the connecticut association of schools affiliated with ...ents in my school is quite intrusive. her...

The Connect icut Assoc iat ion of SchoolsThe Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic ConferenceAffiliated with:

• National Federation of State High School Associations• National Association of Secondary School Principals

• Association for Middle Level Education • National Association of Elementary School Principals

MARCH 2012

BULLETIN

In This Issue:Secondary School Reform Survey Yields

Important Information - page 3

Senator Stillman Comes to CAS - page 5

Student Success Plans - Burden or Blessing? - page 8

On February 14th, CAS participatedin a joint press conference with theConnecticut Association of Public

School Superintendents (CAPSS),Connecticut Association of Boards ofEducation (CABE), Connecticut Businessand Industry Association (CBIA),Connecticut Council for Education Reform(CCER), and Connecticut Coalition forAchievement Now (ConnCAN). These sixorganizations came together - for the firsttime - to form a common position on impor-tant educational challenges facing our state.While these organizations acknowledgedthat they had their own individual agendasand that they did not always agree on howto solve problems in our education system,they did share common positions on severalkey issues including:• educator preparation and certification• teacher evaluation and support• principal evaluation and support• relationship between time and learning• school and district accountability• pre-kindergarten• education contract negotiations

Representing CAS at the press conferencewas Executive Director Karissa Niehoff."This is an exciting time to be in educationin Connecticut," said Dr. Niehoff. "We have

continued on page 6

WHEN BULLYING BEHAVIOR MAY ALSO BE CRIMINALBEHAVIOR

By Leander Dolphin, Associate, Shipman & Goodwin LLP

Whentheleg-

islature madesignificantchanges to thebullying lawin July 2011, itimposed manynew obliga-tions onschool districtsand building-level adminis-trators. Tuckedinto the law islanguage now

requiring "the principal of a school, or theprincipal's designee, to notify the appropri-ate local law enforcement agency whensuch principal, or the principal's designee,believes that any acts of bullying constitutecriminal conduct." Public Act No. 11-232.

Many administrators have asked thequestions: “How do I know when an act ofbullying constitutes criminal conduct? Andwhen should I notify the police that a bul-lying act may constitute criminal conduct?”In the following, we will review how toanswer these questions, including identify-ing some common crimes that may beimplicated by bullying behavior.

In Connecticut, bullying is defined asthe repeated use by one or more students ofa written, verbal, or electronic communica-tion, such as cyberbullying, or a physicalact or gesture directed at another student inthe same school district that: (a) causesphysical or emotional harm to the studentor damage to the student's property; (b)places the student in reasonable fear ofharm to himself or herself, or of damage tothe student's property; (c) creates a hostileenvironment at school for such student; (d)infringes on the rights of the student atschool; or (e) substantially disrupts the edu-cational process or the orderly operation ofa school. Public Act No. 11-232.

After a determination is made that stu-dent conduct constitutes bullying (asdefined above), school principals or theirdesignees must consider whether the con-duct should be reported to the police for

investigation. Significantly, school admin-istrators are not required to determine thata crime has in fact been committed. That isa determination left to the appropriate lawenforcement authorities. Rather, adminis-trators must report when they reasonablybelieve that bullying behavior constitutescriminal conduct.

Therefore, if there has been a determi-nation that conduct is bullying, then princi-pals or their designees must considerwhether the conduct could also constituteone of the following criminal acts underConnecticut law.

Assault - An individual commits assaultwhen he or she acts with the intent tocause physical injury to another person,and causes such injury to that person (ora third person); when he or she recklesslycauses serious physical injury to anotherperson; or when he or she acts with crimi-nal negligence, causing physical injuryto another person by means of a deadlyweapon, a dangerous instrument or anelectronic defense weapon. Conn. Gen.Stat. § 53a-61.

Bias Crimes - A person commits intimida-tion based on bigotry or bias when suchperson maliciously, and with specific intentto intimidate or harass another personbecause of the actual or perceived race,religion, ethnicity, disability, sexual orienta-tion or gender identity or expression of theother person, causes serious physical injuryto such other person or to a third person.Conn. Gen. Stat. 53a-181j. An individualalso commits intimidation based on bigotryor bias when such person maliciously, andwith specific intent to intimidate or harassanother person because of the actual or per-ceived race, religion, ethnicity, disability,sexual orientation or gender identity orexpression of such other person, causes a)physical contact with such other person, b)damages, destroys or defaces any real orpersonal property of such other person, orc) threatens, by word or act, to do either a)or b), if there is reasonable cause to believe that an act described in either a) or b) willoccur. Conn. Gen. Stat. 53a-181k.

continued on page 6

SIX STATE ORGANIZATIONSALLY FOR EDUCATION

REFORM

Leander Dolphin

DEAR MAILBAG: We have beenworking very hard to understand this

new bullying law, and I think that we arestarting to understand the new obligations.But the one question that we couldn'tanswer is whether there is a statute of limi-tations. We had one parent come in com-plaining that an unpleasant exchange be-tween her child and another student shouldbe classified as bullying because there hadbeen an earlier bad interaction five yearsago when the students were in third grade.Isn't there some sort of statute of limitationsthat I can cite so that I don't have to dredgeup events from five years ago?

- Keeping it Simple

DEAR KEEPING: Unfortunately, thestatute doesn't set forth any limita-

tions on how far back a bullying claim cango. The prior statute made reference toevents occurring within a school year, butthere is no similar provision in the new defi-nition of "bullying." Rather, the statute sim-ply refers to "repeated conduct." The bestwe can do is interpret that term reasonably.In this case, I think we can take the positionthat for conduct to be repeated there mustbe a connection between the actions andthe actions must be close in time. Whoknows? We might even be right!

DEAR MAILBAG: One of the par-ents in my school is quite intrusive.

Her latest gambit is to "visit" her daughter'sfourth grade classroom almost every day. Itried to be tactful and pointed out that shehas probably had adequate time to see whatgoes on in the classroom. But she is quitepushy, and she told me that the school is apublic place, and that she will keep attend-ing school with her daughter because sheneeds to reinforce skills at home. Apparent-ly, she has her sights set on the Ivy League,and wants to get a jump on the admissionsprocess. Can I tell her that she can't cometo school with her daughter any more?

- Off Limits

Q.

LEGAL MAILBAG

2 THE CAS BULLETIN MARCH 2012

Editor’s Note: Legal Mailbag is a regular feature in the CASBULLETIN. We invite readers to submit short, law-relatedquestions of practical concern to school administrators.Each month we will select questions and publish answers.While these answers cannot be considered formal legal

advice, they may be of help to you and your colleagues. Wemay edit your questions, and we will not identify the authors.

