School Board Withdraws From Tri-State Consortium

By Larissa Lytwyn

After careful consideration, Assistant Superintendent of Schools Alice Jackson recently approved the district’s withdrawal from its Tri-State Consortium membership.

The consortium is a Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey-based learning organization dedicated to the development of a rigorous framework for systemic planning, assessment, accreditation, and continuous improvement.

Membership required a $5,000 annual fee plus $600 for each staff person trained in assessment practices. District members were expected to host a visit for consortium representatives every two years. Visits cost about $13,000 to $18,000 each, said Ms Jackson.

In addition, the organization expects member districts to provide, at no cost to the organization, trained staff to make visits to other member districts.

“While we recognize and value the dialogue with other school districts,” stated Ms Jackson in a memo to the Board of Education, “we have found that we have been able to have equally challenging and engaging dialogue with nearby districts for only the costs of refreshments.”

Additionally, “We have put into place, as part of the curriculum development process, a process of self-reflection and self-evaluation to guide our curriculum development.”

A survey recently distributed to district staff over the month of September elicited a lukewarm evaluation of consortium involvement.

While many staff members found the training somewhat useful, a majority number said that ultimately, it had little or no effect on the “culture” of Newtown public schools. The consortium’s visiting team and report system was also not considered very useful.

Moreover, the district is deeply involved in a similar accreditation process with the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC).

“So being involved with both [the consortium and NEASC] would be kind of redundant,” said Vice Chair Lisa Schwartz during the school board’s last meeting on November 3.

Board member Paul Mangiafico asked if the district would continue its involvement in the consortium if there were no cost involved.

After several moments of reflection, Ms Jackson admitted that no, she would not.

However, Ms Jackson said she wanted to make clear that the district appreciated what they have learned from their involvement in the consortium.

She also commended former Superintendent of Schools John Reed for his part in the development of the program ten years ago, in 1994.

But, ultimately, Ms Jackson said, “We feel that we need to direct our collaborative efforts and funding in other ways.”