001Good evening. Can I get a thumbs up, Stan? Am I good to go? Yes, ma'am. Excellent. All right. Good evening. As chairperson of the Hartford Board of Education, I hereby call to order the July 1st, 2025 special meeting to order. I wish to extend a warm welcome to everyone present and to our television viewers. The board and I are pleased that you have joined us tonight as we vote to appoint the next superintendent of Hartford Public Schools. This is a special meeting and the item that will be voted on this evening has been posted as required by state law. This special meeting of the board is open to the public. As this is not a regular meeting, there will be no public comment at this this evening. Decor and courtesy are important elements in effective
002public meetings. Please silence your cell phones or communication devices and refrain from talking while others are speaking. Since it is legally mandated that proceedings be accurately recorded, I may have to ask for order periodically should noise begin to interfere with our recording capabilities. I am pleased that you have taken this time to join us this evening. We are very proud of the school system and thank you for your interest in Hartford Public Schools. This will now be read in Spanish. Foreford. [Music] Extraordinary. [Music] Thank you. We will now move on to the business agenda. Item 2.1, appointment of the Hartford Public School Superintendent, adored. Motion that the Hartford Board of Education hereby elects Dr. Andre Townsel to the office of Hartford Superintendent of Schools pursuant to the provision of the Connecticut General Statute Section 10-157.
003and further resolve that the board of education further authorizes chairperson Hockenhal to negotiate and execute an employment contract with the new superintendent of schools on behalf of the board to include the beginning date and term of office. Do I have a motion? So move. Second. Thank you. Uh tonight we will be taking action on the appointment of the next superintendent of Hartford Public Schools. As a recap of the process, the board engaged an outside search firm in early spring 2025 in order to keep this process confidential and professional at all times. The firm assisted with gathering unfiltered feedback from the community at large that was shared with the board, which allowed for many highly qualified candidates to express interest in serving Hartford public schools. We heard our community's voice through many different avenues. We received
004input in a variety of ways, including 700 surveys, uh 30 virtual and in-person meetings with an estimated 86 stakeholders for focus groups and one-on-one meetings. We hosted three town hall meetings and we had countless conversations with the community through our board members. The information was gathered, summarized, and used to construct a leadership profile. This leadership profile is a comprehensive list of important qualifications that the board used while reviewing applicants information. Each applicant submitted a letter of intent, resume, letters of recommendation, college transcripts, and a four question video interview. Our search firm reviewed all 40 candidates and recommended their top eight candidates in two tiers for our review. The board also chose to review several individuals who did not make the top two tiers but who were from the district because the applications included video responses.
005The application process was quite similar to a first round interview. While we have heard that those not on the board were not able to participate and have a voice, I would like to emphasize that this is a board of nine members who truly represent the Hartford community. As a board, we are current teachers and former Hartford Public School teachers, close family members of current and former HPS, sorry, HPS staff, parents of current and graduated HPS students, members of the LGBTQ plus community, community leaders and activists, Hartford natives, parents of students with special needs, immigrants, graduates of HPS, children of trade workers, and we are diverse in our professional careers. We have lawyers, project managers, community activists, municipal government leaders, nonprofit leaders, and teachers, just to name a few. And we res represent many other groups
006not listed here. The board is incredibly diverse in both personal and professional experiences. We are all very committed to the work at hand and to serving our Hartford Public Schools community. We hope this is clear during our board meetings and when you speak with us oneon-one. This work is incredibly important and difficult and we have not taken the superintendent search lightly. We are proud of the work we have done in order to recruit the talented individuals who applied for this role. The fact that there were 40 individuals ready and willing to serve this community says so much about the incredible and challenging work ahead for our next leader. Tonight, our board is here to vote on the appointment of Dr. Andre Townsel as our next superintendent. Dr. Andre Townsel was born and raised in the
007beautiful city of Detroit, Michigan. As a student athlete at Cass Technical High School and a graduate of Detroit public schools, he earned a football scholarship to Howard University in Washington DC, a path that ultimately led him to earn a bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree from the esteemed institution. Dr. Townsel began his educational journey in the District of Columbia and has since held nearly every position in the K12 education system, including student teacher, teacher, head coach, assistant dean, dean of students, central office specialist, assistant principal, principal, assistant superintendent, and now a highly effective superintendent. His well-rounded experience combined with a deep commitment to educational excellence and student success has made him a respective and transformal sorry transformational leader in every district he has served. Currently serving as superintendent of Calbertt County Public Schools in Maryland, Dr.