Please submit your questions to: <legalmailbag@casciac>

LEGAL MAILBAGBy Attorney Thomas B. Mooney, Neag School of Education, University of Connecticut

Q. DEAR LIMITS: Given your tolerance ofher conduct to date, you may have

already created a monster, but let's talk throughwhat you can to do tame her. Parents do nothave the right to visit classrooms whenever theywant. Rather, such visits are a privilege. Whileyou would likely not want to prohibit parents everfrom visiting classrooms, you can place reason-able limits on their visits. Most parents would bemore than happy to be able to visit once a year,and on the chance that you want to be gracious,you can permit parents to visit even more often(e.g., two or three times). As long as you enforcethose limits consistently, you have every right totell this parent that she is no longer welcome tovisit her daughter's classroom once her allottedvisits have occurred.

DEAR MAILBAG: The end of the schoolyear is coming, but I fear that the light at

the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train headedright for me. The best student in the senior classis quite devout, and she talks publicly and oftenabout how thankful she is to God for her achieve-ments. We honor the valedictorian of the seniorclass by permitting him or her to give the gradua-tion address. I know that this valedictorian willwant to make religious references in her speech.Can I review her speech ahead of time? Should Itell her that as a public school we must keep reli-gion out of her speech? I don't want the CivilLiberties Union on my case.

- Color Me Agnostic

DEAR AGNOSTIC: When students makean individual choice to speak about reli-

gion, as a matter of free speech, we must notinterfere. To be sure, school officials must takecare that their actions neither advance nor inhibitreligion. Therefore, school officials cannot pro-mote a particular religious view. Moreover, aswith any other student you have the right to askto see her speech ahead of time, and you wouldbe remiss not to do so. But when students makethe individual choice to speak about religion, wemust treat that speech as any other speech, andwe cannot single out student religious speech forspecial disfavor.

ct news & notesct news & notes

Q.Q.

Q.Q.

A.A.

A.A.

A.A.

O The James Morris School (JMS) in Morrishas been recognized by the White House forits participation in the KiDSMARATHON fit-ness program. KiDSMARATHON, a trainingand education program that helps elementaryschool students to complete a full marathon inincrements over a period of 8-10 weeks, wasdeveloped by Olympic runner Rod Dixon andhas been sponsored by CAS for the past threeyears. The program follows the objectives ofFirst Lady Michelle Obama's First Move ini-tiative to encourage children to get active andstay healthy. JMS recently received a personalletter from Michelle Obama congratulatingthe school for its work. In the letter, shestates, "With the right attitude, you can doanything!" For information on getting yourschool involved in the KiDSMARATHONprogram, contact Dave Maloney [email protected].

O In December 2011, the U.S. Department of Education issued revised regulations for theFamily Educational Rights and Privacy Act("FERPA"), the federal law that protects theprivacy of education records. These new regulations went into effect January 3, 2012.Shipman & Goodwin LLP has prepared abrief summary of the most significant revi-sions to existing regulations. The summarycan be viewed at http://65.17.213.85/files/13190_SchoolLawAlertFERPA020712.pdf.

O According to a new survey commissionedby ConnCAN, the state’s public school educa-tors are reform minded with overwhelmingsupport for performance-based tenure andemployment. The survey of 400 teachers andadministrators demonstrates strong support forthe kinds of education reforms currently beingadvocated by Governor Dannel Malloy. Thesurvey used a representative sample of educa-tors across all levels of seniority, age, loca-tion, and demographics. Newer teachers, whowill make up the teaching corps in thedecades to come, were particularly supportiveof these reforms. For example, while 59 per-cent of educators overall believe that tenure,promotions and other staffing decisionsshould be made based upon demonstratedeffectiveness in the classroom, that numberjumps to 64 percent for educators with 10 or fewer years of experience. To view the results of ConnCAN's survey, visit http://www.conncan.org/sites/conncan.org/files/conncan_jan_2012_educator_survey.pdf.

3THE CAS BULLETIN MARCH 2012

THE ANNUAL SUMMER LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE

“Getting the Foc us Right”June 27 & 28, 2012 P The Heritage Hotel, Southbury

Speakers:

DAY 1: DR. MIKE SCHMOKERDr. Schmoker is an internationally known and highly acclaimed educator.http://mikeschmoker.com/

DAY 2: COMMISSIONER STEFAN PRYOROur Commissioner is a leader bringing a new

focus to CT’s efforts to reduce the achievement gap.http://www.casciac.org/pdfs/commissioner_pryor.pdf

In addition to keynote presentations by Dr. Mike Schmoker andCommissioner Stefan Pryor, this year's institute will feature breakout

sessions by some of CT's most successful school leaders.

Registration will be available on the CAS website byMarch 15th

CELEBRATING NATIONALADMINISTRATIVE

ASSISTANTS’ WEEKBy Dave Maloney

Assistant Executive Director

Ever wonder why people behave the waythey do? Ever been at a loss to understandwhy someone said what he or she justsaid? Ever wish that you responded differ-ently to someone after the fact? What doesthe amendment to the bullying law have todo with me? Is there a role that adminis-trative assistants can play in improving theschool and workplace climate?

These are just a few of the questions thatwill be explored at the CAS sponsoredConference For School Secretaries andAdministrative Assistants on Friday, May4th at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington.

The conference is a perfect opportunity totreat these professionals as part of theNational Administrative Assistant Week fortheir important contributions to a school'sculture and positive learning environment.

Attorney Tom Mooney is the featuredmorning presenter and a frequent contribu-tor on legal issues affecting schools. Hispresentation will include up-to-the-minuteinformation on the new school climate leg-islation and its implications for secretariesand administrative assistants. Conferenceattendees will also find several practicalsuggestions on electronic communicationin the workplace, student records, specialeducation matters, state and federal lawsthat apply directly to school personnel aswell as a host of other legal matters thatonly Tom Mooney's famous case studiescan uncover!

The afternoon presenter is Marta Koonz, acertified life coach and owner of EnergizeYour Journey. Marta specializes in creat-ing opportunities for improved communi-cation in the workplace, conflict reduction,and feeling validated - in short - creating awin-win atmosphere for success. Her "truecolors" activity sets up all the participantsfor improved strategies for workplace pro-ductivity.

Registration information is available athttp://casciac.org/go?469. Inquiries aboutthe conference may be directed to JennSylvester or Dave Maloney at 203-250-1111.

CAS Executive DirectorKarissa Niehoff serves onthe governor's task forcethat is charged with analyz-ing and submitting a reporton the secondary schoolreform legislation. The taskforce is named "The HighSchool GraduationRequirements Task Force,"but it is looking at broaderimplications of secondaryreform statutes.

Dr. Niehoff delivered a pres-entation to the task force onFebruary 9th which includeda summary of the opinionsof secondary principalsabout the components in thecurrent secondary reformlaws. The views shared inher presentation were basedon the results of a surveyconducted by CAS inJanuary. The survey askedmember school middle and

high school principals toprovide feedback on themain points in the law.Some general findingsinclude:• Principals believe second-

ary reform is necessary.• Many schools already

have reform efforts underway and programs in place.

