Recently I had the opportunity to testify before the Education Committee of the Connecticut Legislature. I commented that education policy in our state sadly resembles the phenomenon of the “Macarena.” Play along for a moment. Let your mind drift back 20 years or so to any random wedding. …
Schools/Child Welfare
Posted inCT Viewpoints
On their 20th anniversary, Connecticut’s charter schools deserve support
Twenty years ago this weekend, Gov. John Rowland signed a bill into law and by doing so changed the trajectory of the lives of thousands of Connecticut children. The bill he signed established public charter schools in the Constitution State and was a monumental step forward that has transformed the lives of tens of thousands of children, and it will continue to do so in the coming decades.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Connecticut — where there is less for every student
For nine years, Connecticut was one of the very few states in the country that did not reduce state funding for public education. In 2016, that very praiseworthy policy ended. The impact of reduced state funding for education will be felt in one way or the other by every child who attends a public school in the state.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Entrepreneurship is alive, well and expanding among Connecticut’s youth
Yesterday, 55 kids from grades 4-12 – winners of the Connecticut Invention Convention (CIC) here in Connecticut — were sent off by Gov. Dannel Malloy, well-wishing parents and others to the inaugural K-12 National Invention Convention and Entrepreneurship Expo in Washington, D.C. All sporting their orange CIC competitor T-shirts from the recent finals event at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, and carrying inventions ranging from a next-generation CPAP mask for hospitals to a new piezoelectric shoe insert to stimulate foot nerves for diabetics, these kids represent the best of the future workforce of Connecticut. In D.C., they will be part of a group of more than 260 young inventor and entrepreneur finalists from 15 states, gathered for the first time to celebrate the best of American ingenuity and creativity through invention and entrepreneurship.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
‘Starvation mode’ for Connecticut, our nation’s richest state?
“CT legislature undermining the future of its higher education system” by CCSU Professor John O’Connor makes a lot of sense. However, I object to the title because it may be wrong to indict our representatives. Certainly recent budget issues are focusing our media, but I think it’s not just legislators or leaders who are failing […]
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Charter schools need more support from Connecticut.
Charter schools like the ones my children attend have answered many parents’ prayers, encouraging personal and academic growth and providing an appealing alternative to failing district schools. However, despite these schools’ high performance, they receive $4,000 less per student per year in state aid than Connecticut’s low-performing district schools. This funding gap has had a real impact on charter schools in Bridgeport and throughout the state.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
School funding inequity is affecting charter schools, too
Connecticut’s education funding system is broken – with charter school students receiving on average $4,000 less in funding than their peers in district schools. And this disparity in funding hurts low-income children of color most because those are the majority of the students charters in Connecticut serve.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Ten percent dental rate cut could cause 30 percent of HUSKY members to lose care
On April 18, the Connecticut Mirror ran “Critics: Proposed children’s dental cut threatens CT turnaround.” As a health economist who as extensively studied the connection between Connecticut’s reimbursement rates and access to care, I would like to provide some history on the issue as well as estimates that quantify how the governor’s proposed 10 percent rate cut could indeed threaten our state’s turnaround.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
This legislative session, let Connecticut children win for a change
As the Connecticut General Assembly races toward the end of the legislative session, I urge leaders to prioritize the needs of public school children this year — not adults with the biggest megaphones and the greatest influence. Lawmakers can reject Senate Bill 380, which seeks to de-couple teacher evaluations from student performance on standardized tests.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Connecticut position as leader in Children’s Dental Medicaid in jeopardy.
Connecticut position as the leader in Children’s Dental Medicaid is in jeopardy. Gov. Dannel Malloy’s April 2016 budget proposal calls for a 10 percent cut to Children’s Dental Medicaid reimbursement rates and reduces eligibility for HUSKY A Parents to 133 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). Our state made significant strides from the low access to dental care for Medicaid-enrolled families in 1999 to the present and we cannot let this success to be rolled back.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Governor puts low-income families at risk of losing health coverage
Long before enactment of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, Connecticut invested in the health of its children and their parents by aligning income eligibility for everyone in a family. This policy was based on knowing that when whole families are insured, children’s access to care improves and parents stay healthy for work and family responsibilities. Just last month, Connecticut’s Gov. Dannel Malloy extolled the quality improvements and cost savings realized through innovative changes to the HUSKY program. Some of this progress will be undone if the Connecticut General Assembly goes along with the governor’s April budget proposal to reduce income eligibility for almost 10,000 low-income parents.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
No evidence standardized testing can close ‘achievement gap’
In a recent commentary piece, Jeffrey Villar, Executive Director of the Connecticut Council for Education Reform, praises the Connecticut State Board of Education’s support for using student SBAC results in teacher evaluations. He contends, “Connecticut continues to have one of the worst achievement gaps in the nation, the SBE appears committed to continuing to take this issue on.” Contrary to Mr. Villar’s assertion, there is little, if any, evidence to support the idea that including standardized test scores in teacher evaluations will close the so-called achievement gap.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Soft bigotry of low expectations has no place in Connecticut
I have been a certified teacher. I now lead an education advocacy organization. I am a mother of small children. I am a white woman.
To me, the results of a new study by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, titled “Who believes in me? The effect of student–teacher demographic match on teacher expectations,” feels like a punch in the gut. The study presents stark differences in how African-American teachers versus non-African-American teachers view the potential of students of color.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
CJTS teachers lament ‘inhumanity’ of sudden staff layoffs
The following are three statements made by Connecticut Juvenile Training School employees at last week’s press conference following layoffs of about one third the staff at the facility.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
SBAC is invalid, unreliable and detrimental to students
I read with dismay Jeffrey Villar’s April 12 column titled, “State Board of Education Demands Action on Teacher Evaluation.” The arguments regarding teacher evaluation made by Villar and the corporate-backed organization he represents, the Connecticut Coalition for Education Reform (CCER), are misleading and insulting to teachers.