K-12 Education
Connecticut students are leading the nation in performance, and state investment in their education has never been higher or more comprehensive. From a major expansion of school readiness programs to aggressive efforts to close the achievement gap and improve urban education, major progress is being made to give all children the opportunity to succeed and to carry out the No Child Left Behind Act.
Better Learning Environment
To ensure each child has the ability to learn in a safe and state of the art environment,. Governor Rowland has invested almost $3 billion to improve and construct new K-12 schools statewide since 1996. Annual funding for school improvement and construction has grown from $136 million in FY 1996 to about $601 million in FY 2003.
The result? At least 90 improved and new school facilities in our cities and towns, including all of our major cities, offering our students better environments in which to learn.
Command Focus on Technology
To prepare students for the future, Governor John G. Rowland and Lt. Governor M. Jodi Rell launched a new agenda for improving technology in education.
The initiative has resulted in the high-speed,
Connecticut Education Network connecting more than 1,000 schools, 350 public libraries and the State's colleges and universities. This $30 million project is laying the groundwork for high-speed connectivity and new resources for our children.
Also launched was the
Connecticut Digital Library, offering on-line access to educational and research materials. It has was accessed 2.1 million times in 2001 and 2002 alone by K-12 schools, 2 million times by public library users and 3 million times by students at college and universities. Cities and towns were saved $20 million by the state’s sponsorship of this invaluable service.
Other parts of the initiative involve rigorous standards in technology competency for students, teachers, and administrators.
Governor’s Summer Reading Challenge – Ten Million Books and Counting
Since 1996, Connecticut students have read more ten million books as part of the Governor’s Summer Reading Challenge, kicked off in May 1996 by Governor Rowland to encourage students to read during their summer vacations.
Since the first summer, the program has grown from 100,000 students in 254 schools to 213,000 students in 830 schools. In 2002 alone, more than 2 million books were read.
Students Leading in Performance
Connecticut 4th and 8th graders continue to be among the highest performing in the nation in reading, writing and mathematics.
More students are taking the SAT in Connecticut than any other state in the nation. 84 percent took the SAT in 2002 – almost twice the national average and the highest level in 20 years.
Closing the Achievement Gap
Closing the achievement gap – the disparity in performance between urban and suburban schools – remains our state’s most urgent challenges. Governor Rowland has supported efforts to improve urban education and reduce racial isolation to give all state students the opportunity to achieve success.
Nearly Ten Fold Increase in Funding Governor Rowland has increased funding nearly ten-fold for improving urban education and reducing racial isolation since taking office from $21 million in to well over $200 million. His efforts have resulted in a major increase in students participating in programs designed to open up new opportunities.
$162 million spent in 2002 alone on a wide variety of programs. More than 11,000 students are now enrolled in Magnet Schools, which bring together students from a wide regional area. Under the voluntary Open Choice program, about 1,600 primarily urban students now attend suburban schools.
This is a major increase in student participation – in 1995, only 1,500 students participated in both programs. State subsidies are also available for 2,200 students to attend charter schools.
In addition to magnet schools and Open Choice, Interdistrict Cooperation Grants are funding programs for 60,000 students to promote greater understanding and cultural diversity from pre-school through 12th grade.
Extended Support
Priority school grants in the state's 14 most academically and economically disadvantaged communities are being used for dropout prevention, after school programs, extended kindergarten and early reading intervention.
Expansion of School Readiness In 1997, a major expansion of school readiness programs was launched to improve and expand facilities and programs for pre-school age children prior to entering school. Since being launched the programs have nearly doubled in size. More than $40 million was spent in 2002 alone in grants to cities and towns to offer childcare and school readiness programs to more than 6,000 children.
Higher Expectations 91 percent of students in the state’s largest and poorest cities are now taking the Connecticut Mastery Test – up from 82 percent in 2000. Latino and African American fourth graders made the first and second best progress in reading between 1992 and 1998.
More Students Staying in School Connecticut was named one of the "most improved" states in high school completion by the National Goals Panel. Since 1995, the state dropout rate has fallen from more than 17 percent to about 11 percent.