• Schools/districts heed guidance on the imple-mentation of these laws.

• There is concern over the impact of these laws on the very large and very small districts.

• It is important that there is a connection to other reforms - e.g., Common Core standards and assessments, Evaluation, ESEA waiver implica-tions, etc.

• There is need for ongoing fiscal support to imple-

ment these new require-ments.

To view specific findings oncomponents such asincreased graduationrequirements, Capstoneprojects, personal educationplans, and data-tracking,visit www.casciac.org/pdfs/Principals_Perspective_on_Current_Secondary_Reform_Legislation.pdf.

SURVEY RESULTS PROVIDE VALUABLE FEEDBACK FORGOVERNOR’S TASK FORCE


SURVEY ON LEGISLATIVE ANDPOLICY BARRIERS REVEALS

COMMON THEMESBy Dr. V. Everett Lyons

CAS Assistant Executive Dircetor

During a January 20, 2012 meeting withConnecticut Commissioner ofEducation, Stefan Pryor, a request was

made to have the Connecticut Association ofSchools survey its member principals concern-ing current legislative and state department ofeducation regulations which impeded theirwork as instructional leaders. The associationdeveloped and promulgated an electronic sur-vey of all members around this theme. Whilea variety of responses were received, the mostprevalent number could be grouped around thefollowing three main themes. The themes areordered in terms of frequency of similarresponses. A brief explanatory descriptionexpands upon each theme.

1. PA 11-232, An Act Concerning SchoolBullying LawsWhile school leaders recognize and embracethe need for positive school climate, theexpanded scope in the definition of bullyinghas required significant amounts of time toinvestigate numerous allegations and this useof time detracts from available time during theprincipals' work day to focus on instructionalissues. The need for a school climate plan,along with identified personnel with special-ized titles, has had similar results with respectto time usage as well as requiring principals toreallocate critical resources to meet this man-date. An ancillary issue is the lack of differen-tiation in the legislation recognizing thoseschools with demonstrated positive school cli-mate, thus relieving them of the need to com-ply with the legislation.

2. PA 10-111, An Act ConcerningEducational Reform in ConnecticutSchool leaders' concerns with this legislativemandate fall into two broad areas: (1)Confusion over the status of the secondaryschool reform initiative given the delay inimplementation enacted in the last legislativesession and the appearance of the CAPSSschool reform platform which calls for an endto the Carnegie unit measure of high schoolgraduation standards, and (2) the specific pro-vision for Student Success Plans. Essentially,the principals' dilemma in the first point is thatof "What do we do plan for?" Will the CSDEcontinue with plans to develop end-of-courseassessments and will student be required to

continued on page 7

O California, Massachusetts, and Oklahomaare working on ways to promote, and meas-ure, creativity and innovation in theirschools and are now exploring the develop-ment of an index that would gauge theextent to which schools provide opportuni-ties to foster these qualities. InMassachusetts, a legislative requirement wasenacted last year mandating the developmentof an index that would "rate every publicschool on teaching, encouraging, and foster-ing creativity in students" and be based "inpart on the creative opportunities in eachschool." It cites as examples arts education,debate clubs, science fairs, filmmaking, andindependent research. Meanwhile, theCalifornia Senate last month approved a billcalling for the development of a voluntaryCreative and Innovative Education Index.And Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin recentlyannounced plans for a public-private partner-ship to produce an innovation index forschools, which she described as a "publicmeasurement of the opportunities for ourstudents to engage in innovative work."

O Violent crime at the nation's schools isdeclining, and students and schools arereporting less bullying and gang activity. Butnew government data reports an increase incyber bullying and youth suicides. The num-ber of violent deaths declined to 33 in the2009-10 school year, the lowest number onrecord since the agencies began collectingdata in 1992, according to data released bythe U.S. Department of Education and theDepartment of Justice on Wednesday. Inthe previous school year, there were 38 suchdeaths. Thefts and nonfatal violent crimesdeclined from 1.2 million in 2008 to 828,000in 2010. While the data show a consistentdecline across several indicators, there wereincreases in a few areas, including cyberbullying and suicides among youth age 5-18outside of school. "Cyber bullying issue hasreally moved to center stage and that's prob-ably the next major challenge that schoolofficials and others will have to address,"said Ron Stephens, executive director of theNational School Safety Center, a nonprofitadvocacy organization. He said the highernumber of suicides wasn't surprising. "Ithink that's a number we'll see increasingbased on what's happening with all the cyberbullying," Stephens said. Some school safetyadvocates question whether the numbers areaccurate at all, noting the data is collectedthrough surveys and not incident basedreporting.

O A new paper by Stanford edu-economistEric Hanushek and colleagues offers somescientific data to support the long-standing"conventional wisdom" that principal qualitymatters for student performance. The paper,called "Estimating the Effect of Leaders onPublic Sector Productivity: The Case ofSchool Principals" summarizes findingsfrom observations of over 7,000 principalsfrom 1995 to 2001 in Texas. According tothe analysts most conservative estimates,having a highly effective principal will leadthe average student to learn 0.05 standarddeviations more than he or she would in aschool with an average principal. For com-parison, studies suggest that teacher effectsare about twice this size, though importantly,the learning effects due to a strong principalapply to all students in the school, not justan individual classroom. Hence, the aggre-gate impact of having an effective principalin a school can be very large. Further, vari-ance in effectiveness among leaders increas-es with the school poverty rate meaning thatthe poorest schools are more likely to haveeither very effective or very ineffective prin-cipals. Principal turnover patterns also differby principal quality and type of school. Inother words, analysts find that both the leastand most effective principals tend toswitch schools more often; this phenomenonis also more pronounced in low-incomeschools. Unfortunately, the worst principalsdon't appear to leave education altogether;they merely resurface as leaders at otherschools. To access the paper in its entirety,visit http://www.caldercenter.org/upload/CALDER-Working-Paper-32_FINAL.pdf.

