Connecticut Legislative Policy Framework

Choose Competitiveness!
PRIORITIES 2008

Introduction

Our Recommendations:
Spending and Performance
Transportation
Health Care
Education
Energy
Housing
Quality of Life


Education
Our state includes many of the nation’s highest performing public schools – and some of the most profound achievement gaps.  In 2005, one in three babies born in Fairfield County was born to a foreign born mother. As the world flattens, so does our state, but are we serving all of our residents effectively?  With our flat population growth, outmigration of skilled young workers and inward migration of primarily lower skilled workers, we can not afford not to enable all of our children to compete in the global economy. School reform is essential if we are going to have a globally competitive workforce.  Connecticut’s lawsuit over No Child Left Behind is a misallocation of political capital and leadership resources.  This ill-conceived lawsuit should be withdrawn.

u The State has the opportunity to be a national leader in eradicating juvenile illiteracy by committing itself to eliminating the achievement gap in 5 years.  According to research conducted at Haskins Laboratories, a leading research institute based in New Haven, 95% of all children can learn to read. Through their research, proven in Connecticut classrooms, we know how to achieve this result.  But results require public commitment and investment.

· The reading curriculum offered at our Schools of Higher Education must be revamped to prepare teacher candidates to teach reading well to children with diverse needs. Programs offered to teacher candidates must be grounded in current scientific knowledge on reading development.  The National Council on Teacher Quality had identified the five components of good reading instruction: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension.  Teachers must be reading specialist qualified.

· The State and each community should commit to the goal of every child reading at or above grade level at every grade throughout the K-12 system so that students are prepared for post secondary education.

· School districts should be required to implement a comprehensive reading program grounded in scientifically based reading research and implement a system to regularly evaluate student progress.

·  Connecticut should create and fund a Center for Reading Excellence at Haskins Laboratories that would:

- Serve as a resource and repository for information on scientifically based reading research that can be used by parents, educators, boards of education, policy makers, and legislators.

- Provide an alternative route to teacher certification (ARC) for Reading Specialists.

- Provide professional development and on-going support to teachers through mentors and coaches.

- Provide instruction in use of reading programs and assessments.

- Provide a Summer Reading Institute for teachers to update their teaching skills.

- Provide a referral source of qualified reading tutors for children seeking remedial reading instruction.

u English fluency is a precondition for economic success in Connecticut.  A sharp expansion in accessible, affordable English language instruction is urgently needed. Establish an Adult Literacy Leadership Board, as recommended by the Connecticut Legislative Program Review and Investigations Committee, to develop a statewide strategic plan for an adult literacy service system in Connecticut.

u Higher education institutions are not only the launching pads for young adults entering the workforce for the first time, they are the life long resource required for all workers seeking to remain competitive in the knowledge economy.  New and expanded, affordable, flexibly delivered education and retraining programs are essential to maintaining the quality of the region’s workforce.

u The looming shortage of teachers throughout the state should be met by expanding alternative teacher certification programs, upgrading the distance learning capabilities of our schools of education and creating tuition assistance programs tied specifically to attracting and retaining people in the profession.

u Empower high school and college students with information to make informed choices about their education and increase transparency of the higher education system. 

· Develop an Academic Counseling and Tracking System for Students. The website should provide a comprehensive suite of services that gives users the unique ability to get all the information they need in one place for monitoring high school progress, learning about postsecondary opportunities in Connecticut, deciding career objectives, applying to college online, choosing the right major and evaluating progress towards a degree. 

· Create an online transfer information system.  The State Department of Higher Education should develop an online student transfer information system to build upon recent agreements between the Community College System, University of Connecticut and the Connecticut State College University system.  The website should also identify how coursework can be applied to various career paths.