By Linda Conner Lambeck
WESTPORT — When first laid out in February, the school superintendent’s long-awaited strategic plan ideas got a cautious endorsement at best from the Board of Education.
The district was still battling the latest COVID outbreak. Mask debates and national discord over curriculum taught in schools were finding their way into the public’s comments at school board meetings.
The ideas of social and emotional well-being and collaborative problem-solving as a strategic direction seemed fine to many. Others wanted details.
This week, Supt. of Schools Thomas Scarice and staff members provided those details during a two-hour presentation and the reception was far more positive.
‘”Exciting” plan
“It is just interesting, it’s exciting,” said board Vice Chairwoman Liz Heyer. “I think it can be a real differentiator for students as well as the district.”
Heyer also called it a plan she thinks almost everyone can get behind.
The overarching goal, according to Scarice, is for the district to foster the development of well-adjusted students who can work together to solve complex problems.
That will translate into several long-term efforts and some concrete steps starting in the fall to make sure students feel safe, connected and valued.
Moving beyond COVID
Scarice described it as an opportunity for a reset as the district begins to look at COVID in the rear-view mirror.
Finishing the second year in his job, Scarice said he doesn’t think he has yet seen the Westport school district at its best.
“The system has not seen me at my best,” Scarice added. “I think I have seen the system thrive in a crisis, with me as crisis manager.”
This year he said he is looking to move beyond that.
The focus on high academic standards will remain, Scarice promised, but there also will be an effort to foster joy for learning to keep students engaged.
“It is really, really important that students have fun in school,” Scarice said. “It won’t soften education.”
The plan is to build consistency in each school, said Valerie Babich, coordinator of psychological services for the district.
More attention will be given to student voices, how technology is used, how time is used and staff well-being, Babich told the board.
Time will be spent during the first 30 days of the academic year fostering staff-student connections.
Long-term efforts will be made to help students in the area of leadership and something called growth mindset, Scarice said.
Student leaders on school board?
Scarice envisions the development of a “Westport Public Schools Center for Leadership Development,” which would train all students on leadership skills. He called it the type of thing ordinarily done at private schools or the collegiate level.
It would be something that could distinguish the district and do some good, Scarice said.
Beyond skill development, the idea would be to provide more students with opportunities to lead.
Scarice said it might be a good idea for the school board to consider adding student representatives to its panel. It is something many districts do.
Efforts also would be made to help students develop talents and push through setbacks with hard work, good strategies and feedback — growth mindset.
Another goal is to foster more collaborative problem-solving skills throughout the curriculum.
Scarice said there are examples of the plan being done throughout the district, but a more systematic approach is needed.
Board members like ambitious, joyful proposals
Board Chairwoman Lee Goldstein said the plan — particularly as it relates to leadership development, growth mindset and making learning fun — could be a sea change for the district.
“It sounds like something people will get behind,” Goldstein said.
Board member Robert Harrington, who in February failed in an effort to create a special committee to oversee the strategic plan’s development, said this week he is excited about the work done.
“I do think the design thinking and collaborative piece is certainly clearer tonight,” said Harrington. “There is more to do, but I can see where it’s going now.”
Harrington called the leadership development aspect of the plan bold, adding it is great to see the passion Scarice is showing.
Board Secretary Neil Phillips said the leadership institute sounds trailblazing.
“Very ambitious is good,” Phillips said. “It is something we have come to expect in this district.”
Phillips added that he likes that attention will be paid to combatting stress and the unhealthy obsession some students feel over grades.
Board member Christina Torres said she is excited words like joy and engagement are back.
Students can’t act right if they don’t feel right, added board member Kevin Christie.
Christie called the focus on developing a sense of connectiveness and belonging great. But he cautioned officials to prioritize efforts to make sure things are done right.
Heyer agreed it seems like a lot.
“I would love to see all of it,” Heyer said about the focus on leadership, managing time and technology, and collaborative problem-solving. “I don’t want to see us do so much we lose momentum.”
Linda Conner Lambeck is a freelance writer and frequent contributor to Westport Journal. Learn more about us here.
There is a lot of happy horse— here. Parents need to keep an eye on what this SEL curriculum is really going to look like. The Superintendent is a man admitted progressive. SEL has been co-opted by the equity movement and there is no doubt all of the social emotional components will be steeped in progressive philosophy- CRT, equity, gender fluidity. The purpose of all this is not to train the next generation of business leaders – you think these guys care about any of that? It’s to imprint the progressive political agenda on the kids from day one. You think it’s a coincidence that the most fervent proponents of equity are also fervently behind this? The Superintendent is smart though- he knows how to package it. This was a bait and switch from day one when he called it social emotional wellness rather than SEL, even though the entire agenda is based on CASEL (and likely CASEL’s Transformative SEL which is based on equity and CRT)… Keep an eye on this.
All this talk about de-emphasizing competition and reducing pressure is also part and parcel of the equity agenda. They want to eliminate objective standards in an effort to get us to Kendi’s promised land of equitable outcomes. So hard work and standards are being vilified as psychologically harmful. They can pay lip service to academic quality not being diluted but if the kids are spending all day celebrating gay pride, they aren’t learning (but hey learning involves so much “pressure” so aren’t the kids better off just having rainbow parties all day?) The people in charge here are political activists- very sneaky, very deceptive, very untrustworthy. The equity agenda is what inspires them, why they got involved. Not whether or not your “privileged” kid develops intellectually. It’s the last thing on their mind.
Once again, Kevin you are 100% correct. Progressive marxism is seeping into our schools. Their goal seems to be pushing an ideological agenda, as opposed to actually educating our kids.
Don’t say Marxism… apparently it hurts their feelings. But maybe they should stop talking about “equitable outcomes” every ten seconds. If it walks like a Marxist and talks like a Marxist, it’s a Marxist!… I’m wondering when the elementary school drag show will be scheduled – seems like the perfect opportunity to foster the SEL growth mindset. I’m guessing they will give the community six months to become de-sensitized to it, so maybe December? We can do a non-denominational holiday drag show, perfect timing!
Maybe I’m missing something, but could you point out the specific place where they said hard work and standards are psychologically harmful?
“Phillips added that he likes that attention will be paid to combatting stress and the unhealthy obsession some students feel over grades.”
This has been a recurring theme in recent board discussions and is a common refrain from the equity crowd, who are generally hostile towards AP/honors classes which they characterize as discriminatory against students of color (except Asians). The whole point of the equity study was to demonstrate this “systemic” problem. Obviously no one is going to come out and say it as directly as I did, but this is the direction in which they want to move. Look for more dilution of academic rigor in the name of mental health, but don’t be fooled: equity is the name of the game. “Social emotional wellness” is the pretext. As they say, we must “relentlessly” look at everything through the almighty “equity lens.”
I think this sounds absolutely wonderful. May all the children in town develop an innate self-confidence and an easy sense of leadership. So great to send kind, smart leaders out into a world that so desperately needs them.
“Collaborative learning can be great in certain situations – especially when kids are at the same level of learning. If they are not, the stragglers will ride on the one who know, and those that are ahead (or could learn faster) are dragged down and can lose motivation. It has to be done very carefully, and I don’t think that’s the intention here… it seems to me the intention is to see everybody equal (or average), masking those who struggle and holding back those that could go far ahead… voilà, equity achieved!”….these comments are from a Westport Teacher, but I am posting as my own because I agree with them and she is no allowed to post.