O For an article in Kappan magazine,authors Tracey and Abby Sparrow spokewith a number of black males ages 13 to 22in Washington, D.C. and Milwaukee, WI to learn what they felt stands in the way of their success. The authors found the young menrarely talked about schools or teachers as thecause of the achievement gap, but insteadattributed it to cultural, family, and commu-nity factors. All wanted and understood theimportance of a good education. They alsotalked about the importance of cohesivefamilies, attentive parents, and positive malerole models, as well as the dangers of therap culture, poverty, and low expectations.The men interviewed were clear that thechallenge of educating black males is muchbigger than the schoolhouse. As one inter-viewee remarked, success "starts at home...Many black kids don't have a sense ofbelonging, and "the streets accept anyone."

national news & notesnational news & notes

http://www.caldercenter.org/upload/CALDER-Working-Paper-32_FINAL.pdf

http://www.caldercenter.org/upload/CALDER-Working-Paper-32_FINAL.pdf


A COMPREHENSIVE EFFECTIVETEACHING TEMPLATE FORPLANNING, OBSERVING AND

REFLECTINGBy Dr. Suzi D'Annolfo, University of Hartford and

Dr. Jeffrey Schumann, Deputy Superintendent,Newington Public Schools

Over the past several years, we have looked atways to synthesize the plethora of evidence-basedeffective teaching strategies and incorporate theminto a practical and efficient template that focuseson the instructional core and the adult actions thatpositively impact student learning. The templatedesign is aligned to Connecticut Common Core ofTeaching (CCCT )standards for teachers and hasbeen used for lesson planning, a hiring protocolfor rating demonstration lessons for teacher candi-dates, and a classroom observation instrument.The creation of this template was initially designedto serve as a living document to capture multipledata streams while observing demonstration lessonsfor perspective candidates as part of the hiringprocess in the Newington Public Schools. When itconsistently helped to differentiate the actions ofthe candidates and their effect on student engage-ment and learning, it was recognized as a valuabletool to observe the instructional core, the connec-tion among the student, teacher, and content.

As the document continued to evolve, its use hasbeen expanded. As an observation and reflectiontool for teachers and school leaders, it has been thestimulus to guide professional discourse aroundteaching and learning and promote the art and sci-ence of being a reflective practitioner. Mostrecently, it has been implemented in secondarymethods courses at the University of Hartford toguide students' scaffolding of comprehensive les-son planning and the identification of effectiveteaching strategies, as well as to serve as a refer-ence for teaching candidates to more purposefullyobserve and learn from experienced teachers in theclassroom.

The current version of the template includes theBuilding Blocks for Student Engagement (BBSE)comprised of the Essential Question: what studentsneed to know/remember, understand and do; Bloom's taxonomy; culturally responsive resources; high-yield instructional strategies; accommoda-tions; differentiation; integration of 21st centuryskills; formative and summative assessments forprogress monitoring; student engagement, cultureand climate monitoring; professional dispositionsand responsibilities. The two-page template can beaccessed at http://www.casciac.org/pdfs/teaching_template_dannolfo-schumann.pdf. Theauthors welcome further inquiry and feedback viaemail contacts on the template.

On February 17th, the CAS Legislation Committee hosted a discussionforum with State Senator Andrea Stillman, deputy majority leader and co-chair of the education committee. Approximately thirty principals from

around the state traveled to the CAS office on a Friday afternoon to share theiropinions with and ask questions of the democratic senator from EasternConnecticut. Following introductions by CAS lobbyist Marshall Collins, SenatorStillman eagerly solicited principals' opinions on the Governor's recently unveilededucation bill. "Principals will play a huge role in implementing the governor'sproposed reforms. I need to hear your concerns," said Stillman.

In response, the principals in attendance raised a number of concerns, including:• the focus on charter schools potentially at the expense of existing magnet

schools;• the financial burden of more unfunded mandates;• the impact of regionalization requirements on small schools;• the need for principal autonomy in order to effectively implement all the reforms

being proposed; and,• the importance of aligning new reforms with existing ones.

PRINCIPALS DIALOGUE WITH EDUCATION COMMITTEE CO-CHAIR ANDREA STILLMAN

Among the principals in attendance were CAS President Kit Bishop, President-Elect DaveRussell, Board Member Kathi Walsh, CIAC Chair Bob Hale, Jr., CIAC Treasurer SteveWysowski and National High School Principal of the Year Mike Foran.

Senator Stillman (l) and CAS Executive Director Karissa Niehoff share a moment of levityamidst heavy legislative discussions

http://www.casciac.org/pdfs/teaching_template_dannolfo-schumann.pdf

http://www.casciac.org/pdfs/teaching_template_dannolfo-schumann.pdf


Bullying, continued from page 1Harassment - An individual criminally harasses anotherperson when, by telephone, he or she addresses anotherin or uses indecent or obscene language; or when withthe intent to harass, annoy or alarm another person, he orshe communicates with a person by telegraph or mail, byfax, by computer network, or by any other form of writ-ten communication, in a manner likely to cause annoy-ance or alarm; or with the intent to harass, annoy oralarm another person, he or she makes a telephone call,whether or not a conversation ensues, in a manner likelyto cause annoyance or alarm. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-183.

Larceny - A person commits larceny when, with theintent to deprive another of property or to appropriate thesame to himself or a third person, he or she wrongfullytakes, obtains or withholds such property from an owner.Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-119. If, during the course ofcommitting a larceny, the individual uses or threatens theimmediate use of physical force upon another person forthe purpose of preventing or overcoming resistance to thelarceny, the individual commits robbery. Conn. Gen.Stat. § 53a-133.

Sexting/Child Pornography - Possession of, or trans-mission of, any visual depiction of child pornography(any visual depiction of an individual under sixteen yearsof age engaging in sexually explicit conduct) is a crime.Conn. Gen. Stat. 53a-196h.

Criminal Threats - An individual commits criminalthreatening when by physical threat, he or she intention-ally places or attempts to place another in fear of immi-nent serious physical injury; when an individual threatensto commit a crime of violence with the intent to terrorizeanother person; or when an individual threatens to com-mit such a crime of violence in reckless disregard of therisk of causing such terror. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-62.

The brief list of crimes provided here is in no wayexhaustive. Nevertheless, if the bullying behavior couldconstitute one of the above crimes, it is appropriate toreport it to the police. Of course, administrators shoulduse their good judgment in exercising their discretion inreporting the conduct that they believe may constitutecriminal conduct.

It is important to remember to start first by investi-gating reports of bullying to determine whether studentconduct is bullying. If the conduct is a verified act ofbullying, follow the steps and interventions required bythe bullying law and your district's safe school climateplan. Finally, consider whether the behavior could con-stitute a crime, and if you believe it may, report it to theappropriate law enforcement agency for investigation. In particular cases, local police officials can be a goodresource to help you make that determination. Finally, if you have questions about your reporting obligationsunder the bullying law, you may wish to seek legal counsel.

Joint press conference, continued from page 1a governor who has declared education reform to be a singular focus of hisadministration; and we have a commissioner who is reform-minded andresults-driven. This is a time of opportunity, one which can generate positiveenergy and collaborative action."

To read the joint views of CAPSS, CAS, CABE, CBIA, CCER and ConnCan,visit http://www.casciac.org/pdfs/joint_statement_final_feb_2012.pdf.

Left to right: Louis Bach, CBIA; Patrick Riccards, ConnCan; KarissaNiehoff, CAS; Joseph Cirasuolo, CAPSS; Robert Rader, CABE; andRaeAnn Knopf, CCER

SAVETHEDATE! The 14th Annual CT Association of

National Honor Societies’State Conference

MONDAY, MAY 21, 20127:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Hartford Marriott, Rocky Hill

This conference is designed for High School andMiddle School National Honor Society Members,

Faculty Council Members and Honor SocietyAdvisors to come together to create enthusiasm for

scholarship, stimulate a desire to render service locally and statewide, enhance and

promote leadership skills and focus on studentmember character development.

