Connecticut college presidents: Support the federal BRIDGE Act
I am writing to you and the entire Connecticut Congressional delegation to request your support for the bipartisan Bar Removal of Individuals who Dream and Grow our Economy (BRIDGE) Act which was...
View ArticleCEA report mischaracterizes Trailblazers and Stamford academies’ spending
We write in response to the recent Connecticut Education Association report on charter school management fees, and more specifically about two of the schools mentioned in that report, Trailblazers...
View ArticleBetsy DeVos — A clear and present danger
What I learned from watching three hours of the Senate confirmation hearing for Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education: 1. Betsy DeVos demonstrated a lack of any understanding about student assessment....
View ArticleCEA attack on Achievement First ‘blatantly political’ and false
The Connecticut Education Association’s criticism of Achievement First is a blatantly political attack that willfully misrepresents AF’s leaders, finances and students. As the first person in my family...
View ArticleMalloy’s budget cuts add to Connecticut education funding crisis
Connecticut’s education system is facing a crisis, and it seems to be growing every day. Over the holidays, Gov. Dannel Malloy announced his proposal to end education aid to certain towns. Last week,...
View ArticleRe-invest in college opportunity for Connecticut
Education remains the clearest pathway to better jobs and promising futures in the U.S.A. By 2020, 70 percent of jobs will require post-secondary education; as such, Connecticut must recommit to...
View ArticleSix design principles for a new, fair CT school funding formula
Connecticut’s K-12 public school funding system is fundamentally broken. That is the simple and unfortunate truth that boards of education, superintendents, principals, teachers, and education reform...
View ArticleAdequate DCF funding critical to breaking cycle of abuse
There is no higher priority than the well-being of our children. Our future and theirs depend on decisions we make today. That’s why it is essential that Connecticut’s legislative leaders support a key...
View ArticleIn Fairfield, time to face the glaring racial imbalance in CT schools
When Brown v. Board of Education was passed and public schools across the country slowly trod toward desegregation, many pro-segregation parents enrolled their children in private schools rather than...
View ArticleThe General Assembly needs facts, not falsehoods
A recent story in the CT Mirror described a presentation to reporters a few weeks ago by the Connecticut Education Association (CEA), the largest teachers’ union, in which union leaders attempted to...
View ArticleCharter schools pose financial risk to municipalities
In December of last year, the Connecticut Department of Education issued a request for proposals for new charter schools – the first time in nearly three years. As the state grapples with a budget...
View ArticleReducing illiteracy will help close Connecticut’s achievement gap
One in four children in our country grows up functionally illiterate, according to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy. Did you know we spend $2 billion nationally every year on students...
View ArticleSix design principles for a new, fair CT school funding formula
Connecticut’s K-12 public school funding system is fundamentally broken. That is the simple and unfortunate truth that boards of education, superintendents, principals, teachers, and education reform...
View ArticleReducing illiteracy will help close Connecticut’s achievement gap
One in four children in our country grows up functionally illiterate, according to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy. Did you know we spend $2 billion nationally every year on students...
View ArticleMalloy’s school funding plan does not go far enough
For more than two centuries, Connecticut has been colloquially known as “The Land of Steady Habits.” But our state’s tradition of arbitrarily, illogically, and inequitably funding its public schools is...
View ArticleCutting Help Me Grow program will inflict collateral damage
In his proposed budget, Gov. Dannel Malloy has targeted Help Me Grow, a program of Connecticut’s Office of Early Childhood, for elimination. The mandated reconciliation of the state budget deficit...
View ArticleWhy we can’t wait — Race and the Care 4 Kids Program
According to the United Way of Connecticut, the agency that administers the Care 4 Kids (C4K) program, 4,424 fewer children were being served in December 2016 than in August 2016 when the program...
View ArticleLegislators, move the parental rights bills
On behalf of myself and hundreds of other parents in Connecticut, we are wondering what caused the languishing of nearly 15 parental rights related bills? I am not aware of public hearings related to...
View ArticleHigh times? A new low for Connecticut
...Legalizing marijuana for “recreation” is a draconian shift in public policy and a shock to our social mores and societal health. Legalized marijuana will indelibly change Connecticut; the state will...
View ArticleThe state should fund public schools and public charter schools equitably
As a former Hartford public school student, as a father, and as a school leader, I have seen up close the potential of all Hartford kids. We recognize that potential in telling them that if they work...
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