RSSIt’s so easy…I could do it on my head!
Jun 28
Bridgeport, Paul Vallas, Stefan Pryor, Steven Adamowski, Windham Paul Vallas, Stefan Pryor, Steven Adamowski 14 Comments
Can you believe we used to think that a superintendent’s job was really time-consuming and difficult
I certainly did.
Superintendents were responsible for overseeing the district’s schools, administrators and teachers, while managing the local board of education and serving as the champion for public education.
Certainly no reason to begrudge them their big salaries…
But now I realize I was way off base.
Why?
Because now we’ve got Paul Vallas, who for $229,000, is “transforming” Bridgeport’s schools, running a $1 million contract to turnaround schools in Illinois and leading a new partnership to sell “The Vallas Model” to school districts across the country.
And then there is Steven Adamowski, who is not only saving Windham’s Schools, but has now been given the responsibility to revolutionize the quality of education in New London. Even more impressive, he will do both jobs, at the same time, and for no additional cost. Better yet, Adamowski only costs taxpayers $225,000 a year, $4,000 less than Vallas. (Although he really wants those Hartford years added to his State Teacher Retirement Pension).
Yesterday, Stefan Pryor added the title “Special Master for New London” to Adamowski’s existing role as “Special Master for Windham.”
According to Pryor, as reported in the CTMirror, “Steve has exhibited all of the qualities … that we need…He has a long track record here… He’s demonstrated the ability to wield the authority of special master wisely.”
Wield the authority of Special Master?
70 percent of Windham students are minority, 60 percent of Windham’s students are Latino and more than a third of the students aren’t fluent in English. In addition, about 16 percent of the students receive special education services, nearly 50 percent more than most towns.
So what did Adamowski do when he arrived?
Of the first dozen teachers he laid off, three (3) were bi-lingual or English as a Second Language teachers and three (3) were special education teachers.
But he did order that the high school be called an academy, went from one principal to two headmasters, created the position of “Special Administrative Manager (SAM)” whose job it will be to oversee Windham’s high school and added a couple of “Dean of Students.”
These two, Vallas and Adamowski, are so good that not only can they hold down multiple jobs at one time, but they’ve managed to convince Connecticut taxpayers to pay them even more than the Chancellor of the New York School System is making at his one job.
