The state’s vocational and agricultural schools were largely left out of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s plans to increase funding and expand enrollment in nontraditional public schools. “They forgot about us again,” Bill Davenport, director of one of the state’s 19 agricultural programs, said. While the state has spent more than $200 million to build the […]
Not everyone celebrating Malloy’s school choice agenda
Teacher, principal evaluations approved
The State Board of Education unanimously approved a system to grade teachers and principals Friday, noting that the next step will be implementation. Read more about the details for these evaluations here and here.
Mitt, Newt, Rick and Ron are invited, but will they come?
Mitt, Newt, Rick and Ron were formally placed on the Connecticut Republican primary ballot today. Now, will any of them drop by before the polls open at 6 a.m. on April 24, a primary date that once seemed to consign Connecticut to political irrelevance this cycle? Four years ago, a small pool of delegates did […]
Teacher, principal evaluations approved
The State Board of Education unanimously approved a system to grade teachers and principals Friday, noting the next step will be implementation. Read more about the details for these evaluations here and here.
Deb Heinrich leaving Malloy administration
Deb Heinrich is leaving her post as the Malloy administration’s liaision to the nonprofit providers of state services, a new job that the administration trumpeted as the first of its kind in the nation. No word on why or if she has another job. The administration announced her departure today in a press release that […]
Education Reform: Focus turns to improving principals
Teachers aren’t the only ones who will soon be graded and put on a path to improve or be dismissed. A plan to evaluate the state’s 1,200 principals is also moving forward, and will likely be approved by the state’s Board of Education Friday. “There will be a state model for principals,” Education Commissioner Stefan […]
Malloy takes his education reforms on the road
Meriden – To begin the job of selling his proposed education reforms, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy visited a school Thursday in a district with a young, dynamic superintendent and the challenges of student poverty and limited resources. Students stared wide-eyed as Malloy swept into classrooms at Benjamin Franklin Elementary, trailed by a retinue that included […]
Connecticut will play big money role in presidential race
Washington — Benjamin Buswell, a Granby resident, was concerned enough about the Obama campaign’s fundraising strength that, last summer, he sent Republican Mitt Romney $2,500. “I read articles about the amount of money that is going to be raised by the Democratic Party, and I wanted to help Romney,” Buswell, the innovation manager at Hartford Insurance, […]
Concerned about a senior? Call the gatekeepers
The woman called with a concern about her neighbor: He seemed to have stopped shaving, and his overall hygiene was worrisome. At the other end of the line was a representative from the Community Renewal Team Senior Services Gatekeeper Program, one of four agencies that, as part of a statewide program, take confidential referrals from […]
Connecticut lawmakers on front line of contraceptive battle
When President Obama was blasted by House Republicans this week for including contraceptive services in the health care reform act’s mandate on preventive care for women, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd District, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., jumped to the president’s defense. House Republicans say requiring religious hospitals and colleges to offer contraceptive benefits is a […]
Malloy and medical marijuana
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said he is reserving judgment on whether he will back efforts to legalize medical marijuana in Connecticut this year, but he does have some thoughts about those protesters who greeted him as he arrived at the Capitol this morning with a “legalize, don’t criticize” chant. “None of them look sick,” he […]
Red ink, spending cap threaten new budget next year
One year after building the largest fiscal security blanket in more than two decades of state budgets, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy moved onto the fiscal high wire Wednesday without a net. While the governor talked decisively about finding more spending cuts to keep his new $20.7 billion plan for 2012-13 in balance, lawmakers from both […]
Malloy: teacher tenure will have to be earned, and re-earned
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is calling on legislators to completely change how the state’s 45,000 teachers earn tenure. The change — linking tenure to student performance and teacher evaluations — will apply to new teachers and those who already have tenure. Gov. Dannel Malloy at his State of the State address “We’ve been too timid […]
State of the State: A governor striving to be a reformer
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy used a televised State of the State address Wednesday to jump into the thicket of teacher tenure reform, a popular issue with voters, yet fraught with potential pitfalls for a Democrat narrowly elected with the support of organized labor. In a speech to the General Assembly, Malloy framed his first year […]
Text of Governor Malloy’s State of the State
Photography by Uma Ramiah Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, Senator McKinney, Representative Cafero, my fellow state officials, ladies and gentlemen of the General Assembly, honored members of the Judiciary, members of the clergy, honored guests, and all the citizens of our great state who are watching or listening today, thank you. Thank you for the honor […]

