David Bram Nitkin, a 2003 Staples High School graduate and Yale University Class of 2007, addressed the Westport Rotary Club today on his experiences as a teacher at a Bronx, N.Y. middle school where he is a member of the Teach For America program. He said the biggest obstacle to keeping kids from being successful in the New York City public schools is the inefficiencies of the education system. “There is no accountability for teacher performance,” he said.  (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

By Robert A. Frahm

With steep increases in college tuition and ominous predictions for the state’s economy, it is time to rethink strategies for paying for Connecticut’s public colleges, says state Higher Education Commissioner Michael Meotti.

Meotti echoed the warnings in a new national study showing that many states, including Connecticut, have slipped in their support for higher education even as the appetite for college degrees has grown sharply.

Nationwide, the recession that began in 2008 “dramatically reduced state revenue and ended the growth in state and local support for higher education achieved between 2004 and 2008,” said an annual report by the Colorado-based State Higher Education Executive Officers.

Among the 50 states, Connecticut had the sixth highest rate of enrollment growth - much of it at two-year community colleges - between 2004 and 2009 but saw a sharp one-year decline in state financial support per student between 2008 and 2009, dropping 5.7 percent, the report said.

By Robert A. Frahm

She enjoys student teaching, carries a perfect 4.0 grade point average and expects to complete her master’s degree in the summer, but Stephanie Salafia’s dream of becoming a public school teacher is on hold.

She is one of hundreds of prospective elementary and preschool teachers in Connecticut who have failed a required exam testing their knowledge of how to teach children to read.

About one in three test-takers in teacher preparation programs at colleges and universities across the state have failed the exam since the state began using it last year as a licensing requirement.

“I’ve taken reading courses. I studied for a solid month” for the test, said Salafia, a 27-year-old graduate student at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven. Unless she passes the Foundations in Reading test when it is given again in March, “it will hold me back from getting a job in the fall,” she said.

By Dave Matlow

The extraordinary problem solving potential of Westport’s Staples High School students was put to the test tonight with the launch of the first Staples Spectacular Students Challenge.
The five judges of the Staples Challenge included (l-r) Richard Cole, John Rountree, Maxine Bleiweis, Robin Batteau, and Shelly Kassen. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

The event was a follow-up to the school’s 2006 milestone victory in the Moody’s Mega Math Challenge when Staples was awarded a first place $20,000 check for its recommendations on how to deal with the challenges of Social Security. (See WestportNow, April 10, 2006)

After that achievement, the Staples leadership asked themselves the question, “Why don’t we apply our school’s expertise to solving a local problem?” In response, a committee was formed to create the challenge and the environment to present it. 

The challenge: “How do we make Westport a greener place to live?”

Five teams of Staples High School students tonight answered the question “how do we make Westport a greener place to live?” as part of the inaugural edition of the Staples Spectacular Students Challenge. The event took place at school auditorium before five judges and fellow students as well as parents and interested Westporters. The winning team will be announced in March. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

The Westport Board of Education tonight approved its 2010-2011 budget of $96. 5 million, a 2.13 percent increase over the current year.

The adopted budget was less than the 2.9 percent increase requested last month by Schools Superintendent Elliott Landon.

The Board of Finance, which had urged the educators to come in with a flat budget, will consider the education budget along with the municipal budget in April.

The education budget was pared by saving money on a bus contract, economizing on fuel costs, and cutting back on supplies.

Jason Gandelman, a senior at Westport’s Staples High School,  has been named one of 40 national finalists in the 69th annual Intel Science Talent Search.
Jason Gandelman: In line for $100,000 prize. Contributed photo 

A student in the Science Research program at Staples, Jason’s project is “Bioinformatic and Synthetic Approaches to Studying Advanced Glycation End-products,” which has applicability in the study of diabetes and kidney disease.

The only finalist from Connecticut, Jason will travel to Washington D.C. in mid-March to compete for the top award of $100,000.

It was announced last week that Gandelman was a semifinalist in the contest. (See WestportNow Jan. 27, 2010)

The Westport Public School District was one of only 10 school districts nationwide to receive an Environmental Protection Agency 2009 Tools for Schools Indoor Air Quality Award (See WestportNow Jan. 14, 2010)  Celebrating that achievement are (l-r) Board of Education members Sandy DeFelice, Mark Mathias, Faith Taylor, Chair Don O’Day, Michael McGovern, Assistant Superintendent for Business Nancy Harris, Board of Ed member James Marpe, Westport Superintendent Elliott Landon, EPA Region 1 TfS Coordinator Eugene Benoit, Connecticut Department of Public Health coordinator Kenny Foscue, Westport Public Schools Nursing Supervisor Nadine Schwab, and Board of Ed member Elaine Whitney. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

Students arrive today for day three of mid-term exams at Westport’s Staples High School. Exams for periods six and seven take place today, five and eight are scheduled for Wednesday, and Thursday is make-up day. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Lynn U. Miller for WestportNow.com