Annual Board Update 2013-2014
www.eastconn.org
2013-1014 . . . From the Executive Director This past year was another exciting and challenging one as we worked in partnership with our member districts on local implementation of state initiatives, including the first full year of educator evaluation plans, field testing of the Smarter Balanced Assessment test, and the integration of Connecticut Common Core Standards into classroom curriculum, teaching and assessment practices. Once again, I am pleased to report to the EASTCONN board that the value and impact of the work we provided this year continues to be of high quality, in terms of how much we provided, how well we provided it and the impact it had. Of note this year: Regional Initiatives in collaboration with our member districts: g Eastern Connecticut Health Insurance Program (ECHIP): Members realized more than $500,000 in savings. g Back Office Support: Expanded our fiscal services support to districts by 200%, producing greater efficiencies at reduced costs, compared to the in-house provision of comparable services.
Paula M. Colen Executive Director
Student Programming, from young children through adults: g Early Childhood Initiatives: Saw gains in executive function, social skills, literacy and mathematics skills among the preschool learners whose teachers participated in our training and coaching. g K-12 Students with Special Needs: A 3rd regional clinical day treatment program was opened at a member district facility, providing high-quality educational programming at a reduced cost in a less restrictive environment; enrollment was up 34% across all 3 programs. g Employment & Training: Remained the largest provider of employment and training services in eastern Connecticut, enrolling almost 1,000 older youth and adults through our more than $2.7 million in contracts, up $1 million from last year. Looking ahead, we are gearing up for 2 exciting new initiatives for 2014-2015: g EASTCONN Center for Educational Leadership: Offering an expanded focus on the professional learning needs of school leaders in today’s public education environment. g Personalized Learning Initiatives: Exploring blended approaches to individualized, competency-based learning for students of all ages, including educational professionals. These highlights and plans are among the many hundreds detailed in this report. Enjoy your reading.
Paula M. Colen
REGION • AT • A • GLANCE
EASTCONN • AT • A • GLANCE
33..... Communities 36..... School Systems 79..... Schools 237 .... Administrators 3,152..... Teachers 39,382..... Students 266,119..... Residents
160.......Programs & Services 550.......Employees 20.......Locations 173,296.......Facilities’ Square Footage 100+.......Student Transport Vehicles $72 million.......Annual Budget
Mission: EASTCONN will initiate, support and facilitate partnerships, collaborations and regional solutions that are responsive to the needs of all learners through exemplary programs, products and services. 1
Index
From the Executive Director..........................................................................................page 3 Agency Goal Updates: Agency Goal 1: Exemplary Programs and Services...............................................page 3 Agency Goal 2: Strategic Collaborations ..............................................................page 11 Agency Goal 3: Knowledge and Skills of Educators.............................................page 19 EASTCONN’s Six Divisions.........................................................................................page 28 Program Updates: Adult Programs...............................................................................................page 25 Early Childhood Initiatives.............................................................................page 30 Facilities Services...........................................................................................page 34 Finance............................................................................................................page 36 Human Resources...........................................................................................page 38 K-12 Student Services.....................................................................................page 41 Marketing & Communications........................................................................page 50 Planning & Development................................................................................page 54 Teaching & Learning.......................................................................................page 57 Technology Solutions......................................................................................page 62 Transportation.................................................................................................page 68 n
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EASTCONN Administrative Team................................................................................page 70 EASTCONN Board of Directors...................................................................................page 71
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AGENCY GOAL #1 To provide exemplary programs and services to learners, including those with barriers, to achieve individual success.
2013-2014 Highlights & Accomplishments
increase in using complex sentences to describe ideas and experiences; a 19.67% increase in identifying printed words; and a 17.13% increase in relating number to quantity.
YOUNG CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES g Birth-to-Three This state-funded, regional program served 56 young children, ages birth to three, with developmental delays and/or disabilities, and their families, from 19 towns in northeastern Connecticut.
• Feedback from families was positive, with 98% reporting satisfaction with the program.
• Child outcomes included 100% completion of Individual Family Service Plans (ISFP), 94% attainment of all ISFP goals, 89-94% reduced gap in social emotional development or language acquisition as compared with peers, and 97% timely transitions to local public schools at the age of three.
g Head Start Served 456 low-income children and their families with comprehensive services (including health, nutrition, education, dental and mental health, and family support) at a total of 15 sites/locations across Tolland and Windham counties through our federally funded Head Start child development programs.
Learning to listen and answering questions promotes language acquisition during story time in a Head Start class. SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN g In-School Youth Employment & Training Programming We continue to be the vendor of choice for all in-school youth programs for the Eastern Connecticut Workforce Investment Board (EWIB). Delivered programs to 685 youth in our region and subcontracted with communitybased organizations in Norwich and New London that serve additional students in the southeastern Connecticut region. Among this year’s highlights:
• Student assessment results showed significant progress, comparing kindergarten-eligible children in Cycle 1 data from 2012 to 2013, and indicated that curricular approaches are having a positive impact on their socialemotional skills, early literacy and math concepts; specifically, we saw an increase of 10% in children’s ability to interact cooperatively with peers; a 15.4% increase in working to resolve conflicts; a 14.32%
“Please pass on my thank you to your wonderful Birth-to-Three providers who have helped [S.] progress. He is a beautiful boy and chatting up a storm.” – Birth-to-Three Program Parents “Head Start has impacted my family in so many ways, It has tightened our bond with the resources and support provided by the advocates and staff members. It has given me the opportunity to be more present in my children’s educational journey through volunteer opportunities, in the classroom and by serving on Policy Council and the Parent Engagement Committee.” -- Alicia Troiano Putnam parent, Head Start Program 3
AGENCY GOAL #1 • Summer Youth Employment Program: 440 lowthe grants engaged 5,000+ students, grades 2-12, and 105 income students participated in the EWIB-funded educators from 33 different districts in exciting learning summer youth experience that included employability explorations, in collaboration with university and college classes, resume-writing, interviewing skills, career faculty, and guest experts reflecting all core discipline decision-making inventories studies; 90% of students and paid work experience. increased their understanding How much did we do? Students received the of bullying, acceptance and Head Start served 456 low-income academic support they respect of others, and showed children, and their families, with needed to stay in school an appreciation of diverse and were exposed to the peoples. In the area of content comprehensive services at a total world of work, while knowledge, 80% of students of 15 sites across Tolland and supplementing their income; overall showed an increase in Windham counties. 100% of participants content knowledge specific to produced an employability the academic area of the grants portfolio, documenting their in which they were involved. skill and knowledge growth over the summer. Among this year’s highlights: • Making Waves: Optics and Acoustics: 140+ students, • Cool Directions: grades 4-5, investigated light and sound waves by 58 students participated in Cool Directions, our yearintegrating art and music into their science curriculum. round, in-school program that supplements the summer As a culminating activity, they traveled to New York employment and training program with a strong City, where they visited museums and performed music academic support component supporting high school together with 2,500 other students at the city’s iconic completion and post-secondary options exploration; Carnegie Hall. 95% successfully completed high school; many had • The 4th R: Robotics: 125+ students, grades 4-8, used been at high risk for dropping out. inquiry-based learning to explore robotics, automation and teamwork; they applied an engineering design process that is an industry-standard protocol. • Farming the Land and Sea: 250+ students, grades 2-3, investigated why Connecticut farmers and fishermen harvest the foods they do. In the process, they learned about Connecticut’s agriculture, aquaculture and healthy eating.
An Energy Fair engaged students from different schools and backgrounds in an exploration of “green” technologies. g Interdistrict Grant Programs The 25 Interdistrict Grants funded in northeastern Connecticut continued to be an important enrichment resource for both students and educators from member districts across the region. Our programs are recognized as exemplary models of effective integration of multicultural education and core disciplinary studies. This year,
Quinebaug Middle College’s unique learning environment enables its high school students to earn a degree, while attending QVCC college courses and earning free college credits.
“I am so glad that this [Interdistrict Grant] program is still happening for students! I was involved in a Science grant 15 years ago when I was in third grade at Chaplin Elementary School. It helped me learn about the rivers and forests. It is good for the kids to be outdoors and learn about the environment.” – Ranger, Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection, Mansfield Hollow “The Our Changing Earth [Interdistrict Grant] program is fantastic! I’m happy to see kids engaged and not plugged into their cell phones and headphones. Even though it was a challenge in the beginning of the activity, it was great to see all students interacting, talking and learning with students from other schools.” – Parent, Windham Middle School 4
AGENCY GOAL #1 g Regional Magnet Schools • Quinebaug Middle College (QMC) – 121 students were enrolled in this regional middle college magnet high school, located at Quinebaug Valley Community College. Students at QMC develop their academic and social skills, and apply their learning in targeted programs based on learning needs, service learning experiences and peer mentoring. Of note this year: – Federal STEM Grant: QMC was a recipient of a $1.5 million STEM grant from the Magnet Schools Assistance Program of the U.S. Department of Education that will provide opportunities for new STEM-related programs and courses in areas like environmentally responsible engineering, manufacturing and health; the grant will also provide teachers with enhanced professional learning opportunities. – 9th-Grade Pilot: QMC welcomed its first class of 22 9th-grade students this fall; previously, only students in grades 10-12 were enrolled. The pilot was a success and the school will continue to accommodate students from the region, grades 9-12, in the new, on-campus facility, which officially opened in May. – College Enrollment: A major benefit of our partnership and co-location with Quinebaug Valley Community College is the opportunity for students to enroll in college courses; 25 students enrolled in 25 classes this past year.
students developed knowledge and skills in both arts and academics through integrated curricula and learning experiences, including more than 20 public performances this year. Successful outcomes for learners were demonstrated by a 95% high school graduation rate and 100% college acceptances. Of note this year: – DMV Safe Driving Videos: Students from ACT’s Audio/Video Production program had 2 Top-10 video entries - and took 3rd Place overall - in the statewide Department of Motor Vehicles Teen Safe Driving Video Contest; their Audio/Video teacher/advisor was the only teacher in the state to have supervised a Top 10 DMV contest video for 6 years in a row. – Creative Writing Awards & Recognition: ACT students were finalists, winners or participants in a number of prestigious creative writing competitions and conferences, including this year’s Scholastic Art & Writing Awards (9 students); Fresh Voices poetry competition (2 of 15 finalists); New England Young Writers’ Conference (1 student); Connecticut Student Writer’s Project (1 student); the 17th Annual Connecticut Young Writers Trust Awards (1 student), and more. – Transition to College: ACT seniors continue to be accepted into competitive colleges, including Emerson, DePaul, Temple, Hampshire College and UCONN. – National Honor Society: 7 additional students were inducted into ACT’s chapter of the National Honor Society. – Graduation: ACT will graduate 35 seniors from 10 different EASTCONN districts at their 4th graduation ceremony in June. g Regional Programs for Students with Special Education Needs Offered a continuum of services for students throughout our region with a wide spectrum of challenging conditions and academic, behavioral and social/emotional needs. From the creation of strategic partnerships with our districts to professional development, training and consultations for district professionals, to our clinical day-treatment programs, EASTCONN’s Student Services division is dedicated to meeting the needs and interests of students from across our region, by providing bestpractice academic and behavioral supports for all students, using data-based decision-making and developing systematic approaches to building capacity among schoolbased personnel.
An ACT student takes the Capitol Theater stage to read her poetry during Expresso I, a coffee house celebrating writing. • Arts at the Capitol Theater (ACT) – 147 students were enrolled in this magnet-choice college preparatory high school with an intense focus on the arts. ACT
“Differences dissolve when you come to ACT. There’s a sense of acceptance and tolerance for new ideas and senses of identity. Because of the small student body, everyone is viewed as an individual. ACT has given me the ability to accept others for who they are. This is an irreplaceable social skill many people don’t develop until college or beyond. I’ve learned to always be optimistic, and if I give others kindness, they will reciprocate!” – [K.], ACT Magnet High School Senior 5
AGENCY GOAL #1 • Supporting Less Restrictive Environments: – Psychological & Behavioral Consultation Services (PBCS): Partnered with 21 districts to address student needs, including academic, behavioral, social, functional and adaptive skills, resulting in a greater percentage of students supported effectively, in home schools, or by school-based teams. » Student Outcomes: Systems-based development and implementation of behavioral supports, application of skills modeled and practiced in training, as well as independent implementation of strategic problem-solving, has resulted in improvements in student achievement, reductions in office discipline referrals, higher rates of student engagement and improved school climate. – Assistive Technology and Related Services: 14 districts received training and consultation services to support both students who must overcome significant motor, communication and educational challenges that impede their ability to access, participate and progress in the general education curriculum, as well as those with higher-incidence needs. » Student outcome examples: › Improved mobility that now allows a student to get on and off the van independently, rather than being lifted. › Utilizing a communication device to communicate wants, needs, feelings and educational knowledge. › Compensating for congenital defects that entail non-functional hands with a special stylus to access an iPad, using feet. – EASTCONN/District Collaboration – Opened a 3rd sub-regional program at a member district site to accommodate the growing number of students in need of clinical day treatment in the region. Not only does the program provide a less restrictive option for the home district and neighboring communities, it does so at a reduced cost, thus freeing scarce education resources to be used in other ways in local districts. We are in conversation with several districts about the creation of additional, locally based, sub-regional programs in the next 1-2 years.
A Clinical Day Treatment Program student shows evidence that he is benefitting from the highly individualized, structured academic instruction and clinical support he receives. • Regional Clinical Day Treatment Programs – Among our regional programs for students with special needs are 3 clinical day treatment programs that enrolled 102 students this year, a 34% increase from last year. These programs service students, ages 5-20, with significant social, emotional and behavioral challenges and provide them with highly individualized and structured academic instruction and clinical support. We emphasize relationships, rigorous individualized academic instruction of Common Core-aligned curriculum and clinical support. – In addition to their social/emotional challenges, our students have additional barriers that must be addressed, including: » Approximately 75% of our students qualify for free and reduced lunch. » 25% are living in out-of-home placement (foster care, shelters, group homes), were adopted from DCF, or were placed in a hospital setting during the course of the year. – Student Outcome Examples: » Implementation of Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS) has resulted in 50% fewer restraints and seclusions. » 7 seniors in our day treatment programs will graduate in June 2014 and 1 student graduated in January 2014; approximately 20% of our students will return to less restrictive settings.
“… The Program Director of EVC with all her expertise, compassion and understanding has made a huge impact on many children and their families. I know this because she has had a huge and positive impact on our son … Before attending EVC my son ... was tormented and bullied on a daily basis by staff and peers. This resulted in him wanting to end his life and being hospitalized. We were devastated and started researching other school options … During my research we discovered EVC … We knew then that this was the place where our son could begin to put his life together… Now 6 months later he has made huge strides and is learning to trust and feel safe again. We as his parents trust any decisions that [the program director] makes involving [our child]. We feel blessed and fortunate to have a woman as wonderful and knowledgeable as [the EVC Program Director] in our lives.” - Parents of an EVC Student 6
AGENCY GOAL #1 adult learners, including the GED, the Adult High School Credit Diploma Program (CDP), and the National External Diploma Program (NEDP), supplemented by adult basic education (ABE) remediation classes, as needed. • Highlights: – 346 students enrolled in one of our 105 CDP classes and 520 in our 40 GED and/or ABE classes. – Both the GED and the NEDP tests were transitioned from paper-and-pencil to online, requiring us to install new software and equipment, hire new staff, train existing staff and introduce online testing to our students. • Student Outcomes: – More than 180 students from our combined classes will have earned their high school diplomas this year. – 60+ students will earn a nationally recognized credential in either customer service or software applications, while simultaneously working toward their high school credential.
Earning a high school equivalency diploma helps students take that critical step toward improving their job prospects. ADULT LEARNERS
g Regional Adult Learning Continuum of Programs & Services: Each adult learner we serve across all our programs has g English Language Learners unique profiles and life stories. At the same time, they The populuation of English language learners in our all face common barriers to self-sufficiency caused by region continues to increase, both in schools and in the educational and economic general community, and their disadvantages. The limited English proficiency is a How much did we do? overarching goal of our significant barrier to their access adult programs is “learn to Across all Adult Programs, we to continued education, vocational earn”; i.e. to prepare our served 1,146 adult learners; most training and employment. students to access continued attended free classes in high school • English-as-a-Second (ESL) education and training and/or completion, ESL, citizenship, job Language Classes: 406 English better paying jobs. We offer language learners enrolled in one skills, transition support, & more. a continuum of programs of 34 ESL classes held at our and services to support 2 regional community learning each of them every step of centers and community-based sites across the region. the way, from English language instruction to one of our three different high school credentialing programs, to specialized skill training, leading to national certifications. • Across all our programs this year, we served a total of 1,146 adult learners, including 1,023 who attended free classes offered in high school credentialing, English-asa-Second Language, American citizenship preparation, life/basic skills instruction, and employment/college transition support. • In addition, 182 adults enrolled in employment and training workshops and another 210 participated in our continuing education programs. g High School Credential Students: A total of 591 students participated in one of our three high school credential programs, available at no cost to residents from 21 districts in the region through the Adult Education Consortium. The 3 program options are designed to support the needs of different populations of
34 English-as-a-Second-Language classes served 406 English language learners at a multitude of sites across the region.
“[The Psychological & Behavioral Consultation Services] staff have provided an invaluable service to Pomfret over the past two years. They have been instrumental in providing intervention plans and functional behavioral assessments.” – Lynda Joly, Pomfret Public Schools 7
AGENCY GOAL #1 will earn their GED and/or improve their English language skills, while earning vocational credentials like customer sales and service or software certifications
• Bilingual Family Literacy: 20+ economically and educationally disadvantaged, limited-English-speaking parents from the greater Windham community attended classes where they learned to speak, read and write English, as well as develop numeracy skills; in addition, parents learned strategies for literacy development in their young children.
• Subsidized Employment: 35 unemployed adults were employed through a $300,000 Storm Sandy emergency cleanup grant. Due to our demonstrated effectiveness, our grant has been extended twice, providing muchneeded income for our participants, as well as improvements to public safety concerns and aesthetic attributes at state parks in our region.
2013-2014 Challenges g Barriers to Learning Success • Language Barriers: Our English language learners, both in schools as well as in the general population, speak more than 40 different languages. Finding certified Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) instructors who can appropriately support students is difficult everywhere, but is particularly challenging for small, rural towns with few resources.
I-BEST students earn their GED and gain integrated, basic and vocational skills training to enhance their employability.
• Learning Barriers: Ensuring a good match between learners’ needs and the specifically designed education programs that we offer, such as our magnet schools, g Employment & Vocational Training requires a clear articulation of We continue to be the largest enrollment eligibility that is provider of employment shared with our sending districts What difference did it make? and training programs for in a timely fashion. economically disadvantaged “Taking classes at EASTCONN has adults in the northeastern • Educational Level of Entering helped me better my life ... This also Connecticut region. Through Adult Students: Changing helps me get a better job, and better our programs, a total of 234 demographics in our adult my future.” unemployed and underlearner population warrants a employed adults were able re-examination of our service - Adult Programs CDP Student to attain educational and structure and program offerings. vocational skills/credentials In 2013, 86% of GED students needed to access further training and/or better-paying jobs. were functioning below secondary level in reading; Most of that programming is funded through the Eastern in 2014, it increased to 90%. In 2013, ESL students Connecticut Workforce Investment Board (EWIB), this entered with 69% below intermediate level in reading; year totaling $1.8 million in adult contracts. Among the in 2014, that increased to 86%. Below-intermediatehighlights and student outcomes this year: level listening skills for ESL students on entrance also increased from 69% in 2013 to 83% in 2014. Our • Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training program offerings may need to adapt and reconfigure (I-BEST): Last year, we received a pilot Program to ensure improved performance outcomes for our Improvement (PIP) grant from the CSDE that we influx of new learners, who are struggling to improve combined with EWIB funding to create an integrated their personal, academic, career and employment basic skills and vocational training program. This circumstances. contextualized approach to training proved to be so successful that it led to this year’s funding of 2 more • Economic Barriers: Although our programs for I-BEST classes, in addition to the PIP-funded class, economically disadvantaged participants are free or for a total of 3 classes serving 36 individuals. Students “Taking classes at EASTCONN has helped me better my life. Now I should be able to help my kids a little more in their school work. This also helps me get a better job, and better my future.” – Luis Mercado, Credit Diploma Program (CDP) Student 8
AGENCY GOAL #1 modestly priced, the fees still create an economic obstacle in such programs as our Birth-to-Three program, resulting in fewer children accessing services than are eligible to do so.
• Magnet School Expansion: As we move closer to reaching our full enrollment goal of 225 students at QMC, we continue to address budget issues, while simultaneously implementing all of the same reform initiatives as all of our region’s schools.
• Other Barriers to Success: Significant other barriers that many of our students of all ages face are poverty, homelessness, mental and physical health issues, lack of access to technology and lack of transportation.
• Federal Sequestration: 1 classroom was closed for the 2013-2014 Head Start budget year. Additional cuts were spread across the program, including a 2-week delay in opening for Head Start programs in the northeast, the closing of the Early Head Start full-day program for 2 additional weeks, and a reduction of program aides in the classrooms.
• Continuing Lean Economic Times: Reduced access to sufficient funding inhibits our ability to do all we seek to do; increased access to competitive, discretionary, foundation and social investment funding, for instance, would improve our ability to address challenges and barriers that our students encounter. Specific needs, such as increased professional learning support for educators and administrators, new learning technology resources and piloting new – and reframing traditional – service models, are all impacted by reductions in local, state and national funding for all but the neediest schools.
• Regional Programming for Low-Incidence Populations of Students: Given the low number of students who are unable to be educated in their home schools, it is challenging to offer a full spectrum of costeffective regional programming options for them. In response, we have committed to working collaboratively with our member districts to build capacity in the local schools, so that more, if not all, students can be educated in their home schools. Additionally, we will continue to explore the expansion of district-based “subregional” programs to help keep services for out-placed students as close to their home schools, friends and neighborhoods as possible. • Local District Resources: Special education costs are a tremendous burden on local budgets, in terms of programming, clinical supports and transportation. In response, we work together with our district partners to find the most cost-effective, educationally sound program options that can best meet the educational needs of individual students.
QMC science students spent lab time measuring the results of their experiments with different chemicals and conditions. g Resource Availability • Magnet School Funding: Continued level-funding and lack of increased state support means potential increases in tuitions, which directly impacts our region’s sending school districts. As a result, local districts have fewer resources to develop and support their other educational programming and services.
EASTCONN has responded to a 32% increase in the number of Spanish GED students by expanding their access with classes that are now offered during the daytime, in the evening and on Saturdays.
“The GED Spanish program at EASTCONN in Willimantic has been a very important one in my career. It is allowing me to further my education and to become a role model to my sons. This program is also helping me to master Mathematics in a new dimension.” – Erika Salazar, Spanish GED Student 9
AGENCY GOAL #1 • Remediation Support for High School Graduates: There is a population of adult learners who have earned their high school diploma or credential, but are not assessed as college-ready. Because of legislative changes, it is more difficult for them to access Pell Grants to enroll in college remediation classes. At the same time, because they have their diplomas, they are not eligible to attend our state-funded basic adult education classes. How well did we do it?
able to access the regular classroom. These sub-regional programs save districts money that can then be reappropriated to support other local educational priorities.
• Regional Autism Program: Assess whether we should continue to offer this comprehensive regional option, given the low number of children (5 or fewer students for the past few years) that have been placed in this program. Because of low enrollment, the cost to districts for this program option is very high. We will continue to explore “Differences dissolve when you g Staffing other, more cost-effective come to ACT. There’s a sense of Unanticipated Needs: An alternatives, including small acceptance and tolerance for new ongoing challenge continues district consortia programming. to be our ability to have the ideas and senses of identity ... Concurrently, we will continue “right staff in the right place our commitment to build local - ACT Magnet High School Student at the right time.” While we capacity to serve all or most strive to project staffing needs students in their home schools. at the beginning of the year, very often needs arise in our • Regional Birth-to-Three Program: Work in partnership member districts that they didn’t anticipate, and we can’t with the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) always respond as quickly as we’d like; it takes time to to explore ways to improve the referral process from find and train high-quality staff. Some specific staffing DDS to our program. challenges include: • College Readiness: • Adult Educators: There is a shortage of experienced – Create a remediation program for those with a high adult education educators and a critical statewide school diploma, or who lack English language skills, shortage of TESOL-certified educators. who want to enter college. • Special Educators: All 3 of our clinical day treatment – Expand our current Transitions to College program programs find it difficult to recruit and retain highly to include those with a high school diploma and seek qualified educators who can meet the wide range of private/foundation funding to make it more affordable needs of this student population. for those who need it. • Related Services Personnel: It is important that we • Vocational Training for Adults: Expand vocational are able to respond to requests both within our agency training programs for under-employed and unemployed student programs and from districts with students adult learners, especially integrated, contextualized in need of part-time or temporary related services. approaches to learning, which have been shown to be However, it is particularly challenging to find highly particularly effective. qualified related-services staff (particularly in shortage areas like occupational therapy and speech-language g Other Plans/Implications pathology) who are willing to work on a temporary or • Education Reform Initiatives: Implement new part-time basis at a level of compensation that is costeducation reform initiatives across all of our preKeffective for both our agency, as well as our member Adult student programs, with a particular emphasis districts. on Common Core-aligned curricula and refining the educator evaluation process. • NEASC: Continue the NEASC accreditation process for both magnet schools. Among our focus areas for next year will be curriculum enhancements, such as new STEM-related programming at QMC, and collaboration with QVCC for early college access for students, as well as continued emphasis on new pathways for integration of arts and academic learning at ACT.
