April-2020-Advisor_2

COMMUNICATING

10 CEA ADVISOR APRIL 2020

“It’s unconscionable what we’re doing to these kids,” said a kindergarten teacher who described long days of math, reading, andwriting instruction, with no opportunities for play. “I am voiceless,” confided a special educator whose 14 students include children with autism, learning disabilities, Down syndrome, and emotional and behavioral issues. “I had five PPTs this week, and when I am in PPTs, I am not providing specialized instruction. I am drowning.” When new and experienced educators stepped up to the microphone at a recent CEA forum to talk about underresourced schools, overtested students, and dysregulated behavior in classrooms, Connecticut Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona stood with them—and listened. A growing problem Teachers throughout the state are increasingly reporting that student trauma, disruptive behaviors, staff ratios, and caseload limits are not getting the attention and resources they deserve. Classrooms are often evacuated, and children in crisis are failing to receive the supports they need. Everything from trauma in the home to excessive testing, large class sizes, and kindergarten start age has been examined for its potential impact on students’ well-being and their classroom environment. “For far too long, we’ve been dealing with the symptoms and not the underlying problems,” Cardona acknowledged, addressing more than 150 teachers gathered at CEA’s Teachers Talk forum in Rocky Hill in March, where he pledged to provide Connecticut’s teachers and students with the supports they need and to involve them in identifying what those supports should be. “You need to be at the table,” he added. “Together, we are the cheerleaders for public education.” Learning, interrupted “If things don’t change, we’re going to lose highly qualified teachers and leave our most vulnerable students at even greater risk,” Torrington teacher Michael McCotter said. “The expectations are crushing,”

TEACHERS TALK. EDUCATION COMMISSIONER LISTENS.

Haddam-Killingworth Middle School teacher and building rep Ruth Masci shares with Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona strategies that have had a positive effect on school climate in her district, a challenge still facing many districts.

“We had to stop the video six times,” she said. “How do we get our job done when there are not enough school psychologists and social workers?” Luzusky, whose school has a full- time psychologist and a full-time social worker, says the staff-to- student ratio is not enough to handle the ever-increasing incidence of students in crisis. Social workers and school psychologists, she says, are already overburdened with cases, so when other student needs arise— such as children who are dealing with a death or divorce in the family— those students may go without meaningful support of any kind. In Waterbury, the situation is arguably worse. School psychologist and social worker positions, which were previously full-time, have been reduced to two-and-a-half days per week—meaning that for half the week, no mental health expert is available to help students in crisis. “Our behavior interventionists are overwhelmed,” said Waterbury sixth- grade teacher June Kozloski, who recently received an injection for tendon damage suffered at the hands of a student. Kozloski was seriously assaulted by a seventh-grader two years ago, and a recent aggression by

a sixth-grader reinjured her shoulder. Her school, she says, periodically goes into lockdown as a result of aggressive student behavior. Waterbury kindergarten teacher Heather Stasaitis, who has undergone knee surgery for a student-inflicted injury, says classroom evacuations are common. “We’re in unsafe environments. Our classes are overflowing.” Several Waterbury teachers reported that when a teacher is absent or out on maternity or other extended leave, substitutes are typically not available. Instead, classes are split among other teachers. “We had 155 extra students today,” Stasaitis reported on the day of the forum. Waterbury second-grade teacher Heather Hirbour, who learned about the forum through a CEA Facebook post, said, “I wanted to come out and participate. It’s exactly what we’re talking about at school. There’s no support in our building. There are no substitute teachers. We had a day recently with no social worker, no school psychologist, and no principal or vice principal in the building, and that was a day when a student threw six chairs. I’m not a mental health professional. I don’t have the training neccesary to help these children in the way they need it.” “Every classroom is like this,” fellow second grade teacher Gerry Horan emphasized. “At times, there is very little learning going on.” Downward pressure, escalating behaviors “How do we evolve?” asked Cardona, whose own children attend Meriden public schools, where Cardona himself grew up and later taught. “It’s not going to happen without your input. I need your voices. We need to do this in a collective way, and we need to support teachers as they lead the way.” Whether they’ve experienced dysregulated student behavior firsthand—as most teachers at the forum had—or are simply aware of a problem that is touching more and more classrooms, CEA members said they were keenly interested in learning about the education commissioner’s view of the situation and plans to address it. East Granby Education Association President Kevin

and their students have been failed. They recounted violent outbursts that have translated to whole-class evacuations or school lockdowns, life-altering injuries for teachers, disrupted learning, and an epidemic of unaddressed trauma in children. Sixth-grade world languages teacher Shana Luzusky, who teaches in West Hartford, shared the story of a student who flipped desks, banged his head, and shouted random words as she tried presenting an educational film to the class. Dr. Cardona listens to teachers’ concerns and pledges to work on providing the necessary supports. “I’m not going to wait for legislation to do this.”

Avon Education Association President Jon Moss agreed. “Please—help us.”

At CEA’s forum, teachers from every corner of the state serving every student demographic shared deeply personal stories of how they

New Canaan Education Association President Vivian Birdsall describes her district’s protocol for addressing student aggression, the first-ever in the state, with language written into teachers’ contracts.

CEA President Jeff Leake addresses forum participants.