Prove demographics don’t
have to be destiny
We can’t remake our public schools without you.
We can’t remake our public schools without you.
ConnCAN needs your support right now to make sure that every child in Connecticut, regardless of race, ethnicity, or class, has access to a great public school.
Connecticut would pump more money into charter schools and increase their numbers under a legislative proposal Gov. Dannel Malloy plans to unveil Monday.
Thanks to its strong educational system and manufacturing industry, Connecticut will pace America’s high tech-sector for the next generation.
After about two years of wrangling, a group representing teachers, school administrators and school boards agreed Wednesday on a new way to evaluate teachers that places a strong emphasis on student achievement.
Members of the state Performance Evaluation Advisory Council said the breakthrough in their discussions on the contentious issue occurred in the past few months under the leadership of Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor.
Years of disagreement have stalled efforts to grade teachers and dismiss those who are ineffective. That all changed Wednesday when a group of educators -- including teachers' unions, superintendent and school board groups -- agreed on how to properly evaluate teachers so those who are struggling are identified and put on a path to improve or be dismissed.
Connecticut's policies to improve the quality of teaching in its public schools are mediocre at best, and particularly fall short in efforts to keep the best teachers and remove those who are ineffective, according to a new nationwide assessment of states' regulations.

Teachers are the most important factor in whether a student achieves in the classroom, so closing the achievement gap means improving the effectiveness of our teachers and their principals. But right now, no one really knows how effective our teachers are. The Obama administration recognizes that many states’ evaluation systems are broken, and the $4 billion Race to the Top competition incentivizes states to make big changes in this area.
When nearly every teacher is considered “satisfactory,” teachers have little understanding of how to improve and great teachers go unrecognized. But as this issue brief shows, enacting key reforms at the state level will help Connecticut make progress in this area, win sorely-needed federal money, and raise student achievement. Read more about Connecticut's Race to the Top here.