2014-2015 Plans & Implications g Program Changes • More Local and Sub-Regional Programming: We are currently in the planning stages with several districts to create additional, small, locally based programs for students with significant learning challenges who are not
“I realized just how much I missed out on because I believed others when they said I couldn’t. Then my [I-BEST] teacher Shelly said to me, “Hey you should go to college when you get your GED.” … That acceptance letter and my high school diploma are framed and hanging in my office at home. Alongside is a poster that reads “If it does not challenge you it does not change you.” I live by that saying and I challenge myself every day and I know now I will succeed.” – Lori Fisher, I-BEST Student, excerpted from her speech at the state Capitol Building 10
AGENCY GOAL #2 To engage in strategic collaborations that effectively respond to the needs of learners.
• Back Office Support: Were awarded a competitive grant from the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) to facilitate regional collaboration among EASTCONN member districts in the delivery of back-office functions, either through direct staff support or facilitated collaboration; realized a 200% increase in district participation. – Fiscal Support: Provided fiscal management support to 3 member districts that included fiscal systems design and management, accounts payable and payroll support, resulting in greater efficiencies at a reduced cost over in-house provision of comparable services.
ECHIP, a health insurance collaborative with 9 member municipalities and school districts, has exceeded expectations with rate stabilization and lower insurance costs for its members.
• Cooperative Purchasing Expansion: Total Cooperative member purchases exceeded $20 million, an increase of 42% or about $6 million, over last year. Members realized an estimated average savings of 10-15%, or between $1.4 million and $2.1 million – savings that could be redirected to support other local/educational needs. Cooperative purchasing vendors also paid a total of more than $150,000 in rebates to our members.
2013-2014 Highlights & Accomplishments g Member District Partnerships & Collaborations • Eastern Connecticut Health Insurance Program (ECHIP): Provided ongoing administrative staffing support to the 9 members of this regional health insurance collaborative with an annual budget of $31 million and its board of directors, including the facilitation of renewal rates. Four (4) additional districts expressed interest in joining the collaborative in 20142015 or 2015-2016. – Collectively, members realized savings of over a halfmillion dollars by competitively bidding the stop loss coverage. – Developed 2 new, quality, lower-cost health insurance plans for all participating districts for employees’ consideration, effective July 2014. – Implemented a wellness portal to roll out with the 2nd Annual Employee Health Fair.
• Regional Calendar: Most of our member districts have implemented a common regional calendar that has led to an increase in collaborative professional learning planning. • Standards Based Professional Learning Pilot: 5 districts in our region are involved in a collaborative project with EASTCONN and the national organization Learning Forward ™. Outcomes include an analysis of current professional learning practices in school/ district as aligned to national and state Standards for Professional Learning, and development of an action plan for implementation for each district. • Regional Consortia – Perkins Consortium: 7 districts participated in our
“I wanted you to know about the impact of the workshops you did ... this year … My student teachers have freely chosen to implement some of the activities you discussed with them … It is so gratifying for me to watch them implement all that they learned in real child care settings and of course to see ALL the children fully engaged and having fun. Our two high school classes that came here for your training have also had a positive impact … as a result of coming here and being exposed to executive function activities and concepts. I look forward to welcoming them as new students in the fall! Executive function research and activities will be embedded into courses in the fall, such as Creative Experiences and Early Language and Literacy … I am hoping you can continue your work with us as well … Thanks for all you’ve done …” – Carol LaLiberte, Early Childhood Education Coordinator, Asnuntuck Community College 11
AGENCY GOAL #2 regional Perkins Consortium, providing access to a to support the teaching and learning of English funding source that they would not otherwise be able Language learners. In addition, they had access to to access on their own; consortium members received LAS Links testing materials and support, along with professional development for 36 of their teachers on networking opportunities with colleagues in other the implementation of Common Core State Standards districts. (CCSS), benefitting more than 450 of their students. – Adult Education Consortium: 21 member districts – Renaissance Learning/STAR Assessments: 9 combined their adult education grants to create a districts in our regional consortium accessed online regional adult education consortium managed by early literacy, reading and mathematics assessments at EASTCONN. Pooling of individual grants allowed a discounted price as a result of our collaboration with us to offer a wider range of classes at our 2 regional Renaissance Learning, an educational assessment and community learning centers, as well as at communitylearning analytics company based sites throughout the and provider of cloud-based How well did we do it? region. We served 1,146 adult K-12 educational software. learners who attended the Our Cooperative Purchasing – My Learning Plan: 14 more than 163 free classes members spent $20 million+, a districts in our regional offered in GED preparation jump of 42% over the previous year, consortium accessed (in both English and Spanish) and saved, on average, 10-15%, or discounted access to as well as the Credit Diploma OASYS, an online Program, National External between $1.4 and $2.1 million. observation and evaluation Diploma Program, English-asmanagement system, as a a-Second Language, American result of our partnership with My Learning Plan, a citizenship preparation, life/basic skills instruction leading provider of Web-based educator evaluation and employment/college transition support. and professional learning data management solutions • Woodstock Academy Cooperative: The Woodstock used by K-12 school districts around the world; Cooperative Program is a collaborative program consortium districts were able to manage teacher and between Woodstock Academy and EASTCONN. administrator data related to their evaluation goals This program provides services for 6 high-schooland plans online. age students from 4 different districts in the region – ELL Title III Consortium: 13 districts participated with intellectual disabilities and other significant in our regional Title III Consortium, enabling them developmental disabilities. EASTCONN Special to access a funding source that they would otherwise Education personnel and Woodstock Academy educators not be able to access on their own. Teachers from work together with individual students and families to consortium member districts received professional facilitate student growth in identified educational areas development and access to resources designed and transition planning. • School/Student Choice: – Virtual High School (VHS): Coordinated the delivery of online VHS courses to 3 participating districts, enabling 48 students in our region to access courses online, and allowing districts to increase the number of courses they can make available to students, by providing access to more than 200 semester-long and full-year courses. – Magnet School Partner Districts: QMC added its 9th and 10th school district partners; QMC is now meeting with 8th-grade students in all of the 10 partner districts, thus expanding high school options for northeastern Connecticut students. Educators from 13 districts who attended our ELL Title II Consortium got PD support and access to new resources. “[Your staff member’s] work is leading an important initiative to transform professional learning experienced in the East Connecticut region. She has set a vision, set goals aligned to the Standards for Professional Learning, and created internal and external accountability structures of achieving the vision and goals. Her work is developing as a valuable case study for others in the State of Connecticut and across the U.S. Leaders are looking to the model [she] developed to improve the quality and impact of professional learning in their own school systems.” – Renee Islas, Director of Center for Results, Learning Forward 12
AGENCY GOAL #2 g Regional Community Collaboration • Community-Based Services to Student Programs: – Community partnerships provided our regional special education programs with access to vocational placements and clinical supports that gave students expanded options and increased opportunities for family participation. – Proactive partnerships with local/state police resulted in positive relationships that allow program staff to effectively support and respond to student needs as they occur, and to help inform decision-making as crises develop. As a result, the quality of intervention has been improved and no student arrests occurred during the school year. • Community-Based Early Care Providers: Collaborated with community providers of early childhood care in the identification of joint professional learning needs and in the design and delivery of shared professional development.
Media coverage of 140 students participating in an Interdistrict Grant that will take them to Carnegie Hall, included a front page local newspaper article and a spot on the “Education Matters” TV show, which reaches 30,000 households.
• Regional Public Information Initiative: Increased • Employment & Training: public awareness of current initiatives and challenges – Eastern Connnecticut Workforce Investment in public schools is essential to having an informed Board (EWIB): Worked in close collaboration with electorate. In addition, public awareness helps ensure EWIB in the design and delivery of programs for both that residents in our community know what resources youth and adults who are economically disadvantaged are available to them and how they can access them. and in need of vocational training and/or employment. For this reason, we co-produce a series of cable talk » Served on the EWIB Youth Advisory Board, shows in collaboration with Charter Cable that highlight ensuring that the needs of both in-school and out-ofcurrent educational issues and regional programs. Of school youth in northeastern Connecticut are being note, the dual-language approach to this show expands identified and addressed. its reach into the greater » Provided direct services to Windham-area Spanish685 in- and out-of-school youth How well did we do it? speaking population, providing and 234 unemployed and underthem with access to topical, “I obtained an excellent overview employed adults through more education-related information of [the] teacher evaluation system than $2.7 million in contracts. of benefit to them and their We continued to be the largest ... the graphics and supplements families. Shows included: provider of employment and you provided were excellent and – 2014 Changes in GED training programs in northeastern the overall atmosphere ... was of an Testing: Going Online – Connecticut as a result of (Radio & Charter Cable) extremely high quality. Thank you.” our ongoing, high program – An Introduction to completion rates and postConnecticut’s Educator program placement outcomes. Evaluation Initiative – Southeastern Connecticut Collaborations: – Supporting Executive Function Development in Early Collaborated with all adult and youth employment Childhood and training providers in the Norwich and New – Residency, Truancy, Security; Their Effects on London areas; continued our partnership with Thames Schools Valley Council for Community Action (TVCCA) in the delivery of both youth and adult services across eastern Connecticut.
“EASTCONN Transition Services and the Young Adult Program offer individuals the opportunity to develop vocational skills, functional academics and life skills as they prepare for the transition to adult life. Students are encouraged to pursue their career interests as they explore and participate in vocational training internships in the community. They practice using public transportation, fill out time sheets and work on budgeting as they practice independent life skills. The Young Adult Program staff work collaboratively with DDS, BRS, and local agencies and community resources to facilitate a successful transition. Through the PPT process, individuals learn self-advocacy skills as they identify and share their goals and strengths with their support team.” – Barbara Wagenbrenner, Transition Coordinator, DDS (State Department of Developmental Disabilities) 13
AGENCY GOAL #2 – Community-Based Employment & Training for Special Populations: Provided adult education classes on-site at United Services, Perception Programs, Windham Early Childhood Center and Goodwill for their clients who are unable to access our regular adult education classes, due to significant physical and/or psychological barriers.
• Early Learning and Development Standards & Training: Delivered statewide training on the new Birth-to-Age-5 Early Learning and Development Standards to more than 500 educators, 40 higher education faculty and 100 early childhood consultants in collaboration with the RESC Alliance and the state Office of Early Childhood.
g RESC Partners • Minority Teacher Recruitment (MTR): Supported 59 minority teacher candidates from 21 districts, who took PRAXIS I Prep Sessions and PRAXIS I Math Course Sessions. These sessions are designed to help prepare minority candidates for the Praxis I and II examinations that are required for teacher certification as part of the statewide MTR Alliance, which is designed to increase representation of minority educators in Connecticut. • New STEM Learning Opportunities: QMC was one of 6 recipients of a $1.5 million grant from the Magnet School Assistance Program (MSAP), funded by the U.S. Department of Education. – The 3-year grant provides resources that will enhance educational opportunities for students in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) disciplines through new curriculum and technology purchases, alliances with local businesses and professional learning. – Partners include EASTCONN, LEARN (the southeastern Connecticut RESC), Goodwin College, Windham’s Barrows STEM Academy, and both New London and Norwich public schools.
Nancy Pugliese, CSDE Chief of the Bureau of Educator Standards and Certification, left, joined EASTCONN staff to present one of many workshops to TEAM District Facilitators. • TEAM: Collaborated with CSDE and our RESC Alliance partners in the statewide implementation of TEAM, Connecticut’s beginning teacher support initiative. – As the statewide manager, we oversee the development of workshops and training materials and coordinate the delivery of training and follow-up technical assistance by Connecticut’s 6 RESCs. – Managed the TEAM Web site and developed online learning modules for just-in-time access by educators across the state. g Statewide Delivery and Partnerships • Common Core: Supported statewide implementation of the Connecticut Core Standards (CCS) through 2 RESC Alliance grants; the System of Professional Learning grant provided PD for teachers in local schools and the Pathways to Excellence initiative provided essential CCS content to higher education faculty, as well as to beginning teachers and their mentors.
A recent training helped area educators integrate details of the state’s new Early Learning and Development Standards.
“EASTCONN is a leader of Adult Education Programs both in northern New London and Windham Counties. Many of our new students are graduates from your program. These students are prepared, mature and have been taught the necessary skills to make them successful in the college setting. – Robert Hernandez, Director, Willimantic Center, Quinebaug Valley Community College “Thank you so much for allowing me to learn, grow and be a part of the EASTCONN EHS [Early Head Start] program. I truly appreciate this program, and all that it had to teach me … You have taught me so much about parenting, education, childhood development, and about myself. You are changing the lives of children, and this world would be nothing without people like you.” –Alessia Guerriero, UCONN Student, Early Head Start Fieldwork Placement 14
AGENCY GOAL #2
– Worked with CSDE to ensure that the CAT is aligned with national and state standards and initiatives.
• Assistive Technology (AT): Partnered with the Connecticut Technology Act Project (CTTAP) and other agencies in the April statewide AT Fair, Achievement through Technology, providing both educator training and greater awareness of the latest assistive technology supports for students. g State & National Leadership, Committees & Task Forces • PEAC: Our Executive Director is a standing member of the Performance Expectations Advisory Council (PEAC), charged with reviewing and approving changes to the Connecticut educator evaluation core requirements.
Administrators worked together to deepen their understanding of the state’s new educator evaluation protocols.
• Educator Evaluation: Continued collaborating with CSDE, the RESC Alliance and the Connecticut • Early Childhood: Association of Schools in the delivery of professional – Head Start: Our Assistant Director of Early development designed to support the implementation Childhood Initiatives was appointed to the of educator evaluation plans. Participated in Connecticut Legislature’s Head Start Advisory monthly Development Team meetings and ongoing Committee. communications efforts to ensure that our local district – National Conference Presentations: Staff coleaders remained informed of all CSDE requirements, presented research results with UCONN faculty at the an especially important Zero-to-Three conference in San objective, given the new Antonio, Texas. How much did we do? flexibility options made • K-12 Student Services Delivered statewide training on CT’s available to districts during – Assistive Technology (AT) new Early Learning & Development the academic year. Guidelines: Assisted in the Standards to over 500 educators, 40 • Connecticut Administrator development of the AT State higher education faculty & 100 early Test (CAT): Managed the Guidelines that were released implementation of the CAT this year. childhood consultants. performance assessment – Special Education: Dr. Ravit program for CSDE; aspiring Stein represented EASTCONN administrators are required to pass the CAT in order to as a partner in the State Personnel Development obtain administrator certification. This year, 1,059 CAT Grant at SERC; helped with literacy achievement and candidates registered to take the test and EASTCONN positive behavior of students with disabilities. supervised the scoring of 2,998 modules. – National Conference Presentations: – Refined the online CAT Data Portal, designed to assist » Administrators from Education Services and QMC education leadership programs in institutions of higher presented on school climate at the William Glasser education, which can use CAT data to better address Institute National Conference. their student learning needs. » Members of our AT team presented at the Assistive “Thank you for the enlightening presentation titled ‘Planting the SEED in Higher Education.’ I obtained an excellent overview of this upcoming teacher evaluation system and feel more comfortable in conversation with my colleagues at CCSU. I will await the more specific adaptations for special educators as they unfold. The graphics and supplements you provided were excellent and the overall atmosphere of the morning was of an extremely high quality. Thank you.” – Ernesto Pancsofar, Professor of Special Education, Connecticut Central State University (CCSU) “I just wanted to take a minute to tell you what a wonderful job [your staff] did with [C.]’s Assistive Technology evaluation. Everyone especially loved the pictures that were included. It helped everyone to see how [C.] used all of the assistive technology tools. The report was so thorough and we were able to develop a solid plan for [C.] with it. [C.] really is an amazing kid! The surrogate and DCF worker made numerous comments throughout the meeting about how well done the evaluation was. The foster parent, surrogate and DCF worker, as well as the teachers and service providers, couldn’t have been happier. It takes a lot to please that many people!! So, many, many thanks to you!” – Amanda Brown, Director of Special Education, Brooklyn Public Schools 15
AGENCY GOAL #2
Technology Industry Association (ATIA) conference in Orlando, Florida. » Members of the Psychological and Behavioral Consultation Services presented at the 34th Annual Berkshire Association for Behavior Analysis and Therapy as well as the National Association of School Psychologists.
families, with a focus on our home-based Early Head Start and Head Start programs. – Outcomes: In the EASTCONN home-based programs, goal achievement was rated at 82% in fall 2013 as compared with 58% in fall 2012, indicating progress toward goal definition and achievement related to specific professional learning provided to home-visiting staff around goal-setting.
• Adult Programs & Continuing Education – State Leadership: Our Director of Adult Programs and Continuing Education continued in his role as president of the Connecticut Association of Adult and Continuing Education (CAACE); as a leading spokesperson for adult education in Connecticut, he has brought the need for new, collaborative approaches to college remediation to the forefront; 6 staff presented at the annual CAACE statewide conference. – College & Career Readiness: 6 staff participated in a pilot on the Career and College Readiness Standards. – Adult Educator Evaluation: 2 staff participated on the statewide teacher evaluation committee for adult education teachers.
• Birth-to-Three: Continued our collaboration with UCONN on several projects, including presentations by our Program Coordinator to Human Development and Family Services (HDFS) classes; student placement in our programs; joint presentations at national conferences; and a contract with UCONN’s Clinical Psychology Department to provide social/emotional assessment and home-based services to families/ children with special needs. • College Connections for Magnet School Students: – ACT: Developed a Memorandum of Understanding partnership with Eastern Connecticut State University (ECSU) to provide college courses and credits to upperclassmen at ACT. It is expected that exposure to accelerated learning, specifically in the sciences, will be achieved through the ECSU partnership. – QMC: Continued our working partnership with Quinebaug Valley Community College (QVCC). • College Remediation: An ongoing collaboration continued with QVCC in the delivery of remedial classes for adults in need of basic skills prior to college entrance. • TEAM: Developed strategic partnership with Connecticut institutions of higher education to improve the continuum of services for pre-service teachers through the TEAM program, particularly focusing on Connecticut Core of Teaching (CCT) standards. • Pathways to Excellence: Provided essential CCT content to higher education faculty to better ensure that beginning teachers in Connecticut are prepared to teach in a way that is consistent with new Connecticut standards and requirements.
Birth-to-Three collaborations with UCONN continued to enhance the social/emotional assessments and home-based services we provide to families and children with special needs.
• Educator Evaluation: Provided a detailed orientation on Connecticut’s new educator evaluation requirements to 13 education faculty from 6 different institutions of higher education.
g Higher Education Partnerships & Collaboration Institutions of higher education are critical partners in many aspects of our work. Last year, for example:
• Psychological & Behavioral Consultation Services (PBC): – Collaborated with UCONN’s Center for Behavior
• Head Start: Continued the collaboration with UCONN on the attainment of goals set by our Head Start
“The last year has been a time of change as it relates to the RESCs and how the CSDE processes our business. In our conversion to a contracting process, EASTCONN has been extremely positive to work with. … your staff have dedicated much time and energy to embrace a very foreign process, and worked collaboratively through many difficult circumstances, to arrive at a final product that was appropriate and accurate. It is very refreshing to find a level of cooperation and understanding when such a personal commitment to excellence is required.” – Gary Pescosolido, Chief of Fiscal and Administrative Services, Connecticut State Department of Education 16
AGENCY GOAL #2
Educational Research (CBER) to conduct research together in schools on behavioral assessments and interventions. – Provided internship opportunities for 2 UCONN doctoral candidates.
longer use their PELL grants to pay for college, is an ongoing challenge; we will continue to collaborate with our higher education partners to address this concern.
2014-2015 Plans & Implications
2013-2014 Challenges
g Expanded Collaborative Programming • Member Districts: Continue to work with our member g Resource Availability districts to promote resource sharing and joint problem • Diminishing Resources: Resources are diminishing solving. Among next year’s initiatives: across all social service sectors, making partnerships – Customized Adult Education: Continue to and collaboration more challenging as agencies seek collaborate with our superintendents to create to maintain their core services and expand revenuecustomized adult education programs for residents in producing activities that other agencies might more their communities. effectively deliver. – Technology for Students: Develop collaborations with member districts, • Funding Delays: New state What difference did it make? private enterprises, desktop processes for the awarding of manufacturing communities state contracts have sometimes “You have taught me so much and others that support bringing about parenting, education, resulted in delays that can technology-oriented education impact the design, promotion childhood development and about directly to students. and the timely delivery of myself. You are changing the lives – Cooperative Purchasing: services; however the CSDE of children, and this world would be Continue expanding and and RESC Alliance continue improving our cooperative nothing without people like you.” working together on process purchasing strategies, processes improvements. and membership, as well as growing our new copier collaborative. g New Regulations & Mandates • Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE): • College Entry Remediation: Providing remedial Continue working with CSDE on a variety of state support for students with high school diplomas/ education initiatives, including: credentials who are not college-ready and who can no – Partnering with the Talent Office in an effort to increase coherence between various state initiatives like evaluation, Connecticut Core Standards and Professional Learning. – Collaborate with CSDE on the development of a Connecticut-specific approach to professional learning for educators. – The development of, and transition to, an electronic Connecticut Administrator Test (CAT). – Continue the implementation of the 2 CSDE-funded Connecticut Common Core grants. • Other State Agencies: Deepen relationships with a variety of state agencies, including the Office of Early Childhood and the departments of Children and Families, Developmental Services, Mental Health and Addiction Services, and Labor and Rehabilitation
GED students benefit from a variety of regional collaborations that help adult students attain their education goals.
“As chairperson of ECHIP, I am proud of our accomplishments over the last year-and-a-half. Members have seen rate stabilization and, in many cases, decreases in health insurance costs, establishment of adequate future reserves and a stronger voice in the market place due to the size of the organization. We are currently working to present members with a robust wellness program and look forward to working with members as we work through the requirements of the Affordable Care Act. ECHIP remains the only program of its kind statewide and continues to demonstrate the benefits of regional cooperation in trying to reduce costs and maintain an appropriate level of health benefits for our members.” – Steven Werbner, Town Manager, Tolland 17
AGENCY GOAL #2 • Foundations: Continue to seek new partnerships with foundations willing to pay for regional initiatives. – We are working with CAPSS to promote our personalized learning initiative; together, with CAPSS, ACES and the lead applicant, Great Schools Partnership, we are applying to the Nellie Mae Education Foundation to help support these efforts. – Our partnership with Thread City Development, Inc., has led to grant submissions to the Connecticut Main Street organization, which promotes community redevelopment and revitalization efforts focusing on downtown Willimantic, for the benefit of our ACT students and their families, as well as local residents. – Through our partnerships, we extend our foundation outreach possibilities, which allows us to introduce new programs and services, which would otherwise not be possible, into our schools and communities.
Services in service of the students, families and residents whose needs we jointly serve. – Connecticut Department of Developmental Services (DDS): EASTCONN’s Transition Services team will continue the process of becoming a DDSapproved provider of group and individual day supports for post-secondary-age students, as well as being the provider of employment and transportation services for students served by DDS. • RESC Alliance: Continue collaborating with individual RESCs, as well as the Alliance as a whole, in the development and delivery of programs and services that address local district challenges. As an Alliance, continue to enhance and expand our partnerships with state organizations, including CSDE, the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents (CAPSS), and the Connecticut Association of Schools (CAS), and national organizations like Learning Forward, in a coordinated effort to support the implementation of education reform initiatives in local districts. • Institutions of Higher Education: Continue to expand relationships with institutions of higher education, where our services have the potential to overlap, to help ensure that we are not duplicating efforts. – Collaborate with institutions of higher education around Common Core Standards and TEAM to better prepare new and beginning teachers for classroom teaching in the new era of education reform. – Continue coordinating with UCONN and other Connecticut education institutions around executive function and the new early childhood learning standards; continue collaborations with Head Start and Birth-to-Three. • Personalized Learning: Expand collaboration with CAPSS, the RESC Alliance, institutions of higher education, the Great Schools Consortium, the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, and others, in the development and delivery of alternate professional development and professional learning models. g Resource Acquisition • Pay-for-Success and Social Investment Funding: We have increased our understanding of new social investment funding mechanisms that may support innovative, collaborative approaches and solutions to long-standing problems and challenges. We will continue to develop our understanding of such opportunities, so that we can share our knowledge with our region’s educational and municipal partners.
