Year of education reform is here: Three part series on CPTV starts Feb. 9

Written by The Bridgeport News
Tuesday, 07 February 2012 12:10

The Connecticut Council for Reform in Education has produced a three-part documentary series entitled Great Expectations: Raising Educational Achievement , which highlights models for creating a system of education that raises achievement for all students in Connecticut.

The three-part series will premiere on Feb. 9 at 8:30 p.m. on Connecticut Public Television.

The three-part series is broken into the following major areas of education:

Part 1: A Stronger Start for Our Kids

Explores the importance of high quality early childhood education, especially for low-income children, and the need for targeted academic interventions beyond Pre-K.

Part 2: Fostering Great Teachers and Leaders

Examines the vital role of teacher effectiveness in improving student achievement and the need for strong, creative, and collaborative leadership to create meaningful teacher evaluation and development systems.

Part 3: Turning Schools Around

Investigates what innovative approaches might be taken to revamp the leadership, policies, and culture of our lowest-performing schools in order to create successful student outcomes.

Visit http://www.cpbn.org/program/great-expectations to find out more.

With the legislative session starting on Wednesday, the Connecticut Council for Reform in Education wanted to recount the events of the last two weeks (from the Performance Evaluation Advisory Council's educator evaluation framework to Governor Malloy's education reform proposals) and to hear what Connecticut's next steps need to be from a national expert on teacher quality.

On Jan. 25, the Performance Evaluation Advisory Council unanimously agreed upon a framework for the evaluation of educators, a significant first step towards a statewide evaluation system that emphasizes student achievement and growth.

If it is adopted by the State Board of Education, the Connecticut Council for Reform in Education believes this framework could be maximized to implement many other important reforms that would ensure high quality educators in every school.

Today, parties can tune into the council's blog to hear from Sandi Jacobs, vice president of the National Council on Teacher Quality , to find out what a meaningful educator evaluation system looks like and what steps Connecticut needs to take to establish one.

On Jan. 31, Malloy called for the establishment of a three-tiered certification system , which will acknowledge the very best teachers with "master teacher" status.

Additionally, Malloy's proposal seeks to increase the ability of school districts to employ teachers who have been certified in other states, an effort that will help Connecticut to have the most effective teachers in our schools.

And on Feb. 2, Malloy announced his proposal to spend $12 Million on early childhood education – including $4 million in new funding to provide early childhood opportunities for 500 preschool children.

The Connecticut Council for Reform in Education believes that this is a step in the right direction, and hopes that Connecticut will embrace a multi-year phase-in process to provide high-quality preschool for all low-income three and four-year old children.