008Townsel has been recognized for exceeding expectations and leadership, elevating the district's ranking from the to the fourth best in the state. He was unanimously elected president of the public school superintendent association of Maryland for the 24-25 school year. Known for his bold vision, student centered leadership and signature motto, set the bar, meet the bar, exceed the bar, raise the bar, Dr. Townsel brings passion, innovation, and results to every school community he leads. Before we move to vote on this motion, I will go around the table to see if any of my fellow board members would like to say a few words. Uh I'll start with Miss Brody. Good evening. Um I don't have much to say. Um just that um I'm delighted um that we all agreed um on Dr. Townsel. Um I believe for
009the first time in a long time um store will be reho re like hope will be restored I'm sorry um to not only our families our students um to our staff and just to our city um in general. Um, I know that now, um, some of the things that we all dreamed about, um, for years, possibly even I can probably say decades, that we I'm confident that we will accomplish um, under um, his leadership. Um, I think um, that we will be delighted, we will be enthused. um we will all have the desire um to work together um to partner in the work um but keeping students at the center um that was what was most attractive to me that students are at the center. Um so I'm just excited about our vote tonight. Thanks
010Miss Broy and Mr. Wilson. Um I would just um echo um what board member Broady has has said um and I would offer up to the community um this is a huge opportunity um to steer the ship in the right direction. Um, so I would hope that everyone um keeps an open mind and is willing to roll up their sleeves and get to work in support of like M. Brody said having the students first and um trying to get this um get this uh district in the right headed in the right direction. So that's all I can say. Thanks Mr. Wilson. Mast ledger. I want to say welcome to Hartford Public Schools. Um, I'm excited because I have my own motto of you can't be what you can't see. And children will see someone who
011a lot of children in the community in the Harford public schools will see someone who looks like them that they can someone that they can possibly relate to. Um I in looking at his in Dr. Townsel's resume, his credentials. Um he has served pretty much in just about every capacity um with regards to from teacher to administrator to principal to assistant superintendent, I believe superintendent, but he has served in many of the roles that we as a board will be voting on with regards to contracts. So he has a frame of reference. He can relate. It's relatable. And there is that cultural competency that that I'm able to see. So I'm very confident that we are taking a step in the right direction. So welcome to Hartford. Thanks Mel. Mr. Mills. Hello everybody. It is
012I. Um, I just want to say that, uh, this was an exhaustive and comprehensive process. Um, I firmly believe we have the most qualified candidate. Um, I'm excited for him. I'm excited for us. I'm excited for the staff. U, most importantly, I'm excited for all of our students. Um, you know, he he has worked in every single uh, level of the school system. So, everybody who said that they wanted a teacher, we got a teacher. Everybody who said that they wanted somebody with principal experience, we have a principal. Um, you know, he was clearly an athlete, so that's cool. Um, so I'm excited for what that means for our our athletic program. Um, you know, and during the interview process, I asked a question about libraries because I care about libraries and books and he
013seemed really supportive about that as well. So, um, you know, I'm excited and I'm excited for you all to meet him as well. Thank you. Thanks, Mr. Mills. Miss Fortune. Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh, today is an exciting day for Hartford Public Schools. Um, I've had the honor and privilege of serving on this board for a year now. My two older children have only ever attended Hartford public schools and my youngest will start prek3 in the same school as her siblings. It is my hope that all three of my children will graduate from Hartford public schools. So my legal obligation as a board member and my personal interest in ensuring my own children receive a superb public education are aligned. What has struck me the most during my tenure on this board is that not
014every Hartford student gets the same educational experience in the classroom. I've listened to a mother testify in front of us to say her child was going to school without a science, math, English, and STEM teacher. Another mother said her child with Down syndrome was receiving critical services virtually, a method of delivery that did not meet her daughter's needs. I've also listened to our own students testifi testify. A recent graduate from HMCCA who will be attending Yale in the fall. Elementary students from Noah Webster who waited hours to testify at a city council budget hearing to advocate for more funding for Hartford public schools. High school seniors who share their capstones about the disparities and inequities in our education system nationwide, including here in Hartford. I've listened to teachers within our schools who beg for more
