ConnCAN's Education News Roundup

September Archives

ConnCAN in the News

Special Meeting Requested
By Kevin D. Roberts, The Register Citizen, September 12, 2007

WINSTED – School Board members Cheryl Bartley, Raymond Pavlak and Carmelina Connole signed a letter written by Bartley calling for a special meeting to deal with student achievement. By law, a meeting must be held if three of the board's members sign a request for a special meeting.

Bartley was out of town, so Pavlak read the letter to the board. It cited a report from the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now, which stated that Pearson Middle School has been given a performance grade of D- for its 2006 report card. The school ranks 126 out of 134 schools, according to the group's Web site.

The board took a vote about adding Bartley's request to the agenda for discussion, but the motion was defeated unanimously. Molinelli said she will speak at a later date regarding the specifics of the special meeting request.

City SAT scores continue to rise
By Maria Garriga, New Haven Register, September 6, 2007

"While average reading and math scores on the SAT test went down nationally and statewide, New Haven’s scores went up," said Catherine Sullivan-DeCarlo, spokeswoman for New Haven public schools. The combined reading and math SAT scores for New Haven went up 4 points over last year, compared with a 6 point decline for Connecticut and a 4 point decline for the nation, the district reported Wednesday.

Nonetheless, average SAT scores in New Haven Public Schools were drastically lower than those across the nation and state. Connecticut posted an average SAT score of 504 in math, 502 in reading, and 503 in writing. Nationally, 2007 SAT test takers scored an average of 509 in math, 498 in reading, and 488 in writing.

"Certainly compared to the steady declines statewide New Haven looks better than many districts but it also has a lot of ground to close to reach the state average," said Marc Porter Magee, research director for Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now, a research and advocacy nonprofit agency that focuses on the achievement gap between students at urban and suburban schools. "The gain was 3 points over two years, so the average annual gain since 2007 is 1.5 points in math and reading. At the rate of increase, from 2007 it would take New Haven 129 years to reach the state average, or the high school class of 2136."

"If our goal is to close the achievement gap, we can’t be satisfied with modest increases," Magee added.

New state education czar focused on achievement gap
By Maria Garriga, New Haven Register, September 2, 2007

State Education Commissioner Mark K. McQuillan has a bashful smile and a rumpled suit. Don’t let that fool you. McQuillan means business. He means to close Connecticut’s achievement gap, the largest in the country, where low-income urban students often lag several grades behind their more affluent suburban peers.

“At one time Connecticut led the nation,” McQuillan said about why he came to Connecticut. “I did see this as a state in transition. We are building an accountability organization. The department is a vehicle for change.”

“Massachusetts is a state that has really taken seriously the task of raising minority and low income student scores,” said Marc Porter Magee, research director for Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now, an education research and advocacy group.

News Articles

City Tries to Assess Head Start Program
By Maria Garriga, The New Haven Register, September 17, 2007

Mayor John DeStefano Jr. has requested a report on the effectiveness of the city's Head Start program in closing the achievement gap between urban and suburban students. Superintendent of Schools Reginald Mayo agreed to get the report ready for the mayor, but the request has complications.

Very young children cannot be measured by standardized tests because they may not even understand basic concepts necessary for them to be tested. But educators can and do measure them against child development charts that show how much a child has mastered relative to what should be mastered at his or her age, Tina Mannarino, the city's early childhood education supervisor said.

Critics want changes to No Child Left Behind
By Eileen FitzGerald, The Danbury New Times Live, September 16, 2007

Danbury Associate Superintendent William Glass would like the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind to allow schools the chance to fail in one area of student achievement without being a failure overall and to require improvement but not the absolute increases demanded now.

"It never made sense to have students in special education who have special needs or those who are just learning English to be tested at the same level as their peers,'' Glass said. "Hispanics can be just learning the language. They could be high-achieving in reading and math in their own language but not achieve at proficiency yet in English.''

Connecticut children leading different lives
By Randy James, The Republican American, September 16, 2007

Thanks to strong school performance and high average incomes, a new report ranks Connecticut third in the nation for children's health and well-being.

But away from the state's picturesque towns and wealthier enclaves, the lives of young people are strikingly different. In terms of educational achievement, health, poverty and even plans for the future, the state's 835,000 children live in remarkably different worlds.

Experts give numerous explanations for Connecticut's disparities, including the fact that a small number of residents earn extravagant salaries in finance and other specialized fields requiring high levels of education. Meanwhile, formerly dependable, low-skill jobs continue to dwindle.

Statewide, more than half of urban children live in low-income families — those earning twice the poverty level or less — according to the Connecticut Kids Count project. In the state's suburbs, by contrast, the figure is just 15 percent.

Weston schools reformat reading program
By Terry Castellano, The Weston Forum, September 14, 2007

Weston’s Reading Intervention Program (RIP), available to assist children in grades kindergarten through three, has been reformatted for this school year and utilizes a three-tiered approach.

