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Tuesday, August 6, 2013

DOES ANYONE TAKE PRIDE IN HARTFORD?

Planter or trash container? Front Entrance of Hartford High
"Welcome to Hartford High School" Front Entrance Ramp
Has anyone noticed the shrubs are overgrown by the weeds?
 
 
Lately I have been receiving a lot of calls from parents who have children in Hartford's Schools as well  staff working at  school buildings. The description of the conditions in some of the schools is just saddening. With all of the new schools the City has built, it just seems that there is no concept of actually maintaining the buildings and grounds.

Parents have described the appalling conditions at buildings such as Milner School on Vine Street. The bathrooms are apparently filthy and many students refuse to even use them. Broken glass litters the grounds and cause unsafe conditions for children.

I recently drove around to several school buildings to see for myself.

The attached photos of Hartford High School on Forrest Street make me wonder how to expect children to take pride in their schools when the adults who enter the buildings everyday seem not to. Many of the pictures are within feet of the main entrances and parking lots . Hartford High does not just have one principal, they have three.

I find it hard to believe not one of them has noticed that the weeds are taller than the shrubs. Not one of them has noticed that the "Hartford's Rising Star" planters adorning the front entrance have become trash receptacles rather than planters.

This sends a terrible message to both students and parents as to the education of children and how if we can't even take pride in the buildings, how can we actually think educators will take pride in the education of Hartford's Children.

Finally, in the picture below, Hartford High has been posted in the past week for towing for "trespass tows". I have to ask why and what was the process for selecting the vendor? Did it go out to bid and did they really have to select a West Hartford Company? Are there no predatory towers in Hartford willing to grab the cars of residents that happen to park on school grounds. Grounds that there taxes actually pay for.

Why should a resident that has their car towed for parking on school property on a weekend or any other time when school is not in session have to find a ride to West Hartford to get their car back. Plenty of tow companies operate out of Hartford. It is bad enough that the Board of Education would tow in the first place, but lets find a company that is actually local and pays taxes in Hartford.

13 comments:

Unknown said...

I was a student in both Hartford High and Bulkeley High and let me tell you, the standards in those schools are abhorrent. Both had lousy, condescending faculty. Fights broke out like clockwork. Students would set fire to garbage cans. Most aggravating were the teachers that approached inner city teaching like some perverse reenactment of Freedom Writers or Stand and Deliver. This was at the height of "No Child Left Behind" so classes were test-based and regimented.

In Bulkeley, the restrooms had sewage pooling on the floor and the stalls were unusable. It was evident kids would go in there and destroy as much as they could. These restrooms were adjacent to the cafeteria, no less. Spitting on the floor was ubiquitous.

There is no order in public education. It's a stopgap between childhood and a minimum wage job.

Anonymous said...

HARTFORD HAS IT alright.... Great slogan, can explain a lot!!!!

Hartford has it........

Anonymous said...

Born and raised in Hartford, and some 50 some years later, it's the same old story time after time, excuses after excuses, when younger the City use to say "It's the summer " no need to get excited about the school grounds to get cut now, it will when school starts up again in the fall, the parks were the same way, and the same excuses, then they started coming up with stories about budget cuts....I believe the residents, well some of them, the ones that have paid there taxes over the years, I believe they do care and take pride in Hartford, but it's a loosing battle with the people who sit in the City office, and with the people who live and rent in Hartford, who don't pay any taxes, but like to reek the benefits.

Anonymous said...

Is anyone really surprised? The schools just reflect the conditions of the rest of the city. I believe the majority of the people who live in the city are good people. hard working, tax paying, law abiding people. The problem is that there are just too many that treat it like a sewer. It's used as a dumping ground.. For trash, criminals, the mentally ill, sex offenders, ect.

Anonymous said...

About 2 weeks ago, someone was shot to death in the parking lot of the Milner and the parents are worried about the plants not being trimmed??

KEVIN BROOKMAN said...

The shooting was an isolated incident, and I am sure parents are concerned, but filthy bathrooms in the school are not isolated, it is an everyday problem that affects their children

Anonymous said...


Our Hartford schools grounds are not being taken care of; the mices are moving inside. Just last week, my son came home horrified that they were mices in the rest room next to the cafeteria at the Kennelly School. No one seem to be making an issue about it. I want to know what is the City of Hartford doing about it. It's unbelievable that this problem is being kept hush hush. The school year, starts on August 27th. Why isn't the health department investigating these issues.

Anonymous said...

Yo brockman,
Ask ur pal medina about this nonsense ..

KEVIN BROOKMAN said...

Maybe if they got rid of Medina . They could hire a landscaper

Anonymous said...

I have a kid in Hartford Public Schools and his school is very clean - I would suggest you specifically name the ones that are deplorable and for once try and give credit or praise to the ones that are doing a good job. Also, The principal names need to printed next to the picture of neglected areas and maybe the principal has more pride in thier name than they have in their school and this situation can change. I believe that for Hartfore to do significantly better it will start with our education system. I hope the Mayor and BOE get it right this time when they choose superintendent.

Anonymous said...

To the last commentor, are you nuts? Education is started by the parents at home. I work at htfd high and let me tell you. These kids come in and dont want to learn. It takes me 20 minutes just to force them into my classroom. It starts with the parents. I have become a glorified baby sitter. It is my job to educate, not raise your kids. The school has been destroyed by the students , not the staff. We have to basically lock bathrooms so no one over flows the toliets. These kids have no respect and expect to be handed 100 k jobs. The parents lack of raising has impacted my ability to prepare these kids for future endeavers ..

Anonymous said...

As a staff member at the location shown above, it is a disgrace that staff in charge of maintaining the outside premises are allowed to ignore it. Everything lil thing goes unnoticed which does send the wrong message. Its a shame that more is not done



Anonymous said...

West hartford auto center does not have nor did they ever have legal authorization to tow any cars off of any high school in the entire state of ct they are a shady company owned and operated by a heroin addict he is accustomed to paying property owners and managers bribes to get a false authorization to tow i suggest you escalate your complaint about the towing procedures they have in effect at this school make a formal complain with hartford police with major crimes division its 3rd degree larceny to tow without legal authorization