PDK/Gallup Poll: Obama More Supportive of Public Schools
For the first time in eight years, Americans view one presidential candidate as more supportive of public schools than the other, according to the 40th annual PDK/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward Their Public Schools.

E-Rate Changes Could Impact Schools
For schools that rely on E-rate funding for telecommunications and Internet access, changes are afoot that could impact planning as soon as funding year 2009.

“Vote No”: A Lobbyist Convention Will Not Advance Public Education.
Protect Your Rights as a Teacher and Citizen of Connecticut.
There’s growing public awareness in Connecticut that a Constitutional Convention will divert the attention of state senators and state representatives from the real issues that need to be addressed. Under the convention procedure, legislators would appoint whomever they’d like to a convention and average citizens, including teachers, would have no input. 

Teachers: Join Your Colleagues for a Play and Raise Money for Needy Children
For unbeatable enjoyment and unique goodwill, please attend a benefit performance of “No Child...” on Friday night, September 5, in Hartford. It’s a special way to start off the school year and reflect on the consequences of the No Child Left Behind Act in a theatrical setting.  The event benefits your charity, the Connecticut Education Foundation.

Grade 10 Students Make Gains on 2008 Connecticut Academic Performance Test
Connecticut's Grade 10 public school students showed improved performance from last year in reading, writing, mathematics and science, according to a news release from the Connecticut Department of Education.

No Child Left Behind: Doomed to Fail?
There was always something slightly insane about NCLB, the ambitious education law often described as the Bush administration's signature domestic achievement.  For one thing, in the view of many educators, the law's 2014 goal--which calls for all public school students in grades 4 through 8 to be achieving on grade level in reading and math--is something no educational system anywhere on earth has ever accomplished.

Educators Learn about CommPACT Schools Project
The CommPACT Schools Project, a new and promising initiative for urban schools that CEA helped to create, was a featured session at a recent UConn conference that provided Connecticut educators with sessions on research and best practices for closing the student achievement gap in schools.

Canton MS Named Middle School of the Year
Canton Middle School boasts a dynamic faculty, involved parents, and students who consistently score well on state standardized tests. But those aren't the only reasons the school was named Connecticut's Middle School of the Year.

Governor Rell Signs into Law an Act that Charts a Better Course for Beginning Teachers
On June 2, a historic day for the state of Connecticut, Governor Rell signed into law Public Act Number 08-107 “An Act Concerning the BEST Program,” after the legislation unanimously passed both chambers of the Connecticut General Assembly.

Programs Benefit Teachers in Shortage Areas
In a recently released letter to superintendents and principals, Commissioner of Education Mark K. McQuillan announced that teachers in a defined shortage area can benefit from a mortgage assistance program, and that retired teachers may be re-employed without being subject to an earnings limit.

Many States Have Taken "Backloaded" Approach to No Child Left Behind Goals
A report from the Center on Education Policy finds that while half of all states have adopted incremental achievement goals that assume steady progress towardNCLB's 100 percent proficiency goal, the other half of states have taken a "backloaded" approach that will soon mean dramatically higher--and potentially unreachable--achievement goals.

NAEP Gap Continuing for Charters
Nearly four years after a front-page story in The New York Times sparked a fierce debate by suggesting that charter school students nationally were lagging academically behind their peers in regular public schools, the national testing program that informed the controversy has generated far more data for researchers and advocates to scrutinize.

United Way to Target Health, Education, and Income
The United Way of America, alarmed at the nation's fraying safety net, announces that it will direct its giving toward ambitious 10-year goals that would cut in half the high school dropout rate and the number of working families struggling financially.

Principals' Group Seeks Influence on Incentive Pay
School districts that want to start pay-for-performance programs for school leaders should look beyond high-stakes student tests as the primary measure for awarding bonuses, says a position paper released by the National Association of Secondary School Principals.

Study: "Reading First" Program Fails to Boost Reading Skills
Children who participate in the $1-billion-a-year reading initiative at the heart of the No Child Left Behind law have not become better readers than their peers, according to a study released by the Education Department's research arm.

