Teacher certification in Connecticut hasn’t seen major changes since the 1990s, but that’s about to change. The Connecticut State Department of Education has convened a group of stakeholders to redesign the structure of educator certification and modernize certification regulations.
CEA President Kate Dias and Newington teacher and CEA Board of Directors member Jennifer Rodriguez are representing teachers on the Connecticut Educator Certification Council, which is currently collecting feedback from teachers.
Rodriquez says the group is looking to streamline certification requirements and update them for 2023 and beyond. “We’re looking at certification through the lens of improving recruitment and retention, as well as looking at equity.”
The council wants to hear from educators about the work they are undertaking and has designed a Thoughtexchange to gather feedback to guide their work.
Rodriguez hopes teachers will spare a few minutes to participate and make sure their voices are heard in the policymaking process.
“It’s important to have educator voices at the table. We are the experts in the room,” she says. “It’s important that we hear from people who have gone through the certification process in the past, are going through the process now, as well as from mentor teachers who are supporting our new educators. We’re looking to get feedback on the pros and cons of the current process and hear suggestions on what we should do to make certification regulations more relevant to 2023 and going forward.”
Please take five minutes to offer your feedback. You can choose to remain anonymous, and you can log back in and add additional thoughts or ratings as long as the exchange is open.
