Paraprofessionals & School-Related Personnel (PSRP)

AFT Connecticut represents thousands of school-related personnel (PSRP) in local and regional districts across the state. PSRPs work as paraprofessionals, teaching assistants, tutors, secretaries, school nurses, custodians and others who provide critical services that support student learning. From contract negotiations to professional development, AFT Connecticut works to secure the pay, benefits, conditions and respect they deserve as both professionals and “the engine that keeps their schools running.”
 
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Click here for our report-back from 2014 National Paraeducator Appreciation Day at the State Capitol where Governor Dannel P. Malloy recognized vital classroom support staff with an official state proclamation.
 

Rejecting the Failure to Deliver Shared Prosperity

Fri, 05/19/2017 - 5:00pm
The governor and lawmakers from both parties this past week released three separate proposals for narrowing wider state budget gaps anticipated in the next two fiscal years. These political leaders once again failed to offer long-term solutions that would grow the economy or commonsense strategies to stop endless cycles of deficits. Instead, their latest proposals rely heavily on austerity policies that would unfairly balance the budget on the backs of working families.
 
Click here for a side-by-side comparison of the proposals.
 

Achieving More "Fair and Equitable Evaluation Practices"

Wed, 04/12/2017 - 3:30pm
State school officials last week took a major step toward empowering teachers to be more effective in the classroom by eliminating the use of mastery examination scores in educator evaluations. The move will benefit students by prioritizing instructional emphasis on deep issue knowledge and analytical skills over test preparation. The April 5 vote by the State Board of Education's (SBOE) followed years of advocacy by a diverse coalition of stakeholders, including AFT Connecticut-affiliated union members.
 

Spotlight: Ensuring Special Education Students' Success

Thu, 04/06/2017 - 5:30pm
Paraeducators are among the most important members of a school's team, particularly when it comes to providing a quality learning experience for children with special needs. Teachers and administrators have become increasingly reliant on their support as students with disabilities and English Language Learners (ELLs) have been "mainstreamed" into the classroom. During the week in which the annual recognition of paraprofessionals is celebrated in Connecticut, we're spotlighting a union member who has dedicated her career to helping students.
 

Public Employees Converge on the Capitol to Defend Rights

Mon, 03/27/2017 - 6:00pm
With chants of "We Will Fight!," a crowd of nearly 1,500 on Friday took over Minuteman Park in Hartford to denounce lawmakers' proposals to silence the voices of working people. The rally was organized by members of unions representing Connecticut's public sector workforce as part of a series of actions throughout the day at the State Capitol complex. They came to resist 77 individual bills that, if passed into law, would roll-back collective bargaining rights and undermine state and municipal public service employees' pay and benefits.
 
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