PACT members,

Please see the attached document regarding CAPT (Connecticut Academic Performance Test,
given at the end of 10th grade), results from 2007-2008 in Guilford, Madison, Branford, and
the state as a whole. This is a very remarkable year over year improvement, and I believe
represents the results of substantial efforts on the part of Mr. Misenti, Dr. Forcella, the Board
and of course the teachers and students in working towards a culture shift at the high school.
They should be congratulated.

GuilfordPACT met on Tuesday night. The meeting was well attended and
included several new members. Jen Milano took minutes again (thanks
Jen!) and these should be available shortly. Next meeting is scheduled
for August 5th at 6.30pm.

Brief update:

* Membership at 158, need to increase membership both to influence
the BOE and get out the vote -- answer the BOE question "How big is the
PACT and can they get out the vote"
* Member social events -- PACT Women's Night Out at Nada's in North
Branford (BYOB, contact Jamie Mikolay, mikolayhome@earthlink.net)

The BOE discussion tonight was regarding the educational value of
facilities.

PACT members present included myself, Jim Wall, Jen Milano, Peter
Jelley, and Lisa Johnson.

Discussion was led primarily by Dr. Tom Forcella, superintendent of schools.

We are lucky to have Dr. Forcella as a superintendent, he is correctly
focused on the culture of education within the classroom and between
students and teachers while certainly being aware of the impact
facilities can have on this culture. He has previously been through a
bonding process and a renovation.

The first "facilitated discussion" regarding a BOE decision took place last night.
It was in the conference room of the Fire Dept, part of the emergency services complex (390 Church St.).
It was remarkably spacious and climate controlled, in contrast to the last meeting in the Adams Choral room which was unbearably hot.
The discussion was professionally moderated and began with a nice lecture on the meaning of stewardship and what makes a "good" decision.
He discussed how the decisions made by this BOE will be their legacy.

‘schools send an important message: we value our children. The building can either say to students:“Tough it out and get by—we’re not completely committed to your education;” or it can say: “You are a vital part of our community. We want you to feel safe, comfortable, challenged, inspired, proud—we believe in you and your future.” The message that the school building sends is not lost on teachers, students, or the community at large.’

--From a Tennessee Advisory Committee report
full text (worth reading) at: http://www.state.tn.us/tacir/PDF_FILES/Education/SchFac.pdf

PACT members,

We would like to update everyone on a few things we are working on. If you have ideas or would like to work on specific things please let us know and we will put you in touch with others who may be interested!

• We are forming a steering committee to help guide PACT.
• We have placed a page on the website for letters from PACT members
  to the newspapers and/or town boards so that others can see what
  people are expressing and how. We encourage everyone to write the
  town leadership (BOE,BOF,BOS) both about the need to pursue a

The second GuilfordPACT meeting was held Tuesday night at the community center.

There were ~40 people in attendance.

Jim Wall presented the treasurers summary.
There are now 108 members and we have received over $1600 in contributions.

PACT members,
Last week at the PACT meeting Catherine Walker mentioned that a room at Adams had been closed due to mold. This is follow-up regarding questions of type of mold (? "bad" or "toxic" _ stachybotrys vs. other) responses are below:

From Catherine Walker:
Director of Facilities, Cliff Gurnham reported to me that a recent air

PACT members,

This is regarding the "petition" and a pamphlet from "Support Our Schools" that is circulating and is attached. This is not sponsored by GuilfordPACT.

Article from Guilford Courier
By Pam Johnson
Published on 5/15/2008