The large crowd gathered Friday in the Town Hall auditorium had plenty of questions.
Would they be able to speak in support of Kris Hrisovulos, the multi-state champion-winning Staples High School boys tennis coach, as he appealed the non-renewal of his contract by Westport administrators?
What would the Board of Education — the group hearing Hrisovulos’ appeal — think about the reasons given for non-renewal?
Would some of the underlying elements of the case — a complaint by a parent not made through the usual chain of command, for example — be discussed openly?
Staples tennis players were among the large crowd at Friday’s Town Hall hearing.
None of those questions were answered.
After more than 2 hours of debate, the board reached a consensus. The appeal hearing ended, because Hrisovulos had not been given timely, proper and legal notice that his contract was not being renewed.
What the hearing did reveal, however — through questions that were raised, and others that were not, yet loomed unasked over the proceedings — was a number of flaws in Athletic Department policies and procedures.
They include:
- Evaluation of coaches by superiors.
- Expectations of, and training provided to, coaches.
- Support given to coaches by administrators.
- Expectations of parents regarding the role of interscholastic athletics, and the coaches of those sports.
- Handling of complaints made by parents, particularly those that go outside the defined chain of command (coach first, then athletic director, principal, and finally superintendent).
- Process for timely, thorough investigations, including input from student-athletes.
- Communication with, and respect shown to, student-athletes and their parents.
- Transparent discussions of conflicts of interest.
One positive consequence of Hrisovulos’ long and expensive battle to retain his job as tennis coach is this: Superintendent of schools Thomas Scarice, Staples principal Stafford Thomas and athletic director VJ Sarullo have an opportunity now to refocus their relationships with coaches, athletes and parents.
They can re-examine policies regarding the hiring, supervision and evaluation of coaches. They can re-set expectations of when, where and how parents can make complaints known — and how to react once a complaint is made.
They can acknowledge the excellent work being done by so many coaches, in so many ways, for such low pay. They can celebrate coaches’ accomplishments, on and off the field and court — and help them improve in areas where it’s needed.
That’s what a team does.
And that’s how they win: together.
Well said .
It seems the BOE has punted the deeper issue and called the play on a technical foul.
Coaches , parents ,athletes and administrators all have rights.
They should be clarified,codified and publicized preferably in consultation of all groups involved.
Nailed it Danny! Nailed it!
I would be curious if any Board of Ed members disagree with what you have written above. From a legal perspective, it seems to be a much better approach than the “process” that is in place now. But, perhaps equally important, it seems to be much more of a common-sense approach.
It seems like the coaches should form a union. Management is unlikely to seed any real power without one. Adjunct professors at many colleges have unionized. I expect the Teamsters will have more success creating a fair/open workplace for coaches than any informal committee created by the BOE/superintendent.
I hope some effort will be made to help him with his legal fees. Goodness gracious.
Was this the definition of a “Kangaroo Court” system or am I missing something in this process? As long as the existing process is conducted in secret, the Defendant is guilty unless proven innocent and the jury of his peers (the community), is left wondering what was this all about. A parent, having this kind of power over the system never existed when I played H.S. and University sports and would never have been tolerated.
Why do the Administration leaders appear so feckless in this environment?
Bud Siegel
Absolutely outrageous.
This is pure n simple bullshit..
depressing to witness. But not remotely surprised considering the leadership.
Perfectly stated, Dan. I hope the added administrative aspects of realizing a fair, transparent evaluation system don’t get in the way of what coaches enjoy most: working with athletes and building teams.
The fact that Staples “leadership” has let this fester for so long makes me concerned about their competence with other less visible matters.
Oh, you mean the BOE decided to kick the matter back down tot he BOTTOM of the chain of comman to handle it in a professional manner? You mean the BOE asked these administrators JUST.DO.YOUR.DAMN.JOB, as Bill Bellicheck was wont to scream at his Patriots players? Oh, my!
Dan,
What does, “a complaint by a parent not made through the usual chain of command” mean? How or to whom was the complaint made? This unusual chain of command was clearly extremely influential — given the outcome and lack of process in getting to that outcome. Is this why some BOE members recused themselves from the hearing?
The BOE should all be fired !!!!!
So should anyone whose grubby hands were involved..
Buh bye…
Signed. Westport tax payer
Sick of this crap.
Stephanie, I’m guessing it’s a complaint that is made through both channels. A convenient excuse.
I do remember when one of my children was in unquowa. A private school in Ffld.
My daughter had a child who persistently threw stones at her on the playground.. sometimes hitting her.
I had to practically beg the school to stop this.
When they did not stop it I took matters into my own hands.
Just in the nick of time..
I arrived to school.. I walked over to the pick up area, and I pulled that brat up by the scruff of his neck.
I warned him that next time it would be the police.
Within 2 minutes I had staff from the school on the phone.
Not that I cared..
one of those situations that merited exactly what I did.
Incidentally my same daughter now cites that bullying as a part of her depression..
if I had a do over.. I’d have not waited the 3 weeks and I’d have Handled it myself.
I bet this kind of crap goes on way more in staples etc…
Imagine all the damage !!
.
Dan, what you suggest in this day and age seems so un-American! Common sense, fairness, accountability, a smart process for handling issues, civil discourse? What could you be thinking? That those involved should act like adults with professionalism? Hard to find these days, let’s just hope someone with decision-making powers reads your article and applies some ethics and common sense to these situations. One can hope. As President of the CT Mediation Association, I offer our services in getting to the roots and resolving such situations with far better financial and emotional outcomes for all parties than the usual hard-line win-lose stances that lead to lose-lose litigation.