Current Initiatives

From Day 1 of our organization, we've been committed to improving how Connecticut funds its public schools and creating a more equitable, logical, and transparent system for all students and communities.

While positive steps have been taken over the past few years to improve how Connecticut funds K-12 public education, the state’s education finance system remains inequitable, disjointed, and inadequate for addressing the systemic racial and economic disparities found in Connecticut education funding.

That's why we're working with legislative, education, community, and municipal stakeholders across the state to create a student-centered funding system that will help address Connecticut’s educational inequities, fix the state’s current complex and disjointed way of funding public schools, and make significant strides in reducing Connecticut's alarming racial funding disparities. Click here for resources about student-centered funding.

The student-centered funding system our team has developed and modeled would significantly strengthen and improve how Connecticut funds public education by:

• Fully funding all districts;
• Reducing Connecticut’s racial and economic funding gaps;
• Investing in K-12 public education and meaningful resources like teachers and counselors; and
• Expanding the Education Cost Sharing (ECS) formula to include all Connecticut public school students.

With millions of dollars coming to Connecticut's school districts as part of federal COVID-19 relief and stimulus packages, transparency around how these funds are being spent is critical.

Transparency is important for not only keeping parents and community members up-to-date on how these federal resources are being spent, but for also ensuring these dollars are used to support the academic and emotional well-being of students, build community and family connections, and improve school safety and facilities.

We're working to make spending data and information about these federal dollars approachable and easy-to-understand for all knowledge levels, so everyone has access to how much funding their school district has received and how the district is using the funds.

Each day, English Learners tackle one of the toughest academic challenges a student can face: learning content and absorbing knowledge while simultaneously learning a new language. As a result of this unique learning situation, more resources and funding are often necessary to support English Learners and help them succeed.

We are working with stakeholders and relevant experts to put forward solutions that will improve how Connecticut supports its English Learner students and their families.

As part of this work, we hope to partner with organizations and community groups across the state to ensure all of Connecticut's English Learners have the resources and opportunities they need for success both inside and outside of the classroom.

While the full effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on student learning and knowledge retention are still unknown, school leaders, teachers, and students will all face challenges as full-time, in-person learning resumes and districts get back to normal business operations.

We are working to assist districts in meeting these challenges and helping them maximize their resources and federal relief dollars to address the impacts the coronavirus pandemic has had on their students and staff.