Gov. Malloy proposes certification changes

Governor Malloy today released his proposals to change certification for teachers in Connecticut.

Certification is a license to teach. A meaningful evaluation process, like the one we helped develop and support as part of the ongoing Performance Evaluation Advisory Council (PEAC) process, is the means by which we assess a teacher’s performance and help them reach maximum potential.

“This proposal puts the cart before the horse,” said Sharon Palmer, president of AFT Connecticut. “Our focus this year is to improve education for everyone and that should begin with ensuring teacher quality by establishing rigorous teacher preparation,  meaningful evaluation and support.”

There are many ideas on certification that have merit. AFT Connecticut will be discussing these and other ideas with our members and continue to work with the members of PEAC to reach a collaborative agreement on what will work best for our state.

We note that the justification for these proposals is limited to a survey of superintendents. What’s more, only 15% of the respondents to the superintendents’ survey appear to be from school districts with the greatest need.

“We are very disappointed that the Governor has chosen to base these proposals on the opinions of only the superintendents and not the 50,000 educators who are doing the work of educating children.”

We hope that in the future a broader range of education professionals, including Connecticut’s 50,000 educators, will be considered.

AFT CT (American Federation of Teachers Connecticut) is committed to improving the quality of education for every child in the state. Education reform issues like teacher tenure, teacher certification, teacher evaluations, early childhood education, charter schools, school funding and more need input from all educators. PreK-12 teachers, paraprofessionals and school related personnel are working every day to improve learning and help students to grow. From urban schools in Connecticut, such as Hartford, New Britain, New Haven and Meriden, to suburban schools, such as, Bloomfield, Simsbury and Waterford,  to regional school districts, our members are working to provide quality education.