[basehead617]

I do think that it's an issue that school systems in wealthier towns are able to pay more money to teachers though. That is a built in inequity that is guaranteed to cause performance differences even if everything else was equal. That simple fact means more teachers want into those districts, which means those districts have the ability to handpick the best teachers.

Nicer facilities, maybe, but actual teacher pay is too much of a direct hit on equality.

[in_newengland]

I started teaching in CT back in the late 1960s. It was the same thing. The kids who came from poorer families did poorer in school. Reasons? Role models at home. These kids had never seen an adult read a book, had never been read to, parents didn't speak English sometimes, parents didn't have much education themselves and didn't value education, were not involved. Some of these kids were almost totally unsupervised at home, didn't eat regular meals, etc.

It all depends upon the home. You can take a child from a good home and put them in a bad school and they'll learn anyway. They might be a little bit better off in a good school, but not that much. The kids from good homes will learn in spite of anything because they have good role models at home.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by basehead617

I do think that it's an issue that school systems in wealthier towns are able to pay more money to teachers though. That is a built in inequity that is guaranteed to cause performance differences even if everything else was equal. That simple fact means more teachers want into those districts, which means those districts have the ability to handpick the best teachers.

Nicer facilities, maybe, but actual teacher pay is too much of a direct hit on equality.

I'd agree, except that's not the case at all.

The 2016 salary for Bridgeport CT is 53k-70k. For Fairfield, it's 52k-68k. So, teachers in Fairfield top out at less than they do in Bridgeport. Trumbull and Shelton start at $47k and 46k respectively.

[Henry10]

I love the word "comprehensive" -- comprehensive school reform, comprehensive immigration reform, everything comprehensive. Time now to have a comprehensive family reform.

End welfare, end freebies for all able-bodied adults. No more 8 feet wide welfare queens, pushing their carts filled to gills thru the hellgates of Shop Rite.

No more plastma TVs, rims, cars while on welfare -- you work for everything. Raze down the ghettos.

What'll happen is that most don't even know how to write English. They will have to pick up a book for a change. Kids will get the message.

No more hanging out after 12 midnight, loud music and trash everywhere. Mama needs to go to sleep at 9 to get up, and go to work at 5 am. Plus mama needs to read her 12-page book, and get tested before she gets the next paycheck.

Oh, and you can no longer vote your freebies back in. You're done. It's over.

Oh, am I dreaming...

[Raider111]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

I'd agree, except that's not the case at all.

The 2016 salary for Bridgeport CT is 53k-70k. For Fairfield, it's 52k-68k. So, teachers in Fairfield top out at less than they do in Bridgeport. Trumbull and Shelton start at $47k and 46k respectively.

Many fairfield teachers have masters ( required within 10 years of service in order to maintain state teaching certificates) or higher and top out over 100k.

[7 Wishes]

Originally Posted by JayCT

This.

I just talked with a teacher from an inner city school on this and she says it definitely starts at the home. Parents not making their kids go to school every day. Not showing up for parent/teacher conferences or open houses. Not returning calls from the teacher or school about their problem/failing kid. And don't make the excuse that the parents are too busy to do any of this. She says the hardest working parents are the only ones that do not do the above things. If they can do it, why can't the others. She was adamant about it too.

I worry that the state is going to do something that just "dumbs down" the whole state wide system. That is what regional schools would do. They would lower standards as they try to bring under performing schools up. This would be the worst thing. Jay

Having some experience teaching in Bridgeport I can tell you this is completely true. However, there is a funding crisis there even compared to districts like Norwalk and Danbury. More than any other district I've worked in, teachers have to pay "out of pocket" for supplies and have severe limits on things like even how many copies they make.

[AMSS]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

Schools are as good as the students enrolled there. Instead of placing blame on nearby affluent districts, encourage Bridgeport parents to be more involved in their child's education. It starts at home.

I don't see the ruling as "blaming" the affluent districts. It's simply about equity. Bridgeport schools have to pay for a lot more than Westport does whether it be social services, special ed, supplies etc. Even middle to upper middle class towns can't afford what Darien does. Sure parental involvement is key, but I've come across several parents who are involved even though they don't have the fund or knowledge to keep their kids going in the right direction. The us vs. them mentality doesn't help. Things are what they are and there is nothing wrong with helping those systems that need it.

