Connecticut’s Campaign for Leadership in Education, Achievement, and Reform Now or Campaign LEARN is intended to bring awareness to Connecticut's persistent achievement gap, identify best practices in the state and country, and support and implement policies and reform efforts to help reduce the gap.
According to results of the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress for Math, Connecticut’s achievement gap is the worst in the nation. The gap between poor and non-poor students on the fourth grade math test is 2.79 grade levels and in eighth grade it is 3.41 grade levels. (For more information on Connecticut's achievement gap in 2009, click here)
At the press conference in Hartford, Gwen Samuel, President of the State of Black CT Alliance, said: "Our kids, we're finding out in the third and fourth grade that they're not reading at level. It shouldn't take the third or fourth grade to get to that. We need early intervention, and let's be very clear, the federal government, who is about to award states who prove that they're ready to reform, the Race To The Top Grant, the Innovative Grant, the Early Learning grant, we must be ready to do what is needed to change the way we do business."
The Campaign is also sponsoring a series of town hall meetings throughout the state. So far, meetings are planned for Hartford and Danbury. According to a Campaign LEARN press release:
It is anticipated that information obtained by the lawmakers and advocacy groups during these town hall forums will impact education policy priorities of the General Assembly and lead to the introduction of key legislation during the 2010 legislative session that will address the achievement gap in a meaningful way.In an interview with NorwalkNet, Ms. Samuel said that Campaign LEARNwould consider doing a town hall meeting in Norwalk.
"I recommend Norwalk have its own town hall meeting based on its shift in policy leaders, lack of superintendent and the importance of what monies are coming to Connecticut. Norwalk needs a solid plan," she said adding that Norwalk should not simply expect that the State Commissioner of Education Mark McQuillan will advocate for Norwalk when applying for federal funds.
Ms. Samuel also said that there are many upcoming deadlines and that Norwalk's education leaders should address how it will use federal dollars to address the achievement gap.
"This is a one in a lifetime funding stream we cannot waste this money because of poor system implementations, lack of accountability and just plain ole "poor" decision making for rolling out programs, " she said.
The following organizations are partners in Campaign LEARN: General Assembly’s Black and Puerto Rican Legislative Caucus led by State Representatives Jason Bartlett (D-Bethel, Danbury, Redding), Douglas McCrory (D-Hartford), Patricia Billie Miller (D-Stamford), and Gary Holder-Winfield (D-New Haven), the Connecticut Black Alliance for Educational Options (CT BAEO), the State of Black Connecticut Alliance (SBCT), the Connecticut Commission on Children, the Connecticut State Conference of NAACP Branches, the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now (ConnCAN), the Connecticut Charter Schools Network, and the Yale Law School Education Adequacy Project Clinic.
Ms. Samuel also provided NorwalkNet with a slide presentation entitled "Ready by Five & Fine by Nine, New Requirements, New Opportunities." by Janice M Gruendel of the Yale Child Study Center which was presented to National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) on November 18th. See slides 22 &23 for funding available and deadlines.
The Hour ran a good story on Campaign LEARN yesterday.
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