My dad, Ralph Sloan, ran the norwalk schools for 15 years over a decade ago. When he left, people were looking forward to change. i am just not sure we have ever agreed what kind I change we wanted. But what surprises me (and him) is that I still have teachers and other staff tell me how much they enjoyed working for him and what a great leader he was. Funny that it isn't the books, or programs or test scores people remember him for ... I know for every exciting program he was able to initiate in good times, there were hard times where he had to cut back and eliminate all the gains he was able to make... but what people remember my dad for was "the human connection" he made... He wrote short personal notes - like great job on winning contest, congratulations on a new achievement, sorry your wife is ill, my condolences on the death of your mother. Just a few lines but these notes seem to really matter years and year later. He also lived on East Avenue and made a huge effort to spend time to see at least half a football game, see the school play, attend wakes, funerals and weddings - show up in support of the staff and students - this is impossible if you don't live in town or close by Norwalk. We need someone who lives in town and can be around after school hours. He also had a two year schedule to bring staff into his office to have a personal meeting and then visit their classrooms. He wasn't perfect in anyway - the Norwalk Hour headlines gave him stomach aches weekly, angry parents called the house and yelled if school was canceled or wasn't canceled, every time it snowed. There were fights between students and budget issues and union disagreements. Everyone was mad at him at some point - this is not an easy job! But yet I still get stopped by staff years and years later, and they all have at least one moment, one note, one memory where they felt seen, valued and appreciated by my dad. I wonder if that is the leadership we need right now... Someone who wants to get to know the staff and the students and our city. And let's all be a city, worth getting to know and love. Please let us support and encourage the next leader of our schools... It is a horrible job in my opinion having grown up watching my dad do it for 29 years. Can each one of us make it easier for the next person? I have met, emailed and tried to encourage every superintendent since my dad. I have volunteered help on special projects with Corta and Marks. They all had great strengths and like all humans - weaknesses in leadership, but I do believe each of them could have been much more successful if we as a city had been more supportive of their time here. How can we as town welcome, support and help the next leader of our schools? View Comment

Dear Blabbermouth68 - I am sorry your comments were deleted. I checked with Tom Renner and he didn't delete them. Please repost them. I named the site PinkConcussions.com to generate interest - negative and positive. I would rather anyone have passion about this topic in either direction than apathy. I was once called "Dollar Roger's Bimbo of the Week" or maybe "Blond Bimbo of the week," and I got more hits on my site than from anything I had said at the meeting with the NFL. I can always take a joke, and the blogger, a former NFL player, who called me Roger's Bimbo is one of my closest friends in the concussion world and we exchange concussion news on a daily basis. So please post away... I can take a joke or a clever comment any day. Thanks for caring enough to post - twice. View Comment

Thanks for being interested enough to comment and I would love to answer your questions. I am a concussion education expert with a Masters Degree in Social Work and a background in coaching youth sports. I have been working in this field for almost a decade. I have recently been asked to present to a national level committee in DC next Monday to share my experience in the concussion field. The idea for PinkConcussions.com originated from a misquote on Super Bowl Sunday 2013, when a journalist stated that female soccer players concussed at a higher rate then male football players on a pre-game TV show. The correct reference should have been," Recent data suggest that in sports with similar rules, female athletes sustain more concussions than their male counterparts." Source: American Medical Society for Sports Medicine Position Statement: Concussion in Sport, 2012. This “misquote” caused a controversy as press and sports fans scrambled to google the correct statistics. But statistics about female concussions are not easy to find as they are buried in short paragraphs in larger research studies. For example, the correct quote above from the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine Position Statement: Concussion in Sport 2012, is not found until a section titled Sex, on page six of the report. This report is an excellent summary of concussions in sports, but I wanted to highlight the findings on women's concussions. - Recent data suggest that in sports with similar rules female athletes sustain more concussions than their male counterparts. Page 6 - Recent data suggest that in sports with similar rules female athletes sustain more concussions than their male counterparts. Page 6 - In addition, female athletes experience or report a higher number and severity of symptoms as well as a longer duration of recovery than male athletes in several studies. Page 6 - A decreased head–neck segment mass of female athletes compared to male athletes may contribute to greater angular acceleration of the head after a concussive impact as a mechanism for more severe injury. Page 6 - Oestrogen and differential cerebral blood flow may also play a role in influencing concussion severity and outcome. Page 6 - A further study is needed to understand if sex is a risk factor for concussion and what mechanisms may account for it, or if sex is merely a predictor of symptom reporting. Page 6 To quote you, "On this sand she intends to build a movement? And, just what exactly is her movement trying to do??" The sand is actually some rather good studies showing a difference between male and female concussions. And yes, I would like to assist the current movement of concussion educators and doctors to help youth athletes, and youth in general, learn about concussions, reduce their risks and know how best to treat any head injury. My part of the movement would give female concussion info a website, twitter feed, and a international stage on which parents, coaches and kids can find answers and hope for those who suffer from concussions. Thanks, Katherine Snedaker Www.SportsCAPP.com Www.PinkConcussions.com View Comment