School administrators received both cohort and individual assistance with their district educator evaluation plans, helping them align with and implement new state requirements.
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AGENCY GOAL #3 To enhance the knowledge and skills of educators in order to improve the outcomes for learners.
2013-2014 Highlights & Accomplishments g Leadership Development • System for Educator Evaluation and Development (SEED) Rollout: Provided training and technical assistance to 183 administrators from 49 districts from across the state on the implementation of SEED, including 30 EASTCONN districts, as part of an effort to implement the state’s next-generation educator evaluation system. – As a result, more than 90% of participants met the Connecticut proficiency standards in the use of the new model for evaluation. • Administrator Evaluation: Through a partnership with the Connecticut Association of Schools (CAS) and CSDE, hosted sessions for nearly 50 administrators from 28 districts, so they could acquire the skills necessary to conduct administrator evaluations.
More than 40 superintendents and state troopers from across northeastern Connecticut attended this “Supers & Troopers Forum” to learn about the latest laws affecting K-12 schools.
• School Safety: 40+ superintendents and state police officers attended 6 regional “Supers and Troopers Forums,” What difference did it make? where experts shared the latest SEED training for administrators developments in law and best from 30 EASTCONN-region districts practice around school safety.
– Participants gained a deeper understanding of the performance expectations of the Connecticut Common Core of Leading and learned resulted in 90% being able to meet a process to identify causal factors that impact student proficiency standards in the use of g Professional Learning achievement. for Educators the state’s new evaluation model. • TEAM Database Updates: • System of Professional – An online reviewer Learning: Supported the training update system was System of Professional Learning in partnership with developed and implemented, including an interactive the CSDE and the RESC Alliance, including a launch online training module for TEAM reviewers. The event in January 2013 with more than 110 participants, training module replaces a classroom-based training and workshops on Assessment Literacy that hosted 115 session, which frees resources and allows reviewers teachers and administrators. to complete the training in settings of their own choosing. • Smarter Balanced Assessment: 115 educators attended – Significant enhancements have been made to the 2 Assessment Literacy workshops that provided an TEAM Management Portal, which will provide in-depth look at the Smarter Balanced Assessment for TEAM support personnel with better tools to support English Language Arts and Mathematics. the online system. Improvements have also been made • Student Success Plan (SSP) Conference Presentation: to the TEAM reflection paper review process, which EASTCONN presented Learning Activities for an embeds better tools and processes. Effective Student Success Plan, at the CSDE Student • Teacher Evaluation: Provided individual and cohort Success Planning Conference (on October 9, 2013), assistance to 13 district administrators around Education to more than 100 school counselors, teachers and Evaluation Plan design and implementation. The cohort administrators across the state. met 8 times, supplemented by virtual collaboration – As a result of this workshop, participants learned from through an online SchoologyTM community. 19
AGENCY GOAL #3 each other a variety of strategies to implement their grades 6-12 SSP. • Naviance and Student Success Plans: Provided technical assistance to 8 districts in the initial set up and ongoing use of Naviance and provided end-user training in using the tools to create high-quality student success plans. Provided assistance for districts integrating Naviance (an online software system that integrates data on goal-setting and school-to-career planning) and PowerSchool (student information management system) to allow for a seamless transfer of student data between the two systems. • Learning Forward: Leading the effort to pilot a nationally designed professional learning action planning assistance tool through the survey of an estimated 450 educators in 6 districts; data will contribute to local district plans.
175+ participants from 17 school districts attended EASTCONN workshops to revise/align educator evaluation plans.
in Stamford. Currently, 30 math, science, English and social studies teachers are attending the PD relevant to their content area with the entire social • Early Learning & Development: studies department to vertically align the curriculum – Coordinated statewide training on the new Birth-toto prepare students for AP courses. The goal of the Age-5 Early Learning and Development Standards school is that every student graduating should take with more than 500 participants. at least 1 AP class to better prepare themselves for – Facilitated statewide training for 40 higher college and careers. education faculty and 100 early childhood education – Science Inquiry: A number of pre-AP and AP consultants. chemistry and biology teachers attended a Process • Improving Executive Function, Language, Literacy Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) workshop and Match Skills: that focused on the role of inquiry in the revised AP – Provided training and on-site exams. How much did we do? coaching in 8 communities to – Summer Institute: 80+ teachers 56 preschool and kindergarten 80+ teachers attended a 5-day from across the state attended a teachers. Summer Institute, where they 5-day summer institute provided – Increased executive function, in collaboration with Eastern learned effective instructional social skills, literacy and Connecticut State University (ECSU) strategies for their AP students. math skills are evident in and the College Board, where they our collaborative preschool learned effective instructional programs, where we have strategies for AP students. been implementing curricular approaches and strategies. g In-House Professional Learning for EASTCONN Educators • Educator Evaluation: 175+ participants from 17 • Early Childhood Initiatives: Our early childhood districts attended a series of 5 sessions designed to educators continued to receive focused training and assist our member districts with their Evaluation coaching on executive functioning in young children Plan revisions; many districts opted to send teams. and an independent, third-party evaluation is showing Ongoing updates from CSDE on revision protocols and significant, positive impacts on our children’s learning submission details were provided. outcomes; trainings also focus on the new Connecticut • Advanced Placement (AP): Early Learning and Development Standards. In addition, – Project Opening Doors: Expanded to include the our staff were able to join other early care providers in AP social studies program at Westhill High School “EASTCONN has been very helpful through all of this change (ref. TEVAL and CCS and SBAC). [Teaching and Learning staff] did a wonderful job at the proficiency training this summer. I have found both the informational and working sessions on evaluation extremely valuable – we could not have met the requirements without them. As a person who wears multiple hats in our tiny district, I especially appreciate the uninterrupted time to work on the documents with focus and support. [The] session on mid-year check-ins was helpful, as was last week’s assessment literacy session. I’m better able to advise my teachers about the new evaluation process and assessments as a result. I’d also like to say that the EASTCONN staff is great – presenters, consultants, support staff, etc. They are always friendly, polite and ready to help.” – Jean Wierzbinski, Principal & Technology Coordinator, Sayles School, Sprague 20
AGENCY GOAL #3 the region for presentations by national and international experts in behavioral challenges, positive teacher-child interactions, and more. • Student Programs: Combined the Standards for Professional Learning and New England Association of School and Colleges (NEASC) standards as the framework for our professional learning this year. Collaborated with our Teaching & Learning division to create a comprehensive, student-centered plan for professional learning. – Teachers engaged in workshops on aligning Student Success Plans with the Common Core and the first “Ed Camp” – a teacher-led day of workshops – focused on strategies for differentiating instruction and assessment to meet a wide range of student needs. – Of note, EASTCONN teacher leaders were involved in a year-long cohort that examined effective leadership practices and applied them to their problems of practice to address school culture and specific student learning needs.
Adult education staff concentrated on incorporating Common Core Standards into their day-to-day classroom practice.
• Adult Education: The emphasis in our adult education professional learning initiative this year was on the integration of the Common Core Standards into adult education. Another initiative was increasing staff technology skills, given the transition to online assessment in 2 of our 3 high school credentialing programs; teachers needed to adjust their instructional strategies to ensure that their students were wellprepared for the online tests. – Held technology training workshops for 25 adult education teachers to ensure that they could effectively model and teach the use of technology to ensure that their students have the technology skills they need to successfully complete online assessments and access continued education and training; adult learners need to master basic technology skills as a condition of employment in most occupations. – Professional development took place for GED teachers (both Spanish and English) in the new GED, given recent changes in delivery, format, academics and scoring, to ensure that they can prepare our students to successfully complete their online assessment.
its definition, research base and effectiveness in incorporating a more student-centered approach in classrooms. – Collaborating with ACES, CAPSS and other New England state representatives, as well as Connecticut educators who are exploring personalized learning, we are developing our knowledge and capacity to assist those who wish to adopt a more studentcentered, competency-based approach to instructional practice. – Besides guest speakers, sharing research material and group dialogue, a regional symposium is scheduled for May 27th, featuring Nicolas Donohue, the President and CEO of the Nellie Mae Education Foundation and a leading national proponent of personalized learning.
• Professional Learning Model Work Team: Our professional learning work group is exploring new models that will allow us to continue to respond to the needs of our region’s educators as they develop their knowledge, skills and ability to manage new and emerging reform initiatives, such as the new teacher evaluation program, the state Department of Education’s roll-out of the CCS, the upcoming Smarter Balanced Assessment program, personalized learning, and others. – Conducted a focus group consisting of a representative sampling of our Regional Staff Development Council members; captured essential data about local district needs for innovative and effective models of professional learning, which will drive our continued planning.
g Personalized Learning Initiative • Personalized Learning Regional Roundtables: Our personalized learning roundtable series is bringing together educators from among our districts who have expressed an interest in learning more about this anywhere/anytime learning concept, including
“I really appreciate the opportunities we have had this year to collaborate with other EASTCONN teachers and learn specific strategies that can help us in our schools and programs. As a veteran educator, this is truly helpful for me, and benefits my colleagues back in my building. The sincere reflections that you brought to the cohort were extremely valuable.” – Christina, Teacher Leader Cohort Participant 21
AGENCY GOAL #3 new learning expectations associated with the adoption of new curriculum-related standards and assessments, and a new teacher and administrator evaluation system, there is often little time and other resources to support other learning initiatives that district leaders and educators wish to embrace, such as greater studentcentered, personalized learning. We continue to seek resources and approaches that will help us ensure that the region’s educators receive the support necessary to meet all their local needs.
• Great Schools Partnership Collaboration: As a result of our regional initiative, we became connected with several other organizations pursuing similar objectives and subsequently joined together with ACES, CAPSS, and the Great Schools Partnership in the development and submission of a national Nellie Mae Education Foundation grant supporting personalized approaches to student learning; if funded, selected schools in the EASTCONN region that are pursuing personalized student learning may be selected to participate.
g Internal Staff Capacity • Reform Initiatives: With the implementation of so many different initiatives (both in our member districts, as well as in our own student programs) our challenge is to quickly assess our needs and how well our existing capacity can meet both existing and projected needs. We must rapidly bring existing staff up-to-speed in requirements and best practice, as well as add new staff when more specialized expertise is necessary.
Fueled by a desire to understand and model the latest technology applications in their classrooms, Adult Program staff attended workshops to increase their skill-sets.
2013-2014 Challenges
g Expanding Support to Educators in a Time of Limited Resources and Competing Demands • Local Support: We are trying to support educators in our member districts as efficiently and costeffectively as we can, at a time when the need for local customization and support is great, but both the local resources and the time needed to implement the many new reform initiatives are scarce.
• New Programs & Services: As we continue to introduce new and improved programs and services for our district members, there are staff capacity implications that must be addressed; some examples are: – Expanded capacity to respond to emerging strategic planning requests. – As I-BEST grows, more teachers must be trained to deliver contextualized learning. – Adult education teachers must be trained in the new College and Career Readiness Standards. – Staff with infant/toddler expertise must be expanded.
2014-2015 Plans & Implications g Continue our Personalized Learning Initiative We will continue to seek funding sources through our partnerships and beyond, to develop and promote new learning opportunities for both students and educators that are personalized and responsive to their individual learning needs. • Personalized Student Learning: Seek funding to help us provide professional development and technical assistance to schools around personalized learning strategies for students.
• Integrated Professional Learning: Given the need to rapidly implement many different reform initiatives, our challenge is to help our districts to combine and integrate professional learning that will address multiple initiatives in an effective and efficient manner, in order to maximize the use of local resources. • Other Local Learning Initiatives: With significant
“[EASTCONN] has worked with the Administrative Team for Stafford Public Schools throughout the 2013-2014 school year. [Your] expertise was utilized primarily in two areas: educator evaluation and educator observation calibration training. In each and every instance [you have] been very well prepared, offered high quality, relevant and salient insights, and completed all follow up tasks in a timely manner. [Your] facilitation skills are unparalleled - moving the group forward and challenging us to think creatively and innovatively. [You have] made significant contributions to assist us moving forward and navigating the minefield of tasks associated with each aforementioned initiative.” – Michael Bednarz, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Stafford Public Schools 22
AGENCY GOAL #3 • Personalized Professional Learning: Continue to develop our internal capacities as professional learning facilitators by working with collaborative partners in creating new models and pathways for assisting our region’s educators as they master the changing demands on their instructional practice. We will continue to seek funding sources through our partnerships to develop and promote new learning opportunities that are personalized and responsive to local and regional needs.
array of options we offer for the delivery of professional learning for educators and administrators by taking full advantage of current learning technology and incorporated elements of blended learning systems. We are continuing our move away from short-term, one-time workshops, as we move toward sustained professional learning that integrates the many challenges that educators currently face.
• Connecticut Core Standards (CCS) for • Common Core: Continue Administrators: Beginning Year 2 implementation of the with a summer 2014 institute, How well did we do it? 2 Common Core Alliance we will implement a series of “I have found both the information Grants: The System of opportunities for administrators and working sessions on evaluation Professional Learning and to gain content and process Pathways to Excellence. [to be] extremely valuable - we knowledge on the new CCS and Activities will include the how to best integrate instructional could not have met the [state] availability of embedded shifts into their evaluation requirements without them ... I’d consultants for our member practices. also like to say that the EASTCONN districts to assist with the • Student Services: Through staff is great ...” local implementation of the Federal Magnet Schools both the instructional and Assistance Program (MSAP) assessment enhancements grant awarded to EASTCONN’s QMC and Windham’s inherent in the adoption of the new CCS. Barrows STEM Academy, faculty from the 2 schools will engage in collaborative professional learning experiences targeted to meeting the requirements of the Next Generation Science Standards. • Early Childhood: Expand professional development and support to school districts and community-based preschool and kindergarten programs on executive function, literacy and math, as well as infant/toddler strategies. – Support the implementation of the CCS and the Connecticut Early Learning and Development Standards. – Hold a symposium for district leaders to promote age3-to-grade-3 alignment. g Support EASTCONN Staff Professional Learning We will continue to monitor and adjust our Professional Learning Plan to ensure that all staff have access to ongoing, systematic and relevant professional learning the enables them to deliver quality products and services.
Area teachers buckled down to learn new Common Core State Standards for grades 6-12 math content. g New/Expanded Professional Learning for Districts • Professional Learning Initiative: Revise/expand the
“It is always a fulfilling experience to work with EASTCONN. I may be the one standing in front of a group of people, but the success of my work depends upon what has happened before I even begin. The staff at EASTCONN are a committed group working together to support and sustain the development and implementation of evidence-based practices by building parents, educators and communities capacity to ensure that all children are prepared for school success.” – Barbara Kaiser, Author and Consultant “Play planning and mature play centers have had a significantly positive effect on the development of expressive language of my ELL students. It has been so rewarding to see the written language used in their play planning transfer into their conversations with peers during play. The planning prior to play has helped these students build confidence in their use of language with other students during play. I’ve seen this confidence cross over to other areas as well.” – Danielle, Kindergarten Teacher and Professional Development Participant 23
EASTCONN’s Six Divisions
ADULT PROGRAMS
ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT SERVICES
EASTCONN promotes and supports lifelong learning for parents, workers and residents of northeastern Connecticut. Whether it’s high school completion, job training, workplace literacy or parenting support, EASTCONN’s services are designed to help adults develop new interests, increase their skills, and expand their options. Our adult programs include: • Adult Education & High School Completion • Continuing Education • Employment & Training Programs • English Language Learner Services • Parent & Family Programs
EASTCONN is committed to facilitating collaborative, regional approaches to administration operations. From cooperative purchasing to regional staff recruitment, EASTCONN works to find more costeffective ways of using local resources. Our organizational support services include: • Administrative Support for Schools • Business & Employer Services • Communications Services • Facilities Services • Human Resources Management • Personnel & Staffing Solutions • Program Design & Development • Transportation Services
EARLY CHILDHOOD INITIATIVES EASTCONN works with parents, communities and school to ensure that all children enter school ready to succeed. EASTCONN designs and implements high-quality early childhood education programs and services. We can also assist with data collection, planning and policy development, facilitation and community engagement, workshops for parents and professionals, facilities consultation, and program design and evaluation. Our early childhood initiatives include: • Early Childhood Consultation • Early Childhood Materials & Products • Programs for Young Children & Families
TEACHING & LEARNING SERVICES EASTCONN works with educators across northeastern Connecticut to substantively improve instruction, with the goal of increased learning for all children. From standardsbased curriculum design to data-driven school improvement, our specialists offer a broad range of expertise. Our teaching and learning services include: • Educational Leadership • Professional Learning & Coaching • Regional Groups & Councils • School Improvement Strategies
K-12 STUDENT SERVICES
TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS
EASTCONN works with local school districts to ensure that all the children in our 33-town region, from preschool through high school and beyond, have access to a rich variety of learning opportunities. From in-district support services to regional schools, EASTCONN provides a valuable, additional resource for students, parents and educators. Our student services include: • Academic Enrichment • Assistive Technology • Magnet Schools & Other Options for Students • Professional Learning & Support for Special Education Professionals • Programs for Students with Developmental Disabilities • School-to-Career • Schools for Non-Traditional Learners • Schools for Students with Behavioral Challenges • Services for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders • Summer, Vacation & After-School Programs • Other Student Services
EASTCONN helps schools envision, acquire and maintain technology systems that enhance student learning. From on-site technology integration training to customized database development, we are committed to ensuring that our schools keep pace with the accelerating demand for the effective use of technology. Our technology solutions include: • Data Solutions Support & Training • Educational Technology Integration • Technology Infrastructure Support • Technology Products
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ADULT PROGRAMS Overview Adult Programs comprises four main divisions: Adult Education, Continuing Education, Employment and Training, and Parent/Family Programs. 1. Adult Education provides regional adult education services to a consortium of districts that include 21 northeastern Connecticut towns. Adult Education services are free to the residents, 17 years and older, of participating towns and include the high school completion programs, GED, Adult High School Credit Diploma, and the National External Diploma Program; English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction; American citizenship preparation; life and basic skills instruction; college transition support; out-of-school-youth services; and workplace literacy. Participating towns: Andover, Brooklyn, Canterbury, Chaplin, Columbia, Eastford, Hampton, Hebron, Killingly, Lebanon, Marlborough, Plainfield, Pomfret, Putnam, Scotland, Stafford, Sterling, Thompson, Union, Windham and Woodstock. 2. Continuing Education provides personal enrichment classes, as well as workshops, online learning and careeradvancement skills training. These offerings provide low-cost, lifelong learning opportunities for residents of all ages in our northeastern Connecticut communities. 3. Employment and Training provides job transition support, skills training and customized workplace literacy instruction. In addition, this component oversees the Out-of-School-Youth employment program. 4. Parent/Family Programs works in collaboration with the agency’s Early Childhood Initiatives staff to offer both parenting skills instruction and parent-child literacy support.
Goals 1. The percentage of students completing the I-BEST program will increase by 50% and the percentage of students obtaining a credential will increase by 100%. 2. Enrollment in our Spanish GED class will increase by 30%. 3. Increase technology integration in all classes. 4. Adult Education will begin to implement the College and Career Readiness (CCR) Standards for adult learners. I-BEST students earn a GED and software credentials that boost both their employability skills and earning power.
2013-2014 Highlights & Accomplishments
• New Online NEDP Test – Students enrolling in the NEDP program must now complete all requirements for their diploma online. The online assessment requires that they use both Excel and PowerPoint, so classes in these applications have been added to our course options. Our NEDP population tends to be more mature and less familiar with technology, so many of our students began with our introductory computer course.
g High School Credential Adult Education offers 3 alternatives for completing a high school education: the GED; the Adult High School Credit Diploma (CDP); and the National External Diploma Program (NEDP). • Enrollment & Completion: Enrolled 346 students in one of our 105 CDP classes held at 4 different sites; and enrolled 520 in one of our 40 GED and/or Adult Basic Education (ABE) classes offered at 10 different sites. – More than 180 adult students in our combined high school credentialing programs graduated this year, despite the downward trend in enrollments seen statewide.
• New Online GED Test – On January 1, 2014, the 2002 GED test was retired and a new online version was implemented, incorporating higher-level thinking and computation. All our teachers were trained in the new facets of this test. Additionally, we hired proctors who were trained in the testing protocols, as we became a certified Pearson Vue test site. 25
ADULT PROGRAMS • Pass Rates: Data show that students who study through our program have a 75% chance of passing the new test, while those who take the test without any preparation have an 8% chance of passing.
How much did we do?
Received 7 competitive program improvement grants from the CSDE, totaling $385,000, that will serve 300+ adult students’ education and work-skills needs.
g Spanish GED Growth There has been a 32% growth in our Spanish GED classes as Spanish-speaking residents anticipate potential changes to the Immigration laws, including their hope for greater leniency and/or potential amnesty for immigrants with English fluency and a high school credential. We have expanded from 1 class to multiple classes, now offered in the daytime, evening and on Saturdays. g Technology Integration As part of this year’s professional learning plan goals, teachers were required to demonstrate how they would increase the use of technology in their classrooms in an integrated and meaningful way. We saw a jump in confidence and an increase in the use of technology in our classrooms by both teachers and students, as evidenced by:
• Tablets and ENO Smart Boards being used for capturing, printing and saving classroom notes.
• Schoology online learning communities used for communicating with students, giving them access to learning around the clock, and facilitating staff collaboration and team teaching; Skype and Google Voice further enhanced communications among students and staff.
implementation protocols. The group analyzed curriculum and materials, using the protocol to evaluate whether or not they meet the standards. Training all our teachers in this process will take place next year as we move toward full implementation, with a training kickoff for all staff scheduled for June 2014.
Staff helped more than 80 GED students complete all 5 paper-test GED modules before the December 31, 2013, deadline, so they could earn their high school credential without losing past test credits. The new, all-online GED test went into effect on January 1, 2014, making the old GED paper test and its modules obsolete. g Program Improvement Grants Received 7 competitive program improvement grants from the CSDE, totaling $385,000, including: • Transition: Preparing for 21st Century Careers Secondary: 50 adults and older youth without a high school diploma are preparing for 21st-century careers through this grant.
• A new introductory technology class being taught to prepare students for the new, online-only GED and NEDP tests.
g College and Career Readiness (CCR) Standards Selected to participate in a Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) pilot project for implementation of the Federal College and Career Readiness (CCR) Standards for adult learners. Four (4) teachers and 2 coordinators were trained in the CCR standards and
• Windham Family Learning Project: 20+ economically and educationally disadvantaged, limited-English, immigrant parents from the Windham community attended classes where they learned to speak, read and write English, as well as gain numeracy skills;
“I truly appreciate the fact that EASTCONN is prepared to fully support ... efforts to expand educational opportunities for adults. Your work with students who already have their diploma but don’t have the skills to pursue college and careers is critically important to the workforce development system. Your ability to motivate, support and educate those students, I believe, is going to be invaluable, as the state works to reform higher education.” – Alice Pritchard, Executive Director, Connecticut Women’s Education and Legal Fund (CWEALF) “The Town of Scotland could not meet State mandates in the area of adult education without EASTCONN’s comprehensive adult education program. Partnering with EASTCONN allows our small school to provide services on the scale of a much larger school district on a cost effective basis. Every contact I have with EASTCONN is met with enthusiasm, professionalism and a willingness to help meet our unique needs as a small school district.” -- Richard E. Packman, Superintendent of Schools, Scotland, CT 26
ADULT PROGRAMS in addition, parents learn strategies for literacy development in their young children.
Center in Danielson. These were supplemented by 12 classes located at community-based sites, where an additional 144 students were enrolled, representing a 32.5% increase over last year.
• Non-Traditional Adult Education Project: 20+ adults, historically underserved due to significant barriers to participation, are enrolled in this project. One class was held at a prison release program site in Willimantic, while the other was at United Services in Putnam, where educational instruction was provided to individuals with diagnosed mental illness. • I-BEST (Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training) Academy: 12 adult students are earning their GED, while also earning nationally recognized software application credentials, in this integrated, contextualized learning experience. This program is made possible through braided funding with the vocational training component of this class, funded through the Eastern Connecticut Workforce Investment Board (EWIB). • National External Diploma Program Project: By opening a new site in Stafford, this program will now expand to serve Stafford adults without a diploma. Projected goal for enrollment is 20.
English-as-a-Second-Language students use advanced computer programs that improve speaking and reading skills, enriching their communications skills, and expanding their access to a wider range of opportunities, both professionally and day-to-day.