Income Gaps Harm Connecticut's Children
A new study released by Connecticut Voices for Children indicates that low-income children are at least twice as likely as higher-income children to have physical health problems, experience emotional and behavioral health difficulties, and be at risk of developmental delays.

Teacher Photos from CEA New Teacher Conference
Nearly 500 new teachers attended CEA’s new teacher conferenceon April 5– and, if you were among them, your photo could be in a gallery on the CEA Web site. Find out by clicking on the link in the “videos and photo gallery” box to the right.

In coming months, CEA will be posting more photos from CEA events, such as the CEA Representative Assembly. So, check the CEA Web site regularly to see if your photo and photos of your colleagues are uploaded to the CEA photo gallery.

TheaterWorks Presents Nilaja Sun's Play NO CHILD...
Starting in mid-August and running through late September, TheaterWorks in downtown Hartford presents Nilaja Sun's play NO CHILD... The play, an insightful and often comedic tour-de-force, follows a teaching artist as she enters an inner city public school system to work with students to put on a play.NO CHILD... is autobiographical based on Ms. Sun's ten-year public school residencies in the Bronx.

Clarification on CEUs for Renewal of Professional Educator Certificates
Many teachers have had questions about earning CEUs for renewal of their Professional Educator Certificates.

Improved Educational Opportunitiesare Goal of Lawsuit
CEA is part of a coalition trying to convince the Connecticut Supreme Court to clear the way for a suitable program of education for each and every child. Read more.
School Finance Expert Bob Brewer offers his perspective on the coalition’s efforts. Read blog.
Legal documents and related background information are available at www.ccjef.org.

Connecticut Income Gaps Grow More Than in Any Other State
A new report on income trends from Connecticut Voices for Children finds that over the last two decades, the gap in average, inflation-adjusted ("real") income between wealthy and poor Connecticut families and the gap in income between wealthy and middle-income families have grown more in Connecticut than in any other state in the country. Click above for press release. Access the report here.

New IRS 403(b) Regulations Information Toolkit
The 403(b) toolkit is a compilation of information to help Association leaders and staff understand the new IRS 403(b) regulations and the impact these regulations can have on NEA members as they save for retirement.

Working to Make the Future Better for Children

NEA president encourages renewed focus on keeping Dr. King's dream alive.

Connecticut 8th Graders No. 1 in Writing Performance
Connecticut eighth graders topped the nation in writing performance on the test known as the Nation's Report Card. The test, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, is the only standardized test administered nationwide and is often used as a gauge of how states are performing.

Comptroller Wyman, Municipaland Labor Leaders Announce Launch of Cost-Saving Health Insurance Program
State Comptroller Nancy Wyman and a host of municipal and labor leaders announced on April 2the launch of a program that will help cities and towns lower their health insurance costs and provide property tax relief.

U.S. to Require States to Use a Single School Dropout Formula
Moving to sweep away the tangle of inaccurate state data that has obscured the severity of the nation's high school dropout crisis, Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings will require all states to use one federal formula to calculate graduation and dropout rates.

New Microphones Bring Crystal-Clear Changes
Little black devices hanging from the necks of elementary school teachers may herald the most significant change in classroom technology since the computer.

Studies Link Teacher Absences to Lower Student Scores
New research suggests that teacher absences affect not only a district's finances, but the achievement of its students, too.

Teacher Advocacy Produces Amendments to Student Suspension Law
Teacher concerns about modifications made to the state’s student suspension law – scheduled to become effective July 1 – prompted the legislature’s Education Committee to recently approve a substitute bill that addresses some of those issues and delays implementation of changes made during the 2007 legislative session.

Insights Gained Into Arts and Smarts
Findings released from three years of studies by neuroscientists and psychologists at seven universities help amplify scientists' understanding of how training in the arts might contribute to improving the general thinking skills of children and adults.

