ConnCAN in the News
Joe pushes for renewal, expansion of 'No Child'
By Maria Garriga, New Haven Register, July 26, 2007
U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, I-Conn., who championed the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act in education, plans to introduce a bill Wednesday that would reauthorize the law while making sweeping changes that increase accountability measures and close loopholes.
The reauthorization, billed All Students Can Achieve, calls for teachers to be evaluated based on how much students learn, expands use of data analysis to track individual student progress over time, introduces voluntary national education standards, sets up state committees on curriculum quality, and closes loopholes in the law that permit states to not count special categories of students if they fall below certain numbers.
...
"Lieberman is taking a leadership role in getting NCLB reauthorized. One of the great frustrations with NCLB is that it labels schools as failing but doesn't do much beyond that. He is putting more tools on the table for better public schools," said Marc Porter Magee, spokesman forConnecticut Coalition for Achievement Now, also known as ConnCAN, an education advocacy and research group.
News Articles
Yale Opens Labs To City High-Schoolers
Georgia Kral, New Haven Independent, July 26, 2007
These Career High seniors are experimenting with biotechnology this summer. In a Yale laboratory they mix bacterial cells with bioluminescent jellyfish cells, manipulating the genetics of an organism.
The students participate in the SCHOLAR (Science Collaborative for Hands-On Learning and Research) program, which awards top Career High School science students with the opportunity to study for free at Yale for three weeks in the summer- and to live on campus.
"It's nice to do stuff that most kids don't get to do," said Stephan Cunningham, a senior.
The SCHOLAR program began 10 years ago when Forrest Lee led a group of educators to New Orleans' Xavier University, a leader in science education. Lee as well as magnet research teachers Rose Coggins (the new principal of Wilbur Cross High School) and Michael Curaso (current principal of Career) worked with Xavier to devise a science summer program.
Group: Math, Reading Time Up at Schools
By The Associated Press, New York Times, July 25, 2007
WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. students are spending more time on math and reading and less on other subjects, an apparent consequence of the No Child Left Behind law.
Roughly two-thirds of elementary schools surveyed by the nonpartisan Center on Education Policy reported increasing math and reading time since the law was passed in 2001.
The law requires annual testing in reading and math in grades three through eight and once in high school. Schools face sanctions if they miss testing benchmarks.
''Clearly what this is showing is, what schools are held accountable for is what they put the emphasis on,'' said Jack Jennings, president of the Washington-based center.
The report, being released Wednesday, says that of the districts reporting an increase, elementary schools are spending on average 37 minutes more per day on reading, math or both since the law was passed.
Union-Friendly Maverick Leads New Charge for Charter Schools
By Sam Dillon, New York Times, July 24, 2007
LOS ANGELES — Steve Barr, a major organizer of charter schools, has been waging what often seems like a guerrilla war for control of this city's chronically failing high schools.
In just seven years, Mr. Barr's Green Dot Public Schools organization has founded 10 charter high schools and has won approval to open 10 more. Now, in his most aggressive challenge to the public school system, he is fighting to seize control of Locke Senior High, a gang-ridden school in Watts known as one of the worst in the city. A 15-year-old girl was killed by gunfire there in 2005.
In the process, Mr. Barr has fomented a teachers revolt against the Los Angeles Unified School District. He has driven a wedge through the city's teachers union by welcoming organized labor — in contrast to other charter operators — and signing a contract with an upstart union. And he has mobilized thousands of black and Hispanic parents to demand better schools.
Educators and policy makers from Sacramento to Washington are watching closely because many believe Green Dot's audacious tactics have the potential to strengthen and expand the charter school movement nationwide.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Monday, July 23, 2007
News Articles
Senate Approves Major Overhaul of the Federal Student Aid Program
By Diana Jean Schemo, New York Times, July 20, 2007
WASHINGTON, Friday, July 20 — The Senate approved a major overhaul of federal student aid early today, cutting taxpayer subsidies to student lenders by more than $18 billion and funneling most of the money into increasing federal grants for low- and middle-income students and easing repayment terms on federal loans.
The bill passed by a bipartisan majority of 78 to 18 after the vote was temporarily delayed by a flurry of largely unrelated amendments, a reflection of the lingering rancor over the debate on Iraq this week. The House passed its version of the legislation last week, and the differences must now be reconciled.
The White House, which had threatened to veto the House bill, had a more measured response to the Senate’s version, objecting mainly to provisions that ease repayment of only some loans and grant loan forgiveness for public service employees. But the administration said it expected to “resolve these issues through the legislative process.”