[RunD1987]

Originally Posted by AMSS

I don't see the ruling as "blaming" the affluent districts. It's simply about equity. Bridgeport schools have to pay for a lot more than Westport does whether it be social services, special ed, supplies etc. Even middle to upper middle class towns can't afford what Darien does. Sure parental involvement is key, but I've come across several parents who are involved even though they don't have the fund or knowledge to keep their kids going in the right direction. The us vs. them mentality doesn't help. Things are what they are and there is nothing wrong with helping those systems that need it.

That's why cities/towns should pay a School tax of 10% & Emergency tax of 5%. In addition to a 40% county tax where Bridgeport receives .15% of that tax.

[NewJeffCT]

Originally Posted by AMSS

I don't see the ruling as "blaming" the affluent districts. It's simply about equity. Bridgeport schools have to pay for a lot more than Westport does whether it be social services, special ed, supplies etc. Even middle to upper middle class towns can't afford what Darien does. Sure parental involvement is key, but I've come across several parents who are involved even though they don't have the fund or knowledge to keep their kids going in the right direction. The us vs. them mentality doesn't help. Things are what they are and there is nothing wrong with helping those systems that need it.

I had posted an extensive years-long study on parental involvement on here a while back. It said that parental involvement is actually a negative once you get beyond elementary school. It also said that Hispanic parents are typically just as involved with their children as Asian parents, but Asian children generally succeed at much greater levels than Hispanic children.

The difference is that when you're in Darien, New Canaan, or even Fairfield, Trumbull, Brookfield, etc, the parents can usually afford to pay for music lessons, traveling sports club teams, tutors/nannies, etc. I remember the "Tiger Mom" story from a few years back - she was Chinese and lives in Connecticut. It was a big story because she said her kids were a success and that Asian parents were superior to white parents, and other minorities. However, if you looked further into it - her daughters both had years of piano and violin lessons and the family was able to afford two Chinese nannies - one for each child - so each child would also be fluent in Chinese. Conservatively, they were paying at least $7,000 or $8,000/year for music lessons, and probably $15,000 to $20,000/year for each nanny. I'm guessing they also had summer camps, additional math classes, etc. Not to mention paying for piano and a pair of violins.

The problem is not going to be fixed by regionalizing schools or more bussing. A kid that gets shipped from Bridgeport to Fairfield is not going to magically do as well as a top student in Fairfield because the kid in Fairfield likely has had a lot of other advantages in growing up.

The way to solve the problem is to fix the cities - if they can be fixed - and lower the rates of poverty. Not easy, but that's really the long-term solution.

[BPt111]

Originally Posted by NewJeffCT

I had posted an extensive years-long study on parental involvement on here a while back. It said that parental involvement is actually a negative once you get beyond elementary school. It also said that Hispanic parents are typically just as involved with their children as Asian parents, but Asian children generally succeed at much greater levels than Hispanic children.

The difference is that when you're in Darien, New Canaan, or even Fairfield, Trumbull, Brookfield, etc, the parents can usually afford to pay for music lessons, traveling sports club teams, tutors/nannies, etc. I remember the "Tiger Mom" story from a few years back - she was Chinese and lives in Connecticut. It was a big story because she said her kids were a success and that Asian parents were superior to white parents, and other minorities. However, if you looked further into it - her daughters both had years of piano and violin lessons and the family was able to afford two Chinese nannies - one for each child - so each child would also be fluent in Chinese. Conservatively, they were paying at least $7,000 or $8,000/year for music lessons, and probably $15,000 to $20,000/year for each nanny. I'm guessing they also had summer camps, additional math classes, etc. Not to mention paying for piano and a pair of violins.

The problem is not going to be fixed by regionalizing schools or more bussing. A kid that gets shipped from Bridgeport to Fairfield is not going to magically do as well as a top student in Fairfield because the kid in Fairfield likely has had a lot of other advantages in growing up.

The way to solve the problem is to fix the cities - if they can be fixed - and lower the rates of poverty. Not easy, but that's really the long-term solution.

Fairfield residents will protest