Greenwich Post
Boy Scouts can’t recruit during Greenwich classes
May 8, 2008

Progress is being reported after a Tuesday evening meeting involving Superintendent of Schools Betty Sternberg and First Selectman Peter Tesei over a decision to no longer allow the Boy Scouts of America to recruit new members during school hours.

Ms. Sternberg contends the presence of the scouts takes away instructional time and isn’t fair to other organizations. Mr. Tesei criticized the decision, saying it wasn’t handled properly and that the scouts weren’t given proper due after 70 years of coming to district elementary schools to drum up interest among boys. However, Mr. Tesei reported “cooperation and understanding” after the Tuesday meeting, which was also attended by Board of Education Chairwoman Nancy Weissler, PTA Council President Julie Faryniarz and Mike Robertson, scout executive for the Greenwich Council for the Boy Scouts of America.

“We had a very healthy and open discussion and shared the concerns of the Boy Scouts as well as those of the school district,” Mr. Tesei said in a statement put together with Ms. Sternberg. “We all agreed that the Boy Scouts are a very valuable part of our community and want to work together to give the Boy Scouts, as well as other youth organizations an opportunity to recruit new members each year.”

More meetings are planned on the issue but none were immediately scheduled.

According to Ms. Sternberg, the decision was made before she took office in August 2006, and the Boy Scouts were aware of it. She said the scouts are still welcome to recruit students before and after school, just not during the school day, when, she says, the instructional hours are too valuable to be spared for any private group. Ms. Sternberg said the district was working to create alternatives to help the scouts find new members outside of school hours.

Ms. Sternberg said that when she first began work in town she met with scout leaders in town and they asked her if she intended to continue that policy. At the time, Ms. Sternberg said, she indicated she was open to the idea but wanted to examine it first. After meeting with then Deputy Superintendent of Schools Mary Capwell she was told the district had intended to end the policy because it used up too much instructional time.

Ms. Sternberg said she decided to let the scouts have one more school year in 2006-07, but that policy ended at the beginning of this school year. She said she made the scouts aware of this and that it wasn’t anything against the Boy Scouts, but rather a need to free up time and to make sure there was equal treatment of all private organizations.

“This is an equality issue,” Ms. Sternberg told the Post on Tuesday. “Why should the Boy Scouts be the only group that’s allowed in to recruit students during the school day? What about the Girl Scouts? What about the Boys & Girls Club? ... If we allow all these organizations in during the school day then you won’t have any time for teaching.”

Mr. Robertson told the Post Ms. Sternberg might not be aware of alternatives such as lunchtime meetings with kids, which usually take five to 10 minutes, and said they didn’t necessarily have to use classroom time. He said the sessions have been used to recruit Girl Scouts, too.

“Scouting is something that can help kids become better students,” Mr. Robertson said. “The values of the scouts are very similar to the values of the school system. We want to meet with the superintendent and move on.”

Ms. Sternberg said the school board was informed about this in during the winter and she received no feedback or questions from any board members. On Tuesday, Ms. Weissler said the board was “comfortable with the decision.”

Ms. Sternberg stressed that she is not against the Boy Scouts in any way and praised them for all the work they had done in the community and for the positive impact the organization had on boys growing up. She said that the decision was what was best for the education for all public school children.

“The Boy Scouts have not been banned from the schools,” Ms. Sternberg said. “They just have to approach their recruitment in a different way. We’re not against this organization, we’re just trying to insure equal access and there isn’t time. Instructional time is precious. Teachers are burdened with trying to teach the curriculum that has expanded beyond the hours we have. The issue of time on task is crucial to student achievement, particularly in this era of accountability and No Child Left Behind. We need to make every effort that the time during the school day is being spent teaching directly to our children.”