A program pioneered at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital makes a mother the centerpiece of her child’s treatment in a way that improves recovery for both of them.
Deeper Look
Posted inEducation
The state of CT’s public schools in charts
The state’s public education system has reached a pivotal time. Click to read more stories in charts The Connecticut Supreme Court is set to hear arguments today in a landmark school-funding case. And with the state facing major projected deficits for the foreseeable future, it might take an order from the high court for much […]
Posted inEducation
The state of UConn in 16 charts
Debate rages at the state Capitol and across Connecticut over how much to cut the state’s share of funding for the University of Connecticut. Here, in graphical form, is an overview of where the public university gets and spends its money, who it enrolls, how many it employs, and how it compares to other universities in research and endowment.
Posted inEconomic Development, Money
For CT, strides and stumbles in quest to spur bioscience industry
Connecticut is losing more bioscience jobs than it is gaining, despite a sizable jump in research and development jobs over the last three years. Alexion’s departure is the latest in a line that has undercut bioscience growth. Nonetheless, many say New Haven is nearing a “critical mass” after years of effort by Yale and a new cluster is emerging in Farmington after more than $1 billion in state investment.
Posted inEducation, Money
Separating fact from fiction on state school aid
How the state funds public schools is so messy and complicated that dozens of parents, educators, legislators, the governor, and a Superior Court judge have characterized the setup as broken. However, some of the criticism that regularly surfaces is based on skewed perceptions of reality.
Posted inEducation, Money, Politics
The state of CT’s cities and towns in charts
State aid to municipalities largely has been spared cuts over the last decade – and has even been increased in some years – even though the state has regularly faced budget deficits. Now it’s time for some municipalities to share in the pain, the Malloy administration maintains. As the debate rages, here, in graphical form, are some key indicators of the fiscal condition of the state’s 169 cities and towns and how they are spending their money.
Posted inEducation
In their words: English learners share their stories about school
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.
Posted inHousing
Homelessness fell 24% in three years. How did Connecticut do it?
Advocates fighting to bring an end to homelessness altogether say their once-seemingly unrealistic goal may at last be reachable in Connecticut, a state that not long ago was a laggard nationally but has emerged as a model.
Posted inMoney
A British bet on OTB in Connecticut’s roiled gambling market
STAMFORD — Ted Taylor settled onto an upholstered leather bench in an unfinished booth at the new Bobby Valentine’s restaurant and sports bar, the Connecticut Gold Coast’s introduction to a plusher version of what’s been a shrinking, down-market gambling niche — off-tracking betting. His company, Sportech, is investing in a gambling market under pressure from increased competition both in and outside the state.
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 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.