Thanks for the supportive post. I appreciate it. View Comment

Youth Sports Concussions Be prepared, not scared For 5th-12th Graders, Parents and Coaches A FREE event presented by Westport PAL and Sports CAPP Thursday, October 11 7:30 to 8:30 PM Saugatuck Elementary School 170 Riverside Avenue, Westport Youth Speakers will share their concussion stories and Concussion Experts will teach: - Concussion facts and practical tips - Value of helmets, soccer headbands and mouth guards - Proper response on the field or playground to a head injury - Roles of MDs, Referees, coaches, ATs and smart phone apps USA Football has a great one! Speaking will be Youth Athletes, Katherine Snedaker of Sports CAPP, Carmen Roda of Westport PAL, and other guests Click to http://sportscapp.eventbrite.com/?ref=etckt or have questions: Katherine@SportsCAPP.com or 203.984.0860 View Comment

Thanks for the great article, Kendall. View Comment

Youth Sports Concussions Be prepared, not scared For 5th-12th Graders, Parents and Coaches A FREE event presented by Westport PAL and Sports CAPP Thursday, October 11 7:30 to 8:30 PM Saugatuck Elementary School 170 Riverside Avenue, Westport Youth Speakers will share their concussion stories and Concussion Experts will teach: - Concussion facts and practical tips - Value of helmets, soccer headbands and mouth guards - Proper response on the field or playground to a head injury - Roles of MDs, Referees, coaches, ATs and smart phone apps USA Football has a great one! Speaking will be Youth Athletes, Katherine Snedaker of Sports CAPP, Carmen Roda of Westport PAL, and other guests Click to http://sportscapp.eventbrite.com/?ref=etckt or have questions: Katherine@SportsCAPP.com or 203.984.0860 View Comment

Thanks for the support, DickMac. I read your comment first and it was the one I internalized. Katherine Katherine Snedaker, MSW www.SportsCAPP.com View Comment

