Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Schools Deal Sets Overhaul

Speaking of exciting, check out what's happening in Connecticut thanks to Commissioner of Education (and ed warrior) Stephen Pryor and Gov. Dan Malloy.  It's especially exciting because Malloy is a Democrat and it's a heavily Democratic state, so it shows that bold reforms are possible even when this is the case. To be clear: this is not a perfect bill but it definitively represents major progress – much more than anyone could have possibly envisioned in year 1: tenure reform, statewide evaluations, low-performing-school turnaround mechanism, increased charter support, finance reform and accountability, early childhood, and more. All in one package. Amazing!  Attached is a collection of articles about this, and below is a WSJ article that begins:

In a sweeping education deal with lawmakers and teacher unions here, Gov. Dannel Malloy gave ground on some of his farthest-reaching proposals but contended the compromise was still a historic overhaul of public-school policy in a state that has proved resistant to change.

Mr. Malloy, a Democrat, has dedicated the second year of his term to revamping the public education system, calling for the Democratic-controlled Legislature to pass measures on charter schools, teacher evaluations and other policies. And while so-called education reform advocates would have liked the scaled-back legislation to achieve more, they say the bill marks a landmark first step.

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Schools Deal Sets Overhaul

By JOSEPH DE AVILA

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