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Alfredo Camargo, Medicolegal Death Investigator

Connecticut has more than 3,000 crime scene investigations every year, and medicolegal death investigator Alfredo Camargo does that and more each day.

Backus, Hartford Corporations explore affiliation

Backus Corporation and Hartford HealthCare Corporation announced that they are exploring affiliation.

Vo-tech schools receive boost from Gov. Malloy

Gov. Malloy announced that he will allocate $500,000 in additional funding to increase the training resources and supplies for students in the Connecticut Technical High School System (CTHSS). He is also proposing legislation that will tailor programming to the needs of employers, so that students are better prepared for real-world employment when they graduate.

New money for early childhood education

Gov. Malloy renewed his commitment to early childhood education by asking the legislature to approve $4 million in spending for 500 new preschool slots, and $3 million to support professional development.

Photo by Hugh McQuaid

Overdue minimum wage increase proposed

On Jan. 31, Speaker of the House Chris Donovan and Democratic lawmakers proposed the minimum wage be raised by $1.50 per hour over the next two years, and indexed to rise with the cost of living.

Photo by Chris Dehnel

Community turns out to support paraprofessionals in Vernon

The fate of paraprofessionals in Vernon was the subject of the Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 31. Many parents turned out along with paras and teachers to make their feelings heard that they want paraprofessionals in the classrooms.

Gov. Malloy proposes certification changes

Governor Malloy released his proposals on Jan. 31 to change certification for teachers in Connecticut.

New report finds students with disabilities were excluded from Connecticut Mastery Test results

A report recently released by Connecticut Voices for Children found that the exclusion of thousands of students with disabilities from reported Connecticut Mastery Test results has distorted reported trends in test scores. Following test scores from year to year in the same grade, the study finds that statewide improvements in standard Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) scores reported by the Connecticut State Department of Education (SDE) between 2008 and 2009 -- the period of the largest reported gains -- were largely the result of the exclusion of students with disabilities from these standard test results, rather than overall improvements in performance.

Performance Evaluation Advisory Council (PEAC) releases educator evaluation guidelines

On Wednesday, Jan. 25, the Performance Evaluation Advisory Council (PEAC) released their guidelines for evaluating educators.

PEAC is recommending a three-tiered system:

Multiple indicators of student learning will count as 45% of the evaluation. Half of that 45% weight will come from a standardized test, which would be either the CMT, CAPT, or another valid, reliable test that measures student learning.
Teacher performance and professional practice will be weighted at 40%.
Other peer, student, and parent feedback will be weighted at 5% with professional activities counting for 10%.

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