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In the News

Charter schools won't get federal jobs money

September 1, 2010
Connecticut Mirror

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.

Time to stop whining and make serious education reforms

August 31, 2010
Hartford Courant

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.

Hot topic: Connecticut misses out on another school reform grant

August 31, 2010
New Haven Advocate

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).

Hwang to receive education award tomorrow at Fairfield U.

August 30, 2010
Trumbull Times

By Donald Eng

Conn. learns why it lost out on fed funds

August 28, 2010
New Haven Register

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.

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Media Room

Working with the Connecticut press corps.

If you’re writing a story about education in Connecticut, we’d be happy to work with you on deadline. Get in touch with ConnCAN Communications & Civic Engagement Manager Jessica Bloom: 

Office: 203-772-4017 ext. 19
Cell: 781-799-9289
Twitter: @jabloom11
 

Press Releases

 

Malloy, Marsh to participate in candidate forum on education
September 1, 2010

On September 28, Connecticut gubernatorial candidates Dan Malloy (D) and Tom Marsh (I) will participate in a forum hosted by ConnCAN and focused exclusively on public education in Connecticut. Candidate Tom Foley (R) was also invited to participate, but has not responded to our request at the time of this release.

Connecticut falls behind neighbors, loses out on federal education money again
August 25, 2010

 The second round scores for the federal Race to the Top competition were released today, and Connecticut once again came in 25th place – 15 spots out of the running for its share of the $4 billion in federal education funds. Connecticut’s total score was 379.0 points out of a total of 500 potential points, a gain of only 34.4 points over the first round.

ConnCAN Responds to Connecticut’s Rejection as a Race to the Top Round 2 Finalist
July 27, 2010

 In response to Connecticut’s rejection in Round 2 of the federal government’s $4 billion “Race to the Top” competition, ConnCAN Chief Executive Officer Alex Johnston released the following statement:

New test scores reveal gains in three largest districts, large statewide achievement gap
July 15, 2010

 Overall, Connecticut saw slight improvements over the past year in closing America’s worst achievement gap. These changes were largely driven by improvements in the large cities of Hartford, New Haven, and Bridgeport.

Download our full analysis here.

Three major findings came out of ConnCAN’s analysis of Thursday’s release of the 2010 Connecticut Mastery Test for elementary and middle school students:

ConnCAN announces 'Tip of the Cap' award for state lawmakers
June 28, 2010

ConnCAN (the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now) announces the establishment of a new, annual award to recognize rank-and-file state legislators who champion education reform: the “Tip of the Cap” award. With this award, ConnCAN acknowledges the work of lawmakers who have made improving Connecticut’s public schools a priority of their time in office.

The five legislators to be awarded the inaugural 2010 Tip of the Cap are:

Graduation data reveal dropout crisis in Connecticut
June 11, 2010

Today, the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now (ConnCAN) released its fourth annual comparison of official high school graduation rates calculated by the Connecticut State Department of Education and independent rates calculated by Education Week’s Diplomas Count project.

Download the graduation rate table.

ConnCAN applauds passage of Race to the Top bill
May 6, 2010

ConnCAN applauds Connecticut legislators for passing SB 438 to make Connecticut more competitive in the federal Race to the Top and help close the state’s achievement gap.

“Today is a breakthrough for the Connecticut education reform movement,” said ConnCAN CEO Alex Johnston. “These policies would have been unimaginable just five years ago, but they are on their way to the governor’s desk to be signed into law today.”

ConnCAN: New bill makes real progress for public schools
April 29, 2010

 ConnCAN CEO Alex Johnston released the following statement in response to the Race to the Top bill SB 438 released today by the Connecticut General Assembly Education Committee co-chairs:

New television ads ramp up call for action in Race to the Top
April 20, 2010

New 30-second television ads that will begin airing today on stations around Connecticut call for immediate legislative action to make the state competitive in Race to the Top.

Click here for a sneak preview of Connecticut’s Race to the Top television ads. 

The ads were funded by the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Advocacy (ConnAD), a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization.

CT Race to the Top score released today shows three bills key to success in Round 2
March 29, 2010

The U.S. Department of Education today awarded Connecticut 345 points on its losing Round 1 Race to the Top application, underscoring the need for gaining additional points in the second round by passing three bills before the state legislature to improve access to charter schools, effectively measure teacher and principal performance and open a new pathway to becoming a principal.

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