By Melinda Tuhus, New Haven Independent, July 23, 2007
Marc Palmieri had a clear message on the last day of the New Haven Public Schools’ Summer Parent Training Institute: parenting is hard, and you deserve a meaningful partnership with school personnel to make a success of it.
He said it’s important to focus on a child’s strengths when speaking to parents, but not to neglect discussing areas that need improvement. Too often, he said, teachers gloss over a student’s weaknesses, perhaps hoping not to offend a parent — which hurts the student in the long run. James Moye, father of eight children (pictured with Patti Avallone, Title I supervisor who runs the training), said that was unacceptable. “Our children are the primary purpose of why we’re here. It’s about keeping it real with them. They want to hear the truth."
Cross Has New Principal, As Fonzi Goes Downtown
By Allan Appel, New Haven Independent, July 23, 2007
The woman in this picture has the second toughest job in the New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) system, according to its superintendent. The man standing next to her has just left that position to come work downtown in the central NHPS administration and in his spare time to pursue his movie actor career.
Rose Coggins is the newly appointed principal at Wilbur Cross High School. Bob Canelli, leaving there after four years, will become the new supervisor of magnet schools. They were among dozens of new appointments and transfers of administrators and teachers announced at a Friday afternoon Board of Education meeting.
Teens Thrilled With Online Summer School
Associated Press, New York Times, July 23, 2007
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) -- When Scott Landry flunked a math class in his Townsend high school this year, he was told he would not make it into the 10th grade unless he went to summer school.
So how was the 14-year-old starting his third week of a summer algebra class?
''I'm going skateboarding and hanging out with my friends,'' he said.
With a growing number of schools around the country allowing students to take classes and make-up credits online, summer school's punitive reputation is slipping. And more students are finding they need not miss out on summer camp, vacation or jobs.
First lady, education secretary to visit Waturbury
By Randy James, Waturbury Republican-American, July 21, 2007
WATERBURY — The city will roll out the red carpet for first lady Laura Bush and the nation's top education official next week. Bush and U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings will visit Driggs School on Tuesday to announce a grant to improve school libraries. The event at Driggs, 77 Woodlawn Terrace, is scheduled for 10:45 a.m.
"It's a real boost to the psyche of the city," Mayor Michael J. Jarjura said.
Logistical details have not been announced, but no road closures are expected. A school leader said the grant will give the school system $299,000 to improve libraries.
Opinions and Editorials
Alternative ed needs stable situation
Stamford Advocate Editorial, July 22, 2007
Stamford's legal obligation to educate does not end when a high school student is suspended, expelled or has disciplinary, behavioral, psychological or medical problems. But the method of delivery can change. Stamford's Alternative Routes to Success program sometimes is called in to teach these students one-on-one or in small-group settings. The hope is that these students can continue to learn without disrupting classmates at one of the city's other high schools.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
News Articles
The main architect of the platform is Hamden High School Principal Gary Highsmith, who began his career as a substitute teacher in city schools in the 1980s and worked his way up to assistant principal of the K-5 Beecher School before leaving the district.
“We want to create a world-class system in New Haven,” Newton said. “We know we can put that together. We brought Gary on board to put that together.”
Court Allows State to Take Control of Charter School
By Robert A. Frahm, Hartford Courant, July 13, 2007
State officials went to court Thursday to seize control of a charter school that has compiled a strong academic record despite accusations that its director used thousands of dollars in school funds for personal expenses.
The decision to try to save the Highville Mustard Seed School in Hamden came after a group of parents convinced Attorney General Richard Blumenthal that their children have thrived there, and that the school should stay open.
Hartford Superior Court Judge James Graham granted the state's request in what Blumenthal called an unprecedented step designed to "stop the cronyism and corruption and internal conflict" that threatened to undermine the state-funded school.
Race-based Racketeering in public schools
By Lewis M. Andrews, Waterbury Republican-American, July 16, 2007
As public educators continue to come under fire for failing to improve mediocre schools, those with a vested interest in the status quo increasingly mask their self-serving agenda with phony prescriptions for racial equity — projects designed to recruit the naive while intimidating knowledgeable critics into silence.
The most successful racial strategy is the so-called "education-equalization" or "education-equity" lawsuit. This is a legal action aimed at compelling a legislature to raise school funding, especially in poor and minority areas.
To date, education-equity suits have been filed in 42 states, with the court finding for plaintiffs in more than half. In November 2005, an organization called the Connecticut Coalition for Justice in Education Funding (CCJEF), representing traditional allies of the teacher unions, filed a brief with the state Supreme Court which, if upheld, would cost taxpayers more than $2 billion.
Edwards Pushes Better Education for Poor
By Thomas J. Sheeran, Washington Post, July 17, 2007
PITTSBURGH -- Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards on Tuesday called for measures to strengthen education for poor children and make schools more economically diverse in order to fight poverty.