• English-Language/Civics Project: 20+ immigrant and limited-English Windham residents received English reading and communications instruction, so they can better understand the rights and responsibilities g Employment & Training of citizens and immigrants, navigate naturalization As the largest provider of employment and training programs procedures and learn about the U.S. government and in northeastern Connecticut, we history in order to become support high-need area residents who informed parents, workers and How much did we do? face significant barriers to economic community members. self-sufficiency. The majority of our 518 adult learners enrolled • Transition to Post-Secondary: programming is funded through the in our ESL classes, a 32.5% This program provided Eastern Workforce Investment Board exploration and transition services increase over last year. (EWIB), which entered into contracts to more than 150 students with us in excess of $1.8 million. interested in post-secondary • Under- and Unemployed Adults: education or skills-training programs. Served more than 500 high-need, underemployed Jobs First Employment Services (JFES) and Workforce g English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) Programs Investment Act (WIA) clients. Upon completion of our Overview: The majority of our ESL programming was programs, 33% (152) entered employment and another delivered at our 2 regional community learning centers: 33% (157) entered advanced skills training programs. 296 students were enrolled in one of 16 classes at the JFES clients are recipients of Temporary Family Community Learning Center in Windham; and 78 were Assistance and are expected to move rapidly into the enrolled in one of 6 classes at the Northeast Learning labor market; WIA clients are either dislocated workers
“Thanks for letting me into this wonderful program. I am so excited that I have learned Excel and passed the exam today. Last night I actually helped my daughter with her math homework, when I was unable to help her before taking this I-Best Class. Thank you for this amazing opportunity to learn Microsoft Office Suite 2010.” – Sheri L. Houghton, I-BEST Student “The GED Spanish program at EASTCONN in Willimantic has been a very important one in my career. It is allowing me to further my education and to become a role model to my sons. This program is also helping me to master Mathematics in a new dimension.” – Erika Salazar, Spanish GED Student 27
ADULT PROGRAMS or low-income adults lacking the in-demand job skills needed to obtain employment.
Hebron, Andover and Marlborough, are part of the greater Hartford Capitol Workforce Investment Board and for many years were not eligible to participate in our EWIBfunded program.
• Vocation Skills Training: Served 203 economically disadvantaged adults in our classroom-based, employability and training programs; classes included skills development in customer service and software applications, as well as employer-requested “soft” skills like punctuality, teamwork, attendance, relationships with authorities/supervisory personnel, positive attitudes and personal appearance. • I-BEST (Integrated Basic Education Skills Training): Increased I-BEST classes from 1 to 3 through funding with 2 different regional workforce investment boards; 36 students are now participating in either the Technology Academy in Danielson, or one of our 2 Customer Service Academies, including a new program in another region of the state. To date, 17 have earned a nationally recognized credential, 5 have progressed toward a high school diploma, and all have improved their basic skills. With this additional I-BEST funding from the workforce investment boards, we are now able to serve individuals who have their high school diploma, but lack the basic skills needed to find and retain employment.
Transition Services provides one-on-one support for adults moving toward college or vocational training opportunities. g Continuing Education Outreach Expanded our outreach efforts with the goal of becoming more visible and responsive to the lifelong learning needs of our area’s residents. A new “shopping cart” purchasing capability has been added to the Continuing Education Web site, that allows customers to register for multiple options, but submit only one total payment; in the past, registrations could not be combined. Additionally, social media outreach was expanded, most notably Facebook. Utilizing low-cost advertising options through these social sites has grown both our audience and our reach, which in turn has attracted both new instructors offering new class options, as well as new learners. EASTCONN’s Continuing Education program was able to offer 31 new class choices during the spring 2014 session, compared to 16 new offered last year, an increase of 12% to 35%; the total number of classes was 153, with 451 student registrations to date.
g Subsidized Employment Employed 35 under-employed and unemployed adults, 18 and older, through a $300,000 Storm Sandy National Emergency Grant, which provided temporary subsidized workers to municipalities and state parks in need of storm clean-up and repair; our participants repaired damage in eastern Connecticut state parks, including the boardwalk at Rocky Neck State Park, as well as the eastern Connecticut Airline Trail. A recent extension of the grant has added $65,000 and additional work for our participants. The grant provided much-needed income for our participants, while contributing to the public safety and enjoyment of state parks in our region. g Out-of-School Youth Expansion Negotiated the expansion of our EWIB-funded WIA Out-of-School Youth program to include Region 8 district youth between 17 and 21 years of age. Workforce Investment Board boundaries are different than RESC boundaries and as a result, 3 of our member districts,
“This class gave me the opportunity to look deeper into myself and really come away humbled, educated, and a better person ... I know I’ll walk away with a valuable and marketable skillset, an ability to serve a much broader customer base, and a confidence in myself professionally.” – Patty Landry, Customer Service Student “Taking classes at EASTCONN has helped me better my life. Now I should be able to help my kids a little more in their school work. This also helps me get a better job, and better my future.” – Luis Mercado, CDP Student 28
ADULT PROGRAMS
2013-2014 Challenges
What difference did it make?
g Transportation Transportation continues to be a challenge for our students, requiring that we seek ways to offer classes at more locations throughout our area.
g GED and NEDP Online Served more than 500 high-need, Testing unemployed JFES & WIA clients, With the launch of online enabling 33% to get jobs, and testing for both the GED and another 33% to enter advancedthe NEDP, we had numerous skills training programs. challenges, including test site certification, infrastructure (new file servers, new desktop units, new software), IT support on test days, including Saturdays, the hiring of test proctors, staff training in test Plans & Implications for 2014-2015 protocols, outreach to current and former test-takers, and classes introducing our students to online testing and the g Full Implementation of the College and Career applications they would be required to use while being Readiness Standards tested. With the completion of the pilot in June 2014, we will • Worked intensively with 82 current students to ensure move forward with a plan to implement the College they would complete all 5 parts of the old GED before and Career Readiness Standards in all of our academic the deadline of December 31, 2013. programs. • Engaged in a major outreach effort prior to the g Remediation December deadline to inform 700+ former students who With the Board of Regents anticipated remediation had only partly completed their GED testing that they initiatives (PA 1240), we expect to be a partner with our needed to finish up, or risk having their past GED test area community colleges in providing remediation for results become void, as the new GED test was installed students in need of stronger basic skills who want to enter on January 1, 2014. college, including those with a diploma. g Transition to Employment Continue to increase our efforts to move all of our adult students into employment by incorporating workforce transition support into all of our programs.
With the rollout of the new, online GED test, EASTCONN has partnered with Pearson to become an official testing site.
“The skills I’ve learned in this class have helped me so much! I haven’t even finished the class yet, and was offered a job at Dollar Tree in Putnam. The manager said they would like to train me as well as evaluate my skills to further my career in the company. Before this class I was unable to get an interview with a company, let alone get the actual job. I have also learned how to not just have a job, but make a career out any opportunity!” –Kylie M. Mayo, Customer Service Student “This program has supported me a lot. Each individual in their own way helped me through my journey. I was trying to get my GED and my biggest struggle was math. [They] helped me so much with my math, encouraging me when I needed to re-take the test and helping me to learn the skills I needed. [They] helped me to get in to take the test when the deadline was coming up and it looked like I had run out of time. [They] helped me to get a scholarship so I could start at QVCC right away. [They are] still helping me with scholarship and financial aid applications. All of you guys played a part in my journey. I could never be more grateful than I am.” – Jennifer Gonzalez, GED Student 29
EARLY CHILDHOOD INITIATIVES Overview Early Childhood Initiatives, which focuses on children from birth to grade 3, offers a wide array of consultation, professional development and direct services to the region’s school districts and communities. Through these initiatives, professional development is provided to early care and education programs and public schools in our region, including support for strategic planning, program development, accreditation and professional learning on standards, curriculum, assessment and instruction. Parent education is also provided. We administer and provide direct services to children and their families as the grantee for the federally funded Head Start and Early Head Start programs in Windham and Tolland Counties and the EASTCONN Birth-to-Three Program.
Goals
• Families reported a high level of satisfaction with EASTCONN’s services, 98% of the time.
1. Families support the positive social-emotional, physical, language and cognitive development in their children.
• EASTCONN’s B-3 program continues the collaboration with UCONN in several ways: – Classes on Early Intervention and Connecticut’s Birth-to-Three System. – Student interns shadow B-3 interventionists and learn about the competencies and education needed to become a B-3 provider during a semester-long placement in our program.
2. Programs serving children from birth to age 8 are of high quality. 3. Children are successful in school by age 9. 4. EASTCONN early childhood programs and services serve as a resource to families, programs and institutions.
2013-2014 Highlights & Accomplishments REGIONAL PROGRAMS FOR YOUNG CHILDREN & FAMILIES g Birth-to-Three (B-3) Provided direct services to children with developmental delays and/or disabilities, from birth to age 3, and their families, in 25 towns, serving a total of 119 families. • Current caseload of 56 families received an average of 4.5 multi-disciplinary home visits per month.
• EASTCONN was found to be in full compliance with the state B-3 assessment, which examined 48 items related to serving children and families.
An Early Head Start teacher uses playtime and object identification to support her young student’s executive function.
• Child outcomes: – 90% met all of their Individual Family Service Plan goals. – 89% had a reduced gap in delay, when compared to same-age peers, in social emotional development, upon completion of services. – 94% had a reduced gap in delay, when compared to same-age peers, in language acquisition, upon completion of services. – 97% of children had timely transitions with local school districts.
g Head Start/Early Head Start These federally and state-funded, comprehensive childdevelopment programs serve 456 low-income children and their families at a total of 15 sites and home-based programs across Tolland and Windham counties. In order to have a greater impact at an earlier point in children’s and families’ lives, we converted 19 home-based slots from preschool to Early Head Start. • Analysis of Family Goals & Stress Factors: Early Head Start/Head Start continued to use the multidimensional Family Functioning Scale to measure the achievement of family-defined goals and the stress 30
EARLY CHILDHOOD INITIATIVES factors that impede them. By comparing scores from the beginning to the end of the year, families and staff can see how much progress has been made on goals that families have set. By mid-year, 44% of families enrolled in Early Head Start had already met the goals that they had set and 45% were making progress. Results help guide intervention and program improvement efforts. • UCONN Collaboration: Collaborated on a research project studying attainment of goals set by the families, focused on our home-based Early Head Start and Head Start programs. In the EASTCONN home-based programs, goal achievement was rated at 82% in fall 2013, compared to 58% in fall 2012, indicating progress toward goal definition and achievement, which is related to specific professional learning opportunities around goal-setting made available to the home-visiting staff.
60 early childhood educators attended a workshop by author/ consultant Judy Jablon on “Powerful Interactions: How to Connect with Children to Extend their Learning.”
• Child Outcome Data • Promoting Family Literacy: Through a grant from the – The Early Head Start program is working with an Connecticut Department of Economic Development, expert in psychometrics to optimize the data from Early Head Start and Head Start classrooms partner with observations related to school readiness indicators the Connecticut Storytellers to promote early literacy. for the purpose of improving instruction. These data Parent involvement has also increased as a result. can also be used to create a metric that would capture the change in level of student performance between consecutive collection cycles, over the course of a PROFESSIONAL LEARNING & SUPPORT TO year, or over multiple years, for children who are EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS enrolled for more than one cycle, to represent growth over time. g Local/Regional Professional Development – The Head Start School Readiness Goals show • Early Learning Instructional Strategies: Held 9 significant progress in regional workshops focused on comparing kindergarteninstructional strategies for more eligible children in the What difference did it make? than 250 participants. first reporting period “Please pass on my thank-you from 2012 to 2013, • Improving Executive to your wonderful Birth-to-Three using the Connecticut Function, Language, Literacy providers who have helped [S.] Preschool Assessment and Math Skills Framework. progress. He is a beautiful boy – EASTCONN staff has provided – Due to changes and chatting up a storm.” training and on-site coaching in 8 in curriculum and communities to 56 preschool and – Birth-to-Three Parent instructional strategies, kindergarten teachers. there was a 10% increase – In our collaborative preschool in children’s ability to programs, implementing curricular approaches interact cooperatively with peers, a 15.4% increase and strategies has led to an increase in executive in working to resolve conflicts, a 14.32% increase function, social skills, literacy and math skills. Gains in using complex sentences to describe ideas and in vocabulary for dual-language learners were most experiences, a 19.67% increase in identifying printed notable. words, and a17.13% increase in relating number to quantity. “[E.] has been a great representative of your program and has helped us through a very tough time and is continuing to do so in a professional manner.” – Birth-to-Three Parent “…want to let you know that [your staff member] was an absolute blessing to work with and she is excellent at doing her job and she worked wonderfully with both kids ... I just want you to pass along to her superiors that she is amazing at her job and EASTCONN should be honored to have her on the team.” – Birth-to-Three Parent 31
EARLY CHILDHOOD INITIATIVES g School Readiness Grant Program Staff served in the school-readiness-liaison role for 4 communities in the EASTCONN region and engaged in monitoring school readiness programs for an additional 6 communities. g National Recognition Our staff and UCONN partners were invited to present poster sessions at the Zero-to-Three Conference in San Antonio, Texas: • Examination of Processes and Outcomes in EHS Play Groups through Partners in Parenting Education (PIPE) Curriculum Lens, was presented by UCONN’s Manta Saxena and JoAnn Robinson and EASTCONN’s Dawn McQuade. • Addressing Family Engagement Frameworks through Assessment of Family Needs and Goal Attainment, presented by UCONN’s Katherine Bryce and JoAnn Robinson; and EASTCONN’s Heather Spada, Dawn McQuade, and Diane Gozemba.
Early childhood educators participated in an EASTCONN workshop promoting preschoolers’ movement, physical development and well-being, all part of best-practice strategies aligned with the state’s new early education standards. • Statewide Professional Development Coordination and/or Delivery: – In collaboration with the state Office of Early Childhood and the regional education service centers, EASTCONN coordinated statewide training on the new Birth-Age 5 Early Learning and Development Standards. Sessions had a total of more than 500 participants. – Facilitated training for 40 higher-education faculty and 100 early-childhood education consultants. – Held the first of a series of planned annual Infant Toddler Conferences, focused on Social Emotional Competence in Infants and Toddlers: Reflecting, Recognizing and Coping with Behaviors; 62 participants came from across the state. • Preschool-to-Grade-3 State Initiative: EASTCONN serves on a statewide leadership team to promote consistency and continuity of practices from preschool to grade 3. This work has included coordinating and presenting at statewide seminars and providing input to educator evaluation and evidence-based practices.
Birth-to-Three staff build trust and share critical learning strategies during home visits that help parents support their children’s social, emotional and intellectual growth.
• NAEYC Accreditation: Supported 15 preschool and kindergarten programs to meet national standards of high-quality early care and education; 100% of those that had site visits attained accreditation.
“Thank you for teaching me about Executive Function. This has already changed the way I am teaching and I am excited to learn more.” Lisa, Kindergarten Teacher The “Town of Scotland is very pleased with EASTCONN taking on the responsibility of the Hampton/Scotland School Readiness Program. The staff is excellent to work with, are thorough and very competent in managing the program. The net result is a very efficient and effective School Readiness Program.” – Daniel Syme, First Selectman, Town of Scotland 32
EARLY CHILDHOOD INITIATIVES
A Killingly Head Start teacher helps her (mostly) serious young students with play planning, a scaffolding, early-learning strategy that asks preschoolers to draw a picture of their next activity, and then write about it. They later review their ideas and plans.
2013-2014 Challenges
Plans & Implications for 2014-2015
g Financial Barriers The fee assessed to families for Birth-to-Three services led to a decrease in the number of children receiving eligible services.
g Increase Funding for Young Children Apply for federal competitive grant, in collaboration with family and center-based childcare providers, to increase the number of infants, toddlers and families served in our region.
g Federal Sequestration Due to federal sequestration, 1 preschool classroom was closed for the 2013-2014 budget year. Additional cuts were spread across the program, including a 2-week delay in opening for Head Start programs in the northeastern Connecticut region, closing the Early Head Start full day program for two additional weeks and a reduction of program aides in the classrooms.
g Review Birth-to-Three Return on Investment Work with the Department of Developmental Services to examine costs of providing Birth-to-Three services and reimbursements. g Professional Learning Expansion • Expand professional development for both schooldistrict-based and community-based preschool and kindergarten teachers on executive function, literacy and math. • Increase professional learning opportunities for teachers of infants and toddlers. • Support the implementation of the Connecticut Core Standards and the Connecticut Early Learning and Development Standards. • Hold a symposium for district leaders to promote age-3to-grade-3 alignment.
g Staff Capacity Staff capacity was not available to meet all requests for service, and our expertise in primary grades is not strong enough.
“As one of the six providers of the Accreditation Facilitation Project (AFP), EASTCONN serves as the hub of NAEYC Accreditation support in the northeast region of Connecticut. Their implementation of the AFP model through high-quality training, on-site assistance, and collaborative approach to program improvement, is a valuable component of efforts to achieve the mark of quality that is NAEYC Accreditation.” – Deborah Flis, Education Consultant, Connecticut Office of Early Childhood Division of Early Care and Education, Connecticut Charts-A-Course: Accreditation & Quality Improvement 33
FACILITIES Overview The primary responsibility of the Facilities Department is to maintain and support almost 175,000 square feet of agencyowned-and-operated facilities, including all exterior landscaping and maintenance. Facilities support is also provided on a fee-for-service basis to member districts, their municipalities, community-based organizations and others as requested. Facilities helps internal staff and external member districts provide safe and healthy learning and working environments through services that include: asbestos inspection and management; hazardous materials management; training and consulting; radon testing; infrastructure support; facilities/maintenance audits; and facilities management and staffing consultation.
Goals 1. To continue to provide high-quality asbestos consulting services by a licensed Asbestos Inspector/Management Planner to member districts, ensuring compliance with federal and state Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) regulations. 2. To continue to offer radon-testing services to member districts and day care centers, ensuring compliance with Connecticut Indoor Air Quality Regulations. 3. To provide quality services in a cost-effective manner while competing against the private-for-profit sector in a challenging economy. 4. To continue to improve facility security systems and procedures, thus providing a safer environment for students and staff. Power to the agency’s new generator is checked. In the event of a power outage, the new generator safeguards essential network servers, Web access and fiscal process functions.
5. To seek out facilities cost-savings through energy audit programs and innovative technology solutions.
2013-2014 Highlights & Accomplishments g Asbestos Management Services • As required by Federal and State regulations, provided Six-Month Asbestos Reassessment Designated Person Services to 5 member school districts that lacked trained persons on staff.
• Began scheduling for Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH)-mandated, 3-year Asbestos Management Plan updates and inspections; most of our district schools must address this requirement in the coming year.
• Provided Asbestos Awareness/HAZ-COM Training to 3 school districts and a for-profit construction contracting company.
• Developed and submitted a new Management Plan with the State DPH for the new Quinebaug Middle College facility addition at Quinebaug Valley Community College.
• Continued to work closely with the State of Connecticut DPH/Asbestos to prevent or resolve any school district compliance issues.
g Radon Testing • As a Nationally Certified Radon Technician, qualified to test schools in Connecticut and listed with the State DPH, EASTCONN staff provided the required 5-year re-testing radon measurement for 2 member school districts.
• Continue to provide 6-month reassessments of asbestos containing materials for Quinebaug Middle College (QMC), as per state Department of Public Health and federal Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) regulations. 34
FACILITIES
• Provided 5-year radon re-testing for 1 EASTCONN facility. Previously, this would have been a contracted service but is performed in-house now, resulting in cost-savings to both the agency, as well as member districts that choose to contract with us.
• Provided the state DPH Radon Division with updated radon testing information for their statewide database for those schools we have tested or re-tested.
• Increased the total number of districts accessing our radon services to 14, by providing a new customer-district with its required 5-year re-testing and required state filing. Facilities Forums, hosted at Hampton, supply school facility directors with job-alike support, useful information about new regulations and solutions to common problems.
g School Safety and Security New, electronic, keyless Fob entry systems were installed at our Educational and Vocational Center (EVC) and Connecticut Mills facilities, providing ease of access and improved building security.
2013-2014 Challenges g Remaining current with new federal and state regulations and their potential impact on services provided to customers.
g Facilities Improvements • Completed the last phase of the EVC roof replacement project in Columbia.
g Educating our member districts about their facilities related state and federal requirements concerning asbestos, radon and indoor air quality; compliance issues have emerged in some districts due to turnover in personnel and reductions in budgets.
• Installed an emergency power generator to supply power to the server rooms at Hampton, thereby ensuring that electronic communications and Web access can be maintained during power outages.
g Providing services that address school compliance issues in a cost-effective manner.
g Regional Facilities Forum We continue to offer a Regional Facilities Forum, hosted in Hampton. Through this collegial, information-sharing group, LEA Facilities Directors can collaborate to find solutions to common issues. Guest speakers enhance the conversation by sharing information about the latest laws affecting school buildings, energy-consumption-reduction strategies and cutting-edge technology solutions that help districts provide safe, well-managed, cost-effective schools.
g Providing safe, secure working and learning environments at all EASTCONN locations. g Accessing the required annual CEU’s for re-certification of Radon Measurement Technician’s certification.
Plans & Implications for 2014-2015 g Continue to grow the number of school districts accessing one or more of our services by 10%.
“EASTCONN and [your] Facilities Director ... are an integral part of our facilities program at Pomfret Community School. Not only are they involved in our asbestos and radon inspection programs, they’re an invaluable source of information on all levels. It has been my experience that the Facilities Forum has been a great success, answering many of our questions concerning state and federal mandates. It also allows facility managers to share information from our different regions. I’ve used many of the vendors EASTCONN has presented to us at these meetings.” – Gary Brock, Facilities Supervisor, Pomfret Community School, Pomfret “The entire Facilities team has been the backbone of our Adult Program sites and has always responded to our needs and problems. Their experience and expertise, coupled with an exceptional team, have allowed me as a director to be reassured that our facilities are always operating to their fullest potential. When faced with a major heating issue where the contractors and landlord were unable to repair, the Facilities Director pursued the Internet in a search for discontinued parts to save our system, despite recommendations that the entire system should be replaced. The EASTCONN Adult Program facilities are some of the cleanest and best maintained public facilities I have seen in my 30-plus years as a school administrator.” – Richard Tariff, Director of EASTCONN Adult Programs 35
FINANCE Overview Finance provides a full array of organizational financial services, including payroll, accounts payable, billing/accounts receivable, accounting/bookkeeping administration, budgets, fiscal grants management and financial management, as well as directly supporting portions of the agency operations relating to cooperative purchasing, transportation and facilities. Department of Social Services, the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, the Connecticut Department of Labor, the federal Administration of Children and Families for Head Start, and the U.S. Department of Labor. These grants, many of which are competitive, provide programs and services that would otherwise not be available in our region, at little or no cost to districts; the resulting programs and services directly and indirectly benefit citizens of all ages from all 36 member communities.
Goals 1. Develop budget process enhancements that provide program managers with more timely, informative and meaningful information to inform their program decisions. 2. Ensure that the agency’s external fiscal transactions and communications, including those with customers as well as vendors, are prudently processed in a timely and efficient manner.
g “Back Office” Support Local district administrative functions, including “back office” functions, are areas where we are actively exploring potential cost savings to our districts, either through direct staff support or through facilitated collaboration. Such strategies are designed to take advantage of economies of scale, while maintaining or improving the quality and effectiveness of operations through the use of fiscal management software and other technologies. We used a competitively awarded planning grant from the CSDE to facilitate regional conversations around the identification of back office opportunities to increase efficiencies and reduce costs and duplications of effort across districts.
2013-2014 Highlights & Accomplishments g Business Office Activity Processed more than 30,000 financial transactions in the management of our agency’s $71 million budget, including over 13,000 paychecks and more than 8,000 accounts-payable checks. Implemented weekly accountspayable check processing, resulting in increased efficiency within Finance and other agency departments. g Grants Management Provided fiscal management for 120 federal, state and private grants and contracts, totaling approximately $18 million. Grants came from a variety of state, federal and private funders, including the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE), the Connecticut
• Direct District Fiscal Support: Provided fiscal management services to 3 districts, including budget management, accounts payable and payroll, resulting in enhanced services for the district, increased
g Construction Grant Closeout Successfully closed the construction grant covering the agency’s new professional development center and Conference Office. Final project costs were $157,000 or 2.5% under the approved budget of $6.2 million. In addition to coming in under budget, state reimbursable expenses increased $23,000 over the approved budget. 36
FINANCE
2013-2014 Challenges
effectiveness and cost-savings over their in-house provision of comparable services. Back office support realized a 200% increase in district participation.
g New Business Opportunities Being nimble enough to address new business opportunities that appeared throughout the year. g Cost Controls Being cost-effective in the face of continually decreasing administrative funds.
Plans & Implications for 2014-2015 g “Back Office” Support Continue to expand opportunities by engaging with districts to determine how we can best support their “back office” functions in order to both improve operations and enhance service quality, while maintaining or reducing costs. g Regional Health Insurance Cooperative • Roll out new health insurance plan options.
A municipal capital lease enabled the agency to upgrade its transportation fleet with the purchase of 33 new student vans. g Financing Secured a municipal capital lease to upgrade the agency’s transportation fleet with 33 new vehicles, supporting the agency’s effort to continue providing safety-conscious, cost-effective transportation options to districts. Secured additional financing options, including the agency’s line of credit and vehicle guidance line. g Process Improvements • Updated the agency’s Finance Operating Manual.
• Consider expansion of covered benefits to include dental insurance, life insurance and short/long-term disability insurance.
