The CT Mirror (https://ctmirror.org/category/education/early-childhood-education/)
With no state budget in place for the current fiscal year – and the school year quickly approaching – uncertainty had surrounded whether the state would provide the money it promised district leaders when they expanded or opened new preschool classrooms over the last two school years. Continue Reading →
WASHINGTON — House appropriators rejected many of President Donald Trump’s proposed cuts to education, but trimmed some programs and eliminated others – including one that provides the state and local school districts with $25 million in teacher training grants each year. House appropriators also failed to adjust this year’s Pell grant awards for inflation, a move state officials say will cost Connecticut students $6 million in college financial aid next year. Continue Reading →
The governor, who sent his adjustments to legislative leaders Thursday, also would reduce state contributions to a supplemental retirement health care program for teachers, potentially boosting costs for future retirees. Continue Reading →
It’s an issue that has long puzzled policymakers: Why do some early childhood programs produce big benefits for students, but others don’t? The answer may be linked to what happens after kids leave the programs altogether and move through school. Continue Reading →
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy tapped a former Obama administration official Thursday as commissioner of the Office of Early Childhood, naming David Wilkinson to oversee a relatively new state agency that has been squeezed by shifting federal priorities and Connecticut’s chronic budget pressures. Continue Reading →
Thousands of low-income families hoping to receive child care subsidies are stuck in limbo as a wait list for the program swells. The number could grow to 5,000 families by this summer, advocates say. Continue Reading →
If Education Secretary Betsy DeVos opposed rolling back protections for transgender students behind the scenes, she wasn’t letting it show last week when she spoke to many of the country’s staunchest conservatives. Continue Reading →
Betsy DeVos earned more opposition than any of President Trump’s cabinet picks — and any nominee for education secretary in history. Now that DeVos has been confirmed, here’s what you should read to start getting a handle on the possibilities. Continue Reading →
Betsy DeVos, President Trump’s pick for education secretary, says she supports science teaching that “allows students to exercise critical thinking.” This seemingly innocuous statement has raised alarms among science education advocates, and buoyed the hopes of conservative Christian groups that, if confirmed, DeVos may use the U.S. Department of Education to undermine the teaching of evolution in public schools. Continue Reading →
WASHINGTON – Sen. Chris Murphy asked Betsy DeVos, President- elect Donald Trump’s pick to head the U.S. Department of Education, if she believed guns belonged in or around schools. “I believe that’s best left to the locales and states,” she answered. Continue Reading →
Introducing bold reforms or enforcing standards to aid struggling students in poor districts have largely stalled at the state Capitol or the State Department of Education amid conflict over policy, local control or whether resources are adequate. Fourth of seven stories. Continue Reading →
A program that subsidizes child care so low-income parents can work or teen parents can finish high school will soon stop enrolling new children unless their families are receiving welfare benefits. Continue Reading →
“I don’t have any money to bail them out,” said Benjamin Barnes, the secretary of the governor’s Office of Policy and Management. Continue Reading →
State agencies have offered the governor’s budget office options as it prepares a 2017-18 state budget proposal. Among those just made public: Some DMV offices could close. Housing subsidies for those with AIDS could be cut. And hundreds more state jobs could be eliminated by privatizing services for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Continue Reading →
The softer side of Connecticut politics was on display Monday in Hartford as Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, called Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven, an ally and friend, and Fasano praised Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy as a role model. Their common ground was bipartisan efforts to address learning dyslexia. Continue Reading →