A new multimillion-dollar grant to Hartford’s public schools not only will strengthen the city’s ties to charter schools, it could bolster a charter movement that some educators believe has never fulfilled its potential in Connecticut. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced a $5 million grant to Hartford, one of seven U.S. cities receiving […]
December 5, 2012 @ 12:00 am
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Budget cuts stall plan to hire additional college faculty
The state’s largest public college system has suspended its plans to hire 47 new faculty members after savings from a much-touted reorganization were used last week to help close the growing state budget deficit. The budget chief for the system this week notified the 17 college presidents that, “Given the severity of the cuts we […]
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Connecticut’s U.S. senators reiterate need for Sandy aid
Washington – Lawmakers from states affected by Superstorm Sandy, including Connecticut Sens. Joe Lieberman and Richard Blumenthal, made their cases to Senate appropriators Wednesday for billions of dollars in disaster aid, setting off what’s expected to be a long and hard-fought struggle. Like Gulf Coast lawmakers whose communities were devastated by Hurricane Katrina seven years […]
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Judge: Evidence of ‘systemic failure’ in food stamp program
Citing evidence of an “ongoing, persistent systemic failure” to comply with federal law, a judge has granted a preliminary injunction against the state Department of Social Services over delays in handling applications for food stamps. “The low levels of timeliness rates are persuasive evidence that the State has failed to timely provide food stamps in […]
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The repercussions of national education standards
Connecticut’s public education establishment is facing a reckoning. Not only are student test scores expected to drop drastically when standardized tests based on national standards are adopted in 2015, but the shift is expected to cost districts millions to update their textbooks, teaching materials, technology to administer the new tests on computers and to train […]
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Senate confirms Shea for U.S. District Court in Connecticut
The U.S. Senate voted 72 to 23 Wednesday night to confirm Michael P. Shea as a U.S. District Court judge in Connecticut, filling the vacancy created by the elevation of Christopher Droney to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. Shea, 45, a native of Hartford, is a partner at Day Pitney. He […]
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New charter schools coming to Connecticut?
Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor is looking for those interested in opening a new charter school in the state to contact his department. “We aim to see what the constellation of interest is,” Pryor told members of the State Board of Education Wednesday. Pryor is seeking letters of interest from charter-school operators by early January. The […]
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Hey Connecticut college students: At least you’re not in New Hampshire.
Faced with tight budgets, all the states in New England have slashed funding to higher education. Students in New Hampshire, though, may be feeling it a bit more. The state has completely eliminated state support for financial aid for its students, reports the New England Board of Higher Education. Connecticut last school year provided $64 […]
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Integrating public schools: Hamden to redistrict
After three years of being warned by the state to stop sending so many of its black and Hispanic students to the same 5 schools, the Hamden Public School district’s superintendent told the State Board of Education the town is moving forward with redistricting. Hamden — which has almost 6,000 students in 10 schools and has been […]