Testimony: Jennifer Alexander, CEO, ConnCAN

Testimony in Favor of Proposed Public Charter School Law Changes in Connecticut

State Board of Education - Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Chairman Taylor, Commissioner Pryor, and members of the State Board of
Education, thank you for the opportunity to speak to you.

Connecticut needs to update our laws and regulations governing public charter
schools. As CEO of the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now, I applaud you
for your leadership in acting on this fact.

The goal, as you know, must be to make sure that students at all types of public
schools, including charters, are assured sound legal and regulatory protections,
the opportunity to learn from great educators, fair funding based on their
learning needs, and an excellent education that will prepare them for success in
college, careers and life.

We have labored toward that goal, but for many of us who have been working to
improve education across Connecticut, this summer has so far been a difficult one
in which weve uncovered deeply disappointing news about unacceptable
professional conduct. We have high expectations and we have been let down, to
say the least.

We must make sure that never happens again, and thankfully, we have an
opportunity to do so now. An update to the laws and regulations governing public
charter schools is urgent. Charter schools, like all public schools, should be
congratulated for their successes and held accountable for their failures.

As we do so, our focus must never waver from what matters most. It is our
responsibility to provide every child the opportunity to get a high-quality
education, no matter where he or she lives. Charter schools are an essential part
of this effort.

As we move forward, I urge you to remember that charter schools in Connecticut
are providing students, particularly students who need it most, with a high quality
education. Overall, 80 percent of Connecticuts public charter schools perform
better than schools in their host districts. Thats more third graders reading well
and prepared to succeed in later grades, and more 12th graders prepared to
succeed in college and career. In fact, in some of our public charter schools in our
lowest performing school districts in Connecticut, 100 percent of students who
graduate go on to college.

Those results are why we need to support charter schools and share their
successes more broadly. Those results are why thousands of families in
Connecticut are on wait lists to send their children to attend these high-quality
education options.

The basic premise of public charter schools is tough accountability in exchange for
the flexibility to do what it takes to deliver an effective education for kids. We
must hold true to that premise.

The steps you are currently taking move Connecticut toward necessary
protections, accountability and transparency for the thousands of children who
attend public charter schools, as well as employees of those schools and related
charter management organizations. We also encourage you to ensure that
charters continue to have the flexibility to deliver innovative and effective
education.

As the process of improving our charter policy moves forward, I strongly
encourage the State Department of Education and State Board of Education to
involve a wide spectrum of advocates and stakeholders, all working to guarantee
the flexibility and accountability public charter schools need.

ConnCAN looks forward to being part of that conversation. Together, we can
ensure that Connecticut is a place where people want to live, work, and invest in
their future.

Thank you.