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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• NY SCHOOLS
• May 8, 2012, 11:14 p.m. ET
• http://professional.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304451104577392564250794468.html

Schools Deal Sets Overhaul

By JOSEPH DE AVILA