"We don't just have racial segregation in our schools, we have huge economic segregation," Edwards said while on the Pittsburgh leg of an eight-state tour to highlight poverty issues. "We have two public school systems in America ... one for those who live in wealthy suburban areas and then one for everybody else."
Griswold presents third budget to voters
Julie A. Varughese, Norwich Bulletin, July 18, 2007
GRISWOLD -- Taxpayers will head to the polls Thursday for the third time to vote on the proposed 2007-08 combined town and education budget.
The $30.88 million proposal calls for a 16.75 mill tax rate, which is a 0.34 mill decrease compared to last year, according to Board of Finance member Joseph Przylucki.
Using the figures from the recent revaluation, it would have required a tax rate of 17.09 mills to fund last year's budget, Przylucki said
Court Ruling Is Clear On Not Using Race For Schools
By Steven J. Stein, Greenwich Time, July 18, 2007
The statement by Steve Walko, a member of the town task force on racial imbalance, space use and declining enrollment, to the effect that the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Parents Involved in Community Schools vs. Seattle School District is not "... something we can ignore" suggests there is controversy about the use of race in allocating children to schools within a district (Greenwich Time news story, July 16).
Moreover, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and the spokesman of the state Board of Education (as reported) add confusion, not enlightenment, to what the Supreme Court majority decided on June 29. It is simple and straightforward: Allocating children to different publicschools based on their race violates the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection guarantee.
Montgomery Ranks 5th in U.S.
By Daniel De Vise, Washington Post, July 18, 2007
A new study by Forbes magazine ranks Montgomery County public schools fifth in the nation "for the buck," with nods to Howard and Loudoun schools for delivering return on educational investment. It ranks D.C. and Alexandria schools among the worst.
The analysis, "Best and Worst School Districts for the Buck," ranks 97 jurisdictions for performance -- as measured by SAT data and graduation rates -- relative to per-pupil spending. It focuses on locales with populations greater than 65,000 where more than half of school funds come from property taxes.
Education plan focuses on race
By Angela Carter, New Haven Register, July 19, 2007
The main architect of the platform is Hamden High School Principal Gary Highsmith, who began his career as a substitute teacher in city schools in the 1980s and worked his way up to assistant principal of the K-5 Beecher School before leaving the district.
“We want to create a world-class system in New Haven,” Newton said. “We know we can put that together. We brought Gary on board to put that together.”
Opinions and Editorials
Hartford Courant Editorial, July 18, 2007
When it comes to corporate commitment to Hartford's youths, The Hartford Financial Services Group must rank among the most generous.
Recently, the company named the 17 student recipients of its two annual college scholarship programs - the Alliance for Academic Achievement and the STAG Leadership Scholarship. Both programs offer four years of financial aid, summer employment, mentoring and life skills courses.
The 14 Alliance winners receive $5,000 in financial aid, and the three seniors in the STAG program receive $3,500 annually. Some 115 students have attended college through the Alliance program since it began in 1999. About 1,600 have graduated from the STAG program since 1966.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Opinions and Editorials
Don't leave this law behind
Ronald Brownstein, LA Times, July 11, 2007
Progress is slow under Bush's 2001 education reform, but No Child Left Behind is worth improving.
The complaints are reaching a crescendo as Congress moves closer to reauthorizing No Child Left Behind, the education reform law that President Bush passed with rare bipartisan support in 2001. Conservatives are wailing about federal intrusion. Teachers unions and some leading Democrats moan that the law relies too much on testing as the measure of student progress. And some parents echo each of those indictments.
There's no doubt the law has minted enemies. But Kati Haycock, president of the Education Trust, a nonpartisan group that advocates for low-income children, has it right when she says the law wasn't designed "to make people happy." It was passed because too many students in too many places were not learning enough. It wouldn't be doing its job if it left in place the practices that produced those unacceptable results. Grumbling, in education as in everything else, is the inevitable price of change.
Closing the Gaps
By Fred Smith, New York Sun, July 11, 2007
On June 27, as a final salute to the school year, Mayor Bloomberg told business leaders about the advances that had been made in test scores that were, according to him, "most importantly closing the racial and ethnic achievement gaps in the classroom."
His words were echoed by Chancellor Klein, who, in talking about narrowing the gap, calls education this generation's civil rights movement.
At the state level, the regents chancellor, Robert Bennett, issued one or two sentences on the educational status of 1.2 million students. The press releases that accompany the annual English and math test results often include this quote from him: "Closing the achievement gap is the Regents' highest priority."
Two mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act, which was enacted in 2002, have placed enormous emphasis on improving and measuring the basic skills of all students.
