Education

If the chronic problem of lagging academic achievement among poor children has perplexed educators for years, can a group of business leaders find a solution?

A state commission made up mainly of top business officials will issue recommendations in October that could shape Connecticut's policy to address what the group described Monday as an educational tragedy. Read more

Despite losing a portion of their recent pay raise, the presidents at Connecticut State University's four campuses still earn salaries that compare favorably with those of chief executives at many similar institutions.

Some university trustees had expressed concern that CSU could lose its competitive edge for attracting top administrators after complying with Gov. M. Jodi Rell's request last month to rescind an extra salary boost. Read more

Connecticut's neighboring states of New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island are among 10 winners of the second round of the U.S. Department of Education's Race to the Top school reform competition.

Connecticut failed last month to make a list of 19 finalists for the Obama administration's $4.3 billion competition designed to improve low-performing schools.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced awards today for Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Rhode Island and the District of Columbia. Read more

Connecticut's school districts could be in line for a major economic boost this fiscal year, thanks to the new extension of federal stimulus funding - and a political miscalculation by the General Assembly and Gov. M. Jodi Rell.

The $109 million in potential good fortune for local schools also could be part of a new $156 million hole in the state budget. Read more

They will be celebrating this year at Middletown's Woodrow Wilson Middle School, once considered a prime example of why Middletown only two years ago was designated one of the state's most troubled school districts. Read more

Connecticut State University officials reduced raises for more than 60 high-ranking managers Friday after criticism from Gov. M. Jodi Rell, but took no action on Rell's request to rescind raises for two campus presidents. Read more

Connecticut's failure to qualify for a coveted federal education grant could delay the effort to reform the state's public schools but will not end it, officials pledged Tuesday.

Educators and lawmakers expressed disappointment when U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan did not include Connecticut among a list of finalists for millions of dollars under Race to the Top, the Obama administration's $4.3 billion competition designed to spur school reform. Read more

WASHINGTON--Parents and teachers don't like it. For many students, it has failed to produce the promised benefits. And experts agree it urgently needs to be fixed.

But that doesn't mean Congress is ready to revamp No Child Left Behind, the education reform law pushed by President George W. Bush with bipartisan Congressional support in 2001. As controversial as the program remains, there is perhaps even more controversy about how to fix it. For some Connecticut officials, in fact, this fresh debate over federal education policy looks like a choice between bad and worse. Read more

Throughout its history, public education in Connecticut has enjoyed a flattering - though often misleading - reputation among citizens who wanted excellent schools but were reluctant to pay for them.

That blunt assessment comes from a new book by one of the state's most noted authorities on education, former state historian Christopher Collier.

The ongoing struggle over school finance, from the 18th century School Fund to the latest legal battles over school equality, is one of many topics in Collier's ambitious, meticulously researched history of public elementary and secondary schools.

• Decrepit one-room schoolhouses: an excerpt
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