One in 14 Connecticut students understand so little English, they are considered English learners, and the state has the largest gap in achievement in the country between its English learners and its English-speaking peers. As part of its recent exploration of issues surrounding English-language learners, the Mirror wanted to hear what these students feel is helping them. Here is what some of them had to say.
A deeper look
Posted inCities & Towns
In Meriden, there is action near the station as development ramps up
Officials hope the trend toward transit-oriented development, or TOD, will lessen traffic congestion, reduce pollution and create dense and lively town centers that can attract bright young workers – the ones the General Electrics and Aetnas say they want.
Posted inEducation
English learners: Other places are showing what works
School districts across the country that have committed to reaping the benefits of dual-language instruction have found ways to make big gains in the face of obstacles, both perceived and real.
Posted inEducation
English learners: A jumble of strategies produces distressing results
A number of weaknesses in the approach the state and school districts across Connecticut have taken to educating the rapidly increasing number of English learners has produced distressing outcomes on nearly every benchmark – including academic achievement gaps between English learners and their peers that are among the worst in the nation. Second of three stories.
Posted inEducation
English learners: Struggling CT schools ignore a proven path
Connecticut has largely failed to embrace the one model for English learners that research consistently shows works best by far. It’s being adopted and expanded elsewhere. First of three stories.
Posted inHousing
Housing shift: More apartments, fewer McMansions
The market is changing. Families are smaller. Young people are happy, at least for a time, to rent an apartment in a walkable, interesting city or town center. Many Boomers are looking to downsize. And for a quarter century, state officials have been trying to inject more affordable housing into more communities.
Posted inCities & Towns
Has regionalism’s time finally come?
While autonomous municipal government — home rule — is the norm and likely to remain so, regional cooperation has been inching ahead. Now with the state and several large cities facing severe fiscal challenges, mayors such as Hartford’s Luke Bronin and others, including the state’s major municipal advocacy group, are pushing for more regional sharing.
Posted inHealth
With demand already up, free clinics anticipate more need
Two days after a new free clinic opened in Stamford, “The phones haven’t stopped ringing and people are walking in, looking to make appointments,” the executive director said.
Posted inEducation
School funding reform: Ideas and challenges aplenty
With the governor set to lay out his proposals for education aid this week, numerous advocacy groups, rank-and-file legislators and a group suing the state over school funding have been pitching changes they would like to see. The bulk of the ideas are not new – but most would be controversial or expensive.
Posted inMoney, Politics
A legacy of debt: When fiscal reality meets political spin
As state government’s fiscal challenges became increasingly daunting, politicians for years nonetheless downplayed the risk and wooed voters with unrealistic promises. Last story in a five-part series
Posted inMoney, Politics
A legacy of debt: As cuts get ugly, legislators forfeit power, transparency
Legislators have left more decisions on cuts up to the governor, avoided votes on state employee raises and have accepted less information on fiscal matters. Fourth in a series.