Why Connecticut’s DCF has a waiver process for kinship families
What can be more terrifying to a small child than to be removed from home and placed with people -- as well-meaning as they are -- with whom the child is unfamiliar? When the Department of Children and...
View ArticleFasano: ‘DCF failing in its core function, keeping kids safe’
I wholeheartedly agree with child welfare advocates who say that children should, whenever possible and when safe to do so, be kept in their homes. Frankly, I can’t imagine anyone who would disagree....
View ArticleProviding new teaching pathways — one way to improve public schools
Judge Thomas Moukawsher’s recent ruling on education is creating an opportunity to improve our approach to K-12 education in Connecticut. As we set goals for our students, and how to best reach those...
View ArticleFree tuition would be a disaster for private colleges
When Hillary Clinton was struggling to win the Democrat party nomination against upstart Bernie Sanders, she co-opted his idea of free college tuition for all. To appease Sanders supporters, she...
View ArticleCT can do better for minority teacher candidates than Relay GSE
Without question, Connecticut needs more teachers who see themselves in their students (and vice versa), who have roots in the communities where they teach, and who are well positioned to instruct in...
View ArticleWhen righting school funding wrongs, remember charter schools
In his historic and sweeping decision on Connecticut’s broken school funding system, Judge Thomas Moukawsher announced something we have been shouting from the rooftops for years – many of...
View ArticleVote Tuesday for our country’s future — our children
I am a pediatrician and I vote. I vote on behalf of kids who cannot speak up for themselves. I vote so that the needs of children are prioritized by our elected leaders. I vote on behalf of the...
View ArticleA day in the life of a UConn faculty member
As a faculty member at the University of Connecticut for more than 25 years, no two years have been the same, let alone two days! My Ph.D. is in Immunology and I am based in the School of Pharmacy on...
View ArticleInnovation necessary to solve persistent certification problems
A recent story described concerns raised over the State Board of Education’s rapid approval of a new teacher training program. According to that story, members of the Minority Teacher Recruitment Task...
View ArticleSale of GE campus to Sacred Heart another ‘poke in the eye’
The sale of the 66-acre GE campus to the university could be construed as a final poke in the eye to the Malloy administration. As the former owner, GE paid the town of Fairfield $1.6 million a year on...
View ArticleDon’t shift Connecticut’s unfunded liability problem onto our children
Eroding revenues, red ink and poor fiscal management continue to undermine Connecticut’s state budget. Unaltered, the present approach will make it increasingly difficult, even impossible, for our...
View ArticleHumanities need state funds to combat ‘fake history’
How do students learn about Connecticut? Let’s hope it’s not from a textbook that sugar coats Connecticut’s history of slavery. In 2015 the Department of Education recommended incorporating Connecticut...
View ArticleA practical solution to funding special ed in Connecticut
Every student who walks through the doors each morning at one of Connecticut’s more than 1,300 public schools has their own unique skills and abilities, as well as their own needs and challenges. But...
View ArticleEligibility cuts to childcare subsidies penny wise, pound foolish
Last week, parents, childcare providers, and legislators gathered in Hartford to discuss the crucial role childcare plays in supporting Connecticut’s economy. The forum was held in response to recent...
View ArticleTruth or consequences: Failing America’s youth
Connecticut Superior Court Judge Thomas Moukawsher wrote in his September school funding decision of the “alarming” condition of education in the state’s neediest districts, citing that “[A]mong the...
View ArticleThe Connecticut State College system provides great value for the money
Connecticut's public universities have much to offer; it is why I chose to return here. It is why I hope to continue to achieve personal and career goals in Connecticut and to contribute to its...
View ArticleAdditional cuts to public education will hurt our students
The Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE) and the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents (CAPSS) are very concerned about the mid-year cut of $20 million in education...
View ArticleMastery exam task force report due soon — its findings ‘predetermined’
In a few days the Mastery Examination Task Force will be submitting its Final Report and Recommendations to the Connecticut Legislature's Education Committee which had asked for a study of student...
View ArticleParent voices matter in our democracy today
So much information to process to make informed decisions in a short amount of time: budget cuts everywhere, systems continue to fail our children and families regarding livable paying jobs,...
View ArticleTwo critical education issues for the Connecticut legislature
From my perspective we have two critical points in the current Connecticut education crisis that must be dealt with first during the General Assembly's 2017 session: One, the Common Core State...
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