Registration is now open!Visit www.casciac.org for more details!


On Friday, January 20th, a group of Connecticut principalshad the opportunity to meet with Commissioner ofEducation, Stefan Pryor. The principals represented K-12

public, magnet and vocational schools in both urban and suburbansettings. Following the meeting with Commissioner Pryor, theassembled principals united in their collective decision to offer theCommissioner a "Principals' Perspective" on their needs as schoolleaders.

The group of principals met again on Friday, January 27th todevelop a document summarizing their thoughts. They chose toshare their responses in themes that are organized around theConnecticut School Leadership Standards. Their responses are sug-gested actions for the State Department of Education to undertake. Our heartfelt thanks to the dedicated administrators whom weaffectionately call "Pryor's Principals":P Lynn Bennett-Wallick, Ansonia Middle SchoolP Sally Biggs, Hartford Magnet Trinity College AcademyP Kit Bishop, Daisy Ingraham School, WestbrookP Kermit Carolina, James Hillhouse High School, New Haven

P William Chaffin, A.I. Prince Technical High School, HartfordP Gail Dahling-Hench, Pine Grove Elementary School, AvonP Lisa Eells, Gaffney Elementary School, New BritainP Kate England, Nathan Hale School, ManchesterP Mike Foran, New Britain High SchoolP Gary Highsmith, Hamden High SchoolP Johnna Hunt, Hillside Intermediate School, NaugatuckP Scott Leslie, RHAM High School, HebronP Madeline Negron, Windham Middle SchoolP Alejandro Ortiz, Bassick High School, BridgeportP Nate Quesnel, East Hartford Middle SchoolP Hector Sanchez, Cesar Batalla School, BridgeportP Donna Schilke, Smith Middle School, GlastonburyP Beth Smith, Shelton High SchoolP Rosie Vojtek, Ivy Drive School, Bristol

The document, which does not stand as a legislative agenda orformal position statement, can be viewed at: www.casciac.org/memberschools/PrincipalsPerspective.pdf.

MEETING WITH COMMISSIONER PRYOR PROMPTS “PRINCIPALS’ PERSPECTIVE” DOCUMENT

Survey results, continued from page 4meet additional Carnegie standards asprojected in the current legislation? If so,secondary administrators want to beginplanning now. If not, they do not want toplan for naught. Clarity is needed on thisissue.

The issues around the Student SuccessPlans primarily include a concern over thelack of human and technological resourcesto meet the mandate in a number of schools.Also, some confusion exists regarding theneed for special needs students with IEPs to

have Student Success Plans well. Couldnot the two be merged into the IEP docu-ment? Again, clarity on this point wouldbe helpful.

3. Numerous Unfunded Mandates andFrequency of ReportingOf equal weight were the dual, yet some-what related, issues of unfunded mandatesand reports required by the CSDE whichoften appear to ask for duplicate informa-tion. Greater coordination is needed toensure that requirements are not so numer-ous as to prevent a deep and rich response.Principals report that they often feel as if

they simply are "putting out fires" and giv-ing superficial treatment to the numerousdisjointed mandates coming from the legis-lature and CSDE. One practitioner notedthat he was attempting to lead his school inmeeting the requirements of legislation con-cerning SRBI, School GovernanceCouncils, Safe School Climate, SpecialEducation, and No Child Left Behind whileresponding to numerous state reportingforms. Given the dearth of administrativeresources, little time was left for instruc-tional leadership.

CAS Staff and “Pryor’s Principals” hard at work.


The list is long and somewhat dizzying:"2012 The Year for EducationalReform", No Child Left Behind

waivers, Common Core Standards, newteacher and principal evaluations, legislation tosupport positive school climate and anti-bully-ing, SRBI, School Governance Councils,emphasis on preschool and primary education(age 3 to grade 3), and sweeping reorganiza-tion of the CT State Department of Education.These initiatives, and several others, are put-ting increasing demands on public school prin-cipals and teachers to work harder and producebetter results with the same, or in many casesreduced, levels of support; a daunting task tobe sure. Add to this the requirement that allbut slipped under the radar, Student SuccessPlans for every student in grades 6-12. In theoriginal secondary school reform legislationlanguage, there would have been a gradualroll-out beginning with grade 6, but in the finaliteration, it is for all secondary students ingrades 6-12 beginning in July, 2012. This,according to a recent survey of CAS principalshas raised the level of concern to third behindAn Act Concerning School Bullying Laws andAn Act Concerning Educational Reform in CT.

Given this workload, one might be tempted tosimply delegate the SSP task to others (mostlikely counselors) or to do only the minimumto satisfy the law. From my viewpoint, thiswould be a mistake! I can think of no otherintervention that would have a stronger posi-tive impact on student learning than personal-ization of the schoolhouse and student engage-ment, the linchpins of well-executed studentsuccess plans.

In 1996, the National Association forSecondary School Principals published theirseminal work, Breaking Ranks, followed by "Breaking Ranks in the Middle” in 2007, which called for a restructuring of the American sec-ondary schools . According to their recommen-dations, "The [secondary] school of the 21stcentury must be much more student-centeredand above all much more personalized in pro-grams, support services, and intellectual rigor."These works gained prominence in response totwo key developments: 1) calls for middle andhigh schools to become more personalized andstudent-centered in order to improve academicachievement, student engagement, and healthyyouth development, particularly for students atrisk of dropping out; and 2) the need to ensurethat all students have access to an educationalexperience that builds the necessary academic,workforce and personal skills required forpostsecondary success.

As a result of the "call for action" relative topersonalization, 23 states and the District ofColumbia adopted legislation or statewidemandates relative to learning plans for second-ary students and there is legislation pending inthree others. Connecticut is one of three stateswhere the plans begin in grade 6.

