Executive Director’s Report Attachment G A MONTHLY UPDATE BY THE CAPITOL REGION EDUCATION COUNCIL

October 2014 Executive Director’s In This Issue Message District and School News...... 2-3 Bruce E. Douglas, Ph.D. Recognition and Honors...... 4 “The cause of the growing opportunity and achievement Events and Updates...... 5-8 divide [in the U.S.] is becoming clearer. In certain circles it has become fashionable to deride public schools as hopelessly inept, dragged down by incompetent teachers and stifling bureaucracies. For sure, many schools need to improve. But a close look at the data indicates that ever- widening achievement gaps are growing fastest outside of school. They are growing on suburban playing fields and and at robotics competitions, at after-school math programs and specialized sleep-away camps, and elbow to elbow with parents around dining room tables all across America. The class-based education gap is accelerating not because teachers are lazy or because America’s schools suddenly forgot how to churn out Horatio Alger success stories. And poor and working-class kids are not learning less than before, they are actually learning more. Instead, the class- based education gap is accelerating because upper-middle- class children are accelerating faster, pulling away from their less privileged peers thanks to increasingly engaged parents and a cottage industry of coaches, counselors, tutors, and trainers.” —Eric Schwarz “The Opportunity Equation: How Citizen Teachers Are Combating the Achievement Gap in America’s Schools” District and School News iPads Replacing Textbooks in Cromwell High School Classrooms CROMWELL—As part of its Freshmen In some cases, it has sparked what Academy program, the school Talty described as “device envy” on administration presented an iPad to the part of other students – and incoming freshmen. teachers – who don’t have access to To date, the experiment seems to be the same advanced technology. working admirably. That prompted questions from Board “It’s been very successful,” of Finance members about if and Superintendent of Schools Paula when the school system might be Talty told the Board of Finance. able to shift away from oversized printed textbooks. “We went about this the right way, and seems as if everyone loves it,” There have been concerns expressed Talty said. about young children straining under the weight of book-filled backpacks. “There have been no losses so far and no thefts,” Talty said. “We are looking to transition very notebooks. quickly to electronic textbooks” So far, “The students have been “We hired someone with Apple wherever possible, Talty said. incredibly respectful” of their electronic experience who knew who to prevent the notebooks, Talty said. As to those bulging backpacks, Talty kids from disabling the system or adding said causal inspections of their contents And, she said, they “are actively engaged inappropriate apps,” Talty said. indicate that more than books, students in the Freshmen Academy,” which is Talty said she has been surprised at two often are carrying clothes and shoes in intended to help incoming students things since the program began. their backpacks. develop more independent thinking and improve their skill levels. “First, it’s been a most positive surprise Some may remember a time before how quickly the students have adapted electronic technology when teachers When school opened, the school to the use of these devices as an were the ones who got the apples. department distributed 161 Apple iPads instructional tool,” Talty said. and then had sessions with both parent Source- The Middletown Press article by Jeff Mill and students to discuss the security “Secondly is the ease with which the features that have been included in the students are using technology,” Talty said. Free Meals at Three Elementary Schools in East Hartford EAST HARTFORD — Breakfast and lunch The board voted at the meeting to allow at the three elementary schools should will be served free to students at three the three schools to participate in the receive a letter in coming weeks of the town’s elementary schools as program, called the Community Eligibility informing them about the program, part of a U.S. Department of Agriculture Provision. Mainuli said.” program approved by the school board The program is available to schools where Source- Hartford Courant article by Hilda Munoz this week. more than 40 percent of students qualify The program is expected to take effect for free or reduced lunch, Mainuli said. Oct. 1 at Anna E. Norris Elementary The meal menu at those schools will School, Franklin H. Mayberry Elementary be the same as the rest of the school School and Silver Lane Elementary district, he said. School. “It’s the same program, the same “It’s a new opportunity for the State meals. All it does is recognize the overall of , as well as other states percentage of free and reduced families around the country. We thought it would at those particular schools,” he said. be worth taking advantage of,” Paul Mainuli, director of business services, The only additional cost would be for a said during a school board meeting la carte items offered at the school or Tuesday. additional meals. Parents of students Courant Hartford The credit: Photo

