Monday, September 27, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
Opinion > Ms. Low Gets a 2% Raise (Ridgefield Press Sep 16, 2010)
During my time working on Sesame Street many years ago, there was a game called “One of these things is not like the others”. Children were to compare a grouping of several objects and be able to point out the one that didn't belong. For example: Four green vegetables and a yellow banana.
Let's play the same game here:
1. Ms. Low is quoted as saying she is not a big fan of 'Race to the Top' and said “non-educators try to prescribe narrow quick fixes, and I think there was a little bit of that in Race to the Top.”
(I'm told Ms. Low has reduced the number of parent-teacher conferences. So much for feedback and accountability.)
2. Ms. Low instituted full day kindergarten under false budgetary pretenses.
3. From NewsTimes: "The percentage of New Canaan Public School students who achieved goal-level scores in the Connecticut Mastery Test [CMT] and Connecticut Academic Performance Test [CAPT] was significantly greater than the state average in each subject at each grade level, according to test results, which were made public earlier this month. [snip] Ninety-one percent of New Canaan third graders met or exceeded goal, as well as 89.9 percent of fourth-graders, 91.9 percent of fifth-graders and 94.9 percent of sixth-graders, according to data from the Connecticut Department of Education. Each of those four grade levels boasted the higher percentage of students meeting goal than neighboring Darien, Fairfield, Greenwich, Westport and Wilton.”
(Ridgefield didn't even make this list in the DRG. Actually, I think we were seventh in eight districts.)
4. Ms. Low “found” hundreds of thousands of dollars for non-educational expenses that WERE NOT in the budget and then couldn't afford to hire a literacy teacher that WAS in the budget.
(So much for educational priorities.)
5. Ms. Low gets a 2% raise
Let's play the same game here:
1. Ms. Low is quoted as saying she is not a big fan of 'Race to the Top' and said “non-educators try to prescribe narrow quick fixes, and I think there was a little bit of that in Race to the Top.”
(I'm told Ms. Low has reduced the number of parent-teacher conferences. So much for feedback and accountability.)
2. Ms. Low instituted full day kindergarten under false budgetary pretenses.
3. From NewsTimes: "The percentage of New Canaan Public School students who achieved goal-level scores in the Connecticut Mastery Test [CMT] and Connecticut Academic Performance Test [CAPT] was significantly greater than the state average in each subject at each grade level, according to test results, which were made public earlier this month. [snip] Ninety-one percent of New Canaan third graders met or exceeded goal, as well as 89.9 percent of fourth-graders, 91.9 percent of fifth-graders and 94.9 percent of sixth-graders, according to data from the Connecticut Department of Education. Each of those four grade levels boasted the higher percentage of students meeting goal than neighboring Darien, Fairfield, Greenwich, Westport and Wilton.”
(Ridgefield didn't even make this list in the DRG. Actually, I think we were seventh in eight districts.)
4. Ms. Low “found” hundreds of thousands of dollars for non-educational expenses that WERE NOT in the budget and then couldn't afford to hire a literacy teacher that WAS in the budget.
(So much for educational priorities.)
5. Ms. Low gets a 2% raise
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
That dreaded Lyme disease & those damned ticks
Especially if you are a young family with kids running around the yard, read this WSJ report here.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Ridgefield Town Clerk 13 foreclosures for 2009 & 13 for the first 8 months of 2010.
From Ridgefield Patch:
One of every 622 houses in Connecticut is in foreclosure, according to a newly released report by Realty Trac, which follows the housing market. And while the numbers might not set any records, foreclosures jumped 22 percent statewide from June to July. Towns from Darien to Ridgefield and Wilton to Westport aren't immune from housing issues, according to the latest statistics reported by area Town Clerk's offices. Read the entire article here.
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