Turn of River educator to lead teachers union
STAMFORD — A 15-year veteran teacher in Stamford was recently selected to head the district's teachers union.
John Corcoran, a sixth grade math teacher at Turn of River Middle School, won the election with 54 percent of the votes over Nancy Mould, a special education teacher at Davenport Ridge Elementary School, who garnered 46 percent of the votes.
Corcoran will take over for Diane Phanos, who will step down at the end of her second three-year term as president on July 1. Due to union terms limits, Phanos was unable to run for reelection. She has been a teacher for 50 years.
The new president will take over in July. Currently, Corcoran is one of SEA's vice presidents, overseeing the middle schools.
Stamford Board of Education president Jackie Heftman, in an email, congratulated Corcoran on his victory.
“As Diane steps down and a new leader of the SEA steps in, this transition brings challenges, but it also brings opportunities for us all,” she wrote.
Heftman's letter mentioned the many changes coming to the school district, just as union leadership is set to change.
Those include a change to the state's funding formula that will give Stamford a 60 percent refund for school construction projects, a major increase from the 20 percent the district has received in the past.
“We now have the ability to truly reshape our school campuses across the city in a way that better serves the needs of students and teachers alike,” Heftman wrote.
She also highlighted the upcoming switch to a new block schedule at all three high schools, a move that has been heavily criticized by staff at Westhill High School and the Academy of Information Technology & Engineering. Tenured staff members at both schools issued a vote of no confidence in Superintendent Tamu Lucero and Associate Superintendent for Teaching and Learning Amy Beldotti, in large part because they felt they were not included in the decision to adopt the district's favored block schedule.
“Certainly there are challenges to work through, but this transition is an opportunity for us to work together for the benefit of our community,” Heftman wrote. “As we move forward, we are committed to communicating and working with our teachers union in an open, respectful and fair manner to promote success for all of us, especially our students.”
Phanos wished Corcoran success.
“The challenge is upon SEA to make sure the Board of (Education) works collaboratively with us,” she said.
Corcoran declined to comment for this story.