How much did we do?
Provided fiscal management for 120 federal, state and private grants and contracts, totaling nearly $18 million. Grants came from a variety of state, federal and private funders, including the Connecticut State Department of Education.
• Provided in-house training to program support staff on Munis-related functions.
• Enhanced our risk-management oversight by successfully obtaining cost-effective insurance policies.
“EASTCONN’s Finance Department is knowledgeable and helpful to customers, while ensuring that internal controls are consistent with proper auditing standards. I put full faith in their expertise to meet fiscal accountability standards.” – Diane Gozemba, Assistant Director of Early Childhood Initiatives at EASTCONN “A big thank you to the Finance Department for the ongoing support they have provided me throughout the year with the administration of the Eastern Connecticut Health Insurance Program (ECHIP). The Finance team delivers exceptional budgetary guidance and has helped me streamline the 9 member entities covered under ECHIP into a much more manageable system. The Finance team has also been the main point of contact and resource in providing the necessary budgeting for ECHIP’s health and wellness initiative. The support and direction that the Finance Department provides me with is immeasurable.” – Larisa Carr, ECHIP Administrator 37
HUMAN RESOURCES Overview The Human Resources (HR) Department provides services to more than 560 employees in a wide variety of positions across a diverse range of programs in a constantly changing agency. Services include recruitment, new-hire support, benefits management, employee relations and related administrative services associated with continuing employment. g Employee Training • Mandatory Training: Coordinated the delivery of agency-wide mandatory training, ensuring agency compliance with legal mandates associated with annual training of both direct services and supervisory personnel. Organized and delivered customized, mandated, employee training to more than 315 employees from 3 of our direct services programs: Student Services, Adult Programs and Head Start.
Goals 1. Proactively expand technology applications to enhance HR customer service and improve work processes that reduce administrative costs. 2. Promote and sustain “The EASTCONN Way” work culture throughout the agency to encourage all employees to deliver the highest quality products and services that exceed customers’ expectations.
• Online Training Expansion: Researched and planned the provision of mandatory training modules via EASTCONN’s online employee Intranet; piloted Department of Children and Families (DCF) mandatedreporter training module on the agency’s Intranet.
3. Provide assistance to member districts in meeting their HR management needs to achieve efficient staffing, operations and regulatory compliance. 4. Develop and implement successful EASTCONN employee wellness program.
• Social Security Informational Workshops: Provided 2 special information workshops on Social Security retirement benefits for EASTCONN employees at Hampton and Willimantic. Workshops were well received with much valuable information shared. Additional workshops will be offered in 2014-2015 to assist all employees nearing retirement.
2013-2014 Highlights & Accomplishments
g New Employee Orientations • Held 3 employee orientation sessions attended by 85 new employees. These important trainings introduce new hires to our agency history and structure, mandatory trainings and our “EASTCONN Way” work culture; included group exercises demonstrating such key principles as customer focus, teamwork and collaboration.
Human Resources staff regularly attend job fairs across the region to recruit qualified, new employees for the agency. g Internal Employee Recruitment & Hiring Processed more than 4,800 job applications in response to over 200 job postings/ads; conducted more than 500 employment interviews; and responded to more than 4,300 employment-related telephone inquiries during 2013-2014. g Fee-for-Service Recruitment & Hiring Services Continued to offer online AppliTrack system on a fee-forservice basis for the recruitment of both central office and instructional personnel for member districts. 38
• Used an updated orientation video that incorporated 6 new interviews and new “B Roll” footage. This video, filmed and edited with the help of ACT’s Audio/Video department, and the interviews in particular, provide real-life examples of EASTCONN’s beliefs in action.
• Continued to incorporate “EASTCONN Way” principles into the new employee orientation process, including a new multi-media messaging initiative. Feedback from employees and their supervisors has been very positive, with more than 95% reporting that staff benefitted from the trainings.
g Employee Relations • Coordinated the negotiation process for 2 separate 3-year contracts with our Teachers and Instructional
HUMAN RESOURCES
Assistants; both new contacts have duration dates of 7/1/14 through 6/20/17.
• Instituted new initiatives designed to improve relations with our teachers’ union through regular meetings, problem-solving and improved communications. Eight (8) meetings were held and no grievances were filed; when surveyed verbally, more than a dozen managers, representing all K-12 and Adult Programs staff, expressed satisfaction with improved employee relations.
• Participated in a cross-division work team focused on strategies to build staff capacity, strengthen our “EASTCONN Way” work culture and sustain vital institutional knowledge for the future. A key recommendation of the work team calls for the active involvement of managers and supervisors in upgrading recruitment, mentoring and induction activities within their respective programs.
g Shared Services In spite of a difficult economy, numbers stayed largely constant as HR continued to provide 45 alternative staffing solutions to our member districts; 3 LEAs added paraprofessional positions during the year.
g Electronic Management Systems • Conducted research with our IT Department and other Regional Educational Service Centers (RESCs) on the social media-targeted recruiting trends to assess whether the agency should devote more resources to social media recruiting. Decided to forgo active programming at this time, while continuing to monitor emerging trends.
• Researched Web-based Praxis I & II training vendors concerning live and on-demand Praxis II test-prep training offerings.
1,300 customers accessed our fingerprinting services this year, thanks to multiple, conveniently located sites. g Fingerprinting Services • This year, 1,300 people used our fingerprinting services, including individuals applying to be substitute teachers in area districts, and candidates in university-based teacher preparation programs.
• TimeClock Plus, the new electronic payroll and time/ attendance system for all hourly staff, is now fully operational and continued to result in a more efficient and cost-effective process and a 10% reduction in Human Resources staff support for payroll.
• Services are delivered on-site to future teacher candidates at both UCONN in Storrs and Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic.
g Statewide Minority Teacher Recruitment Participated in Minority Teacher Recruitment (MTR), a comprehensive Connecticut State Department of Education-funded, RESC Alliance program that encourages and supports minority teacher recruitment and retention. • Administered 55 Praxis test preparation courses for 210 participants statewide through MTR; Praxis courses provide tutorial support for minority candidates planning to take the Praxis I and II examinations, which are required for teacher certification.
• Began implementing electronic fingerprinting as a means for improving customer service, expanding our customer base and increasing our revenue by an estimated 5% annually.
g Wellness Initiative The agency’s Wellness Committee met on a monthly basis in collaboration with the Eastern Connecticut Health Insurance Program (ECHIP) administrator and our insurance broker to plan and implement wellness initiatives designed to improve employee wellness and help contain health-care costs. • This collaboration resulted in a fall 2013, 4-week
“For well over a decade, EASTCONN has provided Regional School District 19/E. O. Smith High School with high-quality staffing options. EASTCONN’s administrative team effectively responds to the needs of our district by offering valuable programs and services that enhance our educational programming.” – Steve Bayne, Special Services Director, Region 19 “We have been very pleased by EASTCONN’s ability to assign competent and knowledgeable staff to fulfill the School Readiness liaison function. EASTCONN has been flexible and cost effective in addressing Hampton’s temporary need for support in this area. We first needed support for six months. We then extended our request for a full nine months. EASTCONN extended the contract without any difficulty and the team assigned to us has managed its responsibilities with grace and efficiency.” -- Paul Graseck, Superintendent, Hampton School District 39
HUMAN RESOURCES management resources and time present challenges to this recommendation.
Plans & Implications for 2014-2015 g New Health Savings Account (HSA) Plan The agency’s Eastern Connecticut Health Insurance Program (ECHIP) has successfully created a Health Savings Account (HSA) plan to aid in offsetting the Affordable Care Act’s 2018 excise/cadillac tax. This new HSA plan will offer employees an additional, cost-effective health insurance option for fiscal year 2014-2015.
The second annual Health Fair provided EASTCONN employees with free health assessments, food and prizes.
g Staff Training Expansion & Enhancement • Mandated Agency Professional Learning: Continue to facilitate and expand the program-level delivery of agency-mandated trainings, including elements of our newly redesigned “EASTCONN Way” training, which introduces key staff to core agency beliefs and practices around quality service delivery to our customers.
walking program, involving 133 registered staff participants from across the agency.
• The Committee also organized a community food drive in conjunction with the national “Make A Difference Day.”
• EASTCONN’s second annual Health and Wellness Fair provided free on-site health screenings for employees in collaboration with ECHIP.
• Increasing Access: Explore the use of Web-based technology for tutorial training, as appropriate, to increase and facilitate access to training. Future Webbased trainings may include annual mandatory training, new employee orientations and employee recruitment/ marketing training.
2013-2014 Challenges g Electronic Fingerprinting System The transition to electronic fingerprinting is underway. However, Connecticut State Police delays in administrative approvals have prevented full operational implementation of the new electronic fingerprinting system.
• Safety & Security: Explore “safety and security for schools” training materials for potential purchase and implementation at EASTCONN next year. g Emergency Preparation & Response Training Assist with the implementation of management-level tabletop exercises throughout the agency to increase appropriate incident-response awareness and preparedness in the event a critical situation arises. This approach has been shown to prepare individuals effectively for real-life scenarios that they might encounter.
g Minority Recruitment Given the demographics of our 36-district region, minority recruitment is challenging. And yet, the agency’s minority employment increased from 10.8% in 2012-2013 to 12.1% in 2013-2014. EASTCONN continues to exceed the collective 8.7% minority employment among towns in the EASTCONN region.
g Regional Recruitment Initiative Continue to explore the expansion of EASTCONN’s electronic job-applicant tracking system (AppliTrack) as a part of our regional back-office initiative, to support a regional LEA recruitment plan, including reduced costshared advertising and the delivery of real-time electronic job applications for participating LEAs.
g Maturing Workforce As the most experienced employees retire from the agency, it is essential that the knowledge, skills, institutional memory and culture are sustained through effective recruitment, induction and mentoring initiatives, including new employee orientations and training. A Capacity Work Team met 4 times to address these concerns. Recommendations included the active involvement of managers and supervisors to upgrade recruitment, induction and mentoring activities within their respective programs. Competition for
g Job Frameworks Project This system, which defines employee expectations by position, requires periodic updating to keep current. With an implementation goal of next year, a Job Frameworks Work Team met 4 times and developed a more efficient process for regularly updating and creating new frameworks for the agency.
“On behalf of the Eastford School District, I want to extend sincere thanks for assisting me with a recent personnel issue. I appreciate your willingness to share your expertise in helping me resolve a sticky situation. I am most grateful for the supportive nature of your involvement; you’re advice led to my proceeding with my business in a more informed manner.” – Linda O. Loretz, Principal/Superintendent, Eastford Public Schools 40
K-12 STUDENT SERVICES Overview Student Services offers a continuum of services for students with a wide spectrum of challenging conditions and academic interests. From magnet high school options to a range of services for students on the autism spectrum, this division is dedicated to meeting the needs and interests of students from across our region. The focus is on serving each individual student. Our success is and will continue to be built upon improving the quality of our programs and services. We strive to achieve this by building our capacity, running programs that are financially sound and producing outstanding educational results that satisfy parents, students, teachers, administrators and our regional partner school districts.
Goals
g Arts at the Capitol Theater (ACT) • Enrollment Increases: ACT experienced a 5% increase in full-time student enrollment this academic year, with a total of 147 students from 26 districts, including 2 districts outside our region.
1. To prepare all students in EASTCONN magnet schools and special education programs to successfully pursue their college and career goals.
• New Courses: There are a total of 6 new courses at ACT that integrate arts and academics. They include Historical Documentary (Social Studies and Video); Culture of International Films (Creative Writing and Social Studies); Spanish for Performance (Spanish and Acting); Lighting for Video (a reading/writing skillsbased video class); Community Video Projects (a video course that develop marketing and workplace skills); and Dance and Anatomy (Dance and Science). There were 2 AP courses offered this year (AP Spanish and AP Statistics) and 5 students enrolled in classes for potential college credit.
2. To implement high-quality, best-practice programs and instructional approaches that will better serve students in our region.
2013-2014 Highlights & Accomplishments MAGNET HIGH SCHOOLS g Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment • New and Innovative Course Offerings: ACT and QMC continue to enhance their educational programming for students through unique, interdisciplinary courses that connect students to their interests and to the skills they will need for successful college and career experiences. – “Historical Documentary Filmmaking” is a new course at ACT. Co-taught by certified social studies and audio-visual educators, students engage in the process of producing their own historically based documentary short films and gain extensive handson experience with high-definition cameras, digital editing programs and other state-of-the-art technology. Their films have been presented to students, parents and the community. • ACT International Field Experience Students enjoyed a rich field experience to Costa Rica in April. In addition to learning about the country’s ecosystems and varied terrain, they used their knowledge of Spanish to converse with locals, donated school supplies, planted trees for reforestation of a migratory path for animals and performed original skits and musical works for Costa Rican students of La Escuela Agua Azul.
8 ACT students were among regional finalists in the prestigious, nationwide Scholastic Art & Writing Awards contest.
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• ACT Student Achievements: – 8 students from ACT have been recognized in the 2014 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, a prestigious national program that has supported teenagers’ artistic development since 1923. The 8 students, grades 10 to 12, were from Pomfret, Windham, Willington, Lebanon and Coventry. They were awarded 2 Gold Keys, 6 Silver Keys and 1 Honorable Mention.
K-12 STUDENT SERVICES
– 2 ACT students were among 15 finalists in the highly competitive 2014 “Fresh Voices” poetry competition, part of the nationally prominent Sunken Garden Poetry Festival held annually at the Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington. – An ACT Creative Writing student was invited to attend the esteemed New England Young Writers’ Conference (NEYWC) at Middlebury College in Vermont. Often simply called “Bread Loaf,” the NEYWC student writing conference brings together 200 talented high school sophomores and juniors from the New England and New York regions and beyond. Previously only for grades 10-12, QMC successfully piloted – 3 ACT students were included in the Fall 2013 the addition of 9th-graders this year. The results were so posiCreative Communication publication for Poetry. tive that QMC will enroll grades 9-12 permanently this fall. – The poem “Reopening Wounds,” penned by an ACT Creative Writing student, earned an honorable 3rd annual induction ceremony. The students are from mention in the 26th annual issue of the Connecticut 7 communities, representing Willington, Andover, Student Writers magazine, produced by UCONN’s Lebanon, Chaplin, Eastford, Pomfret and Salem. Connecticut Writers Project (CWP). – On June 16, 2014, ACT (anticipates) graduating its – 1 ACT student is among 10 poetry finalists in the fourth senior class of 35 seniors from 10 different prestigious 17th Annual Connecticut Young Writers districts, including Coventry, Lebanon, Norwich, Trust Awards competition. Plainfield, Stafford Springs, Windham, Tolland, – Students from ACT’s Audio/Video Production Region 8, Region 11 and Region 19. program won Third Place — and had 2 entries in the Top-10 — in the statewide Department of Motor g Quinebaug Middle College (QMC) Vehicles Teen Safe Driving Video Contest. The annual • QMC Enrollment contest drew 137 video entries from nearly 550 QMC enrollment continues to increase, with a current high school students across enrollment of 121 students in Connecticut. ACT students How well did we do it? 2013-14 and a waiting list of conceptualized, created, 55 students. This year, QMC The quality of 25 ACT students’ directed and edited the welcomed 22 students as work in creative writing, poetry videos, which will be used freshmen as part of a pilot (QMC to promote driving safety and videography won recognition had previously enrolled students among teens statewide. Dan only in grades 10-12). In 2014in both statewide and national Boisvert, ACT’s Audio/Video 15, freshmen will become a contests. Program teacher, is the only permanent part of the QMC community. teacher in the state to have supervised a Top 10 DMV video-contest entry for 6 years in a row. • Opportunities & Collaboration – ACT seniors continue to be accepted into competitive QMC and QVCC established new avenues for enhanced colleges, including Emerson, DePaul, Temple, collaboration that will benefit students and staff of each Hampshire College and the UCONN. school. – A joint agreement to become a Connecticut • ACT Year-End Highlights: Green Leaf School will promote environmentally – Last October, 7 more students were inducted into responsible practices and real-world learning ACT’s chapter of the National Honor Society in its experiences. “What I have enjoyed most about my time at ACT are the performances. These are times I will remember as when I could show the community my talents and what I love to do. I have also enjoyed the fun activities we’ve done as a school community; like “Greek Day,” “Spirit Week,” “Pay to Play,” etc. ACT is so warm and welcoming and accepts everyone’s personalities. You can be who you want to be at ACT and teachers and other students don’t judge you at all because they accept you for who you are.” – K., ACT Senior “I have used the MAPS and PATHS process for students in the past. [Your staff member] in the Young Adult Program does an outstanding job as a facilitator.” – Bryan Klimkiewicz, Assistant Superintendent, Plainfield Public Schools 42
K-12 STUDENT SERVICES
– Through the resources provided by the Magnet Treatment site in Plainfield. Sites now include the Schools Assistance Program grant that QMC won Educational Vocational Center (EVC), Northeast Regional this year, staff are collaborating to develop new Program (NRP), and the new Southeast Regional Program courses and curricula and to (SRP). These highly successful What difference did it make? purchase new equipment to programs merge best practices support learning in Science in academic, vocational and “We truly cannot imagine where we Technology Engineering clinical programming to meet would be if our son was not part of and Math (STEM) and the needs of students in grades this wonderful program, our family humanities content areas. K -12 with social, emotional and life has improved greatly and, for All staff will benefit from behavioral issues. EVC, NRP and that, we are extremely grateful.” professional learning SRP provide integrated, handsopportunities that will on educational and behavioral –Parent of NRP student support teaching, learning treatment programs. and the culture of the • Full Enrollment: Reached full capacity, serving 90 learning community. students from 26 different local communities. – A new Technology Academy is in development by • District Partnership: Expanded capacity with the QVCC and QMC administrations. The Academy will addition of SRP through a collaboration with Plainfield allow qualified students to pursue a course of study Public Schools. Opened in August 2013, SRP was at over 5 years, culminating in the achievement of both full capacity (21 students) in grades K-8 before the end a QMC high school diploma and a QVCC Associates of first quarter. This program enabled students who live Degree in a STEM-based focus area. in and around Plainfield to be educated closer to home, increasing opportunities for participation in community SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS & activities and events. We were able to move several SERVICES students from other CDT programs closer to their homes, through placement at SRP. • Improving Behavioral Supports: Collaborated with EASTCONN’s Psychological and Behavioral Consultation Services in the integration of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) at all 3 sites. Enhanced behavioral support in our programs and improved the success rate of our interventions and assessment techniques. Created a School-Wide Information System, allowing more sophisticated data analysis. PBIS implementation has resulted in 50% fewer restraints or seclusions over the previous year. • Expansion of Extended Programming: Continued provision of Extended School Year services. This year, the program will be based in Putnam at NRP. Increased family collaboration and connections through 12 evening opportunities that included family nights and parent support groups.
At capacity with 21 K-8 students, the opening of SRP in Plainfield enabled students to attend school closer to home. g Clinical Day Treatment (CDT) Programs Expanded our capacity and opened a 3rd Clinical Day
“We have seen tremendous progress in our son, his overall demeanor has improved, also his ability to cope with situations in a much quicker manner, he is also following directions with much more frequency. We truly cannot imagine where we would be if our son was not part of this wonderful program; our family life has improved greatly and for that we are extremely grateful. The support we have received from the EASTCONN program is second to none and we could not be happier that our son has found a home there! Things can often go unsaid and we felt putting our feelings about the program into words is important for other parents who feel there is no hope and for all the staff at the school to truly understand how appreciated they are!” – Parents of a Student at Northeast Regional Program “We are so grateful for the Young Adult Program. We have been very impressed with the education and skills that our son/ grandson has learned over the years. It is with great joy and sadness that this is his last year but we feel he is ready for the next step in his adult life. Thank you for all that you have done!” – YAP Parent/Grandparent, shared at a recent PPT 43
K-12 STUDENT SERVICES • Student Outcomes: 7 seniors are on track to graduate in June 2014 and 1 student graduated in January 2014; 20% of our students will return to less restrictive settings.
low-incidence students’ educational needs. Out of 6 students, 4 are in our outplacement program at Commerce Drive; and 2 students are currently back in their public school setting.
• Promoting Positive Culture & Relationships: Our CDT programs had 2 open houses at each site this g Psychological/Behavioral Consultation Services year, 6 in total, reporting the best attendance ever, • Expanding Capacity: EASTCONN’s Psychological/ ranging from 60% at EVC to 90% at SRP. The open Behavioral Consultation Services have supported our houses increased family involvement and parent districts in identifying and implementing evidencecommunication. In addition, based and prevention-oriented 3 parent support groups practices and systems through How much did we do? met. Each had communityprofessional development and Related Services Group supported based organizations on hand ongoing dynamic consultation. 466 students, preschool to age 21, to connect families with Our approach is data-driven, through direct therapy, co-teaching, community-based services context-relevant and grounded classroom-based therapy and and supports. One of the in the problem-solving model 3 support groups has had of behavioral consultation. To professional collaboration. 10 parents in attendance, meet the increased demand for representing a 50% increase our services, we have increased over last year. CDT also offered Family Nights and our capacity to provide psychological/behavioral community outreach opportunities. consultation services to districts via the expansions below: • Expanding Capacity: Due to the CDT expansion,
• Services: 21districts accessed consultative services and professional development, up from 14 in 2013-14. Services included: – Assessment and evaluation services in 13 districts. – Development of multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) with data teams in 4 districts. – Delivery of 30+ formal professional development sessions in 10 districts for audiences of 15 to 100 per session, including paraprofessionals, special education teachers, school psychologists, other school-based mental health providers and administrators. – Development of in-district supports for students with autism spectrum disorders in 6 districts.
we have hired 20 new staff members; we continue to enhance staff training and orientations to improve services to our students.
g Autism Program & Services Provided 6 students from 6 districts with comprehensive educational and behavioral services, using staff from multiple disciplines in a model that follows best practices grounded in applied behavioral analysis. Inclusion remained the ultimate goal and drove the philosophy, staffing and instructional programming for our students. • Consultation and Training: In-district programming enabled students to be educated in their home schools and provided parents the opportunity for continued participation in their school community. – Provided consultation and training services to 2 school districts to develop in-district programming for children with autism spectrum disorders and related developmental disabilities. – Assisted 1 district with the transition of a student back into the hometown school, providing in-home support; staff recommended programming and helped the school system prepare the classroom. • Outplacement Program: Continued to provide a wraparound, comprehensive, multidisciplinary model grounded in best practices of applied behavior analysis, with a full complement of related services, to address
Assistance with counting reinforces Autism Program students’ verbal and math skills, as well as their social connectivity.
“Both of the EASTCONN employees with whom we contracted for psychological services in Hampton have been highly professional and excellent contributors to our school culture, serving regular education and special education students effectively. Soon after we contacted EASTCONN to explain our unexpected gap in psychological services, we had worked out a successful solution to meet our needs. It has exceeded our expectations.” – Paul Graseck, Superintendent, Hampton School District 44
K-12 STUDENT SERVICES • Supporting District Staff: 3 districts purchased new or enhanced contract services, allowing the districts to expand their continuum of student services without having to hire additional staff; 1 district used EASTCONN Related Services to provide coverage for staff that was on leave. • RSG Center: EASTCONN has a growing library of assessment materials for use in all related services. The opening of the Related Services Group Center, located in the EASTCONN Commerce Drive facility in Columbia, has provided a central location for housing testing materials, computerized scoring assistance and a resource library of tools used in therapy. The library allows therapists to experiment with various therapy tools to determine their appropriateness for students in our programs and districts, and to borrow new items for therapy sessions.
Tablets have proven to be an invaluable Assistive Technology tool for many of the region’s youngsters, who, with help, are able to improve their communication skills and academics.
g Assistive Technology (AT) • Services and Staff Expansion: 26 districts received assessment services from our AT team, which provided 14 districts with individualized training and consultation. Ten (10) districts and 3 EASTCONN programs elected to purchase an AT Consortium package. Two (2) more AT specialists were awarded the national Assistive Technology Professional (ATP) credential. Currently, 4 of 5 AT team members have this prestigious credential. There are only 40 ATP’s in Connecticut.
– Supervision of a school psychologist gaining practicum hours as a BCBA in 1 district. – Provision of a certified school psychologist in 3 districts that do not employ a district-based school psychologist. – Delivery of on-going training and consultation in Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) to 2 districts. – Dissemination of evidence-based research, via 8 staff presentations and papers, at the annual National Association of School Psychologists Conference in Washington, D.C.; and 5 peer-reviewed journal articles that were co-authored by staff and published in 2013. – Provision of services to 4 EASTCONN-administered schools and programs, with a variety of significant improvements to programming and supports.
