Principals: Parents like middle school reform

Principals: Parents like mid-school reform
Published: 08:08 p.m., Friday, October 22, 2010

To the editor:

At the Board of Education Candidate Forum at Roxbury Elementary School on Oct. 19, several candidates claimed that there were widespread complaints from our community regarding Stamford's Middle School Transformation -- in particular the grouping practices -- now entering its second year, having extended from just sixth grade to sixth and seventh grade.

We were curious about this claim, so we called and asked the middle school principals at Cloonan, Dolan, Rippowam and Turn of River how many complaints they have received from parents regarding the new grouping practices. The number of complaints ranged from zero to a handful.

We asked how that number compared to complaints about placement and grouping under the old four-to-five-group grouping system. Unanimously, the principals answered that there were far fewer complaints under the new system than under the old system; which one principal described as "voluminous." One principal reports that parents have thanked him for giving their children a fair shake now.

So, are the claims made by these candidates based on facts or the desire to inflame public opinion against Middle School Transformation? They were clearly not based on facts in the schools actually undergoing the change.

The silent majority of parents in Stamford are clearly more satisfied with the new grouping system than they were with the old system. It is unfortunate that the candidates didn't take the time to speak with the administrators in our schools before making such inflammatory statements.

People can torture and cherry pick data in an effort to contradict the promising test scores that emanated from last year's sixth graders, which were higher in every category than the scores of sixth graders the year before under the old system. They can try to fear monger, claiming that people are moving out of Stamford, and out of our public schools, despite the fact that enrollment is up and consistent with the district's predictions.

The truth is, if they bothered to speak to those working in the middle schools, they would know that the new grouping system, admittedly a work in progress, has not resulted in disaster. It is working. Just ask the principals.

Wendy Lecker

Cindy Grafstein

Stamford

The writers are co-presidents of the Stamford Parent Teacher Council. This letter represents their own opinions. They did not write this on behalf of the council.