While the move toward learning plans is rela-tively new, there is emerging evidence thatthey have a positive impact on student success.According to a policy brief published by theRennie Center for Educational Research andPolicy entitled Student Learning Plans:Supporting Every Student's Transition toCollege and Career "learning plans have beenlinked to a variety of developmental outcomes,including improved academic motivation,engagement, decision-making and personalaccountability-characteristics that are increas-ingly seen as essential for success in postsec-ondary education and work." A review of theresearch conducted by the Rennie Centerrevealed that …" there is a growing body ofresearch on the impact of SLPs [generic termfor SSPs] on other student outcomes, such asmotivation and engagement, goal setting, long-term planning, increased awareness of careeroptions, and parental involvement in academicand career decisions."1

A strong link to personalization comes fromtwo respected sources, The New EnglandAssociation of Schools and Colleges (NEASC)and the Association for Middle LevelEducation (AMLE, formerly NMSA). TheNEASC standards include… "a formal, ongo-ing program through which each student hasan adult in the school, in addition to the schoolcounselor, who knows the student well andassists the student in achieving the school's21st century learning expectations."2 Toaccomplish this, many Connecticut highschools have adopted advisory programs thatinclude all certified adults, and in some casessupport staff, to create a better student-adultratio. The middle level evidence to supportadvisory comes from a study of 101 of thecountry's most successful middle schools and arandom sample of 827 other middle schoolsconducted by noted middle school researcher,Ken McEwin. Among findings that supportthe middle school concept, McEwin discov-ered that successful middle schools more fre-quently had advisory programs (65% to 54%)than the less successful schools.3

Given the evidence, it behooves administratorsand teachers, whose goal is always to promote"success for all students" to support personal-

ization; where every teacher is responsible foradvising a small group of students, and eachstudent has a caring adult who will overseehis/her academic, career and personal growthfor the years s/he is in a school. Schoolswould do well to mirror the efforts of schoolslike those in Regional District 14 who list thefollowing as Keys to Student Engagement.

An individualized flexible student-driven plan:P helps every student stay connected in schoolP helps students achieve post-secondary

education and career goalsP begins in 6th grade and continues through

high school and beyondP establishes an adult support team which may

include teachers, counselors, school psychol-ogists, social workers, parents/guardians, community members, etc.

P provides student support in setting goals for personal and academic growth

P explores education, interests and career pathsP provides a vehicle for integration and

demonstration of 21st century skillsP utilizes an electronic system for efficiency

and portability. This plan and the plans from several otherschools who have presented at CAS sponsoredStudent Success Plans Symposia can beviewed on the CAS website under StudentSuccess Plan Resource. CAS will also besponsoring additional sessions early in May toassist school teams in linking engagement andadvisory to student success. Registration infor-mation will be on the CAS website this month.

While there are those who may see this as justone more thing to add to their already fullplate, many successful schools are consideringthis as a way to link and combine many effortsalready underway in their schools to ensurestudent success. Burden or Blessing? I supposeit all depends on one’s lens, yet there appear tobe many benefits to reap with successfulimplementation.

1 Our review of research findings related to SLPs isconsistent with previous analyses, including: EducationCommission of the States. (2007). State Notes:Additional high school graduation requirements andoptions; Regional Education Labora-tory, Northeast &Islands. (2008). Personal Learning Plans (PLPs). RELReference Desk; National High School Center. (2010).What is the research base of individual learning plans atthe high school level and its impact on student out-comes? Are there studies documenting the impact ofIndividual Learning Plans on student outcomes?Retrieved from: www.betterhighschools.org/topics/ documents/TAResponseQ3.pdf.2 http://cpss.neasc.org/downloads/2011_Standards/2011_Standards.pdf3 www.amle.org/Research/ResearchfromtheField/tabid/1642/Default.aspx

Student Success Plans - Burden or Blessing?By Earle Bidwell, Assistant Executive Director


ciac newsciac newsGRYNN & BARRETT PHOTOGRAPHYCOMPLETES SUCCESSFUL MERGER AND

NAME CHANGE

For 5 years and counting, Grynn & Barrett has provided theConnecticut Association of Schools (CAS) with qualityimages and service as its exclusive photographer. This past

year, Grynn & Barrett joined forces with industry leader BNLEnterprises and is doing business as G&B Photography. G&Bhas been a long time sponsor, supporter and partner of CAS. Thecombination of G&B with BNL Enterprises will enhance G&B'smission to provide self-esteem, open doors to new avenues ofphotography and provide a united front from photography toproduct. G&B is unique in the photography industry becausethey are comprised of 2 families, the Aninowsky's (Bill Jr. andBill Sr.) and the Grenier's (Chris and Dan). Both organizations arefamily owned and operated, bringing over 75 years of industrysuccess providing schools with a different approach to the schoolpicture experience throughout the Northeast.

The heart of their business is driven by creating confidence inchildren. "When we think of school pictures, we think self-esteem," said Chris Grenier. "How is the child going to viewthemselves in the photo? What is Mom or Dad going to feel whenthey see the photos? This is first on our mind before we snap thepicture." With this approach, the end results are more than a pic-ture, they are moments that everyone will remember.

G&B continues to gain new schools and school districts for theopportunity to share their business approach. "Everything needsto be a positive experience," said Bill Jr. He explained that pic-ture day used to be a hassle for some schools before G&B intro-duced their stream-lined process of making the day fun for every-one - students, faculty, and administration. School pictures are anAmerican tradition that sparks emotions in all of us. With G&B,these emotions are positive ones.

In addition to the partnership with G&B, BNL owns Jelly JarPhotography, which serves over 350 preschool/day-care providersin New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. This merger pro-vides G&B access to an even larger combination of highly

continued on page 12

Left to right: Chris Grenier, Bill Aninowsky Jr., and DanGrenier

CONNECTICUT GOLFER RECEIVES NFHSSPIRIT OF SPORT AWARD

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - James Burgoyne, a golfer at Darien HighSchool, has been selected as the 2012 Section 1 recipient of the"National High School Spirit of Sport Award" by the NationalFederation of State High School Associations (NFHS). The NationalHigh School Spirit of Sport Award was created by the NFHS to recog-nize those individuals who exemplify the ideals of the spirit of sportthat represent the core mission of education-based athletics.

At Darien High School, Burgoyne has been a four-year varsity golfteam member, capped by being selected captain his senior year. He hasplaced highly in several metropolitan PGA golf tournaments duringthat time. Burgoyne has been equally outstanding in the classroom,where he has maintained a 3.91 grade-point average. A member of theNational Honor Society, Burgoyne takes several AP and honors cours-es, and he scored a 2,200 on his SAT.

While embodying the ideals of exemplary athletic and academicachievement is outstanding in and of itself, what has really setBurgoyne apart from the crowd is a volunteer program that he devel-oped as a mere sophomore. At that time, Burgoyne wanted to dosomething to support America's troops overseas and their familiesstateside. He became aware of the PGA's "Birdies for the Brave"program in which sponsors donate a certain amount of money perbirdie made, and he approached Darien High School golf coach TomO'Donnell to see if there might be a way in which the golf team couldbecome involved with it.

"I was immediately struck by two things," O'Donnell said. "First, thisis a great idea, and second, what an impressive and mature young manto show such empathy, gratitude and initiative. As a direct result ofhis efforts, $3,500 was raised and donated to the program on behalf ofthe Darien High School golf team.

"That alone would have been significant, but while communicatingwith the PGA Tour on the project, I discovered that Darien HighSchool was the first high school in the country to be involved with theprogram. As a result of our success, the PGA Tour decided to initiate a'Birdies for the Brave Golf Team Pledge Program,' and now otherteams are starting to get involved.

