If the spending cap on education were removed this year, the state would have to pay an additional $687.6 million to fully fund the formula.
K-12
Posted inMoney, Politics
Malloy’s election-year tax cuts face big test this week
With his campaign announcement out of the way, the governor faces a big election-year test this week when a legislative panel decides whether to back his controversial tax rebate plan.
Posted inEducation
Name change for ‘special master’ may not resolve teachers’ concerns
Since the state named a “special master” in New London and Windham, there has been unrest among teachers as to what authority that person enjoys and what autonomy local officials retain.
Posted inEducation
Education funding: Malloy wants to back off state formula
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is asking state legislators to ignore the formula they adopted last spring, a move that would relieve the state from having to send school districts another $6 million next school year.
Posted inEducation
Change of plans: State will not demand evaluations of individual CT teachers
The Office of the Attorney General has reversed course and is no longer asking a judge to “compel” the release of thousands of individual teacher evaluations it wanted for its defense of a school-funding lawsuit.
Posted inEducation, Politics
Sen. Stillman will not seek re-election
State Sen. Andrea Stillman: “I feel immensely proud of the work I have done for my constituents.”
Posted inEducation
Teacher evaluations: Too much science, not enough art?
FAIRFIELD — As teacher Alison Taylor conducts a poetry lesson for her third-graders, veteran principal Jason Bluestein watches and listens closely, scratching notes into a spiral notebook – a process he will repeat again and again this year, more often than ever before.
Posted inEducation
Teacher evaluations: State asks court to ‘compel’ districts to turn over assessments
The top lawyers for the state are asking a Superior Court judge to “compel” nine of the state’s lowest-performing school districts to turn over individual teacher evaluations so they can prepare for a trial set to begin this fall over whether the state is properly funding education.
Posted inEducation
CT schools lag in diagnosing, helping dyslexic students
Getting identified and getting the necessary services to cope with dyslexia has seemingly been a decades-long challenge in Connecticut.
Posted inEducation
Can Connecticut afford school choice?
At a time when the state’s school-age population is declining and resources are scarce, key state lawmakers are questioning whether it’s appropriate to spend millions of dollars more over the next several years to increase enrollment in magnet schools.
Posted inEducation
Common Core moves forward; Malloy sets up task force for implementation
Facing mounting criticism on the implementation of the Common Core State Standards in Connecticut’s public schools, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Tuesday named members of a new task force to provide recommendations on how to ensure a successful rollout.
Posted inEducation
Common Core debate heading to state Capitol complex Wednesday
Legislators will get to hear feedback on the rollout of the Common Core Curriculum Wednesday during a public hearing at the state Capitol complex. The noon event is the result of a move by Republican minority legislators to force the reluctant leaders of the Education Committee to hold a hearing on the bill that would put implementation of the state’s new academic standards on hold.
Posted inEducation
New Haven evaluations push out 20 more teachers
New Haven’s method of evaluating its teachers is being closely watched elsewhere as governments seek to find the best ways to weed out low-performing teachers while helping others improve and succeed.
Posted inEducation
Common Core: By the numbers
As school districts move ahead with implementing Common Core, here are some numbers provided to legislators Thursday on what the state is spending this year to help districts implement the new standards: $800,000 for 2,000 teacher “coaches” to be trained on the standards through workshops, online webinars and preparation for the new standardized tests aligned […]
Posted inEducation
Teachers’ union calls Common Core rollout ‘botched,’ ‘mishandled’
“These goals which we want to achieve are falling out of reach and out of reality due to the implementation,” said Sheila Cohen, an elementary school teacher in Orange and the president of the 43,000-teacher Connecticut Education Association.