2 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT – October 2014 Connecticut’s Municipal Lobby Focuses on Education Funding In its second report of the campaign season, Connecticut’s largest municipal lobby released a document focused on major issues facing pre-K through 12th- grade public school education funding. Kevin Maloney, a spokesman for the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, said Monday that the state is currently underfunding the Education Cost Sharing formula by more than $600 million and it has failed to address the skyrocketing cost of special education, which now accounts for $1.8 billion of the $10 billion in local public education funds. “Right now, the towns and cities pay the majority of the costs — slightly more than 50 percent — while the state pays about he encourages candidates running for Ben Barnes, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s 42 percent,” Maloney said. public office to use to discuss the issue, budget director who co-chaired that task But it’s unclear whether the legislature were checked against the numbers used force, said the recommendations were will tackle the education cost sharing by the Connecticut Coalition for Justice similar to what the governor included formula this year or wait to hear what the in Education Funding in their lawsuit in his budget that year. Barnes said he court decides. against the state. hasn’t begun creating the budget for the next biennium, but added that the The trial for the landmark education “We worked closely with CCJEF,” Maloney said. “We shared the report with them administration has increased education funding lawsuit filed by the Connecticut funding every year. Coalition for Justice in Education Funding to make sure our facts are in line with was supposed to start Sept. 9, but it theirs.” “I think the track record speaks for was moved to Jan. 6, 2015, after the He said they feel “like we have dual itself,” Barnes said. November election. voices advancing the same issue.” Jennifer Alexander, president and CEO Maloney said the report issued Monday And while there’s widespread agreement of ConnCAN, said there’s universal addresses a lot of the detail that the education funding formula is broken, agreement that the funding formula is “underpins this court case.” there’s no agreement yet about how to broken, but there have been few changes over the years. The Connecticut Coalition for Justice fix it. in Education Funding sued the state in In 2011, the Connecticut Coalition for “We’re still left with a formula that’s not 2005, claiming it was not adequately Achievement Now helped draft a 116- being faithfully followed and doesn’t funding pre-K through 12th-grade public page bill that would have changed the direct funds where kids need them,” school education. Jim Finley, the former Education Cost Sharing formula to Alexander said Monday. executive director of CCM, is now a make ensure that public school funding She speculated that even if a judge lobbyist for the Connecticut Coalition for followed the child to their school of decides more money is needed, it will Justice in Education Funding. choice, instead of staying with the home likely be left up to the state legislature “Certainly, there’s got to be some district. The bill also took into account to distribute those funds in a way that progress made or that court case various poverty measures. But the makes sense. Education Committee declined to hold a is going to continue to dog us “There’s a growing sense that the public hearing on the bill. moving forward. It’s worthwhile for formula as its exists is not working,” the Connecticut economy and for Instead, Malloy created a task force Alexander said. Connecticut local governments to have to look at the state’s funding formula Source- CT Newsjunkie article by Christine Stuart the best possible local public education for education. They issued a report in system,” Maloney said, adding that the January 2012. numbers in the latest report, which

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT – October 2014 3 Recognition and Honors Open Choice Alumna Profile: Dr. Dayna J.A. London Dayna J. A. London is a mirroring and preparing me 1996 graduate of the for the diverse world we live Hartford Region Open in,” said London. Choice Program, formerly After receiving her high Project Concern, and is school diploma, London a proud alumna of West earned degrees from Hartford Public Schools. Spelman College in Georgia, In 1984, London enrolled Meharry Medical College as a first-grade student in Tennessee, and the at West Hartford’s Duffy University of Pennsylvania. Elementary School. She She now lives in Atlanta, Photo Credit: NBC went on to attend Sedgwick Middle Georgia, and she works at the School and Conard High School. Rehabilitation Physicians of Georgia as CREC Greater Hartford Some of London’s fondest program a rehabilitation physician. memories include the “All Night Read London provides non-surgical Academy of the Arts: In” at Duffy Elementary School, where treatment for spine and other Spotlight on students stayed in the gym and read musculoskeletal injuries, and she uses books until early morning. She also a multidisciplinary and evidence-based Anita Antoinette remembers “Ski Wednesdays,” which approach to improve the quality of life Anita Antoinette, who graduated from exposed her to skiing and other winter of her patients. the CREC Greater Hartford Academy extracurricular activities. Through the use of trigger point of the Arts in 2008, is a contestant “Participating in Project Concern was injections, peripheral joint injections, on NBC’s “The Voice.” an invaluable experience that provided electrodiagnositic studies, and me with the opportunity to interact with musculoskeletal ultrasounds, London This season, Antoinette is part of a diverse group of people from various individualizes treatment plans with a coach ’s team, and her socioeconomic backgrounds, thus focus on functional restoration. cover of ’s “Turn Your Lights Down Low” impressed all four coaches on the show. Antoinette is both a singer and Rosa Flores Honored for songwriter, and she focuses on , folk, and soul. When she was Her Work in Hartford a CREC student, she lived in New Rosa Flores, coordinator of CREC’s Positive Britain, Connecticut. She now lives in Parenting Program, recently received an award . from Connection, Community-based Services, Advocacy and Research for Connecticut for her This is not Antoinette’s first time on outstanding work in the Hartford community. “The Voice.” She auditioned for the The private, nonprofit human service and show in the fall of 2012, but was not community development agency honored Flores selected to join a team. on September 26 at a client and constituent “The Voice” airs on Mondays and award ceremony for her work in assisting Tuesdays at 8 p.m. If you want to families in locating necessary services, such as follow Antoinette during this season housing, food, furniture, and health and medical of “The Voice,” she’s on Twitter: @ assistance. These items are essential to each family’s well-being and help to demonstrate AnitAntoinette. readiness for the evidence-based positive parenting education model.

