DHS has decided to branch off into another building. It is called the Career Academy. When it was announced, people had a lot of questions and no answers. Many parents were concerned about how their kids would be split up and educated in this new school. To soothe the audience’s nerves, the Hatters’ Herald has committed to an interview with Mr. Donovan, and he was asked the most common questions.
First, it was the funding, which got him very confused until Assistant Principal Mr. Marrero said, “The state of Connecticut… is paying for a majority of it, especially the Cartus building. I don’t know if they’re paying 80%; I think that was the number. Then we have to come up with 20%. So, that’s for the new building. In terms of that, there’s going to be 2 academies over there, so about 1,000 kids. In terms of academies that are going to be here, that’s all going to be within our budget. So, you know, our city budget, and then you know the budget that we get through the district, that the district proposes to the city, and the city has to accept it.”
“The bussing cost is in our district budget,” Mr. Marrero added. The selection process, however, was a major question because it has to factor in what is taught and where one would go to school. “The selection process for the academies is: you’re going to go in and rank all 19 pathways of what you want. Then we can see that one is not getting enough people and go from there,” stated Principal Donovan. When it comes to high school academic accomplishments, there are not going to be multiple valedictorians, since both buildings will be considered sections of ‘Danbury High School,’ but Academy Directors may have their own rewards. “We all go to the same prom and no two BOGs,” Donovan added. If there were not different academic accomplishments, then that means teachers would be taught the same. Mr. Donovan said there was “…not that much training involved. They’re in PLCs, run when they have one of their blocks. They were surveyed last year in what academy they wanted to go in. Your English class is going to be tailored toward law. When you’re studying American Literature, you’ll study something with a law view on it. The way you’re doing it stays the same, but the content is geared to your academy,” Donovan added.
AP students are confused about how that would work according to AP curriculums. “Well, if it fits into your schedule, you could go. AP classes are what loads first. To me, AP classes are very important, but there’s not a lot of them. Teachers can travel. My goal is to never do that. It’s tough on the teacher. The bus ride is 11 minutes between buildings.” Hearing all this talk of new schools without mentioning the shortage of teachers/ bus drivers there are and how we will compensate for that is confusing. Donovan agreed, “Right now, it’s a big concern. It’s impacting this year. Teachers are paid to take a 6th class. The pressure that puts on the teacher… what kind of feedback are they providing, [and how] will they be planning what they’re doing? I was just put on a task force for the state to look into this. They need to do a better job looking into the universities and bringing [student teachers] in. We’re going to need not a whole building’s worth [of student teachers], but… a big jump in two years.”
As the school system continues to evolve, ongoing communication and proactive measures will be vital to address the staffing and operational challenges. The Hatters’ Herald will remain committed to keeping the community informed about developments in this transformative journey.
