In the past, we’ve talked about the need to overhaul how Connecticut funds its public schools. Across the country, policymakers and educators are thinking about how we can do a better job of allocating money to schools.
Under the traditional funding model, resources are distributed to schools in the form of staff and dollars that are earmarked for specific purposes. Often, this distribution is based upon formulas that allocate staffing positions based upon the number of students at each school. Although this method of distributing resources to schools was likely designed initially to be fair, it shortchanges our neediest schools and creates several problems:
- Even though different schools have different student populations with diverse needs, this funding model assumes that a “one-size fits all” strategy will work for all kids.
- Funding that is designated to provide additional resources to the neediest student populations goes to the district, rather than the schools that the students attend.
- Because the formulas are based upon staffing ratios, there is often a “cliff effect” where small increases in enrollment can drastically skew staffing ratios.
- It is more difficult to hold schools and school leaders accountable for results when they lack control over budgeting and resources.
- This funding system is so complicated that we sometimes feel pressure to meet many other needs before the needs of students.
Student-based budgeting (sometimes called “money follows the child,” “weighted student funding,” and “fair student funding”) attempts to solve many of these problems by shifting the focus of allocation to students’ needs, rather than strict staffing ratios.
In the student-based budgeting model, districts allocate dollars to schools (rather than staff), based upon the number of Read More
Yesterday, we attended the launch of the TIME Collaborative at Roger Sherman Elementary School. Because we’re so excited about the promise of this program, we wanted to share our experience of visiting two other Meriden schools that are already into the process of implementing extended time in partnership with TIME.
Imagine a learning environment in which children are provided with lessons beyond those normally presented in a traditional curriculum; a place where creativity and exploration are encouraged and nurtured; a place where enrichment is provided not only for the mind, but also for the body and spirit. The good news is that you do not need to imagine such a place because it actually exists in the extended day programs at Casimir Pulaski School and John Barry School in Meriden, Connecticut. Read More
One of the most hotly debated topics in the field of education over the past few years has been the Common Core State Standards. Every week there are numerous articles in newspapers, magazines, and other news media referencing the Common Core. Depending upon the source, the Common Core has been referred to as everything from the first step in a government takeover to the solution for all problems in public education. Neither assumption is the truth. What are the Common Core State Standards and why has a set of educational standards created such angst and drama in our nation? This blog will address those questions.
Simply put the Common Core outlines the essential skills that all children should be mastering at the end of each grade level (K-12) in the areas of English Language Arts and Math. The standards are sequenced to prepare students for college-level material and for future careers by the end of grade 12. They do not tell school districts how to teach these skills or what teaching materials or resources to use for that purpose. That is the responsibility of school districts as they develop curricula to help their students learn these standards.
In fact, the idea of having standards is not new to Connecticut (or America). Even before Common Core, Read More
Dear Reader,
Connecticut adopted the Common Core State Standards in 2010, and is now embarking upon the long process of statewide implementation.
At the end of the 2014 legislative session-in response to reports from stakeholders that implementation efforts need to improve-Governor Malloy established the Educators’ Common Core Implementation Taskforce. This group of educators has studied the issue of implementation and come up with a list of recommendations, which they submitted in a final report to Malloy at the end of June.
Then, at the beginning of this month, the State Board of Education held a meeting, at which a handful of Common Core critics expressed opposition to the new standards.
In response, we published this opinion with the Connecticut Post. It addresses the reality that it’s time for things to change in our public schools, and that we need to work together to make that happen. For your convenience, I’ve pasted the contents of the piece below.
Jeffrey A. Villar, Ph.D.
Executive Director Read More
