Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

Wright Tech likely to reopen

  • by Robert A. Frahm
  • June 3, 2010
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

A new curriculum, better support from local school officials, and the promise of a remodeled building should give Stamford’s troubled J.M. Wright Technical High School the boost it needs to re-open by 2014, a new report says.

State officials closed the school last year because of plummeting enrollment, but a report to the State Board of Education Wednesday said that a restructured school, including a proposed $85 million building renovation, would spark new interest among students.

“I believe when we open the school, the students will come,” state board member Beverly Bobroske said as the board reviewed a report from an ad hoc committee appointed in December.

Wright’s closing angered Stamford legislators and other supporters, but state education officials said they could no longer run a school where costs had reached $27,000 per student as enrollment dipped below 140, a record low.

Wright Tech was one of 18 technical high schools operated by the state, but over the years its reputation had slipped. Test scores were low and suspension rates high. The school lost some of its best teachers and had a shaky relationship with other schools in the region. Efforts to shore up academics and improve programs did little to bolster enrollment.

Wednesday’s report, however, included an enrollment study predicting that there is sufficient demand in Stamford, Norwalk and other towns in the region to draw up to 500 students to a revitalized school.

“No evidence is found to suggest that the decline in enrollment is due to anything other than a marked decline in the quality of the school itself between 2002 and 2008,” said a study by Thomas J. Cooke, director of the University of Connecticut Center for Population Research.

“If you put a good school in Stamford . . . you’re going to get high enrollment,” Cooke told the state board.

Patricia Ciccone, superintendent of the Connecticut Technical High School System, said the relationship between Wright Tech and local school officials has improved — a key factor in recruiting new students who are interested in technical trades.

Stamford Superintendent of Schools Joshua Starr told the state board, “We are in desperate need of a strong technical high school in the Fairfield County area. We are unable to provide those services in the Stamford Public Schools.”

The ad hoc committee’s report included a review of labor market conditions in the Stamford region, citing factors such as 25 percent population growth over the past 30 years and a projected 50 percent growth in housing units between 1980 and 2015.

“Wright Tech is very near and dear to the business community’s heart in Stamford, and it’s very critical to the economy,” said Jack Condlin, president and CEO of the Stamford Chamber of Commerce, who was chairman of the ad hoc committee.

The state board is expected to vote in July on the committee’s recommendation to re-open the school. Officials hope a newly restructured school can draw enough students to operate the school efficiently, but not everyone is convinced.

“I don’t think it’s a foregone conclusion [the school] will succeed, but I hope it will,” said Allan Taylor, chairman of the state board. “I’m going to vote for it.”

The committee recommended re-opening Wright Tech as a traditional four-year technical high school instead of choosing options such as a two-year program or a model featuring a mixture of high school and college courses, Taylor said.

“My personal belief is that [traditional model] is the most difficult of possible models to get fully enrolled.” Nevertheless, he said, “I’m confident the board will approve it.”

The proposal calls for the school to re-open with ninth-graders in 2014, adding one new class each year until it includes grades nine through 12 by 2017. The school would offer training in eight trades: culinary arts; tourism-hospitality, plumbing and heating, electrical, carpentry, automotive technology, facilities management, and health technology.

With possible enrollment increases, the school could add training in two other areas: Early care in education and media production, the committee said.

The legislature has approved construction projects for several of the state’s technical high schools, but the state Bond Commission has not yet released construction funds for some, including Wright Tech.

In Wednesday’s report, the committee recommends an environmentally efficient building renovation that uses “green technology” such as solar panels to generate electricity. The energy system also would be used as “a significant part of the educational curriculum” in the electrical and facilities management trade programs, the report said.

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Robert A. Frahm

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
More than 300 teachers vaccinated at Southbury clinic; State says older residents should come first
by Dave Altimari

Some teachers are getting vaccinated while the state is trying to get the COVID-19 vaccine out to older residents first.

Joe Biden takes office: ‘At this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed.’
by Mark Pazniokas

America took a deep breath and watched Joe Biden uneventfully inaugurated outside a Capitol invaded two weeks ago by rioters.

Lamont to lead NGA task force on pandemic response
by Mark Pazniokas

Gov. Ned Lamont will co-chair a National Governors Association task force on pandemic and disaster response.

Lamont sets the stage for a debate on marijuana taxation by mid-2022
by Keith M. Phaneuf

The governor's draft bill proposes taxing marijuana and erasing convictions for possession that occurred prior to Oct. 1, 2015.

In the grip of a pandemic: What would Dr. King say?
by Suzanne Lagarde MD

No one can dispute that we are in the midst of a history making week —the inauguration of a new President and the departure of a President under the cloud of accusations that he incited an insurrection against American democracy. However, the coming week will prove to be a week like no other in American history for more reasons than what is happening in our country’s capital.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion In the grip of a pandemic: What would Dr. King say?
by Suzanne Lagarde MD

No one can dispute that we are in the midst of a history making week —the inauguration of a new President and the departure of a President under the cloud of accusations that he incited an insurrection against American democracy. However, the coming week will prove to be a week like no other in American history for more reasons than what is happening in our country’s capital.

Opinion Connecticut’s broad access to internet making at-home work more doable
by Timothy Wilkerson

When it comes to ranking public access to broadband networks, Connecticut has been consistently among the top five U.S. states for over a decade. In 2020, Connecticut topped two lists including best broadband access by BroadbandNow and WalletHub recognized the state as No. 1 in internet access to households as part of their Best States for Working from Home report.

Opinion The elephant in the Metro-North station
by David Moyer

All over the world, businesses are discussing their revised needs for space as a result of the pandemic. White-collar professionals who have successfully adapted to working from home will have, when they do go to their companies’ offices, fewer of them, with less square footage. Exactly how much is still a matter of debate since the post-pandemic habits of and requirements for in-person face time are still in flux. One thing’s for certain. It isn’t going to increase.

Opinion Separating myth and reality in aid in dying
by Lisa Blumberg

The virus is surging and the death rate is increasing as the already overburdened health system is in crisis. Yet, there is talk of the legislature again considering a bill to permit doctors to provide lethal prescriptions to terminally ill adults requesting them. This is despite the fact that such bills have stalled in committee five times in the past and due to the pandemic, the legislature may meet virtually for much of the upcoming session. Proponents will be talking about choice and compassion. Let’s separate rhetoric from reality.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO