John Brubacher, a former head of the Department of Educational Leadership and professor of education in the Neag School of Education, passed away in October 2010.
Dr. Brubacher was born July 17, 1928, in Albany, NY, and is survived by his beloved wife, Harriet, three children, Elizabeth, Janis and John, along with six grandchildren. After growing up in Hamden, Conn., Dr. Brubacher graduated from The Taft School and went on to earn his B.A. from Yale, his M.A. from Columbia and his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.
Dr. Brubacher began his …

As someone who had been working since she was 16 years old, Holly Maiorano described herself as “apprehensive” at the thought of retirement. But at the end of the last school year, after 35 years as a teacher and administrator, Maiorano stepped down as principal of Buckley Elementary School in Manchester, Conn., the place where she started her career as a student teacher in 1974.
For Maiorano, who earned a Sixth-Year Certificate from the Neag School in 1983, that career included work as a special education teacher in Windsor, an administrator …

On a late day in July, Desi Nesmith sat in his no-frills office at America’s Choice at SAND School in the North End of Hartford. No school banner hangs on the wall. No 2009-10 calendar to remind him of his first year as a principal. No Husky blue.
He had just been trained by a “breakthrough coach” to balance his professional and personal lives by keeping them separate. Part of the deal was to make his office less homey.
“I’m going to attempt to make this adjustment. Look behind you,” he says, …

Norwich, Conn.– Kelly Middle School Principal Michael Cain arrived early last Friday for a meeting to review data on students’ reading progress and arrange for tutoring for those who need it.
He stayed late on Thursday to supervise and enjoy the “Back to School” dance attended by more than 300 students, some of whom earned discount reward coupons for their compliance with the school’s new uniform policy and hallway discipline practices.
Cain is three weeks into a busy fall at Kelly, which will open one wing of its $40 million expansion and …

Imagine the “Ask the Audience” option on the syndicated TV show “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” and you’ll have a good understanding of a new clicker technology brought to Portland, CT, second-graders by a Neag graduate school alumna.

Amy Raines is the one responsible for bringing the idea to Valley View Elementary. While working full time, Raines completed her master’s degree in educational technology at UConn’s Neag School last summer. During that work, she discovered the clickers in use by older students and thought about how to apply them to …