• Vendor Partnerships: As a result of partnerships with a variety of vendors, students have access to Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices for assessment and trial. Three (3) EASTCONN speech-language pathologists have become the first certified trainers for TouchChat in Connecticut and 2 are among the 3 certified trainers for Proloquo2Go apps in the state. EASTCONN hosted a vendorsponsored training and provided an open house; this new equipment is now part of our AT Lending Library inventory.
g Related Services Group (RSG) RSG supported a total of 466 students, from preschool to age 21, through direct therapy, classroom-based therapy, co-teaching and professional collaboration, across a wide range of settings. RSG includes physical therapists, occupational therapists, an audiologist and speechlanguage pathologists.
• Professional Development: EASTCONN’s AT team has provided a variety of professional development workshops to districts, including a total of 56 trainings that reached 267 participants, 93 of whom were educators. Fifty (50) educational professionals attended 3 region-wide AT sessions. Among the topics most in demand was utilizing the iPad in academics and for communication.
• Direct Therapy to Students: Of 466 students served (and their educational teams), 157 students received support in occupational therapy, 174 received support in physical therapy and 135 received support from speechlanguage pathologists.
“EASTCONN has been a wealth of support for small districts in the eastern part of the state. They have provided support in areas including: BCBA, Assistive Technology, Specialized substitutes, OT, PT and subject specific consortiums, items that a small district could not afford to provide on its own. EASTCONN responds quickly to the needs of a district and will work with individuals to provide the necessary support.” – Rachel D. Leclerc, Ed.D., Director of Special Education and Support Services, Mansfield Public Schools 45
K-12 STUDENT SERVICES g Young Adult Program (YAP) The Young Adult Program continues to provide progressive transition services and programming for 6 young adults with a broad range of disabilities, through meaningful vocational experiences and the development of independent living skills. Strong partnerships have been developed with families, adult service providers, the Connecticut Department of Education and Developmental Services (DDS) and the Bureau of Rehabilitation Services (BRS), which help provide successful transition-toadulthood supports for each participant in their postpublic-school education. Plans to move YAP to the campus of Quinebaug Valley Community College will allow these young adults to have opportunities to interact with age-appropriate peers.
Education personnel and Woodstock Academy educators work together with individual students and families to facilitate student growth in identified educational areas and transition planning. • Benefits: Students at the Woodstock Academy Cooperative Program receive individualized support in targeted educational areas. Transition planning and services are an ongoing part of each student’s prescribed program. Communication with parents is ongoing. • Student Successes: 2 students who took Piano I participated in a music concert and 2 students who took Art 1 received awards for their work. Also had 1 student sing the National Anthem at the Unified Basketball Opening Ceremony.
• Provided Person-Centered Transitional Assessments, along with strong family and community involvement. These help guide student transition plans, which leads to successful post-school outcomes.
• Students presented self-determination PowerPoint portfolios at their PPTs that demonstrated increased self-determination skills, which can be transferred to employment and life.
• Students had access to work–based learning internships; IEP data demonstrated growth in employability skills.
• In partnership with the Northeast Council of Governments’ (NECOG) Transit District Travel Training, students purchased Americans with Disability Act (ADA) cards and were responsible for their own transit tickets. This increased their independence and allowed them to use public transit for jobs and other post-school travel needs.
A volunteer in a bee suit shares hands-on info with an Interdistrict Grant student about insects’ vital role in the food chain.
g Woodstock Academy Cooperative (WAC) The Woodstock Cooperative Program is a collaborative program between Woodstock Academy and EASTCONN. This program provides services for 6 high-schoolage students from 3 different districts in the region with intellectual disabilities and other significant developmental disabilities. EASTCONN Special
g Interdistrict Grants Our approach to the 25 Interdistrict Grants funded in 2013-2014 was again recognized as an exemplary model of effective integration of multi-cultural education and core disciplinary studies. The grants benefitted 5,000+ students, grades 2-12, and 105 educators from 33 different
AFTER-SCHOOL/VACATION/ENRICHMENT PROGRAMS
“My daughter has been attending the CTAA summer program for the last 3 years and will continue again this summer. The program has given her many experiences relating to the arts, and has led her to an interest in attending the Arts at the Capitol Theater Magnet High School upon completion of middle school. I highly recommend this summer program to anyone who has children with a passion for the arts.” – Amy L., CTAA Parent “I have always liked that the program lets the kids try their skills in all areas of theater. It doesn’t matter what their age or gender is — they get a chance to work on the sets and props as well as act, dance and sing. My son was one of the younger children in the group and he was given the same opportunities to work on things as the older kids. I have also liked that the children are taught about theater etiquette. They know how to behave on stage, backstage as well as when they attend performances at other locations. Finally, my children have always had fun while at CTAA. Knowing that I can bring my son to the program and he will learn and enjoy the experience makes it all worthwhile.” – CTAA Parent 46
K-12 STUDENT SERVICES districts by bringing them together in exciting learning explorations, in collaboration with university and college faculty, and guest experts reflecting all core discipline studies; 90% of students increased their understanding of bullying, acceptance and respect of others, and showed an appreciation of diverse peoples. In the area of content knowledge, 80% of students overall showed an increase in content knowledge specific to the academic area of the grants in which they were involved. Among the highlights this year:
– CTAA had 2 public dance performances, 2 public musical theater performances and 1 music-lessonsstudents recital. Nearly 1,200 members of the public had attended 9 performances as of March. – The Summer Musical Theater Program enrolled 34 children who participated in last summer’s production of Curtains. Every student participated in an education component, creating production-related projects for public display. The educational aspect helped bridge the learning gap from June to September to prevent academic regression. • The 4th R: Robotics: Inquiry-based STEM learning – CTAA’s Summer Musical Theater Program students strategies were used to teach 125+ students in grades performed in Willimantic’s Third 4-8 from Coventry, East Hartford, Thursday Street Festival; students also Stafford, Vernon and Voluntown about How much did we do? performed at the Windham Senior and the world of robotics, automation and Interdistrict Grants have Regency Rehabilitation centers. teamwork. Organized in engineering – Co-located at the Capitol Theater benefited 5,000+ students, teams, students partnered to solve in downtown Willimantic, ACT and in grades 2-12, and design challenges. They learned how CTAA frequently collaborate. Of the engineering design process can 105 educators from 33 note: 5 CTAA students applied to and/ aid in solving complex challenges. different school districts. or enrolled in ACT; 11 ACT students Students used LEGO WeDo, worked in paid or volunteer positions Mindstorm or NXT platforms to learn for CTAA, becoming role models for robot programming. CTAA students and enhancing their own learning • Farming the Land and Sea: 250+ students from and motivation. ACT students, who were non-paid, Andover, Hartford, Plainfield and Windham completed fulfilled their ACT-required volunteer hours; many a journey of exploration looking for the answer to the ACT students have returned to work with CTAA question, Why do Connecticut farmers and fishermen again. grow and harvest the products they do? Students learned about Connecticut’s’ agriculture and aquaculture, along OTHER STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES with healthy eating. They examined adaptations that allow certain plants and animals to thrive in the state’s g Food Services environments and how this affects present and future With a new, state-of-the-art kitchen located on the generations. campus of Quinebaug Middle School/Quinebaug Valley Community College (QMC/QVCC), Food Services has entered a exciting period of growth. Highlights in 20132014 include:
g After-School Enrichment Programs: • Community Arts Connection: 65 students from Windham Heights, a U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) subsidized housing complex in Willimantic, engaged in after-school programming that combined academic enrichment with the arts. Daily homework assistance was provided and the program offered monthly family events promoting family literacy tied to monthly arts-integrated academic themes. • Capitol Theater Arts Academy (CTAA): Participation in CTAA, EASTCONN’s regional, after-school, community arts outreach program, has grown by 25 students (40%) since spring of 2011; participation in classes increased by 40%, with more children taking multiple classes. There have been 389 enrollments in 63 classes and private lessons since July 2013.
• Offered the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program to 180 students in each of EASTCONN’s schools and programs daily. Food Services goes beyond state and federal guidelines for nutritional standards by serving fresh fruits and vegetables and organic foods, prepared in its new kitchen.
• Participated in the After-School Snack Program at Windham Heights, in collaboration with EASTCONN’s after-school program, serving 65 children per day.
• Operated the “Food For Thought” Café at QVCC, serving QVCC and QMC students, staff and community members.
“This [Faces of Culture Interdistrict] grant is an incredible experience for students to be able to explore many different career fields in the world of art. Many of our students have never been to a museum and have [never had] the opportunity to work with a docent. Their portfolios have grown immensely this year thanks to the grant.” – High School Art Teacher 47
K-12 STUDENT SERVICES g Safety and Investigative Services EASTCONN security, residency and truancy personnel provided important services throughout the northeastern region in 2013-14. Our Coordinator of Security and Investigation supervised 9 security guards at 5 locations, including the ACT School, EASTCONN’s Windham Mills and Connecticut Mills, Plainfield Adult Education, and RHAM High School; also provided truancy, residency and investigative services to 11 districts; and oversaw a full-time truancy and residency officer in Windham Public Schools. Highlights for 2013-14 included:
g Autism Program & Services Support for the Autism Program continues to be strong; however, our low student census continues to be a challenge. g ACT & QMC • There was no increase in state support of magnet schools outside the Hartford/Sheff region, leaving local districts to pick up the increased cost of operations.
• Transportation continues to be a challenge for our magnet schools. Because transportation is not required of districts, some students were unable to attend our magnet schools.
g EVC, NRP & SRP Given the needs of our students for mental health and psychiatric services, providing adequate clinical programming is essential, and finding qualified, highquality staff has been challenging. We continue to seek additional community-based mental health services to supplement our in-house clinical supports. g Technology and Training Demands • With all the changes in technology, including districts’ new adoptions of different technologies - some have iPads and others Chromebooks - it is an everincreasing struggle to keep up with the developments in technology.
Regional “Supers & Troopers” forums bring superintendents and police together to discuss laws that affect student safety.
• Investigated 200+ cases in the 2013-2014 school year.
• Conducted 11 lockdown drills in EASTCONN buildings; facilitated “tabletop exercises” and discussions with administrators to formulate responses and procedures for potential crises.
• Held 6 regional “Supers & Troopers” meetings to bring superintendents and other school personnel together with local state troopers and law enforcement officials to facilitate better communication and discuss pertinent safety topics.
• It has been a challenge to keep the list-serves and Web pages up-to-date with limited IT resources. A redesign of one section of our Web pages is underway, so that we may update it more frequently and easily.
g Related Service Staffing Needs Responding to staffing requests within the agency and from districts that seek part-time or temporary Related Services staff is important. Finding highly qualified staff, who will work on a temporary or part-time basis in shortage fields like OT and SLP, and who also will accept compensation that is cost-effective for the agency and our districts, continued to be a challenge in 2013-2014.
2013-2014 Challenges g CTAA Funding continues to be an issue for student access to CTAA programs. With additional funding, CTAA could offer scholarships to students in the Dance, Theater and Musical Theater programs, and offer tuition-free arts training to the region.
“The first play my daughter was ever involved with was at CTAA. ... She learned about sets, lighting, props and being part of a stage crew. Over the next several years she participated in shows at CTAA as well as in her high school, college, at Tolland Youth Services Community Theater, at Little Theatre of Manchester and last year at Hartford Stage where she was a summer intern. That first show with CTAA inspired her and laid the ground work for her future. She is currently majoring in technical theater in college with the hopes of someday working on a Broadway show.” – CTAA Parent “One of the most valuable aspects of the CTAA productions is the self-confidence the program instills in the kids. My children have learned to speak in front of an audience, to share their ideas and to try new things while in the program. The confidence to do each of these things helps them now in school and prepares them for the future.” – CTAA Parent 48
K-12 STUDENT SERVICES
Plans & Implications for 2014-2015 g Magnet School Assistance Program With resources provided by a new 3-year Magnet Schools Assistance Program grant, QMC students will have access to new learning opportunities that will open avenues for learning connected to their post-secondary plans, especially those in sciences, technology, engineering and math. Integrated, hands-on opportunities to apply learning in all content areas will continue to be enhanced through collaboration with Quinebaug Valley Community College (QVCC) and local businesses. For the 6th year, ACT students ranked in the Top 10 in the DMV’s Teen Safe Driving Video contest. ACT won 3rd place overall, in a contest that pitted them against top Connecticut schools. State DMV Commissioner Melody A. Currey, far right, helped present cash awards during the ceremony.
g Autism Program & Services One of the implications for this year and beyond is the challenge of maintaining a small program. Students with autism and significant developmental disabilities have the lowest incidence of the populations that we serve through EASTCONN with our other programs. Although it has been high profile in the media, children with autism spectrum disorders still represent less than 1% of our school-age student population. Only a fraction of this population is being served in our outplacement facilities.
classrooms to have at each grade level. We also hope to add a consulting psychiatrist to meet the mental health needs of our student population.
g Assistive Technology (AT) & Related Services g Young Adult Program With Connecticut school districts’ continuing to face A planned expansion will meet the needs of students economic hardships, the range of Assistive Technology in northeastern Connecticut, ages 18-21, with a broad Consortium Packages is being increased to provide range of disabilities, who would districts with a package that best benefit from transition services in balances their student needs with What difference did it make? the community on a college campus financial considerations. A new Our security officer held with age-appropriate peers. In the offering of training activities designed dozens of “tabletop” and 2014-15 school year, there are plans to be brought to the districts is being lockdown exercises across to establish a partnership with and developed to help meet the needs of an added location at QVCC; and to agency schools and sites, special education and related service expand community partnerships; and staff in our region. helping ensure the safety to bolster assistive technology skills • Working with IT, we will seek of students and staff. and accommodations for college, solutions for keeping the list-serves and employment and/or other postWeb pages up-to-date. secondary training and education. • Districts will be asked to commit to contracts as soon as possible. g ACT ACT will continue working with districts and • Offering in-district trainings may help support district EASTCONN Transportation Services to provide needs better than region-wide trainings. There is a transportation for all students who wish to choose ACT plan in place to restructure assessment and consortium as their high school. We are also working with Eastern offerings to support greater technology investigation Connecticut State University (ECSU) to allow ACT among AT team members. students’ enrollment in college-level courses at no cost, starting in the fall semester of 2014. g Clinical Day Treatment Programs All 3 of the agency’s Clinical Day Treatment Programs plan to analyze enrollment and determine how many “Heroes and Heroines [Interdistrict Grant] is such a great program. I am so happy that you have made it about the students themselves being heroes and heroines. The learning excursions were directly related to the students’ classroom service learning projects and helped them believe that they can make a difference.” – Teacher, Coventry Public Schools 49
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS Overview Marketing and Communications is responsible for ensuring that current and potential customers, as well as other key stakeholders, have the information they need to access the agency’s employees, programs, products and services. This is accomplished in a number of ways, through the agency’s Web site, www.eastconn.org, and social media channels; through the publication and dissemination of a variety of print and digital collateral materials; and through the management of special events. In addition, Marketing and Communications provides direct services and support to colleagues throughout the agency to ensure that they have the skills and materials they need to communicate effectively about the features and benefits of their programs. Our division also provides the information colleagues need to explain other, related agency services and to make appropriate referrals; and is available to help design and implement communications strategies on a fee-for-service basis.
Goals 1. Member LEAs and other key customers, as appropriate, are knowledgeable about EASTCONN’s capabilities, understand how they benefit from them, and are able to use that information to make decisions about purchasing and/or accessing our programs, products and services. 2. EASTCONN program staff are able to communicate effectively with their customers (both internal and external) about the features and benefits of their own, as well as other EASTCONN programs, products and services, resulting in greater participation in, or utilization of, our offerings. 3. Marketing and Communications staff are assisting member LEAs and others to expand awareness of, and support for, public education.
CABE President Richard Murray (far left) presented EASTCONN Communication staff, as well as EASTCONN’s Executive Director Paula Colen (second from left) and Executive Board Chairman Herb Arico (center) with a number of awards from CABE’s 38th Annual Awards of Excellence for Educational Communications Contest. CABE stands for Connecticut Association of Boards of Education.
2013-2014 Highlights & Accomplishments
design assistance on 10 occasions, as well as Web page design, multi-media presentation support, invitations, meeting and workshop handouts, handbooks and more. Provided, on average, 25 hours a month of copyediting services for materials that include agency ads, brochures, scripts, grant proposals, Web site copy and more.
g Print Collateral • Agency Overview: Produced and distributed a new agency-overview tri-fold brochure that provides a clear snapshot of key agency accomplishments and highlights from each of its divisions; this informative, new vehicle will help our stakeholders better understand the diversity and the impact of the programs and services we provide. Marketing materials were also placed in brochure racks in all agency sites and made available for viewing or download online. Renegotiated our printing contract, which continues to provide a more streamlined postal delivery process and realizes a $2,800 savings on agency newsletter postage.
g Digital Media Initiatives • @eastconn: Distributed 9 @eastconn e-blasts, providing 5,140 subscribers with regular updates that link to upcoming agency events, professional development workshops and other useful links and resources; they were opened, on average, by 19% of recipients. The number of recipients increased substantially from last year, due to a more accurate and efficient process of obtaining e-mail addresses from Conference Office registrants who requested subscriptions.
• Program-Specific Marketing Materials: Assisted program directors and their staff in the design and production of program-specific materials, including 69 new brochures/flyers, 7 course catalogs, 15 print ads, 12 posters/banners and 4 fact sheets. Provided graphic/logo
• eConnections: The quarterly eConnections electronic 50
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS newsletter was distributed to 2,660 subscribers. This electronic publication features key stories from the agency’s quarterly Connections newsletter with hypertext links to EASTCONN contacts and additional online resources, with 20% of recipients opening it on a regular basis. • www.eastconn.org: – Mobile Web Site: Designed and launched new, userfriendly mobile version of our Web site, responding to analytics that showed an increasing number of customers accessing our site through their mobile devices; 18% of our visitors came via mobile devices, up from 11% last year. With help from Marketing staff, the agency’s collaborative – Customer Landing Pages: On our main Web site, health insurance plan, ECHIP, launched its own Web site. created and launched new customer landing pages 68%. The demographic we are reaching is 79% female, that provide simpler search options for incoming Web with almost 75% of our fans between the ages of 25 customers who can self-identify and more quickly and 54, the age band for teachers and parents, our target gain access to relevant programs and services pages. demographic. On average, 58% of our fans view our – Web Graphic Standards: Created agency graphic Facebook page 2 or more times a week, an increase of standards for use by each program’s Web content almost 14%, while almost 30% check it 4 or more times managers, making it easier to create a consistent a week. With the addition of more photographs, our look and function for our visitors as they design and pages have become more viral; for example, between provide content for their department Web pages. February 24 and March 2, 2014, our Facebook Insights – Traffic Report: The extrapolation of monthly reported that our weekly total reach had grown 538%, averages indicates that by June 30, 2014, we will have and the number of people engaged on our Facebook had 151,919 visits to www.eastconn.org with almost page had jumped 385%. 400,000 page views. On average, our visitors spent 2.44 minutes viewing 2.59 pages per visit or 38,850 • Other Social Media Channels: Added YouTube and monthly page views (up from 29,722 last year). Twitter agency accounts as we plan an expansion of our – Web Pages Support to Programs: social media initiatives. » Worked with program directors and staff to produce new content and designs for individual division g Traditional Media Initiatives Web pages, as well an updates/ • Charter Cable & “Education enhancements to existing pages. Matters”: Increased public awareness How much did we do? » Collaborated with the Eastern of our programs and services, especially Connecticut Health Insurance In support of agency goals, within the greater Charter Cable TV Program (ECHIP) administrator designed & produced 69 region (30,000 households across to plan, write and produce northeastern Connecticut) through brochures/flyers, as well targeted content for a new our continued media initiative on as catalogs, print ads & ECHIP site, now housed and the “Education Matters” TV show posters; wrote, distributed managed separately by ECHIP that enables us to showcase agency staff; a separate “url” (www. 70+ press releases. personnel and their expertise. This echipct.org) was established successful collaboration continued for ECHIP to more clearly to fulfill our department’s goal of differentiate EASTCONN from ECHIP for the performing a public service, while also serving to benefit of potential new ECHIP customers. increase awareness of educational issues and challenges facing our LEAs and communities. g Social Media Initiatives: – In 2013-2014, co-produced 8 shows, 1 more than last • Facebook: Grew the agency Facebook page to 300 fans, year, highlighting education topics of strategic interest up 28% from last year. Through our Facebook fans, we to the region, including: “Teacher Evaluation;” “The are connected to 56,703 of their friends, an increase of New 2014 Online GED;” “Leadership in Schools;” “I really enjoyed the Connections newsletter articles about EASTCONN’s Making Waves: Optics and Acoustics Interdistrict Grant and [the agency’s] AP work. There was a nice balance between numbers and people and both articles highlighted how we help our districts do some great things.” – EASTCONN’s Nancy Celentano, Director of Training for TEAM 51
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS • Early Learning and Development Standards: Worked with the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood on the graphic design, layout and editing of its new, 72page Early Learning and Development Standards (CT ELDS) manual. This collegial collaboration resulted in the creation of a colorful, easy-to-read document, the production of which successfully met the state’s deadline; also facilitated the manual’s final printing. Intended for early-care providers and educators, the manual is being distributed to hundreds of educators in a series of trainings promoting new early-childhood intentional teaching standards, curricula alignment and assessment.
Charter“Education Matters” TV show, reaching 30,000 area homes, featured agency staff and timely education topics.
“Assistive Technology Lending Library’s Success;” “Residency, Truancy and Security – How They Affect Students and Districts.” – Shows are linked to our Web site and individual agency division pages, enhancing the multi-media features offered online. – Of particular note is that the dual-language approach to this show expands our reach into the greater Windham-area Spanish-speaking population, providing them with access to topical educationrelated information of benefit to them and their families.
g CABE Awards For the 7th consecutive year, our communications strategies were recognized by the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education’s (CABE) Annual Awards for Excellence in Communications and featured at their statewide conference in the fall of 2013. Nine (9) of our 10 our submissions won awards in the statewide contest. EASTCONN publications that took first-place honors included the 2013-2014 Programs and Services directory; the 2012-2013 Annual Board Update; and the 20122013 Review and 2013-2014 Preview PowerPoint to the Executive Board.
• Newspaper and Radio Coverage: Distributed 70-plus press releases and/or media invitations to cover agency programs, resulting in newspaper, radio and/or Web coverage (at no direct cost to the agency), estimated to be worth more than $70,000; A total of 10 front-page newspaper stories about agency initiatives and student programs appeared in area media, while 18 agencygenerated stories were also printed in the Hartford Courant’s Sunday “MyTowns” section. Such efforts offer a valuable strategy for expanding and refining the media’s and the public’s understanding of EASTCONN. g Communications Support to Key External Customers • Eastern Connecticut Workforce Investment Board (EWIB): Worked collaboratively with Adult Programs staff to research and write a press release for EWIB about the EASTCONN-managed ECCC Trail Blazers summer workforce, which repaired Storm Sandy damage at Rocky Neck State Park in East Lyme; the press release draft was subsequently used as the basis for a release by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s office. Subsequently produced a fact sheet distributed to statewide press, resulting in a story in The Day.
For a newsletter story, students were interviewed about an Interdistrict Grant music and science program that took them to Carnegie Hall in New York City, where they performed.
“Please know that your work on the CT Core Knowledge and Competency Framework has received great reviews from the field. I have heard that the format and quotes really stand out and making the actually competency section into an appendix will really help people find what they need right away. I look forward to working with you again as we further edit the document and begin creating new CKC documents for other roles.” – Deborah Adams, Ph.D., Education Consultant, Connecticut Office of Early Childhood, Division of Early Care and Education 52
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS quality and impact of the services they access. Collaborate with colleagues in our Technology Solutions group to determine how to best survey the 7,000+ customers in our Customer Contact Database so that we can better customize our communications, according to their interests and requests.
A successful collaboration involving graphic design, layout and editing for the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood resulted in the ontime production of the state’s new Early Learning and Development Standards manual. The CT ELDS guidelines are being distributed to hundreds of early childhood educators statewide during trainings to promote the new teaching standards.
g Digital Content Management • Mobile App: As the number of mobile-device users increases (18% this year, up from 11% last year), we will need to explore how to optimize both the design and functionality of the Web site for mobile platforms, including the development of agency mobile application(s). • Intranet Improvements: An agency-wide staff training, in collaboration with the IT Department, has enabled program staff to update their own sections of the Employee Intranet for the first time, facilitating the timely display of up-to-date documents and other useful, program-generated information, such as Human Resources and Finance Department forms. Program staff are more self-sufficient, as they are trained to update their own documents, streamlining the posting process and creating easier access for off-site employees, who often need important forms during both daytime and after hours.
2013-2014 Challenges g EASTCONN Employee Expectations & Capacity We now live in an era where there is a general expectation that information is current and accessible. As a result, our transition from centralized to decentralized communications continues to be important to the agency, so that current information can be made available on a real-time basis whenever possible. Because our employees don’t all have the skills to use digital communications tools well, we must continue to provide skills training and encouragement.
g Strategic Communications Support to Member Districts Continue supporting member districts in low- and no-cost ways, and seek outside funding to help provide strategic communications assistance to districts.
g Competing Demands for Tech Support As our communications strategies and use of data become more sophisticated, we continue to grow increasingly dependent on our agency IT staff for their support. Concurrently, our colleagues in other departments are experiencing similar technology growth and challenges, resulting in our agency IT resources being strained to capacity.
g Communications Support Package Offer package of low/no-cost communications services that our LEA members and others can access to assist them with effective messaging around their key initiatives; have produced an informational brochure describing these services.