By the 2013-2014 school year it is expected that, with few exceptions, every elementary and middle school student will be proficient in English and math. Additionally, there will be no appreciable differences among the various groups of students, which translates into elimination of the gap.
Taking these objectives to their logical endpoint means that in six years everyone will pass the test's threshold of proficiency, regardless of race, gender, economic background, or other diversities. In this vision, all gaps are bridgeable and on deadline, too.
News and Articles
Parents, Teachers, Docs Seek An Earlier Start
by Allan Appel, New Haven Independent, July 12, 2007
Each year hundreds of New Haveners are born to teen mothers or without prenatal care. They start school behind the ball, not yet ready to learn. More than 100 people gathered at Conte-West Hills School to come up with a plan to turn that around.
The people present at Wednesday night’s meeting of the New Haven School Readiness Council’s planning task force included day care providers, pediatricians, parents, and early childhood teachers.
They knew they face challenges captured in daunting statistics: Of the approximately 2,000 kids born every year in the city, 275 are born to teen mothers; 500 are born to mothers who receive inadequate prenatal care, and about 220 have low birth weight. Also, when they are ready to enter school, only a third or so have the skills needed for kindergarten-level literacy. And it doesn’t get a whole lot better by third grade, where, according to 2006 statistics, only 33.2 percent scored proficient or above on a standardized reading test.
Don't leave this law behind
Ronald Brownstein, LA Times, July 11, 2007
Progress is slow under Bush's 2001 education reform, but No Child Left Behind is worth improving.
The complaints are reaching a crescendo as Congress moves closer to reauthorizing No Child Left Behind, the education reform law that President Bush passed with rare bipartisan support in 2001. Conservatives are wailing about federal intrusion. Teachers unions and some leading Democrats moan that the law relies too much on testing as the measure of student progress. And some parents echo each of those indictments.
There's no doubt the law has minted enemies. But Kati Haycock, president of the Education Trust, a nonpartisan group that advocates for low-income children, has it right when she says the law wasn't designed "to make people happy." It was passed because too many students in too many places were not learning enough. It wouldn't be doing its job if it left in place the practices that produced those unacceptable results. Grumbling, in education as in everything else, is the inevitable price of change.
Closing the Gaps
By Fred Smith, New York Sun, July 11, 2007
On June 27, as a final salute to the school year, Mayor Bloomberg told business leaders about the advances that had been made in test scores that were, according to him, "most importantly closing the racial and ethnic achievement gaps in the classroom."
His words were echoed by Chancellor Klein, who, in talking about narrowing the gap, calls education this generation's civil rights movement.
At the state level, the regents chancellor, Robert Bennett, issued one or two sentences on the educational status of 1.2 million students. The press releases that accompany the annual English and math test results often include this quote from him: "Closing the achievement gap is the Regents' highest priority."
Two mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act, which was enacted in 2002, have placed enormous emphasis on improving and measuring the basic skills of all students.
By the 2013-2014 school year it is expected that, with few exceptions, every elementary and middle school student will be proficient in English and math. Additionally, there will be no appreciable differences among the various groups of students, which translates into elimination of the gap.
Taking these objectives to their logical endpoint means that in six years everyone will pass the test's threshold of proficiency, regardless of race, gender, economic background, or other diversities. In this vision, all gaps are bridgeable and on deadline, too.
News and Articles
Parents, Teachers, Docs Seek An Earlier Start
by Allan Appel, New Haven Independent, July 12, 2007
Each year hundreds of New Haveners are born to teen mothers or without prenatal care. They start school behind the ball, not yet ready to learn. More than 100 people gathered at Conte-West Hills School to come up with a plan to turn that around.
The people present at Wednesday night’s meeting of the New Haven School Readiness Council’s planning task force included day care providers, pediatricians, parents, and early childhood teachers.
They knew they face challenges captured in daunting statistics: Of the approximately 2,000 kids born every year in the city, 275 are born to teen mothers; 500 are born to mothers who receive inadequate prenatal care, and about 220 have low birth weight. Also, when they are ready to enter school, only a third or so have the skills needed for kindergarten-level literacy. And it doesn’t get a whole lot better by third grade, where, according to 2006 statistics, only 33.2 percent scored proficient or above on a standardized reading test.
Monday, July 9, 2007
Opinions and Editorials
For real integration, try charter schools
By Liam Julian, The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Kentucky
In 1975, a federal court ordered Jefferson County Public Schools to integrate classrooms. Now the Supreme Court has mandated the opposite: Jefferson County may no longer use race in deciding where students attend school.
