Paul Freeman listening to children.

10 Questions With Connecticut’s Superintendent of the Year

February 3, 2021

Paul Freeman ’09 Ed.D. is in his 10thyear as the superintendent of Guilford (Conn.) Public Schools and has almost 30 years of administrative and teaching experience in schools in Connecticut. Freeman earned an Ed.D. in 2009 from the Neag School of Education. In addition to having recently been named the state’s Superintendent of the Year by the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents (CAPSS), he had been recognized in 2014 by the Neag School as Outstanding Superintendent of the Year.




Child holding hands with two adults.

Op-Ed: Trump’s Behavior and Teaching Kids Social Emotional Skills

January 20, 2021

Imagine what would happen if a preschooler didn’t “use their words” when they got upset about sharing, instead stomping around yelling while adults simply observed in silence. Think about what the school climate would feel like if a student punched another during recess while others watched without seeking help.  

Now consider the actions – and inactions – by Trump Jan. 6 as the electoral vote counts occurred at the U.S. Capitol. Those behaviors show a desperate need for social emotional learning.


Screen shot of virtual meeting

Social Justice Panel Features Equity Work by Neag School Alumni

January 19, 2021

The Neag School of Education’s Alumni Board recently sought to highlight the equity work the West Hartford Public Schools district has been doing in social justice education as well as social emotional learning through a virtual panel discussion in December. The Board’s Student and Alumni Networking Committee Chair, Jocelyn Tamborello-Noble ’03 ED, ’04 MA, ’09 6th Year, spearheaded the event, recruiting colleagues who have been engaged in different facets of social justice work throughout their careers to speak on the panel alongside her.





Chalkboard with generic bar graph.

Fixing Connecticut School Finance: The Time is Now

January 14, 2021

No state school finance system remains adequate in perpetuity without checks and balances. Goals change as do other demands on local public schools. State school finance systems require constant evaluation and recalibration. Connecticut schoolchildren have waited far too long, especially those in the state’s low income black and Latinx communities.