03/14/08 - Sternberg Received A Report On Air Quality Of The Modular Classrooms That Showed A Higher Level Of Mold Spores Than Previosly Released

Camille Kornberg, a Hamilton Avenue School kindergartner, is having her first full computer lab experience and introduction to Smart Board at her hosting facility, Glenville School.
(GREENWICH CITIZEN photo)

Anne W. Semmes

Ham Ave. Students Settle in, Thanks to Many

...Glenville School. Marianne McCullough, assistant principal, was busily guiding media members and other visitors such as Cathy Delehanty, head of the teachers union, the Greenwich Education Association, who came to check out how her teachers were coping...

...Hamilton Avenue School parents, especially those working moms who were suddenly faced with alternative care for their children...

...Finding child care and figuring out the maze of transportation and school space availability took extraordinary cooperation of a myriad of community organizations as depicted in Sternberg's thanks on the Greenwich schools Web site. She listed some of them - the Greenwich Police and Fire Departments, the PTAs, the United Way, Family Centers, the Children's Day Center, and the Greenwich Alliance for Education.

A public hearing, update and discussion on the Hamilton Avenue Relocation Plan, plus a discussion and possible action on the Glenville School relocation were new items added to the Thursday evening Board of Education's work session meeting to be held at Central Middle School..

... One Board of Education member, sure to take the floor at the Thursday Board work session, is Marianna Ponns Cohen. Her intention is "to address the issue of accountability for the problems with the modulars and building projects as a positive step forward in restoring faith in the Greenwich Public Schools."

It was Cohen's view that the school administrators have put "too many proverbial balls in the air," which has caused, she said, "clear and severe consequences.

"I am concerned that the school administration is distracted by the sheer number of initiatives it has undertaken," she said. One initiative proposed "as recently as a week ago," she reminded, was the regional interdistrict magnet school to take elementary and middle school students outside of Greenwich.

Cohen believed that the board, "in its oversight capacity, should encourage the superintendent and her administration to prioritize their tasks.

"It is essential," she said, "that the very important issues of student safety, Hamilton Avenue school construction completion and the commencement of the Glenville project move apace."

ALSO PLEASE TAKE A LOOK AT:

03/14/08 First Selectman Peter Tesei: "I'm at the point of frustration. These issues keep recurring."

AND:

03/12/08 - Why Was It Ok To Remove Dumpsters Of Contaminated Plywood, But Not OK To Remove School Desks And Chairs?

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