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.
By Robert Frahm
The state's allocation of federal stimulus money intended to save teaching jobs in cash-strapped school districts excluded charter schools, many of which serve students in Connecticut's poorest communities.
The experimental charter schools, along with the state's technical high schools and some public magnet schools, were left out under a formula used by the state to distribute the $110 million in stimulus funds approved by Congress in August.
By Rick Green
Maybe you saw what New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie did last week after he learned about the bungling behind his administration's failure to win $400 million in the federal Race to the Top competition that rewards states that adopt aggressive education reforms.
Christie fired his education commissioner.
Bravo. At least we know what matters to Gov. Christie, a Republican making waves across the country. That's more than I can say for Connecticut, land of timid leadership.
By Betsy Yagla
For the second time, Connecticut lost out on millions of dollars in competitive federal grants for education reform. Connecticut was not one of the 19 finalists announced in July. Last week, the U.S. Department of Education announced 10 winners, among them Connecticut’s neighbors Massachusetts ($250 million), New York ($750 million) and Rhode Island ($75 million).
By Donald Eng
By Abbe Smith
In the most recent round of federal Race to the Top awards, Connecticut scored lower than every state it borders.
The state learned last month that it did not make the list of finalists, but didn’t get details about why it missed out on the $175 million it was seeking until final scores and reviewer comments were released this week.

Tomorrow’s Connecticut is a state where no matter how humble your background, you receive an excellent public education. It’s a safe state, where prison sentences give way to college degrees. It’s a state whose students graduate with the skills to compete globally, propelling our economy to new heights.
Today’s Connecticut is a state where the children most dependent on our public schools all too often get the least effective education. It’s a state with the largest achievement gap in the country, where our students’ math skills are on par with the developing world. It’s a punitive state, where we spend more on jails than higher education. It’s a state whose economic future is in peril.
What stands between today and tomorrow’s Connecticut? It’s you.
The Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now is building a movement of concerned citizens advocating to fundamentally reform our public schools through smart public policies.
We will not rest until every Connecticut child, regardless of race or class, has access to a great public school.