Hi Westporttess, I do design websites because the income helps me support three kids, but in addition to being web savvy, I am also a licensed social worker with a Master's Degree from Fordham and I am working with Dr. Mike Lee at the Concussion Specialists of Connecticut (part of PHA in Southport - www.ConcussionMD.com) where I run support groups for kids and parents and do outreach in the community. I also have my own volunteer organization where I work to educate parents, coaches and kids about concussion awareness and response. The papers love to call me a "Mom" - funny since I cannot image them calling a doctor a Dad instead of a doctor. I wish that society valued social work and concussion awareness so I could support my family with these efforts, but I need to pay my bills so I design websites to allow me to do my social outreach for no pay. Actually speaking at events costs me time and money in gas and other expenses but if I charge everyone I am afraid sports teams and schools will decide to not educate the kids because they don't have or want to spend the money. I do talk speaker fees when offered - rare - but the money helps me grow this organization. Is it crazy to lose money helping people? It is worth it to me, and I see positive results from my work. I did attend the bloggers' lunch and also had two other private one-on-one meetings with NFL staff and Scott Hallenbeck, Executive Director of USA Football to discuss how to expand the message beyond the sport of football. I am going to continue talking with the NFL to try to find ways to spread concussion awareness. To the other bloggers in the room, that event resulted in page on the websites and they moved on to another topic. Concussion Education is my passion and that day was huge highpoint in being valued and recognized by a superpower and also just another day for me in 365 days of concussion work. I have a national program I wish to launch to support and train injured high school athletes to educate middle school students about concussions, but I need funding. The NFL asked me to come share with them and yes, I am hoping that the PR leads to support and funding from some source so I can launch this program. I don't make enough building websites to fund my dreams. Would love to have you attend our free Concussion Awareness Event on Sept. 13, @ 7:30 PM for all Fall Sports at Saugutuck Elementary School sponsored with Westport PALs' Carmen Roda. Concussion Safety Night for All Fall Sports For Players, Coaches & Parents Thursday, Sept 13 7:30 to 9 Saugatuck Elementary School 170 Riverside Avenue, Westport Speakers Katherine Snedaker, President of SportsCAPP.com Carmen Roda, Westport PAL Director of Youth Sports • Parents – what do you need to know about concussions? • Coaches – what do you need to know to respond to possible head injury • Concussion Sports Facts – why differences in girls vs. boys? • Sideline recognition & proper response for a possible concussion • New iPhone apps for coaches & equipment for players • Current concussion research: fact or fiction? Thank you to our sponsors. We would love more sponsors, so please contact us.  View Comment

Baseline testing is important and now the CDC is even on board supporting of baseline testing for all youth players. However, it is a step that needs to be taken along with coach, player and parent education. Here is why... While baseline testing is valuable, I have seen teams use testing to address concussions in their sport in place of educating coaches, parents and players. Both testing and education are needed at the same time. As a concussion social worker and a former youth coach, I started www.SportsCAPP.com out of my personal frustration when I keep receiving the same type of phone calls from upset parents who had ImPACT tested their kids. The following is a true story and is not unique at all. I can pick really any sport - boys or girls' teams - and recount a similar story. A hockey team signed up for ImPACT testing instead of both testing and concussion education for their coaches. Like most leagues, this team did not think they had the time for their coaches to be trained and so they only offered ImPACT testing to their players. A fraction of the players who signed up for testing were kids who already had already had a concussion. Their parents already knew about value of ImPACT testing with their experience with ImPACT in the past. So the hockey season started and a few games into the season, a boy took a hard hit to his head as he was slammed into the boards. Coming off the ice, the hockey player told his coach that he had no head pain, but his vision was so blurry so he could not read the numbers on the back of the other players' jerseys. The coach who had no concussion training thought the kid was joking and so sent this player back into the game. The coach did not know blurry vision was a sign of a concussion and that any player with a hard hit to the head should sit out for 24 hours, even with no immediate sign of a headache. The player also did not know this was a sign of a possible concussion. After two minutes of skating without any additional hits, this player collapsed on to the ice and may have hit his head again. At this point, the coach pulled him from the game as his worried parents made their way to their son now unconscious on the ice. While having an baseline ImPACT test helped this player's doctors after the injury, training for this coach could have prevented the second blow to this player's head and may have reduced the risk of long recovery this player might suffer to heal from this concussion. But everyone thought they had done the best they could - The youth hockey player took his ImPACT test, his parents felt reassured they had protected their son, and the team felt confident they had taken steps towards a safer season, but the key piece education for coaches, parents and players was missing. What if the coach had known the signs? Or the player himself said, "Coach, I think I have the signs of a concussion?" Or the parents had insisted on speaking to their son after such a hard hit and knew to pull him when he complained of blurry vision? I receive several calls a month from families with very similar stories. A player with a second blow to the head in a game or practice risks longer recovery times and in rare cases, even death. I am afraid that in "only offering ImPACT testing," sports teams are feeling secure that they have addressed the safe issues around concussions. Since the management in these sports teams haven't been educated why the coaches and parents and players all need concussion education, they are missed the point of protecting the kids before a second injury. With simple, quick educational programs, coaches can remove players from play as soon as there is a suspected head injury, players can raise their hands and say, "take me out," and parents can feel confident when to say, "you are done for the day." The CDC's motto is"When in doubt, sit it out. Better to miss one game than a whole season." View Comment