"Utilizing sports to help others is one of the most positive values ofathletics and James Burgoyne has helped remind us of that. In addi-tion, he has also reminded us that charitable work in sports in not thesole responsibility of the professional leagues and that each of us canuse the love of sports to make a positive impact on the lives of others.James Burgoyne started all of this in motion, but there is no tellingwhere it will end or how many people will be helped because one ath-lete used his love of sport to show his gratitude and appreciation tothose who provide the safety and security he enjoys."

The NFHS divides the nation into eight geographical sections. Thestates in Section 1 are CT, ME, NH, VT, NY, NJ, RI and MA.Nominations for this award were generated through NFHS memberstate associations and reviewed by the NFHS Spirit of Sport AwardSelection Committee composed of state association staff members.


. . . more ciac news. . . more ciac news

COACH MARTY ROOS ACHIEVESNATIONAL RANKINGMarty Roos, longtime coach at Notre DameFairfield High School, recently retired as thestate's winningest ice hockey coach. The 76-year-old Roos, who compiled a 536-301-19 win-lossrecord and led teams to six state titles during his40-year career, announced his retirement ninegames into the season with a press release. He hadalso coached at Fairfield Prep High School.According to the National Federation of StateHigh School Associations' National High SchoolSports Record Book, Roos ranks eighth all-timenationally in career victories.

NFHS ADOPTS FOOTBALL RULES CHANGESNew loss of helmet rule aims to stem concussion injuries

Last month, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS)announced a rule change that requires high school football players to leave the field forat least one down if their helmet comes off during a play. The change does not apply toplayers who lose their helmet as a direct result of a foul from an opponent, however."The committee made this rules change after reviewing data from multiple statesregarding the frequency of helmets coming off during live-ball play," said JulianTackett, the commissioner of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association and chairof the NFHS football rules committee, in a statement. "It is the committee's hope thatthis serves notice for schools to properly fit players with helmets to reduce the inci-dence of these situations and remind the players not to take steps that alter the fit."

This addition to Rule 3-5-10 was one of eight rules changes approved by the NationalFederation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Football Rules Committee at itsJanuary 20-22 meeting in Indianapolis. All rules changes were subsequently approvedby the NFHS Board of Directors.

The new helmet rule wasn't the only notable change for high school football programs.Another new policy, Rule 1-2-3l, will now allow schools to open their football fields tocorporate advertisements, so long as the ads don't block the yard lines, hash marks, ornine-yard marks on the field. Previously, schools could only display advertisements inthe end zones and outside the field.

Nationwide, high school athletes suffer concussions at a rate of 2.5 for every 10,000exposures to the playing field, either for practice or competition, says a recent study inThe American Journal of Sports Medicine. Of the 1,936 concussions examined, nearlyhalf—47.1 percent—stemmed from football.

Dr. Joseph S. Torg, a clinical professor of orthopaedic surgery and sports medicine atTemple University, in Philadelphia, and his colleagues examined data from 1,006 con-cussions and found that youth-football players wearing properly fitted helmets, asreported by certified athletic trainers, were 80 percent less likely to lose consciousnesswhen sustaining large, concussive hits to the head. “As we look at preventing concus-sions and minimizing risk, it is important to realize that it is the responsibility of theathletic director and head football coach to have policies that: Insure that each playerhas a properly fitted helmet and that a responsible adult supervises and oversees properhelmet air bladder inflation on a weekly basis,” said Torg.

(Source: “Schooled in Sports,” www.edweek.org, 2/28/12)

Photo by the Fairfield Citizen

Kentucky Appeals CourtRuling Upholds Limit onAthlete Scholarships

A federal appeals court upheld a Kentucky rulelast week that prevents private school student-athletes from receiving merit-based scholarshipsthat cover more than 25 percent of the cost of their tuition, dismissing claims about the rule'sunconstitutionality.

Four parents of private school students filed suitagainst the Kentucky High School AthleticAssociation in 2009, alleging that Bylaw 13 forcesstudents to choose between participating in schoolsports and getting financial assistance.

In the ruling, filed Dec. 21, the U.S. 6th CircuitCourt of Appeals wrote that the rule "only restrictsthe amount and type of financial aid that a studentcan receive and retain KHSAA athletic eligibility." "The fundamental right of parents to control theeducation of their children does not extend to aright to demand that their children be allowed toparticipate without restrictions in extracurricularsports," the court ruled.

The court's decision upholds an earlier ruling bythe U.S. District Court of Western Kentucky.By the KHSAA's definition, merit-based scholar-ships are based solely on academic or test per-formance and are available to the entire studentbody. Factoring in athletic ability with scholarshipsis strictly prohibited.

Julian Tackett, commissioner of the KHSAA, toldThe Courier-Journal that the rules were put in placebefore the start of the 2007-08 school year to "helpaddress perception issues" and to ensure that pri-vate schools weren't effectively paying recruits toattend.

There is no limit on need-based aid for student-athletes, under KHSAA rules. The 25 percenttuition cap strictly applies to merit-based scholar-ships.

(From “Court Upholds Limit on Merit-BasedScholarships for Ky. Athletes” By Bryan Toporek,edweek.org, December 29, 2011)


. . . more ciac news. . . more ciac news

O In the case of Ollier v. SweetwaterHigh School District, a federal dis-trict court in California has ruled thata school district violated the Title IXrights of a class of female student-athletes because of the unequal treat-ment and benefits afforded the girls’softball program in comparison tothose afforded the boys’ baseball pro-gram. The court also found that theschool district was liable for retalia-tion under Title IX for firing thegirls’ softball coach, who had com-plained about the unequal facilities.The court ordered the parties jointlyto prepare a proposed complianceplan to include the court’s continuingjurisdiction and monitoring of theschool district’s athletic programsand activities. (See related item thispage)

O The Centers for Disease Controland Prevention is developing nationalconcussion guidelines for schoolsports, to be released by fall 2013. Apanel of experts across the countrywill offer advice to help states imple-ment standard protocol for the pre-vention and treatment of concussionssustained in school-related activities.The guidelines will not be mandato-ry, but only recommendations forschools and districts working toimplement youth concussion laws. Ata minimum, they will include thethree provisions of Washingtonstate’s Zachary Lystedt Law—usedby the National Football League—topromote a model concussion policyacross the country. The law requiresa student-athlete’s parent or guardianto sign a concussion-awareness formbefore he or she can participate inany sports-related activity; removes astudent from play who is suspectedof sustaining a concussion; andrequires a student-athlete removedfrom play to obtain medical clear-ance before returning. The majorityof states that have already adoptedyouth sport concussion laws requiremandatory training for coaches and afew also provide training for schoolnurses, athletic trainers, and otherstaff. Source: EdWeek.org (9/27/11)

O The National Federation of StateHigh School Associations(NFHS), which has written and pub-lished playing rules for highschool sports throughout its 93-yearhistory, has released its firstrules application for mobile devices.The 2011-12 NFHS Basketball RulesApplication (App), which is nowavailable in the Android Market,combines the 2011-12 NFHSBasketball Rules Book and the 2011-12 NFHS Basketball Case Bookinto one searchable mobile app. Thematerial is cross-referenced todisplay related content, and is offeredas a companion piece to theprinted books. Developed in partner-ship with ArbiterSports, the 2011-12NFHS Basketball Rules App is avail-able at this time for Android devicesonly; however, the iPhone/iPad ver-sion will be released soon. In addi-tion, apps for NFHS rules in othersports will be coming later thisyear.

