

After two days during which she toured each school in the district, Dr. Feser called it a “really positive experience.” She went into a number of classrooms and got a feel for the priorities and the constraints in each building. Her initial impression was of a “very committed staff.”

“The kids were great,” she added. “I have a sense that there are a lot of challenges relative to budget and space issues in some schools, but morale is good.” But, she said, there is “grave concern over potential budget decreases that will result in a significant reduction of staff.  It will impact student learning and that’s the real concern.”

Feser’s first meeting with the Board of Aldermen will be 7 p.m. Thursday night at a budget hearing at City Hall.  She encourages parents to attend the hearings when the school budget will be discussed.

“It’s important for parents to be present at the meetings,” she said. “The voice of parents is very important.” Even if they do not actually speak, she said, “Their presence at the meeting is a powerful message.”

Asked about her goals for Milford schools, Feser said, “I have to learn more about Milford before I set goals, but I absolutely believe that every school system can improve. One of my responsibilities is to bring that to Milford.”

Addressing the issue of class size, she said, “Education has changed dramatically since I was in school. Expectations on the part of students has risen. For example, there is an expectation that we are responsible for every child who walks through the door.

The fact is that some of the children who are in our public schools now would not have walked through the doors 40 years ago. I refer to children with special needs who weren’t in the schools then. State mandates far exceed those of years ago. The challenges are so much greater than they were.”

While class size was typically larger years ago, the demands on teachers now make class size a factor in learning. An example of new demands on teachers is the newly issued state standard which will require higher levels of learning and increased number of credits needed for graduation.

Speaking about the issue of standardized testing results, Feser referred to her record of reversing the downward performance trend on standardized tests in Windsor. She warned that comparisons between districts are difficult to establish.

“Any school district has to look at itself in relation to comparable school districts,” she said. “The difficulty is finding the comparable districts.”

Instead, she said, Milford should look at its results.

“If we are not measuring up to comparable districts, what do we do about it, and, if we are exceeding expectations, how to we maintain that?” she said.

And not only students, but soon teachers will be measured by those test results.

“Although the state is moving toward a model in which testing is a measurement of teacher performance, it is far more complex than the average person understands,” Feser said.

Not every student is starting at the same point, making it impossible to apply a performance measure to a teacher when students come in with differing abilities.

“We should look at the starting point for an individual student and where they are at the end of the year” and realize that “standardized test scores are a snapshot on one given day.”

Feser has recently moved to Milford because, “I chose to come here.”

She added, “I believe this school system has tremendous things to offer to young people. I want to build on all that and make it even better.”

Feser intends to become part of the community. She hopes to speak to organizations and educate people on what is happening in the schools.

“People who don’t have children in school don’t know what’s happening,” she said. “I want to be the face of the school system and win the support of the people. I understand the issue of taxes, but the children we are educating are the future of Milford. We want to keep taxes down, but there is a point at which you have to look at what is needed.”

Finally, Feser spoke of an elementary school boy she met during her whirlwind tour of the schools earlier this week. He, too, was new to the district, having started on Monday. Hearing that they had both started on the same day, he said, ”So you’re a new student, too, aren’t you?” To which she replied, “Absolutely I am.”