By CHRIS POWELL Eight years ago Gov. Dannel P. Malloy induced a sleepwalking General Assembly to approve a bailout of $550 million for Hartford’s incompetent city government. This week nothing seemed to have changed, with the Hartford Courant reporting that the city’s school system is operating with a likely deficit of $70 million and isContinue reading “Another bailout won’t reveal why Hartford’s schools fail”
Tag Archives: Hartford schools
Public schools couldn’t meet new home-school standards
By CHRIS POWELL In principle there’s nothing wrong with the basics of the home-schooling legislation that got a public hearing before the General Assembly this week. The bill would require people to notify local officials in person when they withdraw their children from public school to home-school them, to bring their home-schooled children to someContinue reading “Public schools couldn’t meet new home-school standards”
Hartford, Bridgeport schools urgently need state takeover
By Chris Powell How could Aleysha Ortiz go through the Hartford school system and be given a high school diploma without ever learning to read and write? Who exactly was responsible in every grade that advanced her anyway? State government’s growth causes record spending on lobbyists Does Trump’s budget really spell doom for Connecticut? ProtestsContinue reading “Hartford, Bridgeport schools urgently need state takeover”
Who’d want to be governor amid what’s lurking ahead?
By Chris Powell In an interview the other day Governor Lamont sounded unenthusiastic about seeking a third term. He complained that legislators and municipal officials parade through his office asking for goodies at state government expense even as the Trump administration is slashing away at financial aid to Connecticut, punching big holes in state government’sContinue reading “Who’d want to be governor amid what’s lurking ahead?”
Puzzle isn’t Musk but Biden; and state should take over failing city schools
By Chris Powell Democrats in Connecticut and throughout the country are seeking laughs by asserting that the political noise being made by zillionaire Elon Musk shows that he is not just an adviser to President-elect Donald Trump but the de-facto president-elect. Musk is an odd duck in some respects. But he seems to have gotten richContinue reading “Puzzle isn’t Musk but Biden; and state should take over failing city schools”
Even awful school systems must play the hand they’re dealt
By Chris Powell School officials in Meriden are sore that this column recently included the city in a list of Connecticut cities whose schools have serious problems, a list with New Haven, Hartford, Waterbury, and Bridgeport. These problems include chronic absenteeism, an influx of immigrant students who don’t speak English, parental neglect, and other pathologies of poverty. Continue reading “Even awful school systems must play the hand they’re dealt”
Business executives warn Connecticut about too much higher education
By Chris Powell What a wonderfully subversive and politically incorrect idea has exploded from the committee set up by the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities to study the problem of the state’s estimated 119,000 “disconnected” and alienated young people. Meeting this week at New London City Hall, the group heard a vice president of Yale NewContinue reading “Business executives warn Connecticut about too much higher education”
State Education Department belatedly notices Hartford school disaster
By Chris Powell At last the state Education Department seems to have noticed that long after Hartford’s school system was designated an “alliance district” and given extra state money to execute a special plan to improve student performance, performance has not improved and the school system itself is falling apart, with a $40 million budgetContinue reading “State Education Department belatedly notices Hartford school disaster”
Easier jobs make Dan, Geno better liked than legislators
By Chris Powell Celebrating Dan Hurley’s decision this week to keep coaching the men’s basketball team at the University of Connecticut, state House Speaker Matt Ritter confirmed a thought previously reserved for cynics. That is, UConn’s success with basketball is state government’s great rationalization for giving the university whatever it wants financially year after year.Continue reading “Easier jobs make Dan, Geno better liked than legislators”
Push for teacher diversity risks racial bias in hiring
By Chris Powell Why is student performance so poor among students from racial minorities in Connecticut’s cities? A state law enacted last year suggests it’s because city schools don’t have enough teachers from racial minorities. Connecticut’s Hearst newspapers reported the other day that while the state’s schools have increased their share of minority teachers toContinue reading “Push for teacher diversity risks racial bias in hiring”
Chris Powell column 