Corrected: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Mary Loftus Levine. She is the executive director of the Connecticut Education Association.
The Connecticut classroom of the future may not be limited by a traditional school year, the four walls of a classroom, or even the standard progression of grades, based on a proposed package of unusually bold changes that are being advanced by the state鈥檚 school superintendents.
Instead, the current system would be replaced by a 鈥渓earner-centered鈥� education program that would begin at age 3; offer parents a menu of options, including charter schools and magnet schools; and provide assessments when an individual child is ready to be tested, rather than having all children tested in a class at the same time.
The superintendents鈥� recommendations also promote the long-resisted idea of consolidating some of the state鈥檚 165 school districts, 21 of which consist of only one school.
鈥淭he present division of local school districts into 165 separate entities with some regional arrangements is economically inefficient and fosters economic, racial and ethnic isolation,鈥� according to the proposal, which was released in November by the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not at all naive about the challenge before us. We鈥檙e goring every ox there is,鈥� said Joseph Cirasuolo, the executive director of the group. He worked closely with a 16-person panel that spent two years developing the report鈥檚 134 recommendations.
While ambitious, the package comes at a timely moment. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, a Democrat, who was sworn in last January, has declared that he wants the upcoming legislative session to focus on reforming education for the state鈥檚 564,000 students in prekindergarten-through-12th grades. On Dec. 20, Mr. Malloy sent a letter to state legislators, saying that he would like to see laws that improve access to high-quality, early-childhood programs, create an educator evaluation system that values 鈥渟kill and effectiveness鈥� over seniority and tenure, and deliver resources to needy districts that embrace reform. The governor also plans in January to launch a series of stakeholder workshops around the state to talk about education reform. Many of the governor鈥檚 priorities dovetail with the proposals from the state鈥檚 school superintendents.
鈥淲e should not and will not accept half-measures and repackaged versions of the status quo,鈥� Mr. Malloy said in his letter to lawmakers. Both houses of the Connecticut General Assembly are controlled by Democrats.
Education 鈥楳oon Launch鈥�
Mr. Cirasuolo said that the superintendents鈥� work has been presented to the governor, the new state Commissioner of Education Stefan Pryor, and other education groups around the state, including local school boards. He compares the proposals to President John F. Kennedy鈥檚 declaration that the United States would land a man on the moon: There was immediate skepticism to that proposal, too, but the country was able to achieve the goal.
鈥淭here鈥檚 almost a little 鈥榩erfect storm鈥� developing鈥� around education reform in Connecticut, Mr. Cirasuolo said.
The package of reforms presented by the superintendents was developed through a process the leaders had not tried before, said Larry Schaefer, the staff associate for leadership development for the superintendents鈥� group. In 2008, at an annual policy conference that brought together 123 of the state鈥檚 165 superintendents, the leaders talked about how the mission of education had shifted to the expectation that all students should be achieving at high levels, he said.
鈥淲e鈥檝e seen a not-so-subtle transformation in the education world from providing students with an opportunity to learn, to an obligation to be sure that every kid does learn,鈥� said Frank H. Sippy, the superintendent of the 4,500-student Pomperaug Regional School District 15 and a member of the 16-person panel that developed the education transformation proposal. 鈥淲e superintendents recognized we鈥檙e pretty well equipped to do the former, but not terribly equipped to do the latter.鈥�
In fall 2009, the 16 superintendents, assistant superintendents and university professors started work on the project, with the assistance of other educational experts brought in for their expertise. They included Michael B. Horn, an expert in education and 鈥渄isruptive innovation,鈥� and Tony Wagner, the co-director of the Change Leadership Group at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
The superintendents鈥� recommendations are encapsulated under broad categories. For example, under the topic of making learning personal, the report recommends that students progress through school based on what they actually learned, rather than the time they have spent in classes. Under the category of offering options, the superintendents鈥� report proposes abolishing all regulatory state mandates and replacing them with mandated student-learning outcomes. State funding mechanisms should include incentives tied to meeting and exceeding those mandated outcomes, the report says.
The panel presented its proposals to the full membership of the association, which unanimously adopted them in October.
While Connecticut tends to rank higher than average among states on the National Assessment of Education Progress, also known as the 鈥渘ation鈥檚 report card,鈥� recent results suggest some stagnation. On this year鈥檚 tests, Connecticut scores were largely flat compared to 2009, in reading and mathematics. In addition, the state showed large achievement gaps between its white students and their black and Hispanic counterparts, and among students of different income levels.
Last month, the state released statistics showing that nearly one in five of its students do not complete high school in four years. The numbers were worse for Hispanic students, black students, students eligible for free or reduced-price lunches, students in special education and students who are learning English: about one in three students in those groups do not receive a standard diploma in four years.
But many of the school leaders who worked on the panel do not lead districts that are struggling with student achievement. For example, Mr. Sippy鈥檚 district serves Middlebury and Southbury, which are among the state鈥檚 better-off towns, and about 95 percent of its graduates go on to college.
鈥極ne Clear Vision鈥�
In the 2,500-student Weston district, 97 percent of high school graduates enroll in college. But Colleen Palmer, the superintendent of the district and also a member of the panel that developed the recommendations, said that the school system鈥檚 strong test scores are just one measure of success. The school system could still be more flexible and responsive to student needs, she said.
鈥淲e haven鈥檛 had one clear vision of education reform we鈥檝e been able to look to in our state,鈥� said Ms. Palmer. And with the wealth and resources of some communities in the state, 鈥渙ne could be seduced into feeling that we鈥檙e doing better than we really are,鈥� she said.
Another panel member, Salvatore Menzo, the superintendent of the 7,000-student Wallingford district, has experience both as the former superintendent of a one-school district, and as a school leader trying to make major change. In 2010, his district reconfigured its elementary schools, turning them into four K-2 schools and four 3rd-though-5th grade schools to better balance demographics and enrollment numbers. The debate before approval of that plan was contentious, he said, and a similar debate needs to happen around improving education in the district.
The professionals who facilitated the discussion among the school leaders told them 鈥渂e creative, let鈥檚 try to have no limits,鈥� Mr. Menzo said.
He said he can imagine a school district that offers universal preschool for 3-year-olds, introduces subjects like foreign-language instruction in elementary school, and uses technology to provide enrichment courses that districts might not otherwise be able to offer on their own.
鈥淲e cannot continue to rest on the fact that just because what we do now is fine for some of the children, it鈥檚 going to be fine forever,鈥� Mr. Menzo said.
Some education groups in the state said that they welcomed the proposals from the superintendents.
Mary Loftus Levine, the executive director of the Connecticut Education Association, an affiliate of the National Education Association, said her organization agrees with the superintendents鈥� group on issues related to early-childhood education, stable state funding, improving teacher-preparation programs and involving parents more deeply in the lives of their children鈥檚 education.
鈥淲e think that it鈥檚 extremely far-reaching鈥攚e commend them for the breadth of their efforts,鈥� Ms. Loftus Levine said.
Patrick Riccards, the executive director of the New Haven-based Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now, also called ConnCAN, said 鈥渨e鈥檝e finally progressed to the point where the question is not, 鈥榃ill we or won鈥檛 we have reform?鈥� It鈥檚, 鈥榃hat kind of reform will we put forward?鈥欌��
