GOV. MALLOY: MILLIONS IN ADDITIONAL FUNDING WILL ASSIST STRUGGLING SCHOOL DISTRICTS
Full-Day Kindergarten, Early Literacy and Additional Student Support Among
Top Priorities
Governor Dannel P. Malloy, joined by Commissioner of Education Stefan Pryor,
today announced that Alliance Districts are set to receive a total of
$132,901,813 in additional funding for the 2014-15 academic year to help
implement academic improvement plans. To date, 28 of 30 Alliance District
Year Three plan amendments have been approved, with the final approvals
expected in the coming weeks.
The Alliance District program is the state’s lead initiative to improve
student success in the state’s 30 most chronically struggling school
districts and to help close achievement gaps. Since its creation in 2012,
the Alliance District program has invested $259,843,832 in Connecticut’s
high-need school districts.
“A central part of our effort to improve public education is to make
sure that districts that need the most help are getting the extra support
they need, and that’s exactly what the Alliance District programs
does,” Governor Malloy said. “With this additional funding,
districts are doing everything from focusing on early literacy to adding
full-day kindergarten. It’s a huge step forward, one that is led
at local level to the benefit of every child in that district.”
The increased financial investment is tied to greater accountability for
how this funding is spent. A true state-district partnership, the Alliance
District program requires an annual submission of turnaround plan amendments
for approval from the state.
“The Alliance Districts program represents a true alliance between
historically lower performing school districts and the state,” Commissioner
Pryor said. “As participants in this partnership, districts craft
and commit to strategies aimed at improving their performance in key state
and locally-identified areas and, in turn, the state provides substantial
new resources to assist these districts in carrying out their plans. In
addition, the State Department of Education convenes the 30 Alliance Districts
quarterly in order to enable them to share best practices and hone their
strategies. Many Alliance Districts are making real progress in improving
conditions and enhancing opportunities at their schools and in their classrooms,
and the results are starting to show. I’m proud of what we’ve
accomplished to date through this program and I’m grateful for Governor
Malloy’s leadership, which enabled the creation of this program,
as well as his continued commitment to the provision of these important
district resources.”
The Alliance District program provides districts with the needed flexibility
to identify and craft strategies to address their specific needs and challenges.
The state identifies priority areas for districts to address via locally
developed strategies in their turnaround plans. In addition to these state
priority areas, the Alliance Districts identify several additional priority
areas and strategies of their own.
For the second year in a row, the state defined the transition to the Connecticut
Core Standards, the implementation of educator evaluation and support
systems, and the turnaround of low-performing schools as priority areas.
In addition, districts were required to add K-3 literacy as a focus in
their plan amendments. Reading at grade level by the third grade is critically
important for future academic success. The enhancement of resources for
K-3 literacy and strengthening of early reading supports helps to ensure
that Connecticut’s young readers who struggle will get the help
they need.
“The East Hartford Public Schools are utilizing Alliance District
funding to support early literacy — particularly for getting needed
materials for students in grades K-2,” East Hartford Superintendent
Nathan D. Quesnel said. “These resources provide Common Core aligned
instruction that help students reach grade level by Grade 3.”
Though each district faces its own unique set of circumstances and challenges,
several common themes emerge throughout the 30 individual plans.
Early Learning
More than half of the Alliance Districts – nineteen in total –
are devoting resources to expanding and strengthening pre-Kindergarten
programs or expanding full-day Kindergarten, such as Bristol Public Schools.
“The Alliance grant provides the Bristol Public Schools with the
exceptional opportunity to implement a high-quality, full-day Kindergarten
program beginning this year,” Bristol Superintendent Ellen Solek
said. “The fiscal support provided through this grant will benefit
thousands of Bristol Kindergarten students over time, while positively
impacting the City of Bristol and its families. We are very grateful to
Governor Malloy and Commissioner Pryor for their ongoing support and for
the valuable opportunity that the Alliance Grant funding provides to our
schools and to the City of Bristol.”
Extended Learning Time
Several districts are extending the school day or school year to provide
more instructional time for students. In total, 14 districts have incorporated
additional learning time as part of their Alliance District plan to help
improve student achievement.
In Meriden, the extended school day has been received well by students
and families.
“The new Alliance District funds have allowed students at three of
our neighborhood elementary schools to attend school one hundred minutes
more per day, which equates to over 40 additional days of school a year,”
Meriden Superintendent Mark Benigni said. “This additional time
supports enrichment activities, increased technology offerings, health
and nutrition activities and teacher collaboration time. Our students
and families love the redesigned school day and initial results have been
most positive.”
Supports for Students
Students who are chronically absent, missing ten percent of school days,
in the ninth grade are less likely to graduate high school within four
years. This is especially true for Connecticut students of color; less
than 40 percent of chronically absent Hispanic and black ninth-grade students
graduate within four years.
New Britain Superintendent Kelt Cooper noted that their focus on improving
attendance is showing results.
“Our district has realized significant improvement in the chronically
absent numbers over the past two years and anticipate even greater improvement
this current school year,” said Cooper.
Additionally, 20 Alliance Districts are strengthening supports for students
by implementing strategies designed to promote students’ social
and emotional health. These strategies include the addition of guidance
counselors or mental health professionals as well as the implementation
of school wide programs designed to encourage positive student behaviors.
