© 2024 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY · WNPR
WPKT · WRLI-FM · WEDW-FM · Public Files Contact
ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Bridgeport Teachers Say Turnover in Top Leadership Affects Students

Chion Wolf
/
WNPR
Interim Bridgeport Superintendent Fran Rabinowitz resigned earlier this year.

In Bridgeport, the typical story goes something like this: A superintendent comes in eager to make his or her mark on a failing district. They stay two or three years, then they're gone.

But in their wake, students and teachers remain.

"As superintendents come and go, what they value changes -- and that affects everyone," said Sheena Graham, a music teacher who's taught in Bridgeport for over 30 years.

Teaching in an urban school district comes with many challenges. Some are well-known -- many have high poverty and crime rates with greater concentrations of disadvantaged families. But there's another challenge teachers face that makes it hard to tackle these problems: turnover in leadership.

Shawn Mitchell has been teaching theater at Central High School for eight years. He said Bridgeport is too often the guinea pig for emerging programs that promise to turnaround failing districts or schools.

"We're always this Petri dish of testing," Mitchell said. "They're injecting new things all the time. In Bridgeport you'll go a year, maybe two years, and if it doesn't work, you try something new. And every time a new leader comes in, there are new initiatives, and we can't keep up with all that, especially as teachers. It's exhausting."

Superintendents from Bridgeport, New Haven and Hartford -- the state's three largest urban districts -- resigned abruptly this year. In Bridgeport, disagreements between a school board member and the superintendent led to her leaving. All the teachers WNPR spoke with supported her and hoped she'd stay.

But do superintendents really have an impact on the classroom? Music teacher Graham says they do.

"So even though people think you're in your room and you do as you want to do, that's not always the case depending on leadership," Graham said. "If they are being given the freedom to do what is right for their building and to trust our expertise, then it does open that door, and it does trickle down."

And, she said, if the superintendent doesn't give teachers that freedom, and instead dictates exactly how and what the students learn, and when -- students also feel these restrictions. So at the end of the day, school leadership matters.

David finds and tells stories about education and learning for WNPR radio and its website. He also teaches journalism and media literacy to high school students, and he starts the year with the lesson: “Conflicts of interest: Real or perceived? Both matter.” He thinks he has a sense of humor, and he also finds writing in the third person awkward, but he does it anyway.

Stand up for civility

This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Public’s Members — listeners, viewers, and readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information.

We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. As a community-supported public media service, Connecticut Public has relied on donor support for more than 50 years.

Your donation today will allow us to continue this work on your behalf. Give today at any amount and join the 50,000 members who are building a better—and more civil—Connecticut to live, work, and play.

Related Content