Guns in Schools, Campaign Finance, and P-TECH

This weekly segment by Democrats for Education Reform CT looks at the top education stories Democrats are watching, providing bite-sized analyses and links to recent articles. On the roster this week: national Senate hearings, campaign finance for CT gubernatorial candidates, and an innovative high school model that’s turning heads because of its effective public-private partnerships!

Irresponsible, “Dangerous and Dumb”: DeVos’ Implementation of ESSA

The Senate Education committee held a hearing on the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) last week. Some Democrats have criticized Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' implementation of ESSA, claiming that ESSA plans are being approved even when they don’t comply with the law. Shavar Jeffries, President of Education Reform Now, commented on some states' failure to differentiate subgroup performance (an accountability measure that keeps us honest about how we’re doing with high-need student populations). He said that the theme of the hearing, "States Leading the Way" is more of an “expression of aspiration than a description of fact.” Another important theme: criticism of DeVos’ idea to use the federal ESSA grant to arm teachers. Senator Elizabeth Warren outright called the idea "dangerous and dumb."

Campaign Coffers

Are you pouring over the campaign finance filings this fall to see what is in each candidate’s coffers? This week’s DFER CT Playbook does! Michael Mandell, former Executive Director of the CT Democratic Party, looks at the state finance reports for the Lamont and Stefanowski campaigns. This piece explores each candidate’s potential to fund a final round of campaign efforts and drive turnout for down ballot races.

Bridging the Skills Gap

With tens of thousands of job openings annually in Connecticut, a lot of attention is being paid to a skills gap and the need to develop stronger career pathways. Public-private partnerships are an exciting opportunity to create an exchange between schools and industry, giving schools feedback about the skills businesses need, and tightening the jobs pipeline. We’re finding IBM’s Pathways in Technology Early College High School model (P-TECH) to be inspiring!

Dems Who Champion Education

Are you a Democrat who understands that education is part of our social safety net and that quality schools are a matter of civil rights? Do you enjoy our Wednesday Weekly and our insider Playbooks? Are you passionate about the Blue Wave that we’re aiming to bring to Connecticut and to the country? Then support our cause and follow us on our brand spanking new Twitter account!