Momentum Increasingfor Benchmarks
No longer content with the patchwork quilt of assessments used to measure states' K-12 performance, top policy groups are pushing states toward international benchmarking as a way to better prepare students for a competitive global economy.

Reality Check: Tax Cap Won't Provide Property Tax Relief
There is little evidence that tax caps do much to constrain property taxes, said an economist with the University of Connecticut during a presentation on economic issues co-sponsored by CEA in Hartford.

In Final Months, Education Secretary Seeks Teachers' Advice
By next fall--only months before she leaves office--U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings plans to have five teachers on her staff and set up a group of 20 ad hoc advisers still working in classrooms.

Voluntary Online Teaching Standards Come Amid Concerns Over Quality
As learning over the Internet grows in both popularity and controversy, experts are hoping that a new set of national standards for online teaching may help bring clarity and credibility to an industry that some analysts say sorely needs both.

The Connecticut Economy: A University of Connecticut Quarterly Review
The review, released March 7, states that there is little evidence that tax caps do much to constrain property taxes.

Restoring Reading Funds Critical to Student Success and Teacher Positions
Unless state lawmakers restore funding during this legislative session for a state program that helps to improve student reading skills in priority districts, Connecticut will take a step backward in its campaign to close the student achievement gap.

Performance-Pay Studies Show Need for More Work
A handful of new studies that scrutinize performance-pay initiatives nationwide have found mixed results on how they affect student achievement.

Introducing NEA Click& Save
NEA Click & Save is an exclusive online shopping service for NEA members that offers savings on brand name merchandise from hundreds of top retailers, online stores, and local merchants. From gourmet food and flowers, travel and vacation deals, entertainment tickets, home decor and electronics, to sports and wellness products, wedding gifts, and even clothing for the entire family, NEA Click & Save offers you dozens of options—and more.

Connecticut's Property Taxes: Asking the Right Questions
A study commissioned by Council 4, Connecticut's largest AFL-CIO union, finds that Governor Rell's property tax cap proposal will actually worsen the state's current tax and economic inequality and recommends innovative and fair solutions for property tax reform.

Connecticut Schools Could Get Funding for Energy-Efficient Upgrades
Federal legislation, co-sponsored by Connecticut's second district congressman, could authorize $10 million in Department of Energy funds for energy-efficient construction and upgrades in schools.

A Fresh Look at Brain-Based Education
A school cannot remove arts, career education, and physical education and at the same time claim to be doing what's best for the students.

Civics Unrest: On Teaching Kids to Love Democracy
With a presidential election on the horizon, actor Richard Dreyfuss writes about why teaching about our country takes on a new importance.

Tell Congress: Oppose the Bush Budget
President Bush has released his budget request for fiscal year 2009, which starts October 1, 2008. The Bush budget once again falls woefully short of needed funding for our nation's students and schools.

MIT Orients Course Materials Online to K-12
Many science and mathematics educators across the country are taking advantage of a Web site created by MIT which offers free video, audio, and print lectures and course material taken straight from the school's classes. Those resources target K-12 teachers and students.

Tax Cap Proposal and Teacher Negotiation Act Changes Lack Merit and Invite Instability
“Simplistic and ultimately damaging” is how CEA describes two key proposals offered today by Governor M. Jodi Rell in her State of the State address. The two proposals focus on restricting the amount of revenue that local towns and cities can collect, and advancing a hodgepodge of revisions to the Teacher Negotiation Act.

WhichTechlologies Will Shape Education in 2008?
T.H.E. Journal, a Web site dedicated to helping teachers improve and advance the learning process, says in an article on its site that mobile broadband, collaborative Web technologies, and mashups will all significantly impact education over the next five years.

Spellings to Appeal Court Ruling on NCLB
The U.S. Department of Education said it will ask a federal appeals court to reconsider a ruling in a lawsuit related to No Child Left Behind Act funding.

Teachers Get Free Admission to Old Sturbridge Village
The museum now offers free daytime admission year-round to teachers from New England and New York.

