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;
• Bridging the looming "fiscal cliff" when federal COVID-relief aid expires and allowing districts to plan and invest in long-term resources;
• Investing in Connecticut's future and addressing the state's severe labor and skill shortage;
• Expanding the Education Cost Sharing (ECS) formula to include all Connecticut public school students;
• Combatting the state's shortage of teachers, paraprofessionals, and counselors; and
• Responding to the crisis of growing student needs.

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, multilingual learners (often referred to as English Learners or English Language 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 multilingual learners and help them succeed.

We are working with stakeholders and relevant experts to put forward solutions that will improve how Connecticut supports its multilingual 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 multilingual learners have the resources and opportunities they need for success both inside and outside of the classroom.

From record-low test scores and increased mental health needs to teacher shortages and chronic absenteeism, the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on students and educators have been unprecedented, yet are still not fully known.

As the effects of the pandemic continue to linger, school district leaders, staff, and teachers will all face challenges as they work to combat learning loss, respond to the growing academic and social-emotional needs of students, and effectively utilize their federal relief aid.

We are working to assist districts in meeting these challenges and helping them maximize their resources and ESSER dollars to address the impacts the coronavirus pandemic has had on academic achievement, student mental health, and staff morale and educator well-being.