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In the News
January 18, 2012
New Haven Register

 Connecticut lost ground in the annual ranking of state laws that govern charter schools, mainly because other states such as Maine and New Mexico passed more progressive reforms in the past year.

January 15, 2012
Hartford Courant

 When Gov. Dannel P. Malloy put education reform on the front burner for 2012, he caught a wave of public sentiment that has been building for a couple of years in every corner of the state. Everybody from superintendents and the state's largest teachers union to business leaders, advocacy groups, parents and political leaders wants to improve the state's public schools.

January 15, 2012
CT Now / Fox 61

"Major education reforms for Connecticut are planned for this year, and I'm here with Michael Sharpe, Director of Jamoke Academy, one of the fastest rising charter schools in Connecticut, in Hartford, [and] Patrick Riccards, the new CEO/President of ConnCAN..."

January 8, 2012
CT News Junkie

By Patrick Riccards, CEO, ConnCAN

Last week, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy made a passionate case for why we all must commit to education reform in 2012. Speaking at his education reform summit, the governor made clear that school improvement is a team effort, requiring the involvement of all stakeholders.

January 4, 2012
Connecticut Post

About the only top slot the constitution state still clings to is "largest achievement gap in the nation."

So educational reform advocates say much is riding on Malloy's pledge that 2012 will be the year of education reform.

Malloy is hosting an Education Workshop Thursday at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain. Many invited are convinced the policies that begin to take shape there may lead to legislation that can transform the state's failing schools and ultimately assist in growing the economy.

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In the News

New panel tackles gap in learning

March 9, 2010
New Haven Register
View source article

By Elizabeth Benton

Gov. M. Jodi Rell has formed a new commission aimed at closing the achievement gap between minority and low-income students and their white and higher-income peers.

The 11-member commission draws heavily from the business and philanthropic fields, and is led by Greenwich businessman and children’s book author Steven J. Simmons.

“The future leaders of Connecticut, in both commerce and community, are in our classrooms today. How we prepare them and how they respond will dictate the success of our society,” Rell said in a statement.

The bipartisan, volunteer commission will meet for the first time this month. Simmons said he expected to release recommendations toward the end of this year.

“None of us come to this challenge with any preconceived notion that this or that is the right answer,” he said. “I’m not an expert on education. Most of the commissioners are not what I would call experts. ... Most of us are businesspeople who are used to solving problems.”

The commission also includes:

Ramani Ayer, retired CEO of The Hartford; David Carson, retired CEO of People’s United Bank in Bridgeport; Roxanne Cody, founder of R.J. Julia Booksellers; William Ginsburg, CEO of the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven; Carl Klein, former teacher and member of the Bridgeport Public Education Fund; Yvette Melendez, board member for the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving and former chief of staff for the Connecticut State University System; Peyton Patterson, CEO of NewAlliance Bank in New Haven; Steve Preston, CEO of Oakleaf Waste; John Rathgeber, CEO of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association; and Dudley N. Williams Jr., director of district education strategy for the GE Asset Management Group.

Rell’s announcement came days after Connecticut lost out on the first round of federal Race to the Top funds for school reform. Connecticut had sought nearly $200 million in Race to the Top funds and will resubmit its application in the second round. State Department of Education spokesman Tom Murphy said Rell’s announcement was unrelated to the first round loss, and conversations between Simmons and the governor have been ongoing for several weeks.

“They’ve taken on some very big issues: the achievement gap, finance, poverty and race,” he said. “I think we’ll get some fresh views and balanced perspectives that can help with the conversation.”

State Rep. Gary Holder-Winfield, D-New Haven, called the commission a “welcome addition” to work of the General Assembly’s Black and Puerto Rican Caucus, which has proposed several reforms aimed at closing the achievement gap.

“This issue is often regarded as an issue for certain communities when it is more properly an issue for the state of Connecticut,” he said. “This can no longer be looked upon as ‘their’ issue. Rightly, businesses must act to do more than just throw money at the problem.”

Alex Johnston of the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now said he recognized several commission members as already involved in the achievement gap issue, including Ginsburg, who has led an initiative to support school reform in New Haven.

“The business community has a direct interest in what is happening in our public education system,” he said.

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