Before he came to Stamford, Joshua Starr helped reform early childhood education and programs for gifted and talented students in the New York City school district.

When he was hired as Stamford superintendent in 2005, the Board of Education's then-president cited Starr for "all the work he's done in implementing reform."

So it's no surprise Starr spent the last six years focusing on reform.

The question is whether Stamford is ready for it.

The school system seemed to accept some of Starr's changes. He gathered teachers from throughout the district into groups to share their best strategies for classrooms. He standardized math curricula and science units in the elementary schools, and is working to impose order on the 150 literacy programs used in those grades.

But Starr came up against it when he instituted middle-school reform, now in its second year. Students were separated into five ability groups and Starr reduced it to two, which the state Board of Education approved. The idea is that mixing students of different abilities is more educationally sound than separating them, and eliminating the rigid rankings frees up the disproportionately poor and minority students who were getting trapped in the lower ones.

Stamford seems to have trouble accepting that.

Parents, board members and others said children who do well cannot get a quality education in classrooms that include wide ranges of ability. Starr moved too quickly, they said. They prefer more ability groups and making them flexible so students can move as they improve.

Starr struck back, saying that would only return Stamford to the status quo. It's time for action, he said, because the gap in educational achievement has languished too long in Stamford. He cited nationwide studies supporting mixed learning groups and Stamford's improved test scores.

"If you look at the research and what other communities undergoing reform are doing -- standardized curricula, common assessment, data-driven decisions -- that's what Josh Starr instituted," said Jackie Heftman, a member of the Board of Education. "The district in Montgomery County, Md., where he is going is the model people hold up when they talk about achievement for all children and how to do it.

"It's kind of ironic that they are more than happy for him to keep their initiatives moving forward and Stamford is more than happy to let him go," Heftman said. "He did things in Stamford that needed to be done. His leaving is a black eye for Stamford. After this, why would a reform-minded superintendent want to come here?"

Stamford's school population is increasingly Latino, and a growing number of students must be taught English, Heftman said.

"That population of people is not savvy about how to get their voices heard, and they are up against people who are very savvy about getting their voices heard," Heftman said. "Once you join the Board of Education, you don't have a constituency any more. You represent all children. We have to get to the point where we're not just thinking about what's in the best interest of my child, but what's in the best interest of all children. The conversation has to be community-wide."

Board of Education President Polly Rauh said the achievement gap must be closed but "it can't be at the sacrifice of youngsters who are at accelerated stages of learning."

"Middle-school reform is a real divider in the community. Probably 95 percent agree that reform is necessary but there was an autocratic decision to go to two groups, which feeds into the question of whether children are ready," Rauh said. "I think the community has spoken at the polls for two years and that has not been acknowledged. Under Starr, the curriculum was tightened and expectations are higher, and people are working hard to reach lower achievers, but I think it comes at the expense of other youngsters."

Starr was true to his vision of good outcomes for all students, but he had a "top-down management style," she said. "The outcomes were desirable but the buy-in with people is essential. You can't do it by edict. It has to be done sequentially, deliberately. There is a stated curriculum and a hidden curriculum. The hidden is what happens when the door closes in that classroom. You can't control that unless you get people to buy in."

Will reforms now be eased in, or will they end?

"Josh Starr put in middle-school reform. It's in the second year. Any program that's new needs time to be evaluated," said Jerry Pia, vice president of the Board of Education. "You have to make adjustments. Some kids aren't learning -- how do we deal with them? The high achievers are not being pushed -- how are we dealing with them? When I got on the board I couldn't believe there isn't an extraordinary learners program. That's one of the things I look forward to putting back in.

"It's not just the kids who are learning," Pia said. "Teachers, administrators, board members are learning, too. How do we educate a diverse community? It's not an easy task."

Angela Carella can be reached at 203-964-2296 or