This month the Education Trust came out with the newest report in its Shattering Expectations series. The report, entitled Finding America’s Missing AP and IB Students, focuses on the under-representation of low-income students and students of color in the most challenging public school classes. Only 5.5% of low-income students take at least one AP course in high school, as compared to 15.6% of non-low-income students. According to the paper, in order to close the enrollment gaps in AP classes, over 600,000 more low-income and minority students would have to participate.

These courses can make a significant difference in a student’s future. Taking rigorous classes in high school not only helps students get accepted into college, but it is also the strongest predictor of whether they will succeed once they get there. By not taking these rigorous courses, students increase their chances of continuing to live in poverty.

Ed Trust’s report dissects some of the reasons why low-income students and students of color are underrepresented in AP and IB classes and it might not be for the reasons you think!

The Hartford school board and Mayor Pedro Segarra are faced with an important decision concerning Hartford public schools:

Should they change leadership, thereby potentially disrupting progress made to date? Or should they renew the contract of Superintendent Christina M. Kishimoto and continue her progress in a seven-year program for education reform in the capital city?

New Haven, Connecticut – The Connecticut Council for Education Reform (CCER) is proud to announce that “Part 3: Turnaround Schools” of the documentary series, “Great Expectations: Raising Educational Achievement”, has been awarded an Emmy Award in the category of Education/Schools Program.  The organization was honored with the prestigious award on Saturday, June 1 at the 36^th annual Boston-New England Emmy Awards.

New Haven-The Board of Directors for the Connecticut Council for Education Reform (CCER) announced today that executive director Rae Ann Knopf has resigned to pursue other opportunities.

At the close of the 2013 legislative session, Connecticut legislators and stakeholders have truly shown just how committed they are to the state’s children. The budget bill that passed on Monday night, H.B. 6704, restored most of the funding for education reform that had been threatened throughout session.

This has been a hard-won battle to secure funding for the major reforms that were passed during last year’s legislative session and through state action this year.

Here’s a look at what has been secured for Connecticut’s students:

New Haven, Connecticut – The Connecticut Council for Education Reform (CCER), today released the following statement in response to the budget passed by the Connecticut General Assembly.

This month, The Education Trust released a forward-thinking report, “Breaking the Glass Ceiling of Achievement for Low-Income Students and Students of Color,” which tells the story of the achievement gap from a new angle. Most efforts to date have focused the achievement gap between our low-performing students, but The Education Trust’s report points out that achievement gaps also exist between our high-performing students. The Education Trust points out that achieving full equality in America means that we need to make sure that our low-income students and students of color are also represented amongst our high-achieving students. In other words, it’s not enough to raise their performance to proficient; we need to raise the bar even higher.

Using the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), The Education Trust demonstrates this trend by studying the progress that subgroups make in narrowing their gaps over time. For example, if Hispanic students were to narrow their gaps more than White students over an increment of time, then Hispanic students would be deemed to have shown more improvement than their White peers. The interesting twist in this study by The Education Trust, however, is that it distinguishes between gaps at the “low-end” and gaps at the “high-end” of achievement by comparing gaps amongst sub-groups at the Below Basic and Advanced levels, independently.

“This program helps turn around our lowest performing schools.”

 On April 19^th, 2013, the Appropriations Committee cut roughly $37 million in necessary funding for education reforms from Governor Dannel P. Malloy’s proposed budget. This includes $10 million in cuts over the next two years to the Commissioner’s Network.

The Commissioner’s Network was created to turn around our state’s lowest performing schools and provide the support necessary to improve student achievement.

The governor’s proposal of $14.1 million over the biennium was intended to fund the following initiatives within the Commissioner’s Network:

• Increased support for principals and teachers
• 300 hours of extended learning time to schools over the biennium
• Up to five lead partners to manage the schools
• Professional development for coaching on data use
• Community partnerships to provide wraparound services

Currently, four schools are participating in the Commissioner’s Network,[1] and six more schools were invited to develop plans this year:

Under the Governor’s proposal, this initiative would expand to include up to 21 schools by the end of the biennium. However, the Appropriations Committee budget cuts funding for the Commissioner’s Network to only $3.9 million over the biennium, which will reduce the number of schools that can be included in the program from 21 to 12.[2]

We urge state legislators to restore funding for this key program designed to turn around the state’s lowest performing schools.

A better education for thousands of students is at stake.

In April, the Appropriations Committee didn’t just propose to cut new funding for Common Core State Standards; they completely eliminated it.

In 2010, Connecticut became one of the now 46 states that are adopting the Common Core State Standards. Along with standardizing expectations, CCSS encourages depth in learning and mastery of rigorous subject matter while making sure that our students become competent and competitive workers. In essence, CCSS changes the focus of classroom learning from quantity to quality. (Read more about CCSS here.)

Governor Malloy’s original budget proposal included $16.6 million over the biennium to support local implementation of the Common Core State Standards. This money is intended to train teachers and leaders to adopt the new standards in schools, develop aligned assessment tools, and create online reference materials for educators.

The Appropriations Committee’s Budget would be devastating to the progress made towards ensuring a quality education for all students.  Without any initial funding for CCSS implementation, educators will not have the support they need to make these vital changes. “The majority of teachers support the Common Core Standards but don’t feel prepared to teach them”, says CCER Executive Director, Rae Ann Knopf. “We need to make sure that teachers are confident in their abilities by providing focused professional development and training if we want to see positive changes in Connecticut Schools.”

We must follow through on our commitments in order to improve.

We must support Connecticut teachers in implementing higher standards and expectations for every student.

We are asking much of Connecticut’s educators, and, in return, CCER is urging legislators to restore funding for Common Core implementation. It is time that we support our teachers and administrators to ensure that ALL students have access to an effective and fulfilling education.

“We must move forward with the statewide educator evaluation system, which supports and develops teachers and principals, and holds educators accountable for their performance.”

The education reform bill passed by the state legislature with overwhelming support last year, and signed into law by the Governor, raises standards for educators by implementing a teacher and principal evaluation and support program.

The Appropriations Committee budget cuts put this essential program at risk.

We urge legislators to restore the $10 million for Talent Development, proposed by Governor Malloy’s budget.

This program is a significant improvement over existing evaluation programs in its potential to provide essential feedback and support to high-performing teachers and principals, make certain that teachers in need of improvement receive the help they need, and allow for swift dismissal of those who consistently fail to improve. Program pilots are underway currently in 10 sites. Upon review of these efforts, the State Board of Education (SBE) approved this program for statewide implementation. The remaining districts have developed plans for evaluation systems similarly informed by effectiveness. The SBE will review these plans for approval this month.

Why is this so important? Research is clear on the long-term positive impacts of effective teachers for kids, as well as the