See the Norwich Bull article.
“Dawn Hooper, former president of the Greeneville Elementary Parent-Teacher Organization, said the discussion should have started before Norwich reached the point of closing schools.
‘It’s a little late,’ she said. ‘They knew this was going to happen with the budget. Then why were they not sitting down before now?’”
Comments under article:
“Make no mistake: discussions and decisions among the City of Norwich, Norwich Board of Education and the Norwich Free Academy are of vital importance at many levels, beyond educational and fiscal, for everyone, families with AND without children alike, living in Norwich. There must be an open and monitored process for exchanging views, developing strategies and implementing changes as needed for the benefit of all parties. We all know what happens when we try ‘private arrangements’ and should vow to not repeat our own history. ”
“NFA and the casinos have a lot in common. They both claim to do so much for the surrounding area, yet they wreak havoc that gets brushed aside because they are both sovereign nations. They deign to meet with our elected officials on their terms and the public learns nothing . Why the secret meeting? I thoroughly agree with Bill Kenny. Shine a light on this process. What percent of Norwich students become shining stars in the classroom, field, lab, studio,etc compared to the sending towns who aren’t held hostage to NFA’s tuition demands?”
“How many NFA graduates make the budget decisions in Norwich? How many decision makers in Norwich have children enrolled at NFA currently or in the past? NFA is virtually untouchable in that town because most of the town’s leadership has a tie to NFA and does not want to stand up to them. I know why building a high school is difficult for Norwich to do (the overwhelming upfront costs in my opinion), but at what point does the town look around at surrounding towns that have their own high schools and realize the cost per pupil will go down and produce long term savings?”
“to all commentors – you are absolutely correct. NFA has hidden behind its ‘private school’ status for far too long. While it is a wonderful school, it needs to participate in annual concessions and givebacks like the rest of Norwich’s eductional system… why should they be exempt? Who are the trustees to determine what the annual tuition cost to Norwich will be without considering the economy and the massive budget cuts to grades Kindergarten through grade 8 alone? NFA has tons of $$$$ through endowments and donations, so if they’re the private and sovereign school they claim to be when it suits their purpose, then why do they demand public funding at all? My children went there and weren’t even provided with bus service because we only lived 1.9 miles from NFA; not the required 2.0 that the powers that be deemed appropriate, despite the lack of sidewalks and if there were any, there were lumpy blocks of unshoveled ice during the winter months. Those in the public sector of Norwich have been taking wage freezes, furlough days, and making concessions for years … it’s time that NFA gets off of it’s high horse and show some empathy for the K – 8 population by doing do the same.”
“Something that may be interesting to note is that the state of Ct has nine ERG groups (education reference groups) that compare schools in similar groups based on a lot of factors including educational level of parents, socioeconomic status, family structure, etc. To compare, Avon is in erg A. Norwich students are in the 8th erg, H. Two of our sending schools are in the C erg and the others E and and G. I may be wrong, but this indicates to me that anything we can give our K-8 schools will improve their futures. If their families are not in a position to offer private lessons, camps, tutorials, and even enough healthy food for them to learn as they have the potential, how can these kids be adequately prepared for the ‘exceptional’ education that NFA supposedly has to offer? The kids who get into the honors programs for the most part have pretty privileged backgrounds and inside information on how to make their lives easier as they look towards their futures. I think the rules that NFA plays by are antiquated and that it’s time to stop clinging to the tradition and illusion that NFA is a priceless private pearl.”
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Last night, our dog Marley, got out of the house and is now missing. She was last seen sprinting up past the transfer station. If you should happen to see her, she is very friendly but a little skittish. Please call Bridget at 860-928-2006.