Plans & Implications for 2013-2014 g Customer Data Initiatives Continue to collaborate with colleagues on identifying and sourcing better customer data in order to produce useful and informative customer profiles that describe the level,
g New and Expanded Markets Continue identifying potential customers for Marketing and Communications services beyond our member districts, and promote our services to them.
“You folks are amazing … The marketing and communications department is very responsive to meeting our needs across the agency. From last-minute Web site updates to capturing events with digital media, the team helps us get our jobs done well!” – Scott Nierendorf, EASTCONN Director of Teaching & Learning 53
PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT Overview Planning and Development provides various services to internal agency departments and member districts, such as assessing needs and capacity; designing and developing programs, products and services; and identifying and applying to funding sources to expand education and support opportunities for learners of all ages. This agency division reviews and evaluates the impact and outcomes of programs and services, as well. Our work focuses on helping internal and external customers realize their goals by providing opportunities for educational success through a complement of planning, design, development, delivery, and assessment and evaluation strategies.
Goals 1. To collaborate with EASTCONN agency staff in developing and supporting rigorous, research-supported learning programs, services and products that better prepare learners of all ages for a changing academic environment and a technologically infused global economy. 2. To develop seamless relationships with our region’s school districts and expand our partnerships within a broad constituency of community representatives as a means of improving learning opportunities for students of all ages and strengthening our collective ability to identify and attract funding initiatives.
Grant Councils offer districts free grant-writing strategies, resources and presentations by well-respected grant writers. including representatives of the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut, Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA), the Write Source, Ampersand Consulting and the Connecticut Department of Education, all of whom have recognized expertise in grant development, management and evaluation.
2013-2014 Highlights & Accomplishments g Regional Grant Development Council Promoted opportunities for school districts, non-profit organizations and municipal representatives to collaborate with one another to increase their grant submissions and obtain new funding from a variety of private and public sources that might otherwise be beyond the reach of any single district. As many as 16 member districts and community agencies have participated at one or more of the 5 meetings we provided at no cost to our member district and community-based partners.
• As the result, at least 3 new grants were submitted, and one district has created its own grant development team, members of which attend Council sessions.
• The Council has also sponsored a series of guest speakers with recognized expertise in grant development, management, writing and evaluation,
g Teaching Matters Blog Maintained a blog focused on topical educational issues impacting today’s teachers, which serves as another avenue for sharing information about local and timely data, program needs, regional trends and issues and research relating to classroom practices. Discussions are meant to generate and share insights from educators about teaching trends and barriers for which regional solutions can be sought and new models proposed. g Assistive Technology Resource Expansion Obtained a funding contract from the Bureau of Rehabilitation Services to offer assessment, evaluation
“I have been enormously helped by the [Grant] Council. The meetings have been very productive and a great opportunity to network with others. Your knowledge and assistance has helped me better understand the grant process and provided many leads. I hope you keep It up, and I’m looking forward to the next meeting.” – Peter Clavert, Board of Education, Franklin Public Schools 54
PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT and instructional support services to individuals in our Schools Partnership, as well as local community-based region who are over 21 years of age with vision and groups, such as the WindhamARTS Collaborative, hearing impairments. Since EASTCONN is the area’s Thread City Development, Inc., the Windham Chamber only dedicated provider of these services, we are able to of Commerce and others, we are helping to promote more easily provide access to vision/hearing-impaired authentic and enriched learning opportunities for adults who are transitioning to educators and students. What difference did it make? the world of work and are in • Arts Education: Promoted arts need of education, training and The Grants Council helped education in districts throughout support services. school districts, non-profits and the region in collaboration with
municipalities increase their grant find viable, new
g Community Collaboration submissions and • Collaborative Learning funding sources. Opportunities: Continued our collaboration with several community-based organizations that serve the northeastern region in order to expand professional development opportunities for educators and provide authentic, enriched learning opportunities for students. Working with such organizations as the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents (CAPSS), the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, and the Great
WindhamARTS, for example, to identify and bring diverse artists into our district schools and our after-school programming; to instruct and work with students; promote student galleries in available school sites throughout the region; and develop new arts-related programs and services that connect students with public audiences. Together, we are seeking funding that will allow us to expand and extend arts-related instruction and learning opportunities in our districts’ schools.
2013-2014 Challenges g Continued Reductions in Funding The current economic situation continues to challenge our ability to obtain the funding we need for programs and projects that we have developed. Federal, state and private foundation funders are all impacted by today’s economic realities, with more organizations, agencies, service providers and school districts seeking to expand their access to increasingly scarce funding sources. Today’s times warrant innovative and alternative strategies for raising the necessary funds to continue to develop and provide the kinds of programs and services customers expect from us.
Plans & Implications for 2014-2015 g Expanding After-School and Summer Enrichment Opportunities Using our existing after-school program as a model of excellence, we are seeking funding that will allow us to expand this model to underserved communities where students and their families lack opportunities to engage in
An EASTCONN staffer, who is also a professional puppeteer, helps an Interdistrict Grant student build a basic stick puppet, part of an arts education program made possible through competitive grants.
“Your experience writing grants and dealing with data has helped us extensively. You know a great deal about the area, the statistics and needs of the community. Your input has helped us as we evaluated many opportunities. One of the things that has impressed me is that most people don’t think before they respond to a question, an idea or a comment. It is clear that you consider the issue before making comments. Your input is always thoughtful and appropriate. When voices and tempers are raised, you have a calming effect on the group because you are so even tempered. Your breadth of experience also means that you look at issues with a wide perspective and often bring things to the table that none of us would have thought of. Your questions are thought-provoking. It is a clear benefit to have you on the Board of Directors for Thread City.” – Nancy Tinker, Eastern Connecticut State University 55
PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT resources that will expand service options for our districts’ special education teachers, their students and families. Most of these assistive technology tools are too costly for any individual district to obtain, but through our regional approach we will continue to open new avenues for learning for students with disabilities by providing greater access to an ever-expanding breadth of specialized resources. g Supporting the Work of Our Directors Promoting greater futures-thinking among our staff is the theme of a series of roundtables we will be hosting to discuss research and analyze trends impacting teaching and learning in our public schools. From professional learning, including new models of professional development, to classroom practices, changes are impacting our educational landscape, including new teacher and administrator evaluation, Common Core Standards and emerging learning technologies, as well as others that will continue to develop and impact our region’s schools, in addition to our own programs and services. The roundtable series will result in improved knowledge and understanding of how best to maintain EASTCONN’s continued excellence as an educational leader in a highly changeable environment. We anticipate that new models in professional learning and classroom practices will result, which will help us address the educational needs of our region’s students, in light of challenging economic times.
Our Assistive Technology (AT) Lending Library allows special education teachers to try out AT devices before buying them. supplemental learning activities that promote creativity, invention, the arts and rigorous academic content, along with study skills, diversity and student leadership. Also developed a summer and vacation enrichment program that aligns with the Common Core State Standards in the domains of the English language arts and STEMrelated disciplines, with a strong focus on invention and creativity. Foundation funding is being sought to support these new learner opportunities. g Assistive Technology (AT) Expansion New funding sources are being actively sought to purchase AT tools that will enable us to expand services in the area of literacy enrichment.
g Online Collaborative Learning Increase the frequency with which Teaching Matters blog postings occur, promoting a more sustained conversation among educators. Building a more robust online conversation will result in providing teachers with a locally based, collaborative learning community.
• Enrichment: Currently seeking funding sources to support projects that will expand our ability to work with local libraries, for instance, in ensuring that students with learning challenges can enjoy supplemental and enrichment activities throughout the summer and school vacations.
g Tap All Resources Continue to invest in the development of a more seamless process for tapping internal and external resources to meet more aggressive goals, as opportunities arise.
• AT Tools: Continuing to seek funding that will allow us to expand our lending library, bringing new AT
“Having our educational community represented with Thread City Development (TCD) through EASTCONN is an imperative to enhancing the relationship of a strong local economy and access to education in our community. [Your Director of Planning & Development], who has served on the TCD board for several years, has guided us to examine the relationship between education and the value it adds to our downtown. [Her] talent to stimulate thought-provoking discussion and her contributions to our team as both an educator and a champion of Willimantic continue to be an asset.” – Andrew Gutt, President, TCD Board “Thank you for your very helpful contributions, both at our [professional learning] meeting, as well as in the write-up you provided. Your narrative was full of well-worded thoughts that are translating well onto the written page of the narratives. You will see, when we send our completed copies of our proposals! It was also fun to more informally brainstorm with you. While my head is holding quite a bit right now, I am emerging with a much more holistic and exciting understanding of how systems of professional learning can be transformed.” – Lisa Kaston, ACES Program Development 56
TEACHING & LEARNING Overview Our vision is to successfully provide integrated professional learning for educators, so that a culture of professional learning becomes embedded in district culture and is not limited to an event that happens periodically each year. We have created opportunities for administrators and teachers to participate in regional professional learning communities and have expanded our capacity to provide training and coaching to districts that are engaged in data-driven school-improvement efforts and educator evaluation. Working collaboratively with Technology Solutions and the new Director of Technology, we seek to expand our delivery options for professional learning, and extend opportunities for educators in our region that go beyond the school day/year through more online resources and virtual collaboration.
Goals
• Standards-Based Report Card Development Committee: 14 participants from 8 districts collaboratively developed a standards-based report card, incorporating best practices for grading, as part of the new Common Core State Standards initiative. • Student-Centered Approaches to Learning: Collaborated with the Great Schools Partnership, the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents (CAPSS) and another RESC on a proposal submitted to the Nellie Mae Education Foundation to serve as Connecticut’s intermediary for state efforts to build public understanding, support and demand for student-centered approaches to learning. This 3-year initiative will provide coordinated support to districts implementing student-centered learning in secondary schools.
1. To improve and enhance teacher knowledge, skills and pedagogy through the delivery of quality programs, products and services that positively impact students as they work to become college and career ready. 2. To improve and enhance the knowledge and skills of school leaders through the delivery of quality programs, products and services that enable school leaders to create positive school climates and a culture for professional learning.
2013-2014 Highlights & Accomplishments g Leadership Development Supported our region’s administrators as they continued to implement and plan many new education initiatives: • Data Camp: 42 participants from 10 districts, including administrators, curriculum leaders and teachers, participated in a 3-day series of professional learning activities, which improved their ability to use data for district-level planning and instructional design. Based on repeated requests for this type of support, plans are underway to offer the model again in the summer of 2014. • Principal Learning Communities: Provided a variety of professional learning support to principals in the region including: – 8 elementary principals participated in our facilitated network, which provided a venue for collaborative curriculum development, professional development and problem-solving. – 9 middle/high school principals participated in a professional learning community focused on the multiple roles and expectations of middle and high school principals in today’s world, including evolving leadership practices aligned to the Common Core of Leading.
Small, effective learning communities focused on developing critical leadership skills drew many of the region’s educators.
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g Educator Evaluation • Educator Evaluation Plan Revisions: Facilitated sessions that enabled 48 administrator participants from 17 of our districts to review and revise their district evaluation plans in alignment with the Connecticut Core Requirements for Educator Evaluation and Professional Development. Detailed technical assistance was provided to school and district leaders to address their questions about content, format and timelines
TEACHING & LEARNING SERVICES implementation of the CCS (a new designation for the Common Core State Standards, previously referred to as CCSS). • Supporting Standards: Had 113 attendees from 12 of our districts attend 10 work sessions focused on those supporting standards, which are considered essential for preparing students for college and careers (i.e. speaking and listening /language). A second focus was on Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects for grades 6-12, since all content areas make a critical contribution to helping our students meet the CCS.
for submission. Specific topics focused on evaluation components for administrators, teachers and student support specialists. • Administrator Evaluation: Delivered in partnership with the Connecticut Association of Schools (CAS) and the CSDE, 19 EASTCONN districts participated in training designed to build skills in conducting administrator evaluations, with a concentration on causal factors impacting student achievement.
• Superintendent Overviews: Provided 2 CCS implementation information sessions for northeasternregion superintendents through URSA/NASA. Sessions included recommended strategies for monitoring the process and opportunities for further collaboration. Positive responses from district leaders have led to additional sessions. g Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA) • SBA Overview: Developed an overview of the SBA, titled “Preparing for Online Assessments,” in collaboration with the RESC Alliance and CSDE. As a result, educators were able to obtain tools and resources to support planning and administration of SBA.
More than 60 EASTCONN, LEARN and CREC-region educators attended the CSDE’s Launch of Common Core State Standards Systems of Professional Learning at UCONN.
• Higher Education Connections: Provided an overview of the Core Requirements How much did we do? for Connecticut Educator 113 attendees from 12 districts • SBA Interface: Designed and Evaluation and introduced delivered customized workshops the state System for Educator attended 10 EASTCONN work to orient more than 250 teachers Evaluation and Development sessions that helped them from 4 districts to the SBA interface (SEED) model to 12 participants implement Common Core and tools for students. Workshops from 6 colleges/universities, Standards. were offered in districts and at our focusing on the connection conference center. between teacher preparation and evaluation. • Digital Library: A 4-session series is being offered this spring to assist a projected 60 teachers from 25 districts with their creation and use of formative assessment practices to improve daily instruction.
• Data Management System Support: Hosted information sessions, provided technical assistance and facilitated communication between EASTCONN district leaders and vendors of educator evaluation support systems (i.e. BloomBoard, My Learning Plan). Participants included administrators, lead teachers and technology coordinators, with more than 50 attending the 5 sessions this year.
g Other Professional Learning Initiatives • Student Success Planning (SSP): 8 districts participated in regional training combined with embedded technical assistance that focused on strategies for furthering goal-setting and career and college exploration. Naviance, the Web-based planning and organization software that many districts are using to support their SSP initiatives, was included in the training.
g Connecticut Core Standards (CCS) Provided a variety of professional learning supports to educators in our region as part of the ongoing
“[EASTCONN] … provided us an advanced working knowledge of how standards like the Professional Learning Standards impact and support the movement forward in our educational arena. Specifically, [EASTCONN] … worked with us on providing clarity regarding our movement forward with our evaluation process and the collective work we are doing with our staff members. [Your staff’s] … openness makes us feel comfortable … and we always feel that new learning has taken place and it is do-able after we work with [EASTCONN] …!” – Vonda Tencza, Director of Curriculum and Technology, and Jeff Newton, Superintendent, Hebron Public Schools 58
TEACHING & LEARNING SERVICES initiatives as Common Core instruction, performance task development, differentiated instruction and more.
• Teacher Education and Mentoring (TEAM) Program: Provided workshops and facilitated meetings for teachers, mentors and reviewers in the northeastern Connecticut region: – 3 new mentor workshops for 58 teachers. – 3 mentor update workshops for 103 participants. – 1 workshop for 31 initial reviewers. – 3 reviewer update workshops for 28 reviewers. – 1 district facilitator meeting for 28 participants. – Ongoing support for teachers and administrators using the TEAM Web site. • Personalized Learning: Facilitated a series of 5 “think tank” sessions with school leaders from 14 districts on developing systems for personalized learning in secondary schools. – Presenters included a Connecticut League of Innovative Schools participant from our region, as well as CAPSS, which is leading a statewide effort to support and promote competency-based learning – The series will culminate with a regional Personalized Learning Forum with keynote presenter, Nicholas Donohue, President and CEO of the Nellie Mae Education Foundation.
With help from EASTCONN staff, district teams reviewed and revised their Educator Evaluation Plans to ensure that they align with Connecticut Core Requirements. g Other District Initiatives • Renaissance Learning/STAR Assessments: Negotiated a statewide licensing agreement with Renaissance Learning to make the STAR Early Literacy, STAR Reading and STAR Math online assessments available to districts at a discounted price. Smaller districts were able to participate in an EASTCONN-led Consortium to access these discounts. A total of 9 districts benefitted from our agreement.
• Data Team Support and Training: – Provided coaching to 6 districts to build their capacity to lead high-functioning data teams that result in more effective instruction and improved student outcomes.
• NWEA MAP Assessments: Collaborated with the RESC Alliance on a statewide licensing agreement with the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) to provide discounts for districts that access the Measure Academic Progress (MAP) assessments. These assessments are computer-adaptive and similar in design to the new SBA state assessment. A total of 7 EASTCONN member districts participated.
A series of EASTCONN workshops helped 17 school districts review, revise and align their teacher evaluation plans.
• Assessment Audits: Provided comprehensive assessment audits for 3 of our member districts.
– In collaboration with the State Education Resource Center, provided embedded coaching and training to 16 schools in 10 districts in our region that are involved in the State Professional Development Grant (SPDG).
• Strategic Planning: Facilitated the development of strategic plans for 2 districts, producing data-driven action plans with clearly defined outcomes, strategies and accountability measures to ensure successful implementation.
• Embedded Support and Training: Provided 375 days of embedded coaching and support in 29 districts to assist them with the development and implementation of customized, local plans for such educational reform
g Regional Councils Continued to host and facilitate regional councils across a wide variety of content areas, all designed to provide
“I am very aware of how supported Thompson teachers have felt as they have participated in the Common Core Consortium over the last 2 years and now with CT Core Coaches Professional Learning. LA and Math Consortiums are well attended by Thompson teachers with great ideas coming back home. The support for NEAYC, NEASC and SSP has been solid and very appreciated. From TEAM to Teacher Evaluation, EASTCONN is always ready to help answer questions, provide resources and multiple learning opportunities. Keep up the great work!” – Megan Baker, Director of Curriculum, Thompson Public Schools 59
TEACHING & LEARNING SERVICES support to both internal staff, as well as external customers, including the CSDE, in the planning and managing of 1,525 events, workshops and meetings; services included registration and confirmations, catering, Audio/Visual equipment and reporting.
member districts with opportunities to access and share resources, information and professional development. Among those managed by Teaching and Learning are:
• Regional Staff Development Council: 32 educators from nearly all member districts participated regularly; provided current CSDE information and offered a forum for regional collaboration around professional 2013-2014 Challenges development opportunities and shared resources. This year, we enhanced communication through an online g Response to Multiple State Initiatives learning platform (Schoology), which enables members Supporting our member districts with coordinated and to retrieve key information and presentations, as well as systematic responses to exchange questions between How well did we do it? a multitude of new and meetings. “From TEAM to Teacher Evaluation, demanding federal and state • Language Arts Council: 52+ legislative requirements EASTCONN is always ready to help educators from 19 districts answer questions, provide resources continues to be a major participated in this council, challenge. The overlap which provides our districts and multiple learning opportunities. among educator evaluation, with information, resources Keep up the great work!” Connecticut Core Standards and professional development and new high-stakes for implementing CCS in assessments requires that English language arts. we respond in efficient and effective ways across a wide • Math Council: 25 educators from 17 districts array of complex topics, such as teacher and administrator participated, receiving up-to-date information, resources evaluation, student success plans, school climate plans, and professional development for implementing CCS in technology plans, CCS, next generation of assessment and mathematics. school improvement. This wide-ranging support requires that we increase our capacity in a broad range of content • Science Council: 40 educators from 26 districts areas. participated, gaining the latest information and resources for improving science curricula, assessment g Professional Development Constraints in and instruction; participants also obtained the latest Districts information about the next generation of science The challenges of releasing teachers to attend workshops, standards. along with financial constraints and limited available grant funding, make it difficult for educators to attend regional workshops or to access embedded coaching, training and technical assistance. At the same time, we continue to promote the goal of providing the planned, ongoing and systematic professional development that is needed to improve students’ learning outcomes. g Staff Transitions Maintaining a highly qualified professional development staff with the prerequisite knowledge, skill and experience that allows EASTCONN to provide cost-effective services to our member districts is an ongoing challenge. This was complicated by the departure of some valued veteran staff, included the long-time Director of Teaching and Learning. Fortunately, we were able to hire highly qualified staff to replace them. At the same time, however, these transitions required adjustments across the division.
Conference Office staff managed 1,525 events, workshops and meetings this year, many of which were held in Hampton. g Conference Office Services EASTCONN’s Conference Office provided logistical
“I have enjoyed connecting with you and your EASTCONN staff. You responded quickly and effectively to our need for evaluator training. The RSDC meetings have been helpful in addressing common issues like SBAC and the teacher evaluation plan. Hosting the BloomBoard focus group this past week was a great way to develop a better working relationship with the software developers. We are looking forward to attending the workshops to assist in refining our teacher evaluation process.’ – Todd Cunha, Talent Development Director, Windham Public Schools 60
TEACHING & LEARNING SERVICES
Plans & Implications for 2014-2015 g Educator Evaluation Ongoing collaboration with CSDE, the RESC Alliance and other strategic partners to support our districts in the development and implementation of teacher and administrator evaluation plans, remains a priority. Designing and delivering corresponding professional development to support this implementation will demand significant investment of time and resources. g Alternative Delivery of Professional Learning We seek to address multiple needs through the creative design of learning opportunities that go beyond the traditional workshop model. Effective professional learning will incorporate blended approaches that integrate the online delivery of content, sustained virtual communication and attention given to nationally recognized standards for professional learning. To prepare students for 21st century work, our educators must actively participate in dynamic and interactive environments now.
EASTCONN Councils provide our district educators with topic-specific professional learning, information on the latest CSDE developments and contact with prominent guest speakers. One recent Regional Staff Development Council featured insights from, l-r, CSDE Chief Academic Officer Dr. Dianna Roberge-Wentzell and CSDE Chief Talent Officer Dr. Sarah Barzee, who joined EASTCONN Director of Teaching & Learning Scott Nierendorf to discuss teacher evaluation with our region’s administrators and educators who met in Hampton. g Leadership Development Through the Center for Educational Leadership, we will look to expand and differentiate the range of supports available to principals, superintendents, program directors and teacher leaders. Sustained and project-based cohorts will lead to larger professional networks of educators across the state and increase specific skill acquisition. g Regional Initiatives - National Solutions Maximize the use of research-based and tested materials and protocols through expanded strategic partnerships with national organizations, such as Learning Forward and the Center for Great Teachers and Leaders. A primary theme will be establishing clear connections among educator evaluation, CCS and professional learning.
One of numerous Assessment Literacy Workshops held throughout the year at EASTCONN, this workshop covered Smarter Balanced Assessments in Math and ELA/Literacy, and was facilitated by EASTCONN education specialists.
“[Your EASTCONN staff member has] been a transformational agent focusing on our two high leverage initiatives of co-teaching and program improvement related to our Special Education Department. Her efforts have paid major dividend in moving our school forward. Teachers are clamoring for more time with her and can’t wait until the next time she is in our building. I am very grateful for all of her efforts and look forward to working more with her in the future.” – Mike Susi, Principal, East Lyme High School 61
TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS Overview Technology Solutions provides member districts with a comprehensive array of technology services that support and enhance the effective implementation of technology in support of teaching and learning. EASTCONN staff provide professional development for educators in effectively integrating into the classroom the latest technology tools and applications; provide infrastructure and network support; and develop and offer customized, online database solutions for efficient data collection and analysis.
Goals
TECHNOLOGY APPLICATION AND CLASSROOM INTEGRATION
1. To improve and enhance educator knowledge and skills in the effective use of technology through the delivery of quality programs, products and services that positively impact 21st-century teaching and student learning.
g Video Teleconferencing Technology Implemented a dedicated teleconferencing system with funds awarded through the Public Educational and Governmental Programming and Educational Technology Investment Account (PEGPETIA) Grant program. • High-definition video teleconferencing equipment was configured and installed in 4 of our Hampton conference/ training rooms. The system is also accessible from an available mobile desktop video-teleconferencing unit and Jabber-capable devices, which can provide access to the system without the expense of purchasing and maintaining dedicated technology. • A total of 6 professional development sessions were delivered to EASTCONN via the teleconferencing system; students have had the opportunity to use the system as part of our Interdistrict Grant programs. The shared virtual presence supported by the system essentially allows students to interact face-to-face and to build relationships, while completing joint projects. This saves districts the time and expense of traditional bus transport.
2. To enhance educator knowledge and skill in the collection and analysis of data through the development and delivery of quality, Web-based applications that support decision-making for improved student learning.
2013-2014 Highlights & Accomplishments In January, Technology Solutions was reorganized under a new director, combining technology staff previously located in both our Facilities, and Teaching and Learning divisions. Under its reorganization plan, Technology Solutions will initially focus on three areas: improving the reliability of central infrastructure; increasing the number of districts using existing services; and assessing the need for new or enhanced services. A survey of infrastructure revealed the critical areas that needed immediate attention. Initial work, such as upgrades to electrical systems and replacement of aging server components, has been completed. Initial discussions with LEA leaders have led to doubling the number of districts currently using EASTCONN’s Information Technology (IT) support services.
