Superintendents Push Dramatic Changes for Conn. Schools

Colleen A. Palmer , the Superintendent of Schools in Weston, Conn., Colleen A. Palmer, was involved with a report published in November 2011, dealing with school reform in Connecticut. The Connecticut Association of School Superintendents has presented an agenda to the state that would fundamentally restructure how education is carried out in the state. From consolidating some small districts to doing way with school year and “seat time” requirements, the superintendents—all 166 signed on to this document—say this is the way to create a learner-centered education system.

—Christopher Capozziello for Education Week

By Christina A. Samuels

The Connecticut classroom of the future may not be limited by a traditional school year, the four walls of a classroom, or even the standard progression of grades, based on a proposed package of unusually bold changes that are being advanced by the state’s school superintendents.

Instead, the current system would be replaced by a “learner-centered” education program that 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 in a class at the same time.

The superintendents’ recommendations also promote the long-resisted idea of consolidating some of the state’s 165 school districts, 21 of which consist...