By James Lomuscio
When school opens Thursday, Sept. 1, Westport Schools Superintendent Colleen Palmer’s responsibilities will be more than double that of her previous post in neighboring Weston, but she says she is ready for the challenges.
Superintendent of Schools Colleen Palmer has some fun during an interview Tuesday in her Town Hall office. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
As Weston’s superintendent for the past five years, she oversaw a system that served 2,400 students. Now, it’s 5,600 for Palmer who came on board July 1, succeeding Elliott Landon, who retired after 17 years.
In Weston, she was responsible for a School Road campus of four schools. Now she oversees eight schools spread across town.
Westport’s 2016-17 operating budget of $113 million is more than double Weston’s $49 million budget this year. And she admits she and the school board will not be able to repeat this year’s lauded, 1.29 percent budget increase.
And, there are other challenges—keeping tabs on elementary enrollment declines and student population increases at Staples High School, a school built for 1,800 students that will have 1,864 students in the fall; dealing with expected state cuts from educational cost sharing (ECS) grants, and most importantly, the daunting task of continuing Westport’s long standing, student-centered focus on excellence.
How does Palmer –- a grandmother of five who recently moved from Weston to Westport and a rower who is out on the Saugatuck River from 5:30 to 7 a.m. three days a week- – feel about the responsibilities of her new post?
“I love my job,” she says with enthusiasm.
Welcoming challenges appears to be part of her makeup. In addition to sculling, she ‘s an avid skier and becomes energized recalling how she and her three sons hiked 23 miles, camping along the way, to the top of Peru’s Machu Picchu.
That same commitment to new heights seems apparent in her new role.
“I feel very privileged to have this opportunity to serve this community in Westport, and I look forward to many years working with students, parents and professionals to make sure our school system is great.
“We have a world class system in place,” she adds.
That’s not to say Weston was not. For two years Weston High School was named the No. 1 comprehensive high school in the state by U.S. News & World Report.
“I’m going to bring my commitment to excellence, the same laser-like focus that I had in Weston to Westport,” she said.
A look at long term enrollment, especially as Westport is in the throes of proposed multi-family housing projects, is one of her priorities.
“We want to get a handle on what we can expect for the future and what capacity our portfolio of schools can handle,” she said.
“We use schools differently than we did 20 years ago, with tech areas, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) areas and fewer computer labs as technology has become more portable.
“What do we want instructional space to look like in the future?” she added.
To that end Palmer spoke about coming up with a request for proposals (RFP) to hire a consultant to examine enrollment trends and effectively using technology for classroom learning.
“There are opportunities in school districts where students can have a choice of modality, a hybrid, online environment,” she said. “You have to look at space differently, and as we do that, to work with input to further define our instructional model for the next 20 years.”
Palmer says she is also intent on continuing the long term goal of her predecessor—an initiative called Westport 2025, preparing students with thinking skills to compete in a global economy.
“We’re looking at skills students need beyond the academic skills, working on guiding principles that address emotional intelligence that allows an individual to know oneself in stressful situations,” she said.
As she looks at the entire district, Palmer says her job is to be “customer focused” on students and parents, looking at what works best for them.
As an example, he offered a simple fix as it pertains to parents of students entering sixth and ninth grades.
In both situations parents have to provide proof of residency on mornings during the week, an inopportune time as it conflicts with parents’ work schedules.
Palmer said she is moving the time to evening “to serve families in a way that’s easier for them.”
Another example, she said, is texting parents in addition to phone calls and emails if schools are to be canceled due to inclement weather.
Palmer said she also wants to continue sharing of services with the municipal government to cuts costs. To that end, she has been meeting with First Selectman Jim Marpe, a former Board of Education member.
“As someone who is responsible for making recommendations for cooperating with the town, I know we have to use the funds as efficiently as possible,” she said.
”In Weston, the schools took over technology services from the town.”
“You have to look at what makes sense,” she added.
That will be important as Palmer works on the 2017-18 budget, which will not be able to replicate what was done this past year.
To keep the increase to a bare minimum, educatiors took $1.6 million from the district’s health savings account, achieving a $113,128,166 operating budget, a 1.29 percent increase. The effort won laurels from both the Board of Finance and the Representative Town Meeting (RTM).
At the same time, she said the town is again at risk of losing ECS grants. At the eleventh hour this past spring, after proposed school and municipal budgets were completed, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced cutting ECS grants to 28 municipalities to tackle a more than $900 million deficit.
“We look at it as a challenging budget year,” she said. “I have to make up $1.6 million plus a 2 percent increase contractually, so the dynamics of next year’s budget will be more difficult.”
Meanwhile, Palmer seems poised, ready and enthusiastic about the first day of her first year at the helm.
“It’s an exciting time of the year as we complete our hiring process,” she said about the dozen full-time teachers to be hired, as well as a number of substitutes.
“I want to make sure these individuals love working with students, that that person’s success is our success, and that we will do everything we can to make sure every student has a great school experience,” she said.
