Wright Tech A meeting was held on March 20 at Norwalk Community College to review a proposal to reconfigure Wright Tech as a Middle College under the direction of the Community College. The meeting was very well attended by legislators, the Lt. Governor Mike Fedele, the leadership of the CTHSS, the SVFT, and Stamford area community leaders. A follow-up meeting was held on March 26 to review the plan with Education Commissioner Mark McQuillan. Dr. David Levinson, President of Norwalk Community College will present the plan to the V-T subcommittee on April 9 and to the full State Board of Education at their May meeting. The SVFT, along with the AFT and the AFT-CT, favors the Compact School process for the reconfiguration.
Outreach Efforts- As reported earlier, Pat and Rick met with Commissioner of Labor Patricia Mayfield on March 26. This was a very productive meeting. One of the results was an invitation to attend a breakfast at the L.O.B. to recognize the Apprentice Programs across the state. Bob Bullard and John Kraigenow attended the breakfast and will report on it at the April Outreach Committee meeting.
CONN-QUEST 08 The AFT-CT equivalent of AFTs QUest took place on Saturday, March 29. Several members attended as well as President Rick Tanasi. Education Commissioner Mark McQuillan was the keynote speaker and he addressed his vision for high school reform in Connecticut. Rick and AFT-CT President Sharon Palmer met with the commissioner following the event to discuss the high school reform initiative as well as the proposal for the reconfiguration of Wright Tech
School Visits The schedule for spring school visits is complete and letters of notification are being mailed to all principals as well as building representatives. Building representatives are being asked to schedule a union meeting on the day of the visit. The SVFT officers will arrive in each building on or close to 1:00 p.m. and visit with teachers who may be free and have individual issues to discuss, at the close of school the officers will attend a union meeting in each school.
Scholarship Applications Available -The applications for the nine (9) students and the teacher grant(s) are available on the SVFT web site. Deadline for completed applications is May 15, 2008
Teachers Of The Year have been selected in each school. The applications for CTHSS T.O.Y. have been sent by Central Office to each T.O.Y. The SVFT Teacher of the Year Committee has scheduled a banquet to honor each teacher of the year. This will take place on April 24 at the Hawthorne Inn.