Gov. Malloy visits a preschool classroom in Meriden The state spends millions of dollars every year to send babies and young children to day care centers without monitoring them to determine if they are safe and without requiring that they provide anything of educational value. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is proposing to change this. In […]
Early Childhood Education
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CT tries new approach to help the 25% of urban students who can’t read
It took third grade teacher Marcy Deschaine three minutes to determine that one of her students was struggling to read. And it took her another three minutes of hearing Corey Lipscomb read from a book about making pizza to determine that this student’s reading was where it should be. “You’re in the green,” Deschaine, who […]
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Panic at Head Start in Bridgeport, then a possible reprieve — from the private sector
Bridgeport — Closed because of the federal government shutdown, Head Start centers in six states, including Connecticut, are being offered a bailout by a retired Texas hedge fund manager. Philanthropists Laura and John Arnold Monday have offered an interest-free $10 million loan to temporarily reopen the programs in all six states. John Arnold was a hedge fund […]
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Safety violations found at all 20 home day care centers audited in CT, federal report says
Photo of day care cited for safety violations When parents search for day care, many trust that because a center or a home is licensed by the state, it must be safe. But a federal audit of 20 home day care providers in Connecticut tells a different story. “We determined that all 20 of the […]
Posted inEducation
Leader named for new Office of Early Childhood
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy named Myra Jones-Taylor the executive director of the new Office of Early Childhood Tuesday during an appearance on WNPR’s Where We Live radio talk show. Jones-Taylor was tapped by Malloy in May 2012 to create a plan for what many early childhood adovates call a fractured delivery system that spends over […]
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Are some students too young for kindergarten?
A bill that would have raised the minimum age for students to enter kindergarten — a move that would delay the start of public school for about 1,600 students a year — has failed to gather the support of legislators on the Education Committee. Rep. Andy Fleischmann, the committee’s co-chairman, said during a meeting last […]
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Biden: CT’s early childhood system ‘a real model for the rest of the Country’
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy received accolades from Vice President Joe Biden last month for the education the state provides its youngest students. “Connecticut’s success with early childhood education is a real model for the rest of the Country. As you well know, early childhood education is critical to America’s future,” Biden wrote the governor after […]
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Universal preschool headed for Connecticut?
President Obama is calling for universal preschool for every 4-year-old. “I propose working with states to make high-quality preschool available to every child in America,” Obama said during his State of the Union speech Tuesday night. “Let’s do what works, and make sure none of our children start the race of life already behind. Let’s give […]
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Malloy backs an Office of Early Childhood
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has warmed to the idea of creating a new state agency for early childhood that will be dedicated to coordinating the hodge-podge of childcare programs in the state. Two years ago, during his first weeks on the job, he opposed creating such an office while he was proposing consolidating the number […]
Posted inEducation, Health, Politics
Lawsuits challenging Malloy executive orders dismissed
A Superior Court judge has dismissed three lawsuits challenging executive orders Gov. Dannel P. Malloy issued last year that allowed certain home care workers and child care providers to unionize. The lawsuits were filed on behalf of child care providers, home care workers and clients. Two were backed by the Yankee Institute for Public Policy, […]
Posted inEducation, Health, Money
The kids are all right?
While the overall well-being of Connecticut children is better than in most other states, the economic downturn has not spared the state’s youngest population, according to an annual report released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. One in 10 children in the state during 2010 had an unemployed parent, mirroring the national average. Four years […]
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1,000 new state-funded preschools seats added
The Malloy administration announced Tuesday the school districts that will be getting state funding to open 1,000 new preschool seats — with Bridgeport, Hartford, Danbury and Meriden adding the most. Last school year, 6,400 students in Connecticut — 16 percent — showed up to kindergarten having spent no time in a preschool. Half were from […]
Posted inEducation
Two approaches to preschool access
Gov. Malloy on universal preschool: 'We simply have to get it done.' When it comes to preschool education, New Jersey and Connecticut are a tale of two states. In New Jersey, the courts mandated access to preschool for every child in the state’s poorest school districts. In Connecticut, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy wants the state to get […]