4 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT – October 2014 Events and Updates The CREC International Magnet School for Global Citizenship Greets Visitors From Japan Fifty-one sixth-grade students and 10 teachers from Doshisha International Academy, an elementary school in Kyoto, Japan, visited the CREC International Magnet School for Global Citizenship in South Windsor on September 5. Fifth-grade students at the CREC International Magnet School for Global Citizenship communicated electronically with the students from Japan before meeting in person. During the visit, CREC students engaged in collaborative learning through a variety of activities. The goal was to teach the group from Doshisha Academy about the . It was also the start of what hopes to be a long-standing partnership between the schools.

CREC Photo: CREC’s International Magnet School for Global Citizenship kicked off its school year by welcoming students and staff from Doshisha International Academy in Japan.

CREC Staff Members Help Local Veterans On September 13, 39 CREC staff members volunteered for Rebuilding Together Hartford and the Living, Sustainable Neighborhood Initiative, “Serve Those Who Have Served.” Volunteers repaired the exterior of homes and did yard work for 12 low- income veterans. CREC staff members were assigned to work in one of five locations within the City of Hartford. Established in 1984, Rebuilding Together Hartford is a nonprofit, nonsectarian, volunteer organization that helps low-income homeowners through renovation and repair. The group’s vision is to ensure a happy and safe home for every person.

CREC Photo: CREC John J. Allison, Jr. Polaris Center Director Timothy Carroll (left) does yard work while a team from the CREC International Magnet School for Global Citizenship (right) paints a house.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT – October 2014 5 Events and Updates (continued) Meet CREC River Street School’s New Programmable Robots CREC River Street School in Windsor has two new assistants — Ben and Jerry. Ben and Jerry are new programmable NAO robots that are now being used as instructional training devices in the classroom. They were developed by Aldebaran Robotics, a French robotics company, and the school started to use them this summer, rewarding students who completed their work by letting them interact with the robots. The robots are 24 inches tall, interactive, and they came to CREC River Street School already programmed with about 55 applications. Those applications cover many areas, such as social interactions, dancing, and educational programs. Teachers will use the robots with autistic children, helping them to improve their social, sensory, and cognitive skills. The robots will also help children with their motor control skills, with eye contact imitation, and with turn taking. CREC Photo: Students at CREC River Street School pay close attention to the school’s new programmable robots.

CREC Middle School Students Travel to Cape Cod to Research the Environment Sixteen eighth-grade aquaculture course at CREC Two students from CREC Two Rivers Magnet Middle School. Rivers Magnet Middle “This trip provides students, School in East Hartford parents, and teachers the recently went on a three-day opportunity to participate in a environmental research trip community learning experience to Cape Cod, . with shared studies, meals, The trip was held September and socialization,” said CREC 9 through September 11. exploratory science teacher While in Cape Cod, one Edmund Smith. team of students studied CREC Photo: Students from CREC Two Rivers Magnet Middle School study the CREC Two Rivers Magnet Middle the impact of fertilizer and environment in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. School planned the research trip runoff on the growth rate to coincide with a perigee moon, of Spartina alterniflora, marshes, and mud flats. or super moon, because of the a perennial grass found in intertidal very low tides. This allowed the students, A third team of students studied habitats wetlands. They looked at Spartina teachers, and chaperones to go into that could support diamondback alterniflora populations near Wellfleet Brewster Bay about a mile from shore to terrapins. They found a half-predated and compared those populations to the see tidal flats. and half-hatched nest of terrapins and Spartina alterniflora populations near studied an adult terrapin at the Cape While in Cape Cod, students also hiked the mid-point of Great Island. A second Cod Museum of Natural History. Those Great Island, helped return beached team researched and catalogued a students are now helping to raise three alewives to the water during high tide, variety of ecosystems on Cape Cod, baby terrapins that will eventually and saw an American chestnut tree such as pitch pine forests, wetlands, salt be used as breeding stock for an infected with blight.