Author Reinvents ScienceTextbooks as Lively, Fun Narratives
The "Story of Science" series by Joy Hakim tells the history of science with wit, narrative depth and research, all vetted by specialists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

New Online System Uses Interactive Math and Science Activities to Boost Academic Achievement
A new online educational resource for teachers that focuses on math and science, Adaptive Curriculum, was launched in late January.

Study Casts Doubt on No Child's Effectiveness
In an era of high-stakes testing brought on by the No Child Left Behind Act, new research finds the overall quality of reading and math instruction to be in decline, and the students most in need of high-quality teaching as the least likely to receive it.

Discovery Launches "Science for Elementary" Service
Discovery Education is expanding its science education tools for middle school students with a new digital science service targeted specifically toward elementary students.

Educators Urge Congress To Protect Their Social Security
Peg Cagle, an architect with 15 years experience, entered the classroom during the 1990s to meet California’s growing demand for math and science teachers. But when she retires, she will pay a huge and unexpected price for her dedication to the children of the Los Angeles Unified School District due to a Social Security offset—the Windfall Elimination Provision.

Podcasting from the Seashore in Cape Cod
A group of Massachusetts fifth graders will visit Cape Cod to integrate two technologies--podcasting and digital cameras--to capture the seaside experience and share the four-night trip with parents and residents.

New School Year Brings New Class: Parenting
Sandwiched between lessons on counting calories and staving off disease, high school health teachers will offer hefty doses of parenting advice in the next school year in Texas high schools.

Superman Finds New Fans Among Reading Instructors
The Maryland State Department of Education is expanding a new comics-based literacy curriculum, after a small pilot program yielded promising results.

Media, Technology and Jane Austen: Happy Endings
Guest experts on Public Broadcasting Service's (PBS) website discuss ways that teachers can use multimedia resources to address common instructional challenges.

Philanthropies Launch National Teacher Education Fellowships
The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation has announced an ambitious national- and state-level fellowship program to lure college graduates and midcareer professionals to long-term teaching careers in high-need schools.

Hoping to Turn the Beat Around
Even as attention to "No Child" law squeezes class time, teachers in Manassas VA champion the value of music.

Coaching Teachers to Help Students Learn
Districts are choosing on-site coaches as a way to enhance their teachers' instructional practices and thereby improve the chances of their students' success.

Learning to Love Assessment
A master educator describes how she came to view assessment as a partnership between teacher and students as part of a feature on informative assessment.

Report Finds Better Scores in New Crop of Teachers
Teaching is attracting better-qualified people than it did just a few years ago, according to a report by the Educational Testing Service.

More Time in Class Equals Better Math Skills
The release of international data from the Brookings Institution finds adding 10 minutes of math instruction to an eighth-grader's day translates into a jump in math skills.

Lessons from the Pits of Travel and Investment
This year as every year, I learn that there are a lot of people out there who are of more use to the planet than I am: my wife, teachers, parents of autistic children, firefighters, nurses, doctors, police officers, social workers, the incredible superstars of the military, and most of all, their families.

Educational Network Provides Free Environment for Course Content
ChitChat, Inc., a Brooklyn, New York-based company that delivers innovative tools to help educators successfully integrate technology into the classroom, has launched a new online tool for educators.

Humans Appear Hardwired to Learn by "Over-Imitation"
Children learn by imitating adults--so much so that they will rethink how an object works if they observe an adult taking unnecessary steps when using that object, according to a new Yale study.

Connecticut High Schools Earn National Recognition
New Fairfield, Ridgefield, and Joel Barlow high schools are among the top 505 high schools in the country, accoridng to recently published ratings in U.S. News and World Report.

Rock and Roll: It Can Save Lives and Help Schools
Just when you thought music education was out of schools, Steven Van Zandt pulls it back in, reports Mary Beth Marklein in USA Today. Van Zandt, of E Street Band and "The Sopranos" fame, says rock ‘n’ roll saved his life and now he wants to pay homage to the art form as best as he is able.

