CEA Executive Director John Yrchik and Connecticut-AFT President Sharon Palmer discuss a new and promising initiative, the CommPACT Schools Project, during the third annual Closing the Achievement Gap Conference at UConn’s Neag School of Education in late May.

The third annual Closing the Achievement Gap Conference at the University of Connecticut’s Neag School of Education provided educators with sessions on research and best practices for closing the achievement gap – including an innovative school reform initiative for Connecticut urban schools that CEA helped to create.

This new and promising initiative, the CommPACT Schools Project, which was recently funded by the state legislature, is overseen by UConn’s Neag School of Education.

A model for successful urban schools
The project – that has the potential to be a model for creating successful public schools in poorer urban communities -- involves a partnership among UConn, CEA, AFT-Connecticut, the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents, the Connecticut Association of Urban Superintendents, and the Connecticut Federation of Administrators.

The CommPACT Schools Project session featured a panel discussion by CEA Executive Director John Yrchik, Connecticut-AFT President Sharon Palmer, and Eugene Chasin, urban initiative director at UConn’s Neag School. They said the CommPACT School Project offers a unique collaborative approach to closing the achievement gap.

A total of eight elementary schools in the state -- located in Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven, New London, and Waterbury – comprise the first group of schools that will be part of the CommPACT School Project starting July 1.

The Neag School will provide CommPACT schools with assistance in selecting and implementing evidence-based best practice in governance, instruction, decision making, community involvement, and behavior management to create positive changes for urban schools in these areas.

A new approach with existing schools
This new approach to school reform involves turning existing neighborhood schools into CommPACT schools. Unlike charter schools or magnet schools, these schools are managed by a coalition of community members that includes parents, administrators, children, and teachers – thus the acronym CommPACT.

Chasin, who moderated the panel discussion and who is working with the first eight CommPACT schools, said CEA and AFT-Connecticut deserve much credit for developing the project and for bringing the Neag School and administrators in as partners.  “CEA and AFT recognized that there was a problem in urban schools and designed a program that actively engages the community and takes a long-term approach to help solve the problems urban schools face,” said Chasin. “It’s a bottom-up process with top-down support.”

Empowering students and teachers
Chasin said the aim of CommPACT schools, which are modeled after a similar program in Boston, is to provide students with meaningful learning experiences that also give them ownership of their education. Teachers are also empowered with the ability to choose the most appropriate learning strategies for their students.

“CommPACT schools are all about student achievement – but student achievement that addresses all areas and provides ownership for all who are involved in the school, from teachers to students to administrators to parents,” added Chasin.

Barry Fargo, a New London teacher at the Jennings School -- one of the first group of urban schools to convert to a CommPACT school -- also attended the session.

The New London Education Association member said he and his colleagues found the CommPACT school model appealing from the first time they heard about it. He told participants at the session that he is very encouraged by his experiences during the conversion process.

“It’s a very exciting process,” said Fargo. “The ownership concept for teachers is especially powerful – and the response from the community and parents is phenomenal. Parents have been e-mailing me and calling me about this because they are also excited about having a role in the decision-making process at their school.”

Great opportunities and exciting ideas
CEA Executive Director John Yrchik said CommPACT schools have great potential. “CommPACT schools are a positive response to what is happening in our urban schools. It is a different way of approaching things -- both for teachers and for administrators. And if it works, it could be a model for other states to follow.”

Connecticut-AFT President Sharon Palmer said that since CommPACT schools are created from existing schools, teachers will work directly with students from the surrounding neighborhood.

“There will be no selection process, and no waiting list. CommPACT schools take all students in that neighborhood – regardless of their learning problems. This means teachers can tailor an individualized learning process to work specifically for students who attend that school,” she said.

Yrchik added that CommPACT schools have the capability to influence student learning in other schools in an urban community. “CommPACT schools will have more potential reach than magnets or charter schools because they will operate as a collaborative network of schools engaged in change.”

He said the response from teachers who have been involved with CommPACT schools has been very positive. “There are great opportunities here for teachers and for the teaching profession. There are going to be many exciting ideas coming from CommPACT schools as this process unfolds."