In fact, Louisville hasn't actually had to racially integrate its schools for seven years. In 1991, the Supreme Court ruled that places like Jefferson County could return to their old systems of neighborhood-based school assignments, once the districts had taken "practicable" steps to eliminate the legacy of segregation. But Louisville, which was freed in 2000 from federal desegregation oversight, evidently liked its integrated schools and was willing to fight for them.
OK College Expansion Funds
Hartford Courant, Editorial July 9, 2007
Five years have passed since the state began spending about $800,000 a year to lease two empty floors in Hartford's G. Fox building that were intended to house the state Banking Department.
The department has not moved in, and the rent tab is now up to $4.4 million of taxpayer money.
Three years have passed since the General Assembly, having satisfied itself that the Banking Department move was not happening, approved $6 million to renovate the vacant floors for classroom use by Capital Community College, located in the same building.
An Irresponsible, Spendthrift Budget
By Matthew M. Daly, Hartford Courant, July 9, 2007
The state budget process has come to an end, and with it comes a big slap in the face to fiscal conservatives.
Most thinking taxpayers who have read about, listened to and watched our elected leaders discuss this budget must be asking themselves a simple question. Where do we get these leaders? Could it be they are from Mars or Jupiter? (I would have said some place closer, like Sweden, but even the socialist Swedes have universal school choice.)
The Republicans' newly elected Senate minority leader, John McKinney, a self-described fiscal conservative and social moderate, recently stated, "It's not a Republican budget, it's not a Democratic budget, it's a compromise."
Really - let's see.
Connecticut ranks: per capita as the highest taxed state in the country, No.2 in the amount of property taxes paid, near the top in bonded debt, and has a near net zero job growth increase in the private sector over the past 16 years.
News Articles
The ABCs of learning online
By Stefanie Olsen, CNET News.com, July 9, 2007
Like many 7- and 8-year-old girls online, Emily and Kayla Strickland are regulars to Barbie.com and the virtual world Webkinz.
But much to their mom's delight, the sisters also have been longtime fans of Starfall, an educational Web site whose star is quickly rising among parents, teachers and kids as young as 2 years old.
Like a Sesame Street program, the free Web site teaches kids their ABCs and the basics of reading through the use of audio and visual phonetics, games and animations. Exercises on Starfall include sounding out vowels ("ah"), reading books like The Little Hen and decorating a virtual character.
"We read a lot at home, but for them, it seems 'more fun' online," said Tressa Strickland, Emily and Kayla's stay-at-home mom and a former preschool teacher living in Waco, Texas. "I like the fact that they are advancing their reading skills and not even knowing it."
Beyond its child-friendly simplicity, Starfall signifies a small but growing force of change in an education field that's long been dominated by textbook publishers and software makers. Like other industries disrupted by the Internet or new technology, Starfall opens access to learning exercises for free online. It does so in a noncommercial way that entertains its audience much the way PBS has for previous generations.
Education funding for record books Towns benefit from more aid, distribution changes
By Paul Hughes, Waterbury Republican American, July 9, 2007
HARTFORD The upscale, Republican-leaning suburb of Southbury is getting a whopping 53 percent increase in state aid under the new state budget.
The increase translates into more than $1 million in additional funding for the new fiscal year that started July 1. Only Westport saw a larger proportional increase.
Southbury is benefiting from a record increase in state education spending and changes made to how the state distributes that money.
Other suburbs are also reaping financial benefits. Overall, 15 towns are receiving increases of 30 percent or higher, including seven of the state's 10 wealthiest communities.
Sheff Case Returns To Court: School Desegregation Issue Had Been Stuck In The State Legislature
By Robert A. Frahm, Hartford Courant, July 6, 2007
The struggle to desegregate Hartford's public schools is back in court.
Plaintiffs in the Sheff v. O'Neill case filed a legal motion Thursday, saying they will wait no longer for the legislature to approve a tentative agreement that would require the state to take aggressive new measures to reduce racial isolation in Hartford's public schools.
A 4-year-old settlement in the long-running case failed to reach its goals and expired last week. The state and the Sheff plaintiffs reached a tentative agreement in late May that would establish new goals and extend the settlement, but the legislature so far has not approved the extension.
Schools Move Toward Following Students’ Yearly Progress on Tests
By Winnie Hu, New York Times, July 6, 2007
The Cohoes city school district, outside Albany, is considering a gifted program for elementary students and adding college-level courses after discovering that its top students improved less on standardized tests in the past two years than everyone else in the district.
In Ardsley, N.Y., a Westchester County suburb, administrators intend to place more special education students in regular classes after seeing their standardized test scores rise in the last year.
And as the New York City Department of Education begins grading each public school A to F for the first time this fall, more than half the evaluation will be based on how individual students progress on standardized tests.
