As the 2023-2024 school year quickly draws to a close, I wanted to express my deep gratitude for your dedication, hard work, and unwavering commitment to Hartford Public Schools. I understand that this has been a challenging year, but as I reflect on the past 9 months, I am reminded of the many times I was filled with hope, joy, and pride at all we have accomplished together. I’d like to use this opportunity to celebrate our collective successes.
At the beginning of this school year, I challenged our staff to dare to innovate. I recognized that in our ever-changing world, we needed to adapt and think differently to prepare our students for the future. They delivered, finding new ways to engage students, challenge traditional thinking and reimagine what the classroom experience looks and feels like. We did that through our first cohort of our Innovation Network and through a new collaborative process to support schools with School Empowerment Teams (SET).
We also expanded our efforts to re-engage students and connect them to school, from the new RTX Engineering Lab for students in the Engineering and Green Technology Pathway at Hartford Public High School, to an expanded athletics program in our middle schools and high schools. In 2020, we had no middle school sports and now we have 100 middle school teams across 3 seasons! I’m proud to say we also have 139 varsity teams in our high schools and added a girls flag football program this spring. We saw students using their voice to advocate for change, like the students in the Social Justice Club at University High who inspired a bill that passed the state legislature to offer free city bus passes to Hartford students. Other students, hearing the need for more funding, testified in front of city and state lawmakers to express their support for bills that would benefit our district. Their voices matter; the state and city heard their concerns and provided additional funding to our district.
I’m extremely proud of the Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council students, who this year began sitting alongside our Board of Education members at regular meetings to ensure the needs of their peers were heard. I also want to shout out one of our younger advocates, Alexa Adgers from Renzulli, who was a finalist for the CT Kid Governor and is currently sitting in the Kid Governor cabinet!
We saw the impact of improving student engagement in our attendance and academics. Chronic absenteeism, while not quite at our goal, has improved, proving that we’re on the right track. Our graduation rate has improved to over 78%, which is the highest rate for Hartford Public Schools in well over a decade. We have 105 Hartford Promise scholars in the Class of 2024, who are now poised to pursue post-secondary success. And 209 HPS students earned the Seal of Biliteracy in 16 different languages, our highest total ever. All a testament to the talent of our students and the dedication of our incredible staff and teachers. I’m grateful for the work our schools have done to connect with families to provide additional academic support at home. Our family literacy sessions provided crucial at-home tools and resources to help our youngest learners improve their reading while our partnership with Hartford Parent University, Hill for Literacy, and Literacy How offered insight into the new ELA curriculum and the science of reading.
Your efforts this school year have been successful - and I’m not the only one taking notice. Four of our schools have been named Merit Schools of Distinction by Magnet Schools of America. Hartford Public Schools earned a Best Communities in Music Award for the third year in a row. Three of our Career Pathways have reached the Distinguished Level from the NAF Network.
And we have the best teachers in the state of Connecticut. In fact, we have some of the best teachers in the nation, like Ms. Lisa Liptak from Annie Fisher STEM! She is a finalist for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) for K-6 Math, the nation’s highest honor for math and science teaching. We also have educators like Yasmin Ithier-Vincenty, a 2nd grade teacher at West Middle School who was recently named our 2024 Teacher of the Year and was inspired to become a teacher by her mother, the 2024 Teacher of the Year nominee from Naylor.
As we look ahead to 2024-2025, we will build on the foundation we created, focusing on the two priorities that have proven to be important and effective: Student Connection to School and High Quality Instruction.
I am incredibly proud of the positive and supportive learning environment you have created for our students. I am confident that by continuing to work together, we will ensure that all of our students reach their full potential.
Thank you for your continued partnership. Have a safe, restful, and joyful summer, and I’ll see you in August!
Dr. Leslie Torres-Rodriguez
Superintendent
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