Open letter to the Greenwich Board of Education submitted by Kyaiera Mistretta
Dear Members of the Board of Education,
I have served at Greenwich High School since the fall of 2008. As a proud alumna, I still remember the excitement I felt joining the faculty. Since then, I’ve worn several hats: I taught English; led the Stand By Me program; contributed to the Innovation Lab Research & Design Team; worked as an English Learning Facilitator; and spent six years as an Assistant Dean. I now direct the STARS (Tier 2) intervention program and teach ESL1.
The current discussion of how to carry out the mandated budget cuts is deeply concerning. To see the discussion of cutting consultants closed quickly, while swinging open the door to cutting teachers, is mind boggling. For example, while Todd White’s work has merit, it has minimal impact on day‑to‑day instruction. It is the depth, creativity, and expertise of our teachers that truly sustain GHS’s curriculum and instructional strength.
Similarly thinking that 15 minutes of additional time in the morning is worth $500k is hard to reconcile, socratically or mathematically. I’ve had more success engaging students at 7:30a.m. than wrestling with disengaged learners the second block after lunch—so that trade‑off makes little sense to those of us in GHS classrooms every day.
When I learned that the Dean of Students and House Team positions are under consideration for elimination, I went from disheartened to deeply worried. As an English teacher, I coached students to write essays that appear effortless—because the hard work happens behind the scenes.
Similarly, the Dean of Student Life and Assistant Deans perform essential, behind‑the‑scenes work so seamlessly that their efforts often go unnoticed. Although I cherished my six years as Assistant Dean, I could not sustain the pace required of the job—the volume of work, increasing complexity of student needs, and multifaceted responsibilities were both rewarding and exhausting. Removing even one Assistant Dean risks overwhelming the remaining team; eliminating the Dean of Student Life would disable a lever that minimizes disruption and stress to student and staff daily life; and cutting a House Administrator would leave an entire house without direction – a ship with no one at the helm.
With Thursday’s BOE meeting looming, please remember that the Dean of Student Life, Assistant Deans, and House Administrators are the veins moving the lifeblood of GHS—coordinating every intervention, community‑building effort, and crisis response.
Eliminating any of these roles will strip away vital, irreplaceable support that our students and faculty depend on daily. Putting a consultant over teachers, choosing 15 minutes over $543,845 shouldn’t require discretionary logic – those of us in the GHS classrooms day after day working directly with students need your support.