For real integration, try charter schools
By Liam Julian, The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Kentucky
In 1975, a federal court ordered Jefferson County Public Schools to integrate classrooms. Now the Supreme Court has mandated the opposite: Jefferson County may no longer use race in deciding where students attend school.
In fact, Louisville hasn't actually had to racially integrate its schools for seven years. In 1991, the Supreme Court ruled that places like Jefferson County could return to their old systems of neighborhood-based school assignments, once the districts had taken "practicable" steps to eliminate the legacy of segregation. But Louisville, which was freed in 2000 from federal desegregation oversight, evidently liked its integrated schools and was willing to fight for them.
OK College Expansion Funds
Hartford Courant, Editorial July 9, 2007
Five years have passed since the state began spending about $800,000 a year to lease two empty floors in Hartford's G. Fox building that were intended to house the state Banking Department.
The department has not moved in, and the rent tab is now up to $4.4 million of taxpayer money.
Three years have passed since the General Assembly, having satisfied itself that the Banking Department move was not happening, approved $6 million to renovate the vacant floors for classroom use by Capital Community College, located in the same building.
An Irresponsible, Spendthrift Budget
By Matthew M. Daly, Hartford Courant, July 9, 2007
The state budget process has come to an end, and with it comes a big slap in the face to fiscal conservatives.
Most thinking taxpayers who have read about, listened to and watched our elected leaders discuss this budget must be asking themselves a simple question. Where do we get these leaders? Could it be they are from Mars or Jupiter? (I would have said some place closer, like Sweden, but even the socialist Swedes have universal school choice.)
The Republicans' newly elected Senate minority leader, John McKinney, a self-described fiscal conservative and social moderate, recently stated, "It's not a Republican budget, it's not a Democratic budget, it's a compromise."
Really - let's see.
Connecticut ranks: per capita as the highest taxed state in the country, No.2 in the amount of property taxes paid, near the top in bonded debt, and has a near net zero job growth increase in the private sector over the past 16 years.
News Articles
The ABCs of learning online
By Stefanie Olsen, CNET News.com, July 9, 2007
Like many 7- and 8-year-old girls online, Emily and Kayla Strickland are regulars to Barbie.com and the virtual world Webkinz.
But much to their mom's delight, the sisters also have been longtime fans of Starfall, an educational Web site whose star is quickly rising among parents, teachers and kids as young as 2 years old.
Like a Sesame Street program, the free Web site teaches kids their ABCs and the basics of reading through the use of audio and visual phonetics, games and animations. Exercises on Starfall include sounding out vowels ("ah"), reading books like The Little Hen and decorating a virtual character.
"We read a lot at home, but for them, it seems 'more fun' online," said Tressa Strickland, Emily and Kayla's stay-at-home mom and a former preschool teacher living in Waco, Texas. "I like the fact that they are advancing their reading skills and not even knowing it."
Beyond its child-friendly simplicity, Starfall signifies a small but growing force of change in an education field that's long been dominated by textbook publishers and software makers. Like other industries disrupted by the Internet or new technology, Starfall opens access to learning exercises for free online. It does so in a noncommercial way that entertains its audience much the way PBS has for previous generations.
Education funding for record books Towns benefit from more aid, distribution changes
By Paul Hughes, Waterbury Republican American, July 9, 2007
HARTFORD The upscale, Republican-leaning suburb of Southbury is getting a whopping 53 percent increase in state aid under the new state budget.
The increase translates into more than $1 million in additional funding for the new fiscal year that started July 1. Only Westport saw a larger proportional increase.
Southbury is benefiting from a record increase in state education spending and changes made to how the state distributes that money.
Other suburbs are also reaping financial benefits. Overall, 15 towns are receiving increases of 30 percent or higher, including seven of the state's 10 wealthiest communities.
Sheff Case Returns To Court: School Desegregation Issue Had Been Stuck In The State Legislature
By Robert A. Frahm, Hartford Courant, July 6, 2007
The struggle to desegregate Hartford's public schools is back in court.
Plaintiffs in the Sheff v. O'Neill case filed a legal motion Thursday, saying they will wait no longer for the legislature to approve a tentative agreement that would require the state to take aggressive new measures to reduce racial isolation in Hartford's public schools.
A 4-year-old settlement in the long-running case failed to reach its goals and expired last week. The state and the Sheff plaintiffs reached a tentative agreement in late May that would establish new goals and extend the settlement, but the legislature so far has not approved the extension.
Schools Move Toward Following Students’ Yearly Progress on Tests
By Winnie Hu, New York Times, July 6, 2007
The Cohoes city school district, outside Albany, is considering a gifted program for elementary students and adding college-level courses after discovering that its top students improved less on standardized tests in the past two years than everyone else in the district.