015resources for their classrooms and who come here to tell us the hard truths. I've also seen teachers and principles celebrate major wins with their students for their academic and artistic achievements. All of those stories, the community's input, as our board chair has so eloquently stated, and my deep belief in public education for all children have informed my vote tonight. There's an old saying that says, "A mother is only as happy as her unhappiest child." Well, as a board member, I will only be happy when the students who are the hardest to teach also receive the quality education they deserve. My hope is that the appointment of Dr. Townsel tonight will reinvigorate and re-energize Hartford Public Schools. However, a new superintendent alone cannot fix everything. There are structural and systemic issues that run deep. After this
016vote, we must continue as a community to work hard to advocate to tell hard truths and celebrate our wins, our students wins along the way until every child in Hartford Public School gets the education that child deserves. Thank you, Miss Fortune, Mrs. Strata Perez. Thank you. Thank you. And thank you for sharing those board member fortune. That was beautifully put. And I think part of what I wanted to share with and just in agreement what other folks have shared already, but also to add how important it was to have your perspective listening to parents, students, educators, staff members, support staff, the folks who really make sure that our schools are running every day and who understands these systems the most. Right. the recognition the importance that they had somebody who understood their roles in the
017spaces that they carry how their roles interact with young people and the importance of leadership just not just for adults but also for the young people to be able to say we are listening and actually engaging in that process. So, I really um I'm excited that this is a new um era where we can have a new leader who uh is committed to econ to equity and justice, which is such an important conversation that we need to have here in Hartford. Um who's willing to show up and willing to to engage because often there's this narrative that our families are not engaged or that community is not engaged, which is not true. Parents are engaged, community is engaged, young people are engaged, we see you, we hear you. But it also takes us to be
018in those spaces with you to show up where you are. And it was really important to have somebody with a committed record of showing up to where people were at to making sure that they use all of the venues that they had at their disposal because it's not we can't lead from ivory towers. We have to lead from the ground from the people from the young people from the leaders that that shape our schools every day. Um, we have a lot of things to tackle and like board member Fortune said, these are some structural institutional issues that we are going to be challenging and that we are going to be going through together. And what better way than to be able to do it with new leadership, with new vision in relationship, right? It can't
019be one person in relationship with the board, in relationship with community, with students and educators to make sure that we're tackling those things that are most important. And part of that is the quality of of our schooling and our kids ability to And finally, I'll wrap up by saying I was one of those students that barely made it out of high school. It took a lot of I was a really good student until I was going through something really tough, which is a lot of what our young people are experiencing. And it took a lot of adults to make sure that I made it through the finish line. It took a lot of adults to make sure that I could do this. And so I want to make sure that we are surrounded by adults
020that want that for our young people, that inspire our young people, that are there with our families and our young people, that don't problematize our communities, but engage with them. And so for that, I'm really excited to be here and to see what this new journey together will look like for all of us. Um, and excited to know that it's someone that is willing and able and excited to be out and about. Um, and to hear from you all directly. So uh, with that, thank you for and welcome. Thanks, Mr. Strata Perez. And I want to acknowledge that u Mr. Walker has joined us, but he has let me know that he um does not wish to make any comments at this time. So, thank you for being here, Mr. Walker, as well. Um before
021I move back to the motion, were there any other final thoughts that anybody wanted to add? Uh Miss Deristo. Yes. Um thank you so much. I just wanted to mention um as a Montasauri parent, Montasaori educator um I wanted to just let you know if you didn't already know that we have two amazing public Montasauri schools in Hartford and it it's I can't wait until you visit them. They're amazing. And one in particular has something called um an adolescent program which is called um we call that ankinder. So one of the issues um that has been pressing for that is the students are not able the older students who are in the adolescent program are not able to go to the farm which is where they're supposed to spend about 50% of their time um