6 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT – October 2014 CREC John J. Allison, Jr. “Schoolhouse Rock!” Composer Polaris Center to Partner and Singer Performs at Fundraiser with The Cove Center for Jazz musician Bob Dorough performed September 18 at a Grieving Children fundraiser that was held to raise The CREC John J. Allison, Jr. Polaris money for students at the CREC Center will work with The Cove Center Metropolitan Learning Center for for Grieving Children to offer a satellite Global and International Studies in site for the center’s grief program. Bloomfield. The program supports children and Dorough is best known for families as they work through the composing and singing favorites grief process, and it helps to prevent like “Conjunction Junction” and children and teens from experiencing “I’m Just a Bill.” His music was the side effects of unresolved featured on “Schoolhouse Rock!,” childhood grief. an ABC show that was especially “I am extremely pleased to begin our popular in the 1970s and 1980s, collaborative relationship with The and many teachers have used COVE Center for Grieving Children,” Dorough’s tunes to help students said CREC John J. Allison, Jr. Polaris learn a variety of concepts—from multiplication to proper grammar. CREC Photo: “Schoolhouse Rock!” composer and singer Bob Dorough Center Director Timothy Carroll. “Since performs at the CREC Metropolitan Learning Center for Global and 1995, The Cove has offered innovative The approximately $1,300 raised International Studies. grief programing free of charge to from Dorough’s performance will children and families with the goal of benefit students who are participating in an international field study in South Africa providing hope and healing. As the in November. Plowshares Institute, a Connecticut-based nonprofit organization that Cove’s seventh grief program site in works for a more just, peaceful, and sustainable world, is coordinating the trip. Connecticut, the CREC Polaris Center During the trip, each student will research a topic, such as poverty, as part of a will be able to further support children course comparing the United States to South Africa. When they return, students will and families in our community as they design a project to give back to their communities, and they will share insights about grieve the loss of a loved one.” their travels. To donate to this cause, visit http://www.crec.org/foundation/southafrica. CREC Holds Connecticut Core Standards Higher Golfing for a Cause Education Institute In early 2014, CREC student Jadyn Feigenbaum In September, CREC hosted a two-day was severely injured in a bus accident on her way Connecticut Core Standards Higher home from school. With a positive and resilient Education Institute. Participants attitude, Jadyn is recovering and gets stronger represented teacher preparation and each day, but she will continue to struggle education leadership programs from because the accident left her blind in her left eye. throughout Connecticut. Despite her own troubles, Jadyn wants to help other children who have similar The Institute provided an overview of the Connecticut Core Standards issues. As a result, she created the Jaydn Marley “Cure for Kids” Fund, which along with a more in-depth look at benefits the Mass Eye and Ear Infirmary’s research of optic nerve regeneration in rigor and lesson design. This was all children. seen through the lens of the Higher To raise money for her cause, Jaydn held her first-ever golf tournament on Education community. September 12, and CREC employees participated. The tournament was held at the Wintonbury Golf Course in Bloomfield and was followed by a dinner buffet, raffle, and silent auction. About $7,500 was raised.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT – October 2014 7 Events and Updates (continued) CREC Wins First-Ever Football Game; Secures 3-Year Donation From EquiPower Resources Playing before a home crowd of about 200 fans on September 13, CREC won its first-ever football game. The CREC Colts beat the Sports Medical & Sciences Academy/ University High School of Science and Engineering 16-6. At the time of publication, the team’s record was 3-1. The newly-formed co-op football team, coached by Damian Mincey, is made up of students who attend the CREC Public Safety Academy, the CREC Metropolitan Learning Center for International and Global Studies, and the CREC Two Rivers Magnet High School. The CREC Colts are playing as a junior varsity team this year with the hopes of joining a Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference league and competing at the varsity level next fall. Prior to the start of the first game, CREC recognized EquiPower CREC Photo: The CREC Colts huddle before the start of the team’s first-ever football game. Resources Corp., a company that will give the CREC Athletic Program $300,000, or $100,000 a year for three years. To by Energy Capital Partners, owns and operates eight power date, this is the largest donation CREC has received for its plants in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Illinois, Ohio, and athletic program. Pennsylvania. It represents 5,462 megawatts of generating EquiPower Resources, which is located in Hartford and owned capacity.

CREC Cuts Ribbons at Two New School Buildings At the start of the 2014-2015 school year, both the CREC multi-purpose space will allow students at the magnet school Public Safety Academy and the CREC Medical Professions and to interact with the local community, civic groups, and the Teacher Preparation Academy moved into permanent homes. business community, exposing them to opportunities they may Ribbons at the two school buildings were officially cut in mid- not have otherwise. September. The new CREC Public Safety Academy facility is located at 1617 King Street in Enfield. It includes many unique features that will enhance student learning, including crime scene and emergency medical technician labs and a gymnasium and auditorium with after-hours access. It also provides the additional space that is needed to grow the school’s student body, and the building’s infrastructure will be able to support a future emergency operations center. The CREC Medical Professions and Teacher Preparation Academy is located at 600 Slater Road in New Britain, and it features a medical simulation room, specialized laboratories, and a lecture hall that will use technology to support distance learning instruction. The school-based health program and CREC Photo: CREC held ribbon-cutting ceremonies at two school buildings this September.

8 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT – October 2014