In Ardsley, N.Y., a Westchester County suburb, administrators intend to place more special education students in regular classes after seeing their standardized test scores rise in the last year.
And as the New York City Department of Education begins grading each public school A to F for the first time this fall, more than half the evaluation will be based on how individual students progress on standardized tests.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Opinions and Editorials
SCHOOLS: Merit-pay resistance fades
Editorial, Republican-American, July 3, 2007
Unions' long-standing hostility toward merit pay, however, is receding. Though the National Education Association still believes it inappropriate, American Federation of Teachers supports it when factors other than standardized-test scores are weighed, and the United Federation of Teachers is willing to discuss bonuses for entire schools that show sustained growth in student achievement.
This significant and welcome thawing is attributable to the building consensus that merit pay energizes veteran teachers and attracts bright young people to the profession. The consensus is supported by a growing body of evidence showing bonuses work.
News Articles
Activist likely choice to fill BOE vacancy
By Amanda Pinto, Norwalk Hour, July 5, 2007
NORWALK — The city's Democratic Town Committee will likely appoint Shirley Mosby to fill the board of education position vacated when Richard Fuller retired July 1, Committee Chairwoman Galen Wells confirmed Tuesday.
Mosby is the co-president of the Parent Leadership Training Institute, and is involved in various Norwalk High School parent groups including African-American Outreach, which she chaired, the high school's principal search and building construction committees, and the Junior Achievement program.
She is also a past first vice president of Norwalk's chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Program for Hispanic students has its successes
By Chris Gosier, Stamford Advocate, July 5, 2007
STAMFORD - Brian Eirin, 16, used to skip school and was at risk of joining the ranks of Hispanic high school dropouts. Without a new Stamford program known as ALTA, or Aspiring Leadership Through Success, Brian said, he would "still be running around in the streets."
Hispanic students have the highest dropout rate in the state, but the program, backed by more than $140,000 in state funds, is hoping to change that. It is seeing some success.
An Appointment The Mayor Never Misses
By Daniella Altimari, Hartford Courant, July 3, 2007
Lunchtime at Macdonough Elementary School in Middletown: Most of the fourth grade is parked in the cafeteria, but a 10-year-old in a crimson hoodie is headed in the opposite direction. There's a buoyancy to his step, even though he's carrying his lunch on a flimsy plastic foam tray.
A few minutes later, a man in a well-tailored dark suit walks in. He is Sebastian Giuliano, the mayor of the city, and he has come to see Anthony Bartucca, the boy he is mentoring, just as he has every Friday morning throughout the school year.
Schools may study overcrowding
By Melvin Mason, Connecticut Post, July 4, 2007
The city's School Building Commission may hire a consultant to study whether the city should build another elementary or middle school to address classroom overcrowding.
The New England School Development Council is expected to give a presentation of its proposed review of the district's four schools and future space needs when the building panel meets at 6:30 p.m. today in City Hall.
Acting Supt. of Schools Anne Giddings said NESDEC, based in Marlborough, Mass., will look at the district's space needs and enrollment projections to offer recommendations.
Opinions and Editorials
SCHOOLS: Merit-pay resistance fades
Editorial, Republican-American, July 3, 2007
Unions' long-standing hostility toward merit pay, however, is receding. Though the National Education Association still believes it inappropriate, American Federation of Teachers supports it when factors other than standardized-test scores are weighed, and the United Federation of Teachers is willing to discuss bonuses for entire schools that show sustained growth in student achievement.
This significant and welcome thawing is attributable to the building consensus that merit pay energizes veteran teachers and attracts bright young people to the profession. The consensus is supported by a growing body of evidence showing bonuses work.
News Articles
Activist likely choice to fill BOE vacancy
By Amanda Pinto, Norwalk Hour, July 5, 2007
NORWALK — The city's Democratic Town Committee will likely appoint Shirley Mosby to fill the board of education position vacated when Richard Fuller retired July 1, Committee Chairwoman Galen Wells confirmed Tuesday.
Mosby is the co-president of the Parent Leadership Training Institute, and is involved in various Norwalk High School parent groups including African-American Outreach, which she chaired, the high school's principal search and building construction committees, and the Junior Achievement program.
She is also a past first vice president of Norwalk's chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Program for Hispanic students has its successes
By Chris Gosier, Stamford Advocate, July 5, 2007
STAMFORD - Brian Eirin, 16, used to skip school and was at risk of joining the ranks of Hispanic high school dropouts. Without a new Stamford program known as ALTA, or Aspiring Leadership Through Success, Brian said, he would "still be running around in the streets."
