We collectively wish to express our serious concern and dismay that state leaders have excluded all Connecticut classroom teachers, school leaders, and members of boards of education from the panel at the upcoming Education Forum on Literacy. The forum is described as “bringing together state and national leaders, as well as reading experts, as they engage in critical conversations about literacy.” Yet the forum seeks to have this critical conversation about literacy in our schools between and among only legislators, state officials, and reading vendors.
We are truly perplexed that forum organizers, for example, have chosen not to hear a single voice of Connecticut public educators who work tirelessly every day to teach literacy to Connecticut students. This is further evidenced by a three-day notification of the event.
That the Education Forum on Literacy chose to exclude Connecticut educators, school leaders and board of education members is truly disheartening.
We seek to be partners in education transformation, but we cannot do that from the outside. We ask that future efforts to engage in these conversations include the expertise we bring to the table.