The Technology Council helps district staff and teachers sift through the latest technology developments, and share ideas.
The need for new and enhanced services is still being addressed. But preliminary indications are that all EASTCONN partners can benefit from our developing new technology opportunities, as well as advanced technologies for classroom or administrative use, like advanced data analysis and visualization, 3-D printing, wearable technology and the Internet of Things (connecting the Internet to everyday things to make them accessible to anyone online).
g Technology Council The EASTCONN Technology Council met 5 times with 21 technology leaders/educators, representing 18 member districts. This regional council, hosted and facilitated by EASTCONN, provided a forum for district technology coordinators, technology integration specialists and teachers interested in using technology to enhance 62
TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS g Early Childhood Literacy Rubric Online Data Collection A new online system was devised to allow data collection for the Early Childhood Literacy Rubric, moving data collection online. This new system creates a simpler method of data collection and makes possible more accurate and timely data reporting.
teaching and learning. The council provided access to the latest information on state and federal technology initiatives, as well as an opportunity to share resources and information. Members received training and support relating to emerging technology tools and strategies, including topics like creating video tutorials, technology tools to support assessment, online learning and alternative productivity tools.
g Web Site Design and Support Provided Web design, hosting and user training services for both internal and external customers. • CTCurriculum.org: Renewed our collaboration with CSDE to update and redesign CTCurriculum.org. This g Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA) Web site provides an online professional forum for the Collaborated with EASTCONN schools to develop development and sharing of a funding proposal for How much did we do? standards-based units with additional computers and embedded performance 21 technology leaders/educators networking infrastructure to assessments. Educators can support the SBA field test, representing 18 member districts access and create units/tasks, adding 33 laptops across received training and support, as scoring scales and student 6 sites, and upgrading well as information about emerging work associated with specific and testing software on technology tools and strategies, standards in all content areas. existing computers at all Revised site is expected to be through the Technology Council. EASTCONN K-12 locations. public by fall 2015. g Educator Evaluation • CTASCD: Data Management System Provided ongoing support to the Connecticut Supported the implementation of Connecticut’s new Association for Supervision and Curriculum education evaluation plan initiative: Development’s (CTASCD) Web page. Designed by • My Learning Plan: Negotiated a discounted regional EASTCONN, this portal offers event management tools consortium pricing agreement with My Learning Plan and a content editing system that provide embedded to provide an observational and appraisal management social media applications, all created to enhance system (OASYS), used by districts to implement the engagement with their membership. new state educator evaluation program for the online • www.eastconn.org: Supported the redesign and management of teacher and administrator data related to launch of EASTCONN’s new Web site and pages. their evaluation goals and plans; 22 districts participated The registration portal was redesigned to aggregate in the successful implementation of this system, which the multiple registration portals that EASTCONN was coordinated and managed by EASTCONN. manages under a general registration link. In addition, • BloomBoard Support: Partnered with the Connecticut the presentation of various local and state events State Department of Education (CSDE) and was redesigned to reflect the site’s new look. The BloomBoard to provide orientation and user-support professional development (PD) search indices were sessions that included 28 participants from 17 districts rebuilt and redesigned to streamline search results and throughout the year. BloomBoard provides tools to track make it easier to find our PD offerings. all gathered data throughout the evaluation process to • Agency Training: Provided 6 agency-wide Intranet assist administrators in the management of logistical training sessions for agency employees, who are being elements. We also served as a statewide liaison to other trained in how to use and maintain their division Regional Educational Service Centers (RESCs), which Intranet pages. Also provided instruction on the use led to improved communication between BloomBoard of online tools required to maintain their pages. The and our local school districts. employee Intranet is a secure internal Web portal that is a ready resource for efficient information dissemination
WEB APPLICATIONS and DATA SYSTEMS SUPPORT
“Our Technology Support from EASTCONN this year has been excellent. We contract for someone in the building one day each week, but our “techie” is available to us remotely at the drop of a hat. He always addresses issues promptly and with a smile. He knows his business and we are pleased by his efficiency. He has provided excellent professional development and the entire staff is very appreciative of his expertise and accessibility.” -- Paul Graseck , Superintendent, Hampton School District 63
TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS g Electronic Connecticut Administrators Test (eCAT) Initial preparations have been made to implement the eCAT, a testing methodology that will support proctored electronic submission of test data. Electronic submission will typically allow test-takers to more quickly provide answers, and allow for improved organization of submissions, compared to pen-and-paper submissions. Laptops will be the standard option for all test-takers. Requests for accommodations that specify laptop use will no longer require a special procedure. Handwriting will no longer be a factor in scoring, allowing for faster turnaround of test results.
to EASTCONN’s 560 employees. Each department is expected to maintain its Intranet pages, providing relevant, work-related information to all staff, including news, events, documents, forms and time-sensitive announcements, as well as links to agency-wide applications, like Applitrack and School Dude. g Teacher Education And Mentoring Program (TEAM) Database Managed the EASTCONN-developed, Web-based accountability and data management system for TEAM, currently being used by 4,542 active beginning teachers, 12,474 mentors, as well as other educators, statewide. The
g Student Information Systems Support and Integration Further integrating the PowerSchool system with other educational software and reporting tools allowed student data to be managed centrally, but made available to other tools as needed. The benefits include reduced errors in data input, reduced need to duplicate tasks across disparate systems when information changes, and powerful data reporting that is visual, accurate and current. PowerSchool has been successfully integrated with Naviance, a student success planning system, SchoolMessenger, a school-wide and parent alerting system, NutriKids, a school lunch management system, and Business Objects, a business intelligence analytics system.
During this TEAM training in Hampton, area educators learned how to use the EASTCONN-developed-and-managed TEAM database, in use by thousands of educators statewide.
• PowerSchool Student-Focused Reports: – Developed attendance reports for 2 EASTCONN K-12 schools that assist administrators with attendance-tracking across a broad range of student data; new attendance metrics will simplify shortterm and long-range record-keeping and attendance assessments to help ensure that students with attendance deficits can be easily identified and their absenteeism quickly addressed. – Also working with the agency’s Truancy Officer on a more granular, long-range attendance evaluation rubric and other metrics that will support ongoing efforts to prevent student truancy. – Created a PowerSchool reporting metric for 1 LEA that will help them capture data related to their NEASC reporting needs.
online system provides all participating educators (district facilitators, new teachers, mentors, reviewers, principals and superintendents) with real-time communication and a data system that enhances communication between mentors and new teachers and provides a real-time record of their progress on module completion, as required by CSDE certification regulations. g Teacher-of-the-Year Database In partnership with the CSDE Talent Office and the Connecticut Teacher of the Year Council, EASTCONN developed and deployed an online portal for statewide submission and evaluation of Connecticut State Teacher of the Year nominations. This application allows LEAs to submit materials online. The system then assigns reviewers, who can then review and score materials online, and prepare for semifinalist interviews. This system provides faster processing of submissions and eliminates hours of manpower previously necessary to organize and distribute files.
• Lighthouse Survey Data Analysis: The second phase of the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE)-sponsored Lighthouse Survey was implemented this year, providing reporting and analysis of data gathered from several school districts across the state.
“EASTCONN has also played a vital role in developing the CAT Data Portal that is designed to assist education leadership programs to use CAT data to help them address student needs. EASTCONN is working with CSDE to ensure that the test is aligned with national and state standards and initiatives and will soon be field testing an online-test response process know as eCAT.” – Larry Jacobson, Connecticut State Department of Education 64
TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS • Connecticut Preschool Assessment Frameworks (CTPAF) Data Analysis: Created custom reporting options for the 254 early childhood programs that use the CTPAF system and require advanced analysis. CT-PAF is a Web-based application for preschool teachers using the Connecticut Preschool Assessment Frameworks.
g Safety and Security Participated in the emergency response planning process, working with security and program officials to improve in-building communications during crisis situations. This included improving in-building modifications to public address systems and auditing phone system capabilities.
HELPDESK SERVICES
g Networking and Communications • Implemented a Web-based Virtual Private Network, allowing secure access to resources from outside the EASTCONN network, providing access to file servers, printers and other resources that would normally be unavailable from non-EASTCONN locations.
g IT Support for Member Districts Provided IT support (“break-and-fix services”) to 4 member school districts. This enabled member districts to augment their IT resources without having to hire additional local staff.
g Business Objects External Ticketing Support Implemented an online system to allow external users to create and submit tickets (requests for IT assistance) for issues related to reporting that is hosted on Business Objects. This allows for separate review and tracking of incoming questions and problems, and will not require an EASTCONN e-mail address. Previously all external customers were only supported via e-mail and phone.
• Secured an estimated maximum of $165,957 in e-Rate funding for 2013-2014.
g Schoology Acquired the Schoology Learning Management System and registered 800 users from EASTCONN and member districts. This system supports safe, online communication for students, as well as settings for discipline-related and topic-specific discussions for teachers and administrators. g GED Computer-based Testing Implemented Pearson GED computer-based testing (software and infrastructure) in 2 agency locations, enabling students to take the GED exam in a proctored, online environment. This creates a more secure testing environment and speeds up the return of results.
INTERNAL INFRASTRUCTURE, SYSTEMS & ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT
g Hampton Server Room Updates Electrical supply in the Hampton Server room was g eLearning for EASTCONN Staff updated, assuring ample and stable power through the Our staff learning community is required to keep their addition of new circuits. All circuits will now cut over to skills up-to-date, especially in office productivity the generator power if grid software, such as Microsoft power is lost. Additional How much did we do? Office. An online learning environmental sensors were Managed the EASTCONN-developed, tool, called eLearning, installed to detect power complete with step-by-step Web-based accountability and data interruptions and water. All audio and video components, battery back-up systems are management system for TEAM, was deployed and piloted by now networked. currently being used by 4,542 active the administrative support beginning teachers, 12,474 mentors, staff of the Teaching and g Fileserver Modernization as well as other educators, statewide. Learning, and Technology All mechanical drives were Solutions divisions. Staff can replaced in central file voluntarily learn new skills, servers and all shares were rebuilt, allowing for more fineor be assigned courses in conjunction with goals set by grained control of the allocation of online storage space. their supervisors. These learning tools are now available This reduced the impact of the unbalanced use of storage to all EASTCONN staff, at any time, through our online resources across departments and encouraged better Intranet. planning for resource allocation.
“TEAM utilizes a very complex online application. From the initial design through the addition of each new feature, EASTCONN’s tech team has continuously anticipated needs and responded to requests for support by providing practical solutions to problems. Their work has made it easier for all of us to remain true to the vision of the program.” – Nancy Celentano, TEAM Training Director 65
TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS g SchoolMessenger Alerting System Continued SchoolMessenger implementation, the agency’s school-wide communications systems for alerts, emergency cancellations and notifications, for 554 contacts across 6 EASTCONN programs. Integrated SchoolMessenger with PowerSchool to keep all student contact information current. Trained 10 school staff in how to create and disseminate alerts, using SchoolMessenger.
g District Budget Constraints Limited availability of grant and local resources continues to make it difficult for educators to attend regional workshops and to access the embedded coaching, training and technical assistance that is necessary for planned, ongoing and systematic professional development, which can impact improved student learning outcomes. g Aging Software and Infrastructure • Pockets of legacy systems that run older operating systems represented a significant barrier to fully leveraging IT management tools.
g Web Store for Continuing Education Courses In an effort to improve our end-user experience and to simplify the maintenance of course registration for Adult Programs’ Continuing Education group, the existing Web store was completely revamped, using newer technology. Customers now have an improved experience when registering online for Continuing Education courses. Adult Services staff can also now maintain and customize the online store with minimal assistance, freeing up time and resources.
• Growth in infrastructure outpaced electrical supply capacity in the Hampton server room, requiring immediate attention. g Supporting Mobile Technology As the use of tablets and other mobile devices increases, both on and off the network, we must adapt and ensure that we continue to offer high-quality network support and accommodate our mobile users with applications and communications tools. Mobile devices also present a challenge in that they are often only connected to the network sporadically, and that software management tools for their support are not as developed as those for personal computer support.
Plans & Implications for 2014-2015 g IT Support Services for Member Districts Increase the variety and availability of IT support services for member districts, with an emphasis on EASTCONN’s ability to provide flexible support, as needed. Build management, supervision, staff evaluation and placement services.
The redesigned Continuing Education (CE) Web site eased customer access to CE class registration. The new system can also be easily updated and maintained by CE staff.
g IT Education for LEA Administrators Develop workshops for school administrators on how to best build and manage their IT services operations. Inform them of best industry practices, trends and techniques to assure that their staff deliver the most stable and appropriate technologies, given their available resources.
2013-2014 Challenges g Staff Capacity Maintaining a highly qualified technology staff with the prerequisite knowledge, skill and experience, particularly those skilled in application development and data analysis, that will allow EASTCONN to provide cost-effective services to our member districts, is an ongoing challenge, given the current market conditions and the demand for highly skilled technology staff.
g Advanced Technologies in Support of Science Technology Engineering & Math (STEM) Bring advanced technologies to the classroom to inspire students to adopt STEM-related education and career goals. Develop workshops and other activities to expose technology support professionals and teachers to such
“We can’t say enough about EASTCONN’s IT staff. Their cheerful willingness to help, and their technological expertise have made them an invaluable resource to Marketing & Communications. They provide vital support with the management of agency and customer databases; with Web site development, maintenance and redesign; with training for agency employees who must manage their division Intranet and Web pages; and by providing assistance with multiple communications-related initiatives. We couldn’t do it without them.” – Dotty Budnick, EASTCONN Director of Marketing & Communications 66
TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS things as microcontrollers, sensors and the “Maker” culture, which uses technology advances like 3-D printers, to bring creative ideas to fruition.
of the Connecticut Education Network (CEN), we have the capacity to connect our teleconferencing equipment to digital recording equipment housed at CEN, allowing us to capture professional development presentations for online redistribution at a later date and providing educators with increased, individualized access to professional learning. This technology permits the agency to reach a wider audience of teachers and students, greatly enriching the teaching and learning experience through collaboration with teachers and students worldwide; it also provides access to experts across a wide variety of fields
g Advanced Data Analysis and Research Support Expand data analysis capability to include the support of Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and MATrix LABoratory (MATLAB) for advanced data visualization and utilization. Simultaneously develop workshops on statistics and data analytics for statewide consumption. SPSS is a broadly used software package for analyzing data, and a standard tool in educational research. MATLAB is a flexible computing environment for programing and advanced data visualization. g Expanded Use of School Messenger for Emergency Message Broadcasts The agency’s School Messenger application is currently used by Student Services and will be expanded across the agency in the next year. The license for this system will allow its extended use without additional cost, enabling agencywide expansion for non-K-12 purposes.
g Next Generation of Online Assessments Provide support to districts as Connecticut prepares for the next generation of online, computer-adapted, high-stakes assessments How well did we do it? that will replace the Connecticut Mastery “When I needed to find the Test (CMT) and Connecticut Academic right RESC partner first to Performance Test (CAPT).
host, and more recently to upgrade, the uniquely powerful CTcurriculum.org site, it was to EASTCONN that I turned ... I am truly grateful to be able to count on EASTCONN to provide partnership, leadership, and support for classroom-centered school reform.”
g Web-Based Data Management Solutions Continue to develop affordable Web-based assessment and data management solutions for schools, with an emphasis on tools that will enhance educators’ ability both to make decisions using data and support changes in teacher evaluation.
g Expanding Markets Seek new customers for our technology products and seek new development partners as a way of both reducing costs to our member districts and providing a revenue stream for the research and development effort that is needed to remain current in the marketplace.
g Utilize Emerging Technology Tools Continue to leverage the power of emerging technology tools, including tablets and other mobile devices, social networking and video conferencing, to create more authentic and engaging online learning opportunities for educators and for students. • Expanded Online Learning: As member partners
“Over my 25+ years as a curriculum specialist in the Connecticut State Department of Education, there have been spans of time when one or another RESC has proven to be a particularly competent, reliable, and caring partner on important initiatives. For the past decade or more EASTCONN has been that RESC. Hence, when I needed to find the right RESC partner first to host, and more recently to upgrade, the uniquely powerful CTcurriculum.org site, it was to EASTCONN that I turned. The support that we’ve received from EASTCONN staff … has enabled us to maintain the site when funding was short, and now that funding is available, to transform it into THE site nationally for instructional improvement through student work. By fall 2014, districts throughout Connecticut and beyond will be able to turn to CTcurriculum for benchmarking, calibration, and moderation of units with embedded performance tasks. In fact, over the coming two years, we anticipate that the site will not only provide a powerful tool for Connecticut educators and districts, but will also be used to benchmark Model Cornerstone Assessments being generated by the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards. I am truly grateful to be able to count on EASTCONN to provide partnership, leadership, and support for classroomcentered school reform.” – Scott Schuler, CSDE 67
TRANSPORTATION Overview Transportation provides services to agencies in the northeastern Connecticut region and school systems throughout the state. This division is not only expert in transporting students with special needs, it also transports other public school students, as well as adult clients going to jobs and job-training sites. In addition, the Transportation division provides specialized training, Student Transportation Vehicle classes for new drivers and yearly re-certification training classes for its present drivers, as required by the State of Connecticut.
Goals
improved driver communications and accountabilities, as well as enhanced customer service capacity.
1. Increase the number of customers who choose EASTCONN transportation services for their student transportation needs. 2. Provide the highest quality services in the most costeffective and time-efficient manner to meet customer requirements.
2013-2014 Highlights & Accomplishments g Student Transportation • Expanded our fleet of vehicles with the purchase of 30 new vans and 1 mini bus to ensure that our riders are transported in the safest, most up-to-date vehicles. Our 110-vehicle fleet includes yellow buses, 15-passenger buses, mini-vans, sedans and hybrid vehicles. All have cellular communications, safety equipment and firstaid on board, and some have integrated car seats and wheelchair lifts.
All EASTCONN drivers go through intensive training across a broad range of topics to ensure the safety of their students. g Driver Training All 85 of our drivers participated in mandatory annual training, which covers all state-mandated topics, including anti-bullying, blood-borne pathogens/ universal precautions, student management, emergency procedures, seasonal safety, substance use and abuse, activity trips, communication skills, laws and regulations, and characteristics of students with disabilities. We supplement the training with a review of EASTCONN policies and procedures, including the prevention of sexual harassment.
• Transported 746 students daily, an increase of over 49% from last year, to sites throughout Connecticut, as well as Massachusetts and Rhode Island. – Provided transportation services to 19 member districts, including Head Start in Putnam, Killingly and Plainfield, in addition to 8 out-of-region, nonmember districts and the Connecticut Department of Children and Families. – Transported approximately 250 special needs, early childhood and Head Start students from one member district in a new 5-year contract. – Provided transportation for students throughout the region attending the Barrows magnet school in Windham. – Signed a 5 year agreement with Union to provide their transportation.
g Adult Riders Continued our contract with the Eastern Connecticut Workforce Investment Board (EWIB) to transport lowincome, unemployed adult riders traveling to skillstraining programs and job interviews, as well as to work sites; on average, 9 clients were transported weekly. Given the shortage of public transportation in northeastern Connecticut, this is a critically needed service.
g GPS Technology Linked on-board GPS systems installed in every vehicle to our Central Dispatch Center. In addition to improving efficiencies in both fuel and labor costs, we have now 68
TRANSPORTATION g Driver Education Program Operational in 2 regional locations (Danielson and Willimantic), the Driver Education program continued to grow: • Enrolled 390 teen students, an increase of 12% over last year.
• Increased enrollment in the state’s mandatory 8-Hour Safe Driving Practices classes by 10%.
• Maintained level tuition costs for the 4th year in a row, making the agency’s driving program more affordable than its area competitors.
2013-2014 Challenges
Upgrades to the agency’s transportation fleet continued to enhance the quality of vehicles used to transport the region’s most fragile students in and around a three-state area.
g Personnel • One of the biggest ongoing challenges is a shortage of prospective drivers who are not only qualified to participate in the state-mandated, pre-employment training, but who are able to wait the 12-to-16-week waiting period to receive the required Department of Motor Vehicle-issued certification; many applicants lack the financial means to postpone earning income and secure alternative employment in the interim; others lack sufficient basic skills to participate in the mandatory training, or to perform necessary job tasks.
Plans & Implications for 2014-2015 g Expand Regional Participation Continue increasing the number of districts and customers participating in the agency’s regionally coordinated transportation system for children with special needs.
• Driver absenteeism posed an additional challenge, g In-Town Bus-Route Expansion requiring the assignment of drivers to multiple Explore opportunities to increase the number of special runs and/or the last-minute needs students transported via in-town bus rearrangement of bus runs. routes. How much did we do? • Leadership changes and a Transported 746 g New Vehicle Technologies medical leave required existing Pilot new on-board-vehicle technology students daily, an supervisory staff to assume that will allow improved driver-to-homeadditional duties. increase of over 49% base communication around driving from last year, to sites conditions and other important information, g Budgeting Challenges throughout Connecticut, leading to improved passenger safety. Rising fuel prices made it difficult Massachusetts and to budget accurately. g Staffing Rhode Island. We are unable to take full Continue to seek effective strategies for advantage of fixed-price contracts, recruiting and retaining quality drivers due to the expansive geography and Driver Education instructors, including we cover and the need to access an expanded in-house program to train fuel across Connecticut and in neighboring states. potential candidates. g Driver Education Expansion g Driver Education Finding licensed instructors, particularly those who Continue to aggressively market the new 8-hour are also bilingual and available on an as-needed basis, Defensive Driving course. continues to present a challenge.
“EASTCONN has been providing excellent transportation services to Columbia students for a number of years. As the student services secretary, I’ve had the opportunity to work closely with the dedicated professional staff at EASTCONN. EASTCONN provides seamless transitions, quick responses and competitive costs.” – Brenda Morey, Student Services Secretary, Columbia Public Schools 69
EASTCONN Administrative Offices 376 Hartford Turnpike, Hampton, CT 06247 T: 860-455-0707; F: 860-455-8026; VM: 860-455-0029 www.eastconn.org EASTCONN Administrative Team Executive Director....................................Paula M. Colen Hampton.........................860-455-1505................ pcolen@eastconn.org Adult & Community Services...................Richard Tariff Hampton..........................860-455-1562................ rtariff@eastconn.org Early Childhood Initiatives.......................Elizabeth Aschenbrenner Hampton..........................860-455-1518................ easchenbrenner@eastconn.org Facilities/IT Services................................Michael Akana Hampton..........................860-455-1500................ makana@eastconn.org Finance......................................................John Baskowski Hampton..........................860-455-1502................ jbaskowski@eastconn.org Human Resources..................................... Steve Wapen Hampton..........................860-455-1554................ swapen@eastconn.org K-12 Student Services............................... Thomas Cronin Hampton..........................860-455-1512................ tcronin@eastconn.org Marketing & Communications.................Dotty Budnick Hampton.......................... 860-455-1506............... dbudnick@eastconn.org Planning & Development..........................Maureen Crowley Hampton..........................860-455-1513................ mcrowley@eastconn.org Teaching & Learning Services..................Scott Nierendorf Hampton..........................860-455-1621................ snierendorf@eastconn.org Technology Solutions................................Andrew DePalma Hampton..........................860-455-1620................ adepalma@eastconn.org Transportation Services............................. John Vitale Columbia.........................860-228-6751................ jvitale@eastconn.org
It is the policy of EASTCONN that no person shall be excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or otherwise be discriminated against under any program because of race, color, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, genetic information, gender identity or expression, veteran status, disability or any other classification protected by state or federal law.
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EASTCONN Board of Directors
Chairman..................... Mr. Herbert Arico............................ Willington Public Schools Vice-Chairman............ Mr. Douglas Smith.......................... Plainfield Public Schools Secretary..................... Dr. Catherine Wade......................... Hampton Public Schools
Ms. Judy Benson Clarke................. Regional District #8
Ms. Diana Ingraham........................ Voluntown Public Schools
Ms. Sheila Johnson......................... Brooklyn Public Schools
Ms. Mary Kortmann........................ Coventry Public Schools
Ms. Sharon Kozey........................... Eastford Public Schools
Mr. Joseph Lewerk.......................... Lisbon Public Schools
Mr. David Marcotte......................... Killingly Public Schools
Ms. Jennifer Nelson........................ Regional District #11
Ms. Katherine Paulhus.................... Mansfield Public Schools
Mr. Walt Petruniw........................... Canterbury Public Schools
Mrs. Tracy Rummel........................ Stafford Public Schools
Ms. Alycia Sanders......................... Chaplin Public Schools
Ms. Donna Smith............................ Pomfret Public Schools
Ms. Anne Stearns............................ Scotland Public Schools
Mr. Marshall Tourtellotte................ Woodstock Public Schools
EASTCONN’s Board of Directors is composed of locally elected officials from our member school district Boards of Education. As a Connecticut Regional Educational Service Center (RESC), EASTCONN is locally governed and regionally focused.
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