022because that's part of the curriculum. So apparently it's classified as a field trip. So if funding is ever cut or field trips are put on pause then those students it makes it difficult for them to go to the farm so that they can continue to access their learning that is part of the curriculum. So I know that there were many parents who came, there were teachers who um who teach those adolescent students and they were looking to see if we could look at the policy or look at the classification of those outings um to go to the farm which is part of the curriculum to be included in the curriculum as opposed to being considered a a field trip. So, I I said what I said and um I wanted as as a board member
023um I do my best to speak for parents who come to me, teachers who come to me, students who come to me. So, I wanted to make sure that I let you know that there's an amazing Montasauri community within Hartford Public Schools that is ready to greet you with open arms. Thanks, Mr. Dest Ledger. Any other hands before we move back to the motion? Seeing none. All right. The motion on the floor is that the Hartford Board of Education hereby elects Dr. Andre Tonsel to the office of Hartford Superintendent of Schools pursuant to the provisions of Connecticut General Statute section 10-157 and further resolved that the board of education further authorizes chairperson Hockenhal to negotiate and execute an employment agreement with the new superintendent of schools on behalf of the board to include a beginning
024date and a term of office. All those in favor signify by saying I. I I I nays abstensions. The eyes have it. The motion moves. We hope that you will take time to welcome and get to know the incoming superintendent as he begins to serve this great community. I hope you will join us in providing your support as we all come together to do what's best for our students, which is after all our collective mission and goal. Dr. Townsel will spend the next few months meeting with individuals and groups as well as meeting in town hall settings before the start of the school year. I will be working to finalize the contract with Dr. Townsel, including his start date over the next week. And just as a note, Dr. Torres Rodriguez's last day with the
025district will be August 29th. Before I turn this over to Dr. council for a few words. I wanted to take a moment to thank each and every board member here tonight and virtually. Uh this process has been incredibly difficult. I am grateful for the time we spent together deliberating every step of the way. Your individual experiences and your passion allowed us to get where we are tonight and I am honored to have gone through this process alongside you. I would also like to add a huge thank you to our families and our employers for allowing us the time we needed to appropriately devote to this process. We couldn't have done this without your support as well. And thank you to JD Consulting for guiding us through this process. We are truly grateful to everyone who
026is part of this process. And with that, I would love to throw this over to Dr. Townsel for a few words. [Applause] Good evening. Good evening. I'm so excited about this opportunity, ladies and gentlemen. My goal is to ultimately work collaboratively with everyone that's invested in public education right here. And ultimately, we're looking to enhance the student experience and over time increase academic achievement. And when we talk about that, the goal is to focus not just on the lowest performing or the highest performing. It's the floor and the ceiling at the same time. When I say raise the bar, set the bar, meet the bar, exceed the bar, raise the bar, it's a process. Change is not an event. Change is a process. Once we all work together collaboratively as a team, this is team
027Calbert County. We will add value to all of our young people and ensure that they're going off into postsecary success, whether it's career, military, college, they're going off into our global society prepared. And that's the number one goal. So when we talk about uh Hartford Public School, the question is when they're on this journey, what do they get when they walk out? We want our young people to be engaged citizens, empowered learners, communicators, collaborators, and even in the world of artificial intelligence, critical thinkers, because the best uh helping hands that they would ever receive when they get out to society at the end of their own two arms. So, I'm here to add value, to work collaboratively with every organization, community member, family member, and ensure that the next move for our young people is
028their best move. So, with that, I will park my bus. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for the opportunity, and I look forward to serving in the future. Thank you. Thank you so much, Dr. Townsel. I'm looking forward to being back in town and seeing you and seeing everyone. um else who's there tonight and who's watching us on the video stream tonight. And with that, the July 1st, 2025 special board of education meeting is adjourned. Thank you for joining us. Take care.