Thousands of students will soon head back to school in Hartford, and they will be led by a new superintendent this year, Dr. Andrae Townsel.For weeks, we’ve been working on sitting down with the new superintendent. We’re now getting a chance to hear from him about his experience and the challenges facing the district.It was a wide-ranging interview, covering many of the issues that are top of mind for parents and teachers, but Townsel wasn’t always able to get into specifics.First, he talked about start...
Thousands of students will soon head back to school in Hartford, and they will be led by a new superintendent this year, Dr. Andrae Townsel.
For weeks, we’ve been working on sitting down with the new superintendent. We’re now getting a chance to hear from him about his experience and the challenges facing the district.
It was a wide-ranging interview, covering many of the issues that are top of mind for parents and teachers, but Townsel wasn’t always able to get into specifics.
First, he talked about starting as the new superintendent of Hartford Public Schools and his experience as a teacher, coach, principal and most recently a superintendent in Maryland.
“I'm most excited about watching Hartford rise, whether it is in student achievement, academics, athletics, the arts rise, leveling up,” Townsel said.
He was also asked about challenges facing the district, though some questions were not fully answered.
One issue was the recent budget which involved closing a $30-million deficit and some cuts to staffing and programs.
“I'm not prepped to share that live on the camera because I'm just learning. I mean, right now,” Townsel said. “Although I was announced July 1 and I think my first day was last Monday. So I'm literally on a tour learning and listening and talking to all community leaders and district leaders, to ultimately have, like you said, what's going to be the plan? That's what I'm developing now in my first 100 days.”
Amid teacher shortages, another concern is finding new educators and keeping them in the schools.
The district said teachers recently got a raise, as much as $10,000 for some.
“I had the opportunity to speak with the president of the University of Hartford and other stakeholders in addition to our mayor to talk about a grow your own pipeline, a possible partnership whereas we can incentivize people's choosing the field of education,” Townsel said.
In a statement, Hartford’s mayor wrote that Townsel has hit the ground running and they are working together to address the city’s most pressing educational challenges.