CEA Advisor_April 2022

INFORMING

SECTION HEADER APRIL 2022 CEA ADVISOR 5

(Left photo) CEA President Kate Dias, together with CAPSS President Fran Rabinowitz and AFT Connecticut President Jan Hochadel, leads off the forum. (Top photo) CEA Executive Director Donald Williams asks legislators Cabrera, McCarty, and Comey for their perspectives and support in passing legislation critical to public education.

Continuing the conversation CEA Executive Director and former legislator Donald Williams, who moderated the legislative panel, praised Connecticut’s bipartisan tradition on education issues, saying, “It’s worked in the past, and we need for it to work now and in the future.” To that end, he asked how teachers can support legislators in pulling together colleagues from both parties on the issues of greatest concern to educators this year: school indoor air quality and mental health supports. “Constant communication,” said McCarty, emphasizing, “It has to be ongoing. Don’t approach legislators with the idea that they have all the answers. Write good testimony. Make it real for us. Tell us what’s going on in the classrooms. Your voices matter. We do have to fight for the dollars to do what we say we need to do.” She noted that a key piece of legislation she believes is likely to pass this session—a bill on indoor air quality—“came from CEA and

this coalition. You brought these stories to us.” “Keep gathering teachers and legislators together like this,” said Cabrera. “Share your everyday work. I’ve received postcards from teachers in my district—handwritten notes. It’s easy in the legislature to become removed from the work on the ground.” CEA’s Kate Dias challenged teachers at the forum to keep the conversation going with legislators, letting all of their elected officials know what’s real in education. “Where are you willing to give voice? How are you going to show people that prep time is typically spent counseling students and supporting families? It’s not preparing for lessons. That’s what teachers do at 5 a.m., when they’re photocopying, when they’ve had to fight to get there early. Talk to your colleagues too. Remind them, ‘You’ve got a really good story; you should share it.’ Tell parents, ‘You’ve got something important to tell your legislators; you should tell it.’”

We need administrators and legislators to have our backs when we do this work.”

RUTH-TERRY WALDEN, STAMFORD TEACHER

first, we can’t go wrong in the legislation we pass,” she said. “Providing a quality education for all our students in Connecticut is our number-one priority.” McCarty underscored what teachers have been reporting— namely, that the pandemic has exacerbated many of the issues educators see in their classrooms and that students desperately need more mental health and behavioral services. “We’re having ambulances take students to emergency rooms, and they’re returning to school without having received the services they need,” she said. Describing a common public perception that social emotional learning is “fluff” that somehow sacrifices precious instructional time, she said, “SEL is so important today. We’re teaching compassion, kindness, and critical thinking. What better way to engage our students than to make them aware of each other?” Emphasizing that teachers’ role expands beyond academics, Representative Robin Comey, said, “We all remember our favorite teachers, because they inspired us in some way, but often the public— including some parents—don’t see it that way. Those are the misconceptions—that teachers connecting with students and taking care of social emotional needs is not important, or that it’s too ‘touchy- feely.’” Characterizing mental health as one of the biggest challenges in public education, Senator Jorge Cabrera called for more school- based health clinics, school social workers, psychologists, and counselors, and a better continuum of care. “Longer term,” he said, “the biggest challenge facing public education is keeping people in the profession. They are quitting.” Among his many suggestions for

stopping the outflow of qualified teachers from the profession they love was making sure educators have “time to collaborate and space to decompress.” Comey noted, “The inequitable allocation of limited resources in our state is also a challenge.” “If we continue to rely on property taxes to fund our schools, we will continue to face the same challenges and inequities we’ve always had,” Cabrera agreed. “We’ve got to tackle that, because if we don’t, we’ll be having these same conversations over and over. Federal dollars are going to run out.”

WHERE EDUCATION IS UNDER ATTACK 43 states have passed or considered legislation restricting educators’ ability to teach about race, racism, gender, and sexuality

Bill was signed into law or a similar state level action was approved Bill has been proposed or is moving through state legislature Bill has been vetoed, overturned or stalled indefinitely No state-level action or bill introduced

While legislation hasn't reached our State Capitol, e orts to silence and intimidate teachers have gained traction in some cities and towns.