The Board of Education appointed Craig Creller as the district’s interim chief academic officer Tuesday night. Creller will serve in the role for the remainder of the 2017-18 academic year. Creller has served as the district’s K-12 mathematics instructional specialist for the past seven years. He is currently enrolled in the Neag School of Education Superintendent Leadership program at the University of Connecticut.

University of Connecticut Professor Emeritus Vincent Rogers has announced an endowment to the University’s Neag School of Education, designating a legacy gift of $125,000 to expand the Rogers Educational Innovation Fund, according to the fund’s website. With the expansion, “The Rogers Award” will provide $5,000 annually to an elementary or middle school teacher in the state of Connecticut for use in the classroom, the fund’s website said.

Legendary UConn women’s soccer head coach Len Tsantiris ’77 (ED) has announced his retirement after 37 tremendous years at the helm. Tsantiris took UConn from its infant stages as a program and turned it into a national power.

Len Tsantiris saw it all. He started coaching girls soccer at E.O. Smith High School in 1977, just as Title IX was starting to make an impact on girls’ and women’s sports. And in 1981, he started coaching the fledgling UConn women’s soccer team. After 37 years, four national championship game appearances, seven Final Four appearances and over 500 wins, Tsantiris, 68, announced his retirement from UConn Tuesday.

Bullying, harassment and social exclusion are common climate problems within schools, but they’ve become especially concerning since the 2016 presidential election, George Sugai said.
In his keynote address at the Reynolds Alumni Center on Wednesday, Sugai — a professor at the University of Connecticut with a Ph.D. in special education — discussed the necessity of educators creating a positive school climate on all campuses.

“What would happen if we invited uncertainty into our classrooms? If you’re not sure how to answer this question, you’re not alone. What makes this question difficult is that most of us don’t like uncertainty. It’s uncomfortable. We do our best to avoid uncertainty and if we experience it, we attempt to quickly resolve it.” Ron Beghetto

“I Know This Much Is True,” the 1998 novel by Wally Lamb of Mansfield, will be turned into an eight-episode miniseries for HBO, starring and executive produced by Oscar-nominated actor Mark Ruffalo, Lamb has announced.

Superintendent Alan B. Bookman, the school leader who “sets the tone for the district,” has been awarded a new three-year contract. “Dr. Bookman does an excellent job keeping us focused on our mission statement, at looking at the changing needs of our students from technology to curriculum improvements to really celebrating the accomplishments,” said Susan Karp, Glastonbury’s board of education chairwoman.

The research reinforces other studies showing that creativity is not fixed, says James Kaufman at the University of Connecticut. “There’s a lot of evidence that you can nurture or suppress creativity,” he says. “Obviously, individual differences also play a role, but the ways that teachers give feedback and organisations reward employees have huge impacts.”

Neag School of Education alumni, faculty, and administrators, along with educators from across the state, gathered at the Hartford Public Library’s Center for Contemporary Culture earlier this month for an evening of networking and insights from two dynamic Neag School alumni.

Miguel Cardona’00 MA, ’04 6th Year, ’11 Ed.D, ’12 ELP, assistant superintendent for teaching and learning for Meriden (Conn.) Public Schools, and Bridget Heston Carnemolla ’13 Ed.D, ’14 ELP, superintendent for Watertown (Conn.) Public Schools, each shared insights into their experiences in the Neag School’s educational leadership program and personal revelations on leadership as the featured speakers for the Neag School’s third annual Educational Leadership Alumni Forum.