“The reformatting of the Reading Intervention Program came about after looking at research into ‘best practices’ — what programs and instruction have been shown to provide the best results in education,” said Jerry Belair, assistant superintendent of schools. “Students in need of intervention will now receive more time in reading instruction; they will attend regular classroom reading instruction as well as receive additional instruction during the school day.”

Amistad Plans Schools in Hartford
By Allan Appel, The New Haven Independent, September 12, 2007

Patricia B. Sweet, director of external relations at Achievement First, the umbrella organization that operates Amistad Academy and Elm City Prep, reported that the group has received approval from the state's Department of Education to operate both an elementary and a middle school in Hartford.

"We of course need to line up the funding," Sweet said in a telephone message, "but, yes, Amistad is excited to be part of the revival of the Hartford public school system that is under way through the leadership of the new superintendent Steven Adamoski."

Sweet said that subject to receiving necessary funding from the state and other sources, the new Hartford-based Amistads could be operating as early as next September.

At Weston High School Sophomores 'strong' on CAPT
By Terry Castellano, The Weston Forum, September 12, 2007

Last year’s Weston High School sophomores were described as having a “strong showing” on the 2007 Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT) by Jerry Belair, assistant superintendent of schools.

With more than 99% of the class participating in the testing, Weston scored in the top 10 school districts across the state on each of the four sections of the CAPT. Particularly impressive was Weston’s score on the science section, where 84.5% of the sophomores scored at or above goal, the largest percentage of test-takers to do so statewide.

Looking at the numbers, 79% of Weston students scored at or above goal in mathematics, 76.5% at or above goal in reading, and 82% at or above goal in writing.

School board discusses recruiting minority teachers
By:Christine McCluskey, Journal Inquirer, September 11, 2007

MANCHESTER -Interim Human Resources Director William Brindamour told the Board of Education that of the 45 teachers newly hired for this school year, five, or about 11 percent, are members of minority groups.

Almost half of all Manchester students are members of minority groups. Board members have expressed concern that these students need more role models from their own backgrounds in the schools.

And while teachers throughout the school system receive training on how to work effectively with students from different backgrounds, school officials say more diverse staffs would be another step toward the goal of this training - improving education for minority students.

Groton Board Backs NCLB-improvement Bill
By Katie Warchut, The Day, September 11, 2007

A majority of Board of Education members Monday followed hundreds of school districts across the country in supporting proposed legislation to improve the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

U.S. Rep. Don Young, R-Ark's proposal has provisions that would make sure students tested in more than one subgroup aren't counted multiple times; change subgroup sizes based on school size; give schools a one-year deferral for not making “progress” if only a small number of students fail to score as proficient; and allow different groups to have different rates of increase to reach 100 percent proficiency.

Groton is one of the state's school districts that has been designated as “in need of improvement,” but is on hold this year because it was able to make the required benchmark of progress.

Gianacoplos said it's unfortunate that the district has lost important preschool programs because NCLB sanctions required Groton to redirect funding for professional development.

Most Ledyard Students Below State Reading Average On CAPT
By Jenna Cho, The Day, September 12, 2007

Ledyard — Students here performed below the statewide average in both reading and writing on the CAPT.

Statewide, 45.6 percent of students on average met the state goal in reading. In writing, 49.5 percent of the students here met the state goal, while 52.9 percent statewide met the goal.

Female students in Ledyard significantly outperformed their male counterparts in reading and writing. In reading, 45.6 percent of girls met the state goal, but just 24 percent of boys met it. In writing, 58.9 percent of the girls met state goal, while only 37.7 percent of boys did..

Ed chief says scores show work needed
Bill McDonald, Connecticut Post, September 10, 2007

MILFORD — "We went up in science and reading and down in writing and mathematics," said Law Principal Janet Garagliano, of CAPT test scores that were made available to the district Aug. 30.

"Overall, I'm happy with the scores, but there is room for improvement," said Foran Principal Michael Cummings. Foran's results showed 90.6 per cent proficient in mathematics, 95.1 in science, 85.4 in reading, and 87.2 in writing. Law's proficiency results were: mathematics, 78.8 percent; science, 89.4; reading, 80.

Merit Pay for Teachers Draws Debate
By Nancy Zuckerbrod, The Associated Press, September 10, 2007

The head of the nation's largest teacher's union and a top House Democrat had a testy exchange Monday over the inclusion of merit pay in an updated version of the No Child Left Behind education law.

California Rep. George Miller, chairman of the House education committee, criticized National Education Association President Reg Weaver for rejecting the merit-pay proposal.

The proposal would give bonuses, worth up to $10,000 in most cases, to "outstanding" teachers. The proposal doesn't spell out who would be eligible for the extra money but says raising student test scores must be a factor.

Weaver said that level of detail should be bargained locally, not spelled out by Congress. The NEA has long opposed linking individual student scores to teachers' pay, though many local teachers unions across the country are agreeing to such proposals.