You Played a Lot as a Kid? That's Probably Why You Are So Successful
According to a policy brief from the Action Alliance for Children, there has been a consensus among early childhood professionals that play should be a vital part of any high-quality early education program, because play benefits cognitive, social, emotional, physical and moral development.

Education: It Can Do a Mind and a Body Good
Results from a new study by researchers at Johns Hopkins University show that, in eight years time, 75 percent of American adults will be either overweight or obese.

Learning by Seeing: Fun Visualization Tools That Educate
Teachers looking for ideas for new project-based learning lessons can check out the latest blog from a former classroom teacher who is part of the online community at edutopia magazine.

High-Quality After-School Programs Tied to Test-Score Gains
Disadvantaged students who regularly attend top-notch after-school programs end up, after two years, academically far ahead of peers who spend more out-of-school time in unsupervised activities, according to findings from an eight-state study of those programs.

Teacher Site Adds Free Quiz Resources
Mead/Westvaco's educator-focused Mead4Teachers site has expanded the range of free resources it offers for classroom instruction and collaboration.

Bridgeport Honors A+ Teachers
Two Bridgeport teachers were awarded $26,000 each as 2007 recipients of the Theodore and Margaret Beard Excellence in Teaching Awards.

Close Early Childhood Achievement Gaps by Reading, Story-Telling
A study by the Harvard Family Research Project found that family engagement for all children is vital, regardless of social, cultural or ethnic group.

New Study Finds Vouchers Don't Improve Student Performance
The nonpartisan Economic Policy Institute released an important new study that counters claims by voucher advocates that the alleged "competition" created by vouchers directly leads to improved public school student achievement.

Stafford Educator Named Nation's Top History Teacher
Maureen Festi, a fifth-grade teacher at Stafford Elementary School, has been selected as the 2007 national history teacher of the year.

Young People Readinga Lot Less: Report
We know what young people are doing more of: watching television, surfing the Web, listening to their iPods, talking on cellphones, and instant-messaging their friends.But anew report released by the National Endowment for the Arts makes clear what they're doing less of: reading.

Schools Take Notice of Increased Food Allergies Among Children
School nurses and state officials have noticed this rise, and in some cases have adapted their policies to provide a safe environment for all students.

Educators Share Experiences with In-Service Training
Gladys Sossa-Schwartz, a National Board-certified English as a Second Language teacher in Arlington, Virginia, says she learned a lot in her university courses, but she learned twice as much in school-based professional development.

Bill to Expand Head Start, Bolster Its Teacher Qualifications, Is Approved
Congress approved a bill that would boost teacher qualifications in federally funded Head Start preschools, expand access to the program for children from low-income families, and scrap a controversial system for testing 4-year-olds.

Zoom Along "Route 21" for Tools to Implement 21st Century Skills
"Route 21," the first ever online conglomeration of 21st-century skills-related tools and resources, provides information on standards, assessments, curriculum and instruction, and opportunities for professional development.

Building a Nation of Polyglots, Starting with the Very Young
With an economy that recognizes few geographical borders, and with people from all over the planet becoming our next-door neighbors, more Americans are demanding language instruction earlier in school.

Study Compares States' Math and Science Scores with Other Countries'
"Our Asian economic competitors are winning the race to prepare students in math and science," said the study's author, Gary W. Phillips, chief scientist at the American Institutes of Research, a nonprofit independent scientific research firm.

AdLit.org Debuts to Help Struggling Adolescents Read, Write
A new site called AdLit.org has come online to help parents and educators help adolescent students in grades 4 to 12 who are having literacy difficulties improve their reading and writing skills.

Bad Behavior Does Not Doom Pupils, Studies Say
Educators and psychologists have long feared that children entering school with behavior problems were doomed to fall behind in the upper grades. But two new studies suggest that those fears are exaggerated.

Math Hands: Bea More Effective Problem-Solver by Gesturing
University of Chicago psychologists have found that gesturing can help kids accumulate new problem-solving strategies that can be applied to mathematics and kids that gesture are more likely to succeed on future problems.