The CAS Annual Summer Leadership Institute is one of the association’s largest and most lauded educational gatherings, attracting school leaders from around the state. Join us at the Heritage in Southbury on June 23rd and 24th for a conversation focused on leadership that nurtures personalized learning.

Back to Contents

On May 25, 2016, Attorney Tom Mooney of Shipman & Goodwin was honored as a recipient of The Connecticut Law Tribune’s Professional Excellence Award. Tom was recognized for, among other accomplishments, his outstanding service to the legal profession, his success in the courtroom, his leadership and advocacy roles, his pro bono contributions and his service on state and federal bar panels. CAS has enjoyed an outstanding relationship with Tom for more than two decades, a relationship which has brought many benefits to our organization and its members. We congratulate him on this much deserved honor!

Back to Contents

CAS’ student activities division is planning a half-day, statewide conference in the fall to spotlight innovative and impactful student activities that are being sponsored in Connecticut’s K-12 schools. We need your help to make this best-practice expo a success. Please consider nominating a student activity advisor from your school to present his/her program or project at the conference.

Back to Contents

The Connecticut State Department of Education is gathering a group of school leaders on Wednesday, June 22nd for a roundtable discussion about transgender issues facing schools. The dialogue will be the springboard for developing resources to help schools build safe, supportive and inclusive school environments for transgender youth. Building leader perspective is critical to this discussion. Please consider adding your voice. If you are interested in participating in the roundtable, which will take place at the CSDE office from 9:00-11:00 a.m., please email Dr. Karissa Niehoff at kniehoff@casciac.org.

Back to Contents

Have you participated in this year's online annual meeting yet? This involves nothing more than reviewing and voting on several documents, including the proposed 2016-2017 budget. To cast your e-ballots, go to http://www.casciac.org/am1516/ and log into the secure, members-only area of our website using your school number and login ID. You can ask questions and/or post comments prior to submitting your votes. Online voting will be open until midnight on June 30th. We need sixty-six more voters to reach our quorum requirement. Please help!

Back to Contents

There are a few spots left for the upcoming administrator evaluation training to be held on June 20 and 21. This two-day workshop, featuring presenters Ev Lyons and Mike Galluzzo, will acquaint school leaders with the provisions of the state's educator evaluation and support system. Administrator Evaluation Foundational Skills Two-Day Workshop is valuable not only for evaluators of administrators, but also for those administrators being evaluated. The training, which will be held at the CAS office in Cheshire from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day, is offered without charge and is sponsored by the Connecticut State Department of Education. Register now!

Back to Contents

Earlier this week, CAS and the Connecticut State Department of Education jointly hosted a webinar entitled Linking Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment in Mathematics. Presenter Jennifer Michalek, CSDE Mathematics Education Consultant, examined the components of the Smarter Balanced Assessment in mathematics to foster a better understanding of how those components impact curriculum and instruction. The webinar is available for viewing at https://youtu.be/9LLbk1Gmn4M.

Back to Contents

The Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut is hosting its first annual Teacher Leadership Academy, a one-week intensive program designed to develop teacher leadership skills. The academy will help participants enhance their ability to support high-quality instruction and cultivate competencies to strengthen their effectiveness as teacher leaders. Early-bird registration has been extended to June 7. Go to s.uconn.edu/NeagTLA for more information.

Back to Contents

Restorative practices are gaining popularity in classrooms throughout Connecticut. This fall, CAS is offering two half-day workshops, led by CSDE Consultant Dr. Jo Ann Freiberg, which will examine how restorative practices establish conditions for developing and nurturing a culture based on high quality relationships among all school community members. The workshops are open to teachers and administrators at all levels.

Back to Contents

The Connecticut School Finance Project (CSFP) has updated the 2006 District Reference Groups (DRGs