Thursday, March 28, 2013

Gentile thanks educators, Malloy after roundtable in Ansonia

Focus on school district's progress 

ANSONIA - State Rep. Linda M. Gentile, D-Ansonia, and state Sen. Joseph J. Crisco, D-Woodbridge, joined Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and Education Commissioner Stephen Pryor Wednesday for a visit to John G. Prendergast Elementary School.


The event included a roundtable conversation with administrators and teachers on the progress their education program have achieved since it was approved by the state last year as an Alliance District. 

“I would like to thank the administrators and teachers for their commitment to our students and I would like to thank the Governor and Commissioner Pryor for visiting our school district,” said Gentile. 

“It is apparent from the educators’ remarks that the reading assessment pilot program is a very valuable and welcome tool. This program provides these professionals with immediate data and feedback that they can use to not only gauge student performance and progress, but also make very specific critical adjustments to a child's reading program so that that child can improve their ability to learn," she said.
"I applaud our teachers’ efforts and their enthusiastic support of the program and I hope that we can not only continue with this successful pilot program, but hopefully expand it.”  

The education reform package that Malloy signed into law in 2012 created the Alliance District program, which targets the state’s under-performing schools to receive additional Educational Cost Sharing aid while developing comprehensive reform strategies to turn the schools around.

“The bulk of these state funds are aptly directed at literacy programs in Ansonia’s primary grades, because early reading skills readily translate into a student’s improved ability to learn other subjects in every grade afterward,” Crisco said. 
“Once a student knows how to read, he or she can read about history, math, science – even music – to broaden his or her base of knowledge.”

Ansonia received an additional $539,715, or 3.6 percent in ECS funding, increasing Ansonia’s total education grant to $15,571,383 for 2012-13.


This is taken from a press release from Gentile's office.

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