Robert Harrington is a member of the Board of Education. Last month he raised concerns about Staples High School’s replacement of the traditional handsome metal Block “S” award for student-athletes with a less expensive plaque. He writes:
I attempted to discuss the Block “S” last month, but the rest of the board decided against adding it the agenda.
At the Board of Education meeting last week, a discussion finally took place.
I was pleased that chair Lee Goldstein agreed to add it to to the agenda. However, a motion that I proposed to require restoration of the 60-year old Block “S” tradition, and retroactively award trophies to fall and winter recipients of the MVP and Coaches’ Awards, failed on a 2-to-4 vote.
Only fellow board member Dorie Hordon backed my motion. The other members voted against the restoration. Abby Tolan was not present.
I was disappointed that Staples athletic director VJ Sarullo didn’t turn up to the Board of Education, to justify his decision or answer any questions.
The Block “S” award …
There is a sense that superintendent of schools Tom Scarice and the athletic director might ultimately resolve the issue, or come up with an acceptable alternative. This sounds like next school year’s business – not now. Additionally, there are no guarantees that we will see the Block “S” return.
I would like us to make this promise to our student-athletes today.
Several board members see this issue as a “systems problem,” not something for the Board of Education to get involved in. Others refer to tough choices that have been made elsewhere, such as with the elementary theater programs or eliminating middle school visits to Broadway.
I’m not really sure what any of that has to do with defending a well-established tradition for Staples athletics.
The superintendent warned the board during the meeting about making decisions based on social media outcry. I see it differently. I am making a decision because I think ending the Block “S” this was wrong. A solution should have been sought before any changes were made.
… and its replacement.
I also think it was wrong to attack and criticize a Staples captain’s parent and long standing Westport resident, Terry Brannigan. He had raised the issue on social media, and brought awareness to many community members and Staples alumni.
He had attempted to go through the “proper channels” (and is prepared to share all his email and call logs), but he did not hear back from anyone. I am glad Brannigan discussed this on social media.
I think there needs to be more urgency to fix this problem. I take a very different stance than some of my other board members. We have a voice. We have the ability to vote to support a program. I strongly think we should that voice and take action.
When current students are impacted by a decision from our administration, I don’t take kindly to being told it is not a board issue. In truth, I simply don’t think the tradition and true value in the Block “S” is fully understood by some of those making this decision.
In some respects this is such a small thing. It’s only a trophy, after all, and the student athletes are still awarded a $12.95 plaque.
However, in the words of A.A. Milne, “sometimes the smallest things take up the most room on your heart.” I think this is actually a very big thing.
Robert Harrington
The Block “S” has been the highest award a Staples athlete can earn. Our Staples student athletes are strong like metal, so it’s fitting that for over 70 years the trophy would be a strong “S” made of metal.
It’s not only about awarding the best athletes. The Coaches’ Award is often presented to an individual who has made strong progress, or significant contributions to the team — including helping the team act like a team.
As Dan Woog said in an earlier post, “Character, integrity, commitment, passion — all count for a Block ‘S.'”
Three of my children benefited during their time at Staples. It feels wrong to let many current Staples athletes leave our school system in a few weeks without the same honor and recognition.
The cost of the Block “S” trophies has risen to $15,000 for the year. That’s over $170 per trophy. There is a current shortfall of approximately $6,000 for this school year.
However, to make this change quietly, without any detailed consultation with Staples coaches was unfortunate.
Furthermore, to fail to discuss this ahead of time with any of the booster clubs seems like a real oversight. No one was given an opportunity to offer any solutions or alternatives.
The administration has stated that coaches were consulted and there was very little pushback. I have spoken to a handful of coaches who see it differently. I want to protect the anonymity of current coaches in the system, but the commentary is pretty clear:
Coach 1: “There is a total lack of respect for this award. To end it in this way is insulting to the entire coaching staff at Staples”
Coach 2: “This is a slap in the face of every athlete who has won it for 70 years.”
Coach 3: “We simply were not consulted, whatever you are being told. The decision was already made.”
Coach 4: “This is just more drama in the athletics department. I’m shocked how this change occurred. I hope it is reversed quickly”
Coach 5: “We were told, not asked.”
At the end of the day, mistakes occur all the time in any system or organization. The Westport Public Schools is no exception. Finding a timely path forward and rectifying such mistakes is key.
This is an easy issue to fix. It will require just an additional $6,000 of funding per year — and that assumes that no better sourcing is secured, and none of the larger booster clubs contribute to some of the expense. Both of these routes are possible outcomes, lowering future budget needs.
I hope future Staples athletes will see the Block “S” trophy awarded again — starting in the 2025-26 school year. To those current athletes who missed out: I hope you will be notified before the end of this school year that you will shortly be receiving a true Block “S” award.
We are concerned about the unintended consequences of a cell phone ban, and believe that if kids cannot access phones during their free time, they will instead be more inclined to do personal business on their computers during classroom time, and thereby create a tremendous problem for teachers.
There is one constant report among Staples graduates: that they leave Staples High School ready for the next level, whether that be college, the work force or the military.
Scarice explains: “Maintaining current programming is essential to our continued response to student needs. Public education is a human services endeavor, which is heavily dependent on human resources. It is no surprise that the most significant funding allocation is for human resources (i.e. staffing and associated costs).”