Strengthening Academic Supports
Nineteen districts are bolstering their efforts to provide additional resources
and service to their students who need more help. Some districts are implementing
district wide programs to help ensure that those students who might need
the extra help are identified, while other districts are building internal
capacity to adequately meet student needs.
In addition, half of the districts detailed strategies to strengthen supports
for certain student populations such as English Language Learners (ELL)
or students with disabilities. In New Britain, for example, the district
devotes considerable resources to improving programs for ELL students.
According to Superintendent Cooper, the district is beginning to see results.
He states that “alliance funding has provided important and highly
valued, specialized training for teachers of English Language Learners,
which has resulted in our ELL students acquiring proficiency in English
more rapidly and better than at any other time in our district’s
history.”
Expanding Development Opportunities for Educators
A majority of districts are providing high-quality professional development
for teachers and principals. Twenty-five of the 30 Alliance Districts
will leverage resources to support coaching or development opportunities
for teachers, while 18 districts have identified development opportunities
for principals as a key priority.
Derby Superintendent Matthew Conway explains, “In today’s schools,
we are asking teachers and administrators to play a different role. In
order to be successful, it requires that we provide them with the opportunity
to learn and practice that role. Training will be individualized to maximize
the return on the investment and ensure teachers and administrators get
the exact support they need.”
Family Engagement
For more than a third of the districts, engaging families is an area of focus.
Norwich Superintendent Abby Dolliver explains her district’s approach
to meeting the needs of her school community. “Alliance funding
has allowed Norwich Public Schools to engage with its economically and
linguistically diverse families in multiple ways,” she said. “Five
district-wide family liaisons reach out to all families through school-based
family events, provide support and opportunities for leadership to targeted
groups through literacy workshops, PTOs, School Governance Councils, and
Welcoming Walkthrough Teams, and finally provide intensive individualized
supports and links to wraparound services for families of students identified
as chronically absent. Through this multi-tiered model, Norwich is able
to meet families where they are to build on their strengths, and support
student success.”
Alliance District Funding
The 28 districts announced today are set to receive $107,978,057 of the
total $132,901,813 allocation.
Alliance District Funding for 2012-13 through 2014-15 |
||||
District |
Alliance
|
|||
2012-13 |
2013-14 |
2014-15 |
||
Ansonia |
$539,715 |
$1,075,200 |
$1,516,974 |
|
Bloomfield |
$204,550 |
$502,062 |
$820,191 |
|
Bridgeport |
$4,404,227 |
$9,528,892 |
$14,704,804 |
|
Bristol |
$1,390,182 |
$2,496,023 |
$3,691,273 |
|
Danbury |
$1,696,559 |
$4,436,289 |
$6,696,567 |
|
Derby |
$280,532 |
$669,532 |
$1,039,795 |
|
East Hartford |
$1,714,744 |
$4,352,756 |
$7,100,386 |
|
East Haven |
$489,867 |
$900,958 |
$1,240,108 |
|
East Windsor |
$168,335 |
$219,295 |
$307,215 |
|
Hamden |
$882,986 |
$2,552,259 |
$3,987,286 |
|
Hartford* |
$4,808,111 |
$8,954,288 |
$12,855,661 |
|
Killingly |
$380,134 |
$514,648 |
$625,621 |
|
Manchester |
$1,343,579 |
$2,592,535 |
$3,857,041 |
|
Meriden |
$1,777,411 |
$4,131,619 |
$6,181,187 |
|
Middletown |
$796,637 |
$1,964,723 |
$2,996,390 |
|
Naugatuck |
$635,149 |
$1,160,664 |
$1,594,214 |
|
New Britain |
$2,654,335 |
$7,098,384 |
$11,079,553 |
|
New Haven* |
$3,841,903 |
$7,929,034 |
$12,068,095 |
|
New London |
$809,001 |
$1,880,085 |
$2,736,953 |
|
Norwalk |
$577,476 |
$904,066 |
$1,180,676 |
|
Norwich |
$1,024,982 |
$2,378,224 |
$3,878,849 |
|
Putnam |
$179,863 |
$261,234 |
$399,467 |
|
Stamford |
$920,233 |
$1,855,142 |
$2,626,442 |
|
Vernon |
$671,611 |
$1,402,214 |
$2,004,961 |
|
Waterbury |
$4,395,509 |
$11,855,075 |
$19,115,441 |
|
West Haven |
$1,381,848 |
$2,809,826 |
$4,097,639 |
|
Winchester |
$207,371 |
$227,182 |
$363,989 |
|
Windham |
$763,857 |
$1,727,773 |
$2,584,237 |
|
Windsor |
$306,985 |
$647,476 |
$928,381 |
|
Windsor Locks |
$252,306 |
$414,563 |
$622,417 |
|
Total |
$39,499,998 |
$87,442,021 |
$132,901,813 |
|
* Final approval of Year 3 plan amendment still pending. Funds will be released upon approval. |
||||
The Alliance District program was establish in 2012 when Governor Malloy signed
Public Act 12-116,
An Act Concerning Educational Reform, into law. In total, the Alliance Districts serve over 200,000 students
and 410 schools.
Over the course of the year, the state supports the districts’ implementation
by providing technical assistance to help problem-solve if challenges
arise and by tracking key indicators like chronic absenteeism and disciplinary
actions. The department’s Turnaround Office also convenes the 30
Alliance Districts on a quarterly basis to analyze district performance
and to provide the opportunity for collaboration with other districts.