If you’ve been wondering why teachers and administrators have been scrambling to improve the school in the last year, it is because Stamford High was up for re-accreditation by NEASC, or the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. The good news is that we passed, but seemingly by the skin of our teeth. The lengthy 70-page report covers nearly every aspect of the school, but repeatedly brings up a few of the same overarching issues: good ideas for improvement but poor execution, discrepancy between surveys/administrative reports and reality, and a general lack of funding and organization.

Stamford High is an extremely diverse community. Nearly 44% of students are eligible for free lunch and just 60% report English as their home language. That being said, it is difficult to create a perfect educational system. Within the last year, Stamford High has emphasized their new 21^st Century Learning Expectations, a collection of academic, civic, and social guidelines. While these guidelines were no doubt a good way to organize the school’s goals, the Stamford Board of Ed was not involved in creating the ideals and “has little awareness of how these foundational documents drive decision-making at the school,” according to the report.  Moreover, there is a “substantial lack of resources supporting measureable learning goals,” meaning that there is really no way to ensure that these goals are being properly executed. Required civics and health classes are currently measuring civic and social engagement, respectively.  In a similar sense, connection time, as many students at SHS already know, is “not always utilized in a meaningful way.” In an ideal world, teachers would be able to help students with whatever problems they are dealing with, but a lack of teacher training and little to no guidelines have often made connection time seem like no more than a 20 minute nap.

Regarding curriculum, the observational committee noticed that where curriculum exists, there is evidence that teachers follow it closely, but for the most part most subject areas do not have a completely written down and standardized curriculum. Only 28% of faculty responded that there is a common formal curriculum, and less than 50% agreed that it “provides students with opportunities to practice and achieve each of the school’s learning expectations,” tying back to the idea that the 21^st century learning expectations are not well implemented. Just 28 percent of the faculty responded that there is a common formal curriculum template used in all subject areas, and curriculum is especially lacking in elective courses. On the plus side, the committee commented on the abundance of AP courses and ECE availability. Science and English courses have shown adequate analysis and real-world application, and teachers are expected to “improve with time and resources.” In general, however, there is a lack of resources, including functioning lab materials and money for textbooks.

Despite teachers’ claims that they tailor their lesson plans to the individual student, the report found that “classroom visits and student interviews did not indicate that personalized instruction is a common practice.” Moreover, only 28% of students responded that teachers make lessons fun and exciting for them. Almost all (97%) of teachers say they allow for revision of work whenever it is needed, but little evidence of that was provided. Again, teachers expressed frustration with a lack of training, especially regarding classroom technology. Resources, training, and funding appear to be problems in nearly every academic aspect of the school.

According to the Endicott survey that was administered in 2013, many students felt vulnerable within the school premises. Regardless of the changes that were established to reduce the risk of outside threats to the school, the real threat still lays within the walls of the school and the leaders that are supposed to reassure the pupils. Along with not feeling safe, students also reported feeling disrespected by other peers, and even that certain individuals were receiving different types of punishments depending on the administrator they were reported to; they felt as if there are different set of rules and standards for different students who seemed to have better relationships with certain adults in the building.

According to the survey, students also felt that the teachers did not truly show concern for their learning. However, the report emphasized that the issues that surround the weak connections between student and teacher are a lack of leadership shown by the school board, superintendent, and principal, along with the disparity between core and non-core classes. Parents, students, and teachers feel as if they have limited power of control or ownership that would correspond with sufficient and useful decision making.

Due to the cuts of the refined arts and other curricular classes, class sizes have swelled, limiting the interaction between individual students and teachers. These budget cuts not only have affected the number of electives that are available to students, but the number of certified personnel and support have also decreased over the years. ELL and special needs staff have found themselves struggling after the elimination of lower level classes that would meet the standards of those not ready for college preparatory classes, and because of these extremities, the students within these specialized programs that are meant to aid them do not receive the support they need. That includes the staff’s inability to accompany the students to their newly integrated classes with other peers who have a better grasp of the material or task at hand; this is not limited to just the elimination of essential classes, but also to the department being understaffed and the increased numbers of students who are entering these programs each year.

The school being understaffed not only impacts the one-one-one discussions with teacher or adult and students, but also the management of budget and the intake of funds. And where is the funding, you might ask? The city of Stamford is the main contributor to the funding of not only Stamford High School, but all the schools within the district, so it does become constricted when one school is in need of more funding than the other. There are also private funds being donated by individuals, and these individuals not only donate to the school as a whole but sometimes to certain departments. However, these funds are inconsistent and unstable, causing trouble each year if a certain amount is not reached. The budget goes toward faculty, programs, and building management, which the report claims is also lacking. This includes old furniture, dangerous and broken windows, and outdated technology that limits the available tools that should be available to students and staff, but are not.

What countermeasures are being taken? Faculty took it into their own hands (along with the support of current administration) to add more support for the students and to increase the pride of Stamford High. Study halls were looked down upon, and students were seen roaming the hallways more than receiving any help, so Connection Time was added to the agenda in order for teachers and students to interact more frequently. Though it is currently in its early stages, Connection Times have smaller classes so that there can be more of a one-on-one connection with an individual to ensure their needs are sufficiently met. The school has also begun to emphasize the proud moments of students through the D.R.E.A.M awards, which award students’determination, respect, acceptance of responsibility, excellence, and making good decisions. Students are nominated each month by either other peers or teachers.

The Athletic Student Council has also been added to arrange pride-oriented events to emphasize the important of integrating their peers. This has also decreased the number of student absences over the time period. Another event that has proven successful is the Pink Out, in which the school raises money to donate to cancer research/facilities or to give a helping hand to a cancer patient within the community. Through this event, students are also encouraged to wear pink shirts throughout the whole day and to school sporting events to unite the student body.

Discipline procedures have also been restructured to remove students from roaming the hallways, prevent future incidents within classrooms, and fairly treat each individual with a punishment that corresponds to the crime. Future changes will include the change of classroom locations for incoming freshman students in order to partly address the issue of overcrowded hallways. Many students stated that they are fine with the new schedule; however, the five minutes given to get to their next classroom is an insufficient amount of time and many arrive tardy due cluttered hallways, specifically the corridor that connects the fifth and seventh floors. Lunch waves will also be re-evaluated.

We cannot overlook any of these issues addressed through the extensive report written by NEASC. It will take time to slowly but surely improve and reach where we need to be as whole. But one thing is for certain: the students seem to be positive overall within the school, and are proud of  school’s diversity – a great strength.