Associated Press

Published by Stamford Advocate, February 14, 2012

HARTFORD (AP) — Groups representing school boards, superintendents, business groups and education reform activists are joining to announce their shared priorities for the new Connecticut legislative session.

Representatives of the six groups were scheduled to meet Tuesday to discuss their concerns about closing the achievement gap between wealthy and poor students.

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Airs on WSTC-AM (Stamford) and WNLK-AM (Norwalk) on Sunday mornings

This week the focus is on economic disparity in Fairfield County. The difference between the very rich and very poor in the county is more extreme than possibly anywhere else in the nation. WSHU’s Craig LeMoult spoke with Orlando Rodriguez of Connecticut Voices for Children about income inequality in the region. We also hear from Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy and Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor about new education reform proposalsintended to address the student achievement gap. Read More »

Published by The Laurel, February 9, 2012

On Thursday, February 9^th at 8:30 pm, Connecticut Public Television will premiere a three-part series called Great Expectations: Raising Educational Achievement. Click here for a preview. The series was produced by documentary filmmaker Jonathan Robinson and “explores our current educational landscape and takes us on a journey of Connecticut’s potential and hopeful achievement.” Great Expectations: Raising Educational Achievement was funded by the Connecticut Council for Education Reform (CCER).

Link to the article.

By Eileen FitzGerald

Published by NewsTimes.com, February 8, 2012

“In too many places, Connecticut public schools are failing their two most basic missions: to provide children with an equal, world-class education, irrespective of race or income, and to ensure that their skills and knowledge match the needs of Connecticut’s employers.”

That’s what Gov. Dannel P. Malloy says and that is why he’s urging bold changes to the state’s education system — and more money to make them.

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By Shelly Banjo

Published by Wall Street Journal, February 8, 2012

Cable entrepreneur Steve Simmons says he wants Connecticut to have its own “Waiting for Superman” moment, referring to the 2010 documentary about failures in the American school system that he says helped spur a nationwide movement to improve public education.

To that end, the Connecticut Council for Education Reform and Mr. Simmons, of Greenwich, have put up $250,000 to create a documentary to call attention to the state’s own struggling public school system.

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By Rae Ann Knopf

Published by CT News Junkie, February 3, 2012

To any skeptics who asked last year whether Governor Dan Malloy truly intended to make the 2012 legislative session “the education session”, those doubts have been answered. Even before the formal opening of the session, we’ve seen enormous strides towards reforming education in Connecticut.

The Governor and his Education Commissioner, Stefan Pryor, are showing no interest in maintaining the status quo. Last week, the Performance Evaluation Advisory Council (PEAC) unanimously agreed on a model teacher evaluation system that includes student performance as a primary factor. Additionally, the new evaluation system will form the cornerstone of school turnaround efforts in the schools that are most challenged with meeting the diverse learning needs of their students.

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By Jacqueline Rabe Thomas

Business leaders offered a simple, if politically sensitive suggestion Thursday on how to pay for many of the things needed to improve education in the state: link the laundry list of grants that the state dishes out each year to performance…

‘It is time to gather the will to fundamentally assess whether we are spending our dollars in the right areas to drive educational attainment,’ Ramani Ayer, the retired leader of The Hartford insurance company, said when releasing the Connecticut Council for Education Reform’s recommendations.

…

As proof that the education systems in many states are doing a better job while spending less, Ayer pointed to a recent national report card highlighting that Connecticut spends more for each student than almost every other state after factoring in the region’s higher cost of living. Education Week reported that $13,959 is spent educating each student in the state compared with the $11,665 national average.

Read the full story here.

By Kathleen Megan

Published in the Hartford Courant, January 26, 2012

The Connecticut Council on Education Reform, a non-profit group of business and civic advocates, issued its legislative priorities Thursday, calling for improved teacher preparation colleges and better tracking of education dollars.

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Published by Wall Street Journal/Marketwatch

The Connecticut Council for Education Reform (CCER), a non-profit organization representing business and civic leaders, outlined its legislative priorities today. CCER’s mission is to represent the business and civic voice for comprehensive reform efforts to close the achievement gap while raising academic outcomes for all students in Connecticut.

“Today we are outlining our priorities for real education reform,” said Steve J. Simmons, Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of CCER. “These are measures that have worked in other states and are critical to our ability to raise overall student performance and close the achievement gap.”

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Associated Press

Published in NorwichBulletin.com