Sports News & Notes

What is the #1 reason students don't report hazing to adults?

According to a seminal study conductedby Alfred University in 2000, 36% of stu-dents surveyed said that they would notreport hazing primarily because "There'sno one to tell." Secondly, they sais that,"Adults won't handle it right." (27%)

The study also found that:• 48 percent of students who belong to

groups reported being subjected to hazing activities.

• 43 percent reported being subjected to humiliating activities.

• 30 percent reported performing poten-tially illegal acts as part of their initiation.

• 71 percent of the students subjected to hazing reported negative consequences, such as getting into fights, being injured, fighting with parents, doing poorly in school, hurting other people, having difficulty eating, sleeping, or concen-trating, or feeling angry, confused, embarrassed or guilty.

2011 SAW PROLIFERATION OF TITLE IXSUITS IN HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS

Since the late fall of 2010, 210 school districts encom-passing more than 525 high schools have been named inTitle IX complaints filed with the U.S. Department ofEducation’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) claiming thatthe targeted districts and schools are failing to providegirls with sports participation opportunities equivalent tothose provided to boys. In November of 2010, theNational Women’s Law Center (NWLC) filed Title IXcomplaints with the OCR against 12 school districtsacross the country composed of more than 200 highschools. During the first three months of 2011, com-plaints were filed against 60 districts in Washington stateconsisting of more than 125 high schools, filings forwhich the OCR declined to identify the complainants. InApril of 2011, complaints were filed against 60 districtsin Oregon composed of more than 100 high schools, alsoby unidentified complainants. And in June of 2011, com-plaints were filed against 78 districts in Idaho encompass-ing more than 100 high schools, likewise through filingsby unidentified complainants.

What lessons are to be learned from the explosion of suchlawsuits? Lee Green, attorney and professor at BakerUniversity in Kansas, offers the following advice.

Historically, most Title IX complaints were filed by stu-dent-athletes, parents or coaches based on sports dispari-ties between girls and boys related to what the OCR des-ignates as “the other athletic benefits and opportunitiesthat accompany sports participation” – a category thatincludes items such as equipment, uniforms, facilities,locker rooms, quality of coaching, travel, scheduling ofpractices and contests, and other program resources.Typically, numerical participation gaps were not the fac-tor that initially created a perception of inequity by stu-dent-athletes, parents or coaches and led to the filing of aTitle IX complaint.

Recently, however, a trend has emerged in which advoca-cy groups are filing mass complaints against large num-bers of districts and schools based solely on numericalparticipation analysis and, therefore, it is imperative thatschool administrators have a thorough understanding ofthe three-prong test (which provides three alternativemethods by which an institution may demonstrate that itprovides sports participation opportunities for girls equiv-alent to those provided to boys), annually conduct selfau-dits of their schools to monitor all three-prong test issues,and take any corrective measures necessary to add mean-ingful and legally acceptable sports participation opportu-nities for girls. Only through the use of such proactivestrategies can a school minimize the risk of being includ-ed in a mass filing of Title IX complaints by an advocacygroup.

(Excerpted from an article by Attorney Lee Green published in High School Today, September 2011)


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INVESTORS IN CT YOUTH

Grynn & Barrett, continued from page 9qualified photographers and training tools toexpand into this new market. G&B plans tointroduce this new product line into NewEngland in 2012.

From photography to product, customers willhave a smooth experience with the merging ofthese two companies. BNL operates a 20,000square foot manufacturing facility that pro-duces over 1 million portraits per year.Together they will service some of the largestindependent photographers in the country anddeliver state of the art package printing and e-commerce solutions. G&B's complete verticalintegration with the BNL Enterprise's lab facil-ity translates to faster and more consistentdelivery times, higher quality response to cus-tomer inquiries and a more competitive prod-uct line. "There is something here for every-one" says Dan Grenier. "We worked the mostpopular add-on products into packages so par-ents can get what they want and save moneytoo."

The combination of G&B Photography withBNL Enterprises brings together two highlyrespected families and photography companieswho have contributed over 20 million dollarsin fundraising and school services over theiryears of business. G&B's merger will expandcapabilities in product line and services whilemaintaining the same high level of customersatisfaction. There is a better way for pictureday and CAS is proud to recommend G&B forany of your school picture needs. For moreinformation on G&B Photography and to booka shoot for your school or business ,visit theirwebsite at www.gandbphotography.com or callChris at 800-639-2104 ext. 3627.

President.............Kit Bishop, Daisy Ingraham School, WestbrookPresident-Elect....Dave Russell, John Winthrop M.S., Deep RiverVice President (H).............Francis Kennedy, Bristol High SchoolVice President (M)........Donna Schilke, Smith M.S., GlastonburyVice President (E)....Rosie O’Brien-Vojtek, Ivy Drive Sch, BristolTreasurer.................Donald Macrino, Waterford H.S., Waterford

Karissa Niehoff................................................Executive DirectorEarle Bidwell...........................................Asst. Executive DirectorRegina Birdsell........................................Asst. Executive DirectorKen Bragg.................................Asst. Director of Unified Sports®Michael Buckley..............................Associate Executive DirectorDennis Carrithers....................Co-Director, CT Principals’ CenterMatt Fischer................................Director of Information ServicesStephanie Ford............................................Director of MarketingPaul Hoey........................................Associate Executive DirectorJanet Garagliano....................................Asst. Executive DirectorSusan Kennedy.......................................Asst. Executive DirectorRobert Lehr..................................................CIAC Executive StaffEverett Lyons..........................Co-Director, CT Principals’ CenterDavid Maloney........................................Asst. Executive Director Karen Packtor..............................Editor, Asst. Executive DirectorLou Pear.............................................Director of Unified Sports®Beth Rasmussen......................Young Athlete Program CoordinatorGeorge Synnott.........................Asst. Director of Unified Sports®Joseph Tonelli.................................................Director of Officials

Published monthly except July, Aug. and Sept. by the CTAssociation of Schools at 30 Realty Dr, Cheshire, CT, 06410.Phone: 203-250-1111. Third class postage paid at New Haven,CT. Permit #561. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to --BULLETIN, 30 Realty Drive, Cheshire, CT 06410.

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