A memo from a group of school superintendents recommends that the state association that represents them publicly lambaste Connecticut’s education commissioner. But Elizabeth Feser, president of the board of directors of the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents (CAPSS) and the leader of Milford Public Schools, said the full board Thursday rejected that request. “It […]
K-12
Posted inEducation, Politics
Malloy makes no promises to increase school funding further
One of the key components of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s education reforms has been for the state to provide millions of dollars more in funding in an effort to turn around the lowest performing districts and schools.
Posted inEducation
Nearly half the students from Hartford now attend integrated schools
Nearly half of the students from Hartford now attend integrated schools, the state reports — 17 years after the Connecticut Supreme Court ordered the state to eliminate the educational inequities caused by the segregation of Hartford’s overwhelmingly black and Hispanic school population. “We are proud of the progress we’ve made to date,” said Kelly Donnelly, […]
Posted inEducation
To Rep. Rojas: Let’s talk about what Sheff is doing for East Hartford
In his Sunday op-ed article in the Courant, state Rep. Jason Rojas, D-East Hartford, voices support for school integration and the goals of Sheff v. O’Neill, but he complains about the cost of the remedy, and the perceived effects on his hometown of East Hartford.
Posted inEducation
Half of Connecticut’s public schools to receive post-Sandy Hook security upgrades
Half of the public schools in Connecticut will receive money to tighten the security at their schools. The announcement by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy comes nearly one year after 20 children and six educators were massacred at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. “We will never be able to prevent every random act of violence, […]
Posted inEducation
Vallas running for office in Illinois, future as Bridgeport superintendent unclear
Paul Vallas — who was recruited by the state’s education commissioner to run Bridgeport Public Schools — is running for lieutenant governor in Illinois as the running mate with Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn.
Posted inEducation
A plan for a plan to reform the state’s teacher prep colleges
It’s been nearly two years since the State Board of Education launched an initiative to begin exploring how to reform the state’s teacher-preparation colleges to better prepare future teachers.
Posted inEducation
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 […]
Posted inEducation
Local budget crisis could close Winchester’s 4 schools
Winchester Public Schools are set to run out of money in December. The district’s superintendent told the State Board of Education Wednesday that the town’s finance director was arrested for financial fraud, and the municipal board is refusing to levy a new tax to pay the school district’s bills.
Posted inEducation
Deadline passes for agreement on reforms to desegregate Hartford schools
A student attending Newington Public Schools through the Open Choice Program The deadline has passed for state officials to reach an agreement on how to desegregate Hartford’s predominantly black and Hispanic public schools. “As of right now, we don’t have an agreement,” said Martha Stone, the lawyer behind the school desegregation lawsuit that led to the […]
Posted inEducation
CT school reform: 2 years under ‘special master’
Windham High School teachers: "Things are worse now than ever." Randall Prose two years ago spent his day teaching social studies to high school students in Windham. Now, he said, he spends much of his class time dealing with discipline issues or helping his non-English-speaking students catch up with the rest of the class; this […]
Posted inEducation
When charters and districts collaborate, parents and kids win
Hartford is a national example of the success that is possible when school districts and public charter schools collaborate — and parents and students benefit most. The Hartford Board of Education has voted to expand its nationally recognized collaboration with Achievement First, which currently operates three public charter schools in the city, serving students from […]
Posted inEducation
Another year of state intervention in Windham and New London schools
The State Board of Education is expected to vote Wednesday to extend for another year the state’s intervention in the operation of Windham and New London public schools. The state board voted in 2011 to intervene in Windham schools by appointing a “special master” backed with the authority to make management and governance decisions. The following […]
Posted inEducation
Must the state provide every Hartford student a seat in an integrated school?
As a court-ordered deadline approaches for state officials to outline how they will desegregate Hartford’s public schools, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy drew a line in the sand on what he is willing to agree to. Thirty-seven percent of Hartford students attended integrated schools last school year –- 4 percentage points shy of the 41 percent […]
Posted inEducation
Supreme Court: Bridgeport superintendent can keep his job for now
The Connecticut Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that Bridgeport Superintendent Paul Vallas can continue running the district until the high court makes a decision on whether he is qualified to hold the job. The court is expected to hear arguments on the case in September and decide whether Vallas meets the qualifications of state law […]