The Greatest Education Lab
By Walter Isaacson, Time Magazine, September 6, 2007

Paul Vallas, the man who took over the troubled school systems of Chicago and then Philadelphia and upended them, stood before a crowd of New Orleans parents in a French Quarter courtyard earlier this summer and offered a promise. "This will be the greatest opportunity for educational entrepreneurs, charter schools, competition and parental choice in America," he said. Call it the silver lining: Hurricane Katrina washed away what was one of the nation's worst school systems and opened the path for energetic reformers who want to make New Orleans a laboratory of new ideas for urban schools .

Mixed Test Results for city’s sophomores
By Chris Gosler, The Stamford Advocate, September 10, 2007

The latest Connecticut Academic Performance Test results show that a quarter to a third of Stamford students met the state goal. In math, 27 percent of students met the goal, and 26 percent in science. In reading, 34 percent of students met the state standard, and 35 percent in writing.

In Stamford, the percentage of students making goal is down at most schools and in most subjects. In one of the biggest drops, students making the writing goal dropped 44 percent to 33 percent at Stamford High School. Stamford fell below the rest of the state in the percentage of students meeting goal this year. Statewide, that figure ranged from 44 percent to 53 percent, depending on the subject, and tended to dip slightly from 2006 to 2007.

Superintendent Joshua Starr said part of the reason is that Stamford is more diverse than other districts. Stamford should be compared to other urban school systems, he said.

State’s Largest Pre-K Gets Underway
By Allan Appel, New Haven Independent, September 10, 2007

Traci Turner-Moore is the education coordinator of the new Pre-K program at the rebuilt Celentano School. New Haven's citywide Pre-K effort -- the state's largest -- begins its first full week Monday. Some 2,100 little people, like three-and-a-quarter year-old Thea and Edmund Bassett, attending 8:30 to 12:30 classes in programs around the city.

The demand for Pre-K slots in general is high throughout the city, particularly in the East Rock area. So the space in the observatory building, which used to be spillover classroom space for the Celentano K-8, was converted to Pre-K use. Turner-Moore said the program has a waiting list.

States Investing More In Pre-K Education
By Julia Silverman, Associated Press, September 5, 2007

Nearly a million children now attend state-funded preschool, up more than a third from five years ago. States are investing $4.2 billion in such programs, an increase of 75 percent since 2005, according to Pre-K Now, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group.

The movement has been buoyed by research showing that the programs are cost-effective, a lure for businesses, and may lead to higher standardized test scores.

Aging state creates unique problems
By Pam Dawkins, Connecticut Post, September 6, 2007

The state's economic development goals, she said, include sustainable growth, more diverse economic development opportunities, an improved quality of life and expanding the state's presence in the global marketplace. Traditional business concerns of regulatory oversight and the cost of being here must be balanced against other concerns, such as sprawl, high housing costs and clogged transportation systems.

The cost of doing business remains the key concern for 76 percent of respondents. However, the availability of qualified workers and rising payroll costs - a lack of trained workers is creating a tighter labor market, so businesses are paying higher wages and benefits to recruit and retain workers - are also troubling survey respondents.

"That is going to be the number one challenge," said Peter M. Gioia, a CBIA vice president and economist, of the lack of qualified, skilled workers. He spoke during the same session as Rodriguez.

Not only do businesses need skilled workers to keep themselves growing, Gioia said, but a shrinking pool of consumers means businesses who sell products or services here will have smaller customer bases.

Consultant to evaluate city schools
By Linda Conner Lambeck, Connecticut Post, September 5, 2007

HARTFORD — A consulting firm with British roots stands to collect up to $825,000 in state Education Cost Sharing money — earmarked for the state's neediest school districts — to make suggestions officials hope will boost student learning and test scores.

Trevor Yates, a vice president for Cambridge, said the firm's work at Columbus has led to improvement in students' reading test scores.

Supt. of Schools John Ramos said Thursday that the Cambridge work is solid and could offer new insights in addition to validating work the district is doing. "We have a good handle on what the issues are. A lot of it is about being empowered to get the work done in a district that is constantly in a tailspin," he said.

'Soul-Searching' Over Test Results—Bloomfield Jolted By Decline In Students' Scores
By Robert A. Frahm and Steven Goode, Hartford Courant, September 1, 2007

"Every adult working in this school district needs to do some soul-searching, including me," Superintendent of Schools David Title said after reviewing results that found that nearly two-thirds, or 65 percent, of 10th-graders failed to meet the high school's proficiency standard on the math portion of the test, for example. Last year, 43 percent missed the proficiency mark.

Title said the low scores, in part, may reflect a chronic achievement gap that finds many minority students in Connecticut and across the nation lagging behind white students in subjects such as reading and math. Minority students, most of them black, account for more than 90 percent of Bloomfield High School's enrollment.