Several news outlets have published pieces in recent days by writers drawing attention to important areas of concern in the Governor’s Education Bill #24.
In the Stamford Advocate, “Bill takes public out of public education,” Wendy Lecker writes about how the governor’s bill takes control away from parents, communities and local school boards in low-performing school districts and puts tremendous power in the hands of one State Commissioner of Education.
Which schools are “fundamentally broken”? State Sen. Donald Williams recently noted that our lowest performing schools are also our poorest; the ones most in need of additional resources.
These schools also serve predominately our communities of color; communities that are traditionally disenfranchised.
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It takes a village? It seems only certain villages in Connecticut are allowed to participate in raising their children. For the rest, I guess it takes a commissioner.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy wants to have the best teachers in the classroom, and to get rid of educators who are dead wood and who can’t or don’t want to improve. We all want that. But realistically, what good teacher will want to remain in a school or a district where all of his or her long-bargained-for rights are taken away?
…If Connecticut wants to encourage more good teachers to accept positions in struggling school systems, then the worst way to go about is to give them inferior rights and protections than enjoyed by their peers in cushier districts.
Not only do we have an achievement gap between students in Connecticut, but if this legislation is passed as now worded, it creates two classes of teachers — one with strong union protection and another with no safety net.
On CTNewsJunkie Sarah Darer Littman, “Coalition of the Factual,” mentions the support a coalition of six groups is giving to the governor’s bill and says she writes her Op-Ed on behalf of a Coalition of the Factual.
While the Governor and the Gang of Six have staked their souls on tenure reform and linking teacher certification and pay to test scores, despite substantial research showing that this is not in the best interest of either teachers or students, my hope is that our legislators actually review the facts. The Governor and his allies are trying to frame this as a “union issue” but it isn’t. It’s about education. And those of us who are passionate about education, who read the research and care about the facts, know that many provisions of this bill are deeply flawed and will damage our kids for years to come.
Contact your lawmakers and let them know how you feel about the Governor’s Education Bill #24. If your legislators are not members of the Education Committee, urge them to discuss your concerns with Education Committee members.
Contact your state senator and state representative.
Senate Democrats 1-800-842-1420 Senate Republicans 1-800-842-1421
House Democrats 1-800-842-1902 House Republicans 1-800-842-1423
