Board of Ed. Q&A: Submit Your Questions Online

"We want to expand the dialogue between the Board of Education and Ridgefielders," said School Board member Irene Burgess. "Q&A with the BOE is a new way for everyone to learn more about how education in Ridgefield works."

Other board members involved with the community outreach are Amy Shinohara, Mike Raduazzo, and Karen Sulzinsky.

Members of the public should send their questions to:  OutreachBOE@Ridgefield.org.

Answers will be published on the BOE Website (www.ridgefield.org), the Ridgefield Patch and the Hamlet Hub periodically as they are received.

Here's a sampling of some of the questions that have come by the Board of Education already:

Question Answer Why can’t the BOE spend the 4.3 million dollars returned by CL&P since the BOE was the board who paid out the money? The refund from CL&P goes into the Town coffers because a) the buildings belong to the Town, b) if the money had not been spent at the end of the year in which it was encumbered, it would have been returned to the Town at that point and c)    there is only one “checking account” for the Town which includes the School’s money and the Town’s money. What does a Literacy Coordinator do? A Literacy Coordinator makes sure that all of the elementary schools are teaching students the same content. The coordinator also makes sure that best practices are being used and that the school system is utilizing the latest and greatest in teaching techniques and tools. This individual is a facilitator and coordinator between all the schools. The Board of Education seems to take a really long time to make a decision – why? This is due to having to follow Robert Rules of Order, as well as the nature of having nine people involved in each decision.
1.    Discussions among the Board members can only take place during meetings that have been “noticed”. This means that BOE members cannot have discussions about the schools on e-mail or amongst themselves at someone’s house or over a cup of coffee.
2.    Once an item that affects policy is brought up for discussion, it must be discussed twice in two different meetings before a vote can be taken. Why do we need Professional Development? Why is it important to teachers and kids? Research indicates that high-quality teaching is the most significant school-related factor in helping students make the greatest gains in learning or achievement. Students who have effective teachers year after year routinely make more progress than other students. Professional development is how the District makes sure that teachersareknowledgeableaboutthelatesttechniques,methodsandideologies. Thegoalsaretoensurethat teachers continuously improve their instruction so that students experience high-quality teaching every day. Why are the lights on at RHS at night? The lights that you see on at RHS are left on for two reasons. Some are left on until fairly late in the evening because there are people working at the high school (both for their jobs and for extra-curricular activities). Sports and clubs, as well as outside organizations that utilize facilities (such as youth football or Little League) can be there until late in the evening. Our own students are also utilizing the space until late into the evening – for example, rehearsals for the musical can go until 11 p.m. at times.
There is also an agreement with the Ridgefield Police Department that lights be kept on until a certain hour for safety’s sake. Why are the schools so warm? It seems as though the temperature is set very high. The temperature at the schools is set within a range recommended by the State Department of Education of between 67 and 72 degrees. We keep our schools at 68 degrees. Keep in mind, because of the age of the facilities and their state; some areas of the schools are warmer than others. i.e., you can have one room, which faces the sun feel like it’s at 75 degrees and another room feel way too cold, but the temperature is set the same at both rooms. However, because not all spaces have upgraded windows, etc..., the temperature can vary. Can you explain the difference between the BOE operating budget and the capital budget? The budget that the public sees from the Board of Education each February is its Operating Budget. This is what it costs to run the schools on a yearly basis. Earlier in the year, the schools prepare a capital budget request which is presented to the Board of Selectmen. The reason it is given to them is two-fold.
1.    While the schools are utilized by the BOE, they are owned by the Town. So, any updates to the schools facilities need to be approved by their owner – the Town. So, the Town reviews the requests made by the BOE and if they agree, they pass the requests on to the Board of Finance for approval. If the BOF feels that the town can afford to make the requested infrastructure improvements, they pass on the
requests to the voters in the form of a referendum. 2.    If items are needed by the schools are of a long-term tangible nature (i.e., wiring a building for internet,
etc...), the schools can request that this one time expenditures be put in the capital budget as well. The same process would apply as far as the Board of Finance needing to agree that the Town can afford the expenditure and then the request is passed on to the voters.
The voters would then vote on all capital requests (from the BOE as well as other Town boards and departments) and then if approved, the BOF finances or “bonds” the necessary funds and we (the taxpayers) pay it back through our taxes over a specific number of years (similar to a mortgage). I hear there is a new bullying policy, how does that affect me and my kid? A new bullying law has been introduced which includes the new computer technology used by kids today such as Facebook and MySpace. Bullying in this law is defined as the repeated act by one or more students of a physical, written, oral or electronic communication, such as cyberbullying, directed at or referring to another student in the district which causes physical or emotional harm to a student or such student’s property, places a student in reasonable fear of harm to himself or herself or of damage to his or her property, creates a hostile environment at school for such student, infringes on the rights of such student at school, or substantially disrupts the educational process. Some of the elementary schools fifth grade classes rotate for Social Studies and Math class, why not my school? All the elementary schools will be doing this starting in the school year 2012-2013. This will allow children the opportunity in elementary schools to learn from a variety of teachers and become accustomed to different styles and personalities. Who is in charge of kids during recess? What is their training and what authority do they have? The District employs elementary level supervisory paraprofessionals who are scheduled to work for lunch and recesses only. Also, those special education paraprofessionals who are assigned to work with individual students often supervise their students during recess. In addition to mandated annual OSHA training, the paraprofessionals receive training on supervisory protocols, procedures, and laws before each school year.    At the elementary level, paraprofessionals often meet monthly with the principal and school psychologist to discuss ways to improve supervision and ensure that students enjoy their recesses. Discipline of children is handled by the administration of the school. What is the difference between an IEP and a 504 plan? An IEP is a document utilized in special education to provide specialized instruction and a 504 plan is a document utilized in general education. Both specify various things that need to be done or put in place for students to better succeed and are both legal documents. Why does RHS want Wi-Fi? How does it help the kids? Most schools now offer learning on computer as kids today utilize technology in every part of their life and it is important that schools “talk” to students in the manner that will be best and most readily accepted by the kids they are trying to reach. The ability to have wireless internet at RHS would allow the students to bring their own devices to school in order to aid them in their work and at the most comfortable and easiest learning curve to the students. The word “best practices” is used a lot, what does that mean? Can I get a list of “best practices” from somewhere? The term “best practices” refers to the best strategies for instructional delivery. There are numerous professional resources about instruction that educators can consult when searching for instructional strategies to match their content area needs. These resources include books, journals of professional organizations, and online websites. One of the most cohesive online resources for the public is the government website.    Each subject or discipline has its own set of “best practices”. These can be found listed at: http://dww.ed.gov/ and at http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/.

Your questions may also reach the Board of Education via the Patch comments section below.