Author Archives: Mike Gocksch

Last fall, I sat in the auditorium of New Haven’s Cooperative Arts & Humanities High School as Mayor John Destefano Jr. took the stage alongside New Haven Federation of Teachers President David Cicarella, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, representatives from the U.S. Department of Education and legislators and educators from across the state. »

Last night the Board of Aldermen approved the new contract for New Haven teachers, representing the end of a well-run process, and a beginning for real school reform in the city. The contract, which teachers and the Board recently approved by an overwhelming majority, has attracted a great deal of attention on the national stage, »

Re: “In city schools, looks can be deceiving” (Oct. 6): As Assistant Superintendent Garth Harries pointed out during the discussion panel hosted by the Yale Democrats last Wednesday, “Education Reform in New Haven: The Next Phase,” the excellent physical condition of New Haven’s public schools testifies to the community’s investment in the education it provides »

“The true measure of any society is how it treats those who are most vulnerable.” This is the sort of clichéd rhetoric that politicians of every stripe appear happy to endorse. But if conservatives and liberals alike can agree on this principle, why is it that precisely when many Americans are most vulnerable — when »