Recently, Connecticut school superintendents advanced a package of 134 recommendations to replace the state's current school system with a “learner-centered” education program. The program would begin at age ...]]>

It may be known as the "Land of Steady Habits," but Connecticut's new habit in education in this new year looks like steady change.

Recently, Connecticut school superintendents advanced a package of 134 recommendations to replace the state's current school system with a “learner-centered” education program. The program would begin at age 3; offer parents a menu of options, including charter schools and magnet schools; and provide assessments when an individual child is ready to be tested, rather than having all children tested at the same time.

One of the report's sponsors is the Quincy, Mass.-based Nelle Mae Education Foundation, which has made student-centered learning its strategic focus.

The package from the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents would also consolidate some of the state’s 165 school districts, some of which consist of only one school.

****

Separately, the Connecticut Education Association released A View from the Classroom. The report from Connecticut’s largest teachers union calls for ensuring that children arrive in kindergarten ready to learn to transforming chronically low-performing schools, enhancing parent and community involvement in schools evaluating all teachers should every year based on multiple factors, not only students' scores on standardized tests.