Amato: Master of the turnaround

But success, critics say, comes at a price, that of openness to other ideas

By Todd Murphy

The Portland Tribune, Mar 15, 2002, Updated Oct 30, 2009

It was a promise that reverberated throughout the troubled Hartford, Conn., district.

When Anthony Amato, a former math and science teacher who for a dozen years had been superintendent of one of New York City’s school districts, came to Hartford in 1999, he made this promise: “We will never be last again.”

The Hartford district had been mired in problems for years. Four in five of its students live in poverty, and the state of Connecticut had taken over the system two years before Amato’s arrival. The district had standardized test scores that routinely ranked last among Connecticut’s 163 school systems.

But in his first year, Amato delivered on his promise.

In 2000, the Hartford district’s scores improved more in mathematics and reading than in the previous four years combined.

Those test scores rose in the ensuing two years as well, and many credit Amato with allowing Hartford to begin to believe in its school system again.

“He’s a very hardworking, dedicated person who really turned the system around,” said Thomas Ritter, chairman of the state board of trustees that runs the district.

Amato’s supporters credit him with standardizing the curriculum throughout the 22,000-student system and on ensuring the schools focus on teaching reading and math. He also established a good relationship with the leadership of the Hartford teachers’ union, once considered the most militant teachers’ union in the state.

Edwin Vargas, head of the union, praises Amato’s leadership during the last three years.

“He’s a nuts and bolts guy,” Vargas said. “I think he’s done a very good job.”

But Amato Ñ a native of Puerto Rico and the son of a single mother who was a professional flamenco dancer Ñ has generated criticism as well.

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