Hispanic students have the highest dropout rate in the state, but the program, backed by more than $140,000 in state funds, is hoping to change that. It is seeing some success.
An Appointment The Mayor Never Misses
By Daniella Altimari, Hartford Courant, July 3, 2007
Lunchtime at Macdonough Elementary School in Middletown: Most of the fourth grade is parked in the cafeteria, but a 10-year-old in a crimson hoodie is headed in the opposite direction. There's a buoyancy to his step, even though he's carrying his lunch on a flimsy plastic foam tray.
A few minutes later, a man in a well-tailored dark suit walks in. He is Sebastian Giuliano, the mayor of the city, and he has come to see Anthony Bartucca, the boy he is mentoring, just as he has every Friday morning throughout the school year.
Schools may study overcrowding
By Melvin Mason, Connecticut Post, July 4, 2007
The city's School Building Commission may hire a consultant to study whether the city should build another elementary or middle school to address classroom overcrowding.
The New England School Development Council is expected to give a presentation of its proposed review of the district's four schools and future space needs when the building panel meets at 6:30 p.m. today in City Hall.
Acting Supt. of Schools Anne Giddings said NESDEC, based in Marlborough, Mass., will look at the district's space needs and enrollment projections to offer recommendations.
Monday, July 2, 2007
ConnCAN in the News
By Andy Rotherham, Eduwonk.com, July 2, 2007
If you follow the saga of the big achievement gaps, NCLB pushback, etc...from one of our most prosperous states, you won't want to miss this NYT ed.
Opinions and Editorials
Stan Simpson, Hartford Courant, June 30, 2007
Pardon me if I get a little testy about court rulings that deal with race, integration and public education. As we debate the latest U.S. Supreme Court ruling, understand that there's never been the political will to execute meaningful, comprehensive changes to correct racial inequities in schools.
Fifty-three years after a landmark Supreme Court decision ordered school desegregation, rapid re-segregation is taking place in public schools - even as America grows increasingly diverse. The achievement gap, really more of a preparation gap, between white students and their black and Latino peers has widened.
Rick Green, Hartford Courant, June 29, 2007
As we nod off again, give thanks to the Supreme Court for its 5-4 decision telling us not to bother with race when trying to create equality in education.
No, this inequality isn't about "extreme" issues like race. It's not about income either, since our cities are repositories of impoverished minorities. So relax, there's no need to disrupt our antique education system, which preserves and enhances divisions based on race and class.
If you believe this hokum, then you probably think more money will solve our education problems. These divided, inferior schools will be our downfall, preventing us from having an educated, competitive workforce
News Articles
Highville parents going to bat for endangered school
By Ann DeMatteo, New Haven Register, July 1, 2007
In fighting for the survival of the Highville Mustard Seed Charter School, parents are taking tips from the school’s mission statement. Parents are being "competent in communications and problem-solving" and relying on their community involvement, in hopes of pulling the school through an extremely bumpy ride that has hit roadblock after roadblock.
Highville is one of 16 charter schools of choice in the state that operate independently of any local or regional board of education and are instead accountable to the State Board of Education. Of the charter schools, Amistad Academy in New Haven is considered the most successful, managing to consistently boost achievement by poor, urban youngsters to the level of their suburban peers. The school earlier this year was named Connecticut’s 2006 Title I Distinguished School for receiving the greatest net academic gains statewide on the Connecticut Mastery Test.
Many schools to have administrative changes
By Chris Gosie, The Advocate, July 2, 2007
The school district has filled two posts in its central office, which will be smaller in the fall because of budget cuts. Each appointee will oversee two curriculum areas that were overseen by separate program directors, school board President Martin Levine said.
The only other central office post to be filled is assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction. Joanna Nicholson will do the job in the interim, a district official said. Starr proposed a 10-person reduction in the central office because of budget reductions mandated in recent months by the Board of Finance and Board of Representatives. The school board approved the cuts.
Court Rejects Diversity Plans; Little Effect Seen In Hartford
By Robert Frahm, Hartford Courant, June 29, 2007
A U.S. Supreme Court decision forbidding schools from enrolling children strictly on the basis of race threatens many voluntary desegregation plans throughout the nation, but experts believe that it will have little effect on school desegregation efforts in Hartford.
That is because Hartford's court-approved desegregation plan in the Sheff v. O'Neill case differs from the voluntary plans in Louisville and Seattle that were overturned in Thursday's 5-4 Supreme Court ruling.
The key difference, legal experts said, is that the magnet schools and school choice plans that are a central piece of the Sheff efforts do not single out students by race. Rather, the plans attempt to achieve racial balance by selecting students based on where they live.
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