09/11/09 GREENWICH BOE PRESS RELEASE: CIPL Announcement

Please see attached announcement outlining the assignments to address the
responsibilities of the Director of Curriculum, Instruction and
Professional Learning (CIPL) position for the 2009-10 school year. This
also serves as an announcement for the Special Projects Manager position.

Have a good weekend!

Kim Eves
Director of Communications
Greenwich Board of Education
290 Greenwich Avenue
Greenwich, CT 06830

http://www.greenwichschools.org/

Phone: 203-625-7415
e mail: kim_eves@greenwich.k12.ct.us
Fax: 203-869-8003

DIRECTOR’S RESPONSIBILITIES RE-ASSIGNED ON AN INTERIM BASIS
(For immediate release: Greenwich, CT – Friday, September 11, 2009)

The responsibilities of the Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Professional Learning (CIPL) will be redistributed on a temporary basis, for one-year, to the Special Projects Manager and five project based positions. These assignments are effective immediately.

The CIPL position was vacated by Mr. Chris Winters when he assumed the Interim Headmaster position for Greenwich High School for the 2009-10 school year.

INTERIM DIRECTOR OF CIPL

Mr. John Curtin, Special Projects Manager for the District, will assume overall responsibility, on an interim basis, for the CIPL position. His primary focus will be on the curriculum and instruction responsibilities. He will supervise the curriculum and program coordinators, and oversee program monitoring reports, budget preparation, curriculum reviews, and the five special project positions outlined below.

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

Ms. Carol Walsh, former Principal of Central Middle School will assume responsibility for Professional Learning for the District, reporting to Mr. Curtin, as part of her short-term Central Office position.

The following four project-based administrative positions will carry stipends. These positions include District- wide responsibilities across multiple stakeholder groups and require supervisory, planning, implementation and reporting obligations:

CONSOLIDATED GRANT

Mr. Truxtun Southworth, Program Coordinator for PreK-12 Math, will take on a stipend position, responsible for supervising the expenditure of the Consolidated Grant. He will act as liaison to the State Department of Education and town private schools and will direct the development of the 2010-11 Consolidated Grant.

RESPONSE TO INTERVENTION (RtI)

Jennifer Mitchell, Program Coordinator for PreK-12 Language Arts, and Special Education Program Coordinator, Kathryn Coon will share the stipend position for RtI. They will supervise and direct thedevelopment of the District implementation plan, including integration with school-based data teams. They will also provide training and support for building staff on implementing RtI.

ELEMENTARY REPORT CARDS

Teresa Ricci, Principal of the International School at Dundee, and Paula Bleakley, Principal of Parkway School, will assume responsibility for the two-school pilot of the new Elementary Report Card in 2009-10 and the training and implementation plan for the full District in 2010 -11.

TRANSDISCIPLINARY UNITS

Fran Kompar, Program Coordinator for PreK-12 Library and Media, and Sheila Civale, Program Coordinatorfor PreK-12 Science, will take on the responsibility of supervising the development and implementation of pilot transdisciplinary units.

These temporary assignments will result in a net savings in salary and the full benefits package allocated for the CIPL position in the 2009-10 budget allocation. The CIPL positions are for one year only and will be re- assigned by the administrator in charge of Curriculum, Instruction, and Professional Learning for the 2010-11 school year.

Special Projects Manager Announcement/Bio Brief: John Curtin

After thirty-five years as an educator with the Greenwich Public Schools, John Curtin retired in the Spring of 2009. Due to his particular experience and expertise in data-driven decision-making, and as this was a time of significant leadership transition in the most senior administrator positions in the District,

Mr. Curtin was asked and agreed to take on the part time role of Special Projects Manager, effective July 1, 2009. A key responsibility of this position is supporting the work of the District and school-based data teams – a critical function in strategic improvement planning for the school system. The position requires “ a high level of information gathering and analysis regarding student data, standardized testing, enrollment, benchmarking, and other research and evaluation functions for school administrators and policymakers.”

Throughout the 35 years Mr. Curtin has dedicated to the Greenwich Public Schools, he has firmly established his commitment to continuous improvement. He has been a leader and critical resource in virtually every major initiative the istrict has undertaken. His facility and expertise with technology and data analysis have been an invaluable asset in driving improvements in achievement, instruction, budget planning and in overall operations.

Mr. Curtin began his career as an educator at Greenwich High School (GHS) in 1974. As a Social Studies teacher for 10 years, he taught World Cultures, American History, Psychology, and Advanced History classes. Beginning in 1977, he planned and taught interdisciplinary (English/Social Studies) classes at Greenwich High School’s Alternative Program and in 1979 assumed his first administrative position as Senior Teacher for this program.

In 1981, he became House Senior Teacher for Bella House, assisting the Housemaster in the operations and administration of the House, and teaching two classes per semester. In this role,he also served on the Grade Reorganization Committee, the School Program Team, and the NEASC Evaluation Steering Committee.

From 1984 to 1987, Mr. Curtin assumed the role of Dean of Students, establishing an administrative computer network for monitoring student academic progress, and planning and executing numerous curriculum and instructional improvements.

In 1987, Mr. Curtin became Acting Headmaster of Greenwich High School for one year before his appointment asAssistant Headmaster in 1988. In addition to his responsibilities as a Headmaster of an almost 2000 student school (Grades 10-12), he coordinated the planning for the grade reorganization in 1989-90 shifting GHS to a Grade 9-12 program.

He also implemented a more representative student government, integrated the computer as an instructional tool in various curriculum areas, and expanded the student services program.

As Assistant Headmaster over the next eleven years (1988-1999), Mr. Curtin provided leadership in curriculum and instruction, evaluated learning programs, created the master schedule, monitored academic progress, and prepared budget allocations.

He also coordinated the use of educational technology, supervised school safety programs,implemented a new grading system, expanded the computer network system, and coordinated and authored the application resulting in recognition of the high school from the US Department of Education for excellence in education.

In 1999, Mr. Curtin was promoted to the Central Office position of Coordinator for Research and Evaluation, supervising the administration of standardized testing, projectingstudentenrollment,analyzing and reporting testing results, and completingstateandfederal mandated reports.
As Assistant Superintendent from 2003 to 2009,

Mr. Curtin’s responsibilities included curriculum, instruction, and professional learning (CIPL), research and evaluation. In 2007 he assumed responsibility for District strategic planning and
the curriculum, instruction, and professional learning function was moved to a newly created Director position.

During this time, Mr. Curtin supervised the revision of the K-12 math and language arts curricula, created a data warehouse and data dashboard, and implemented a success system framework to measure progress toward improvement targets.

Mr. Curtin received his B.A. in American Civilization from Brown University, Providence, RI in 1973; his MAT in Social Studies form Colgate University, Hamilton, NY in 1975; and his Administrator Certification from Fairfield University, Fairfield, CT in 1984.

He completed coursework as a Doctoral Candidate in Educational Administration at Teachers
College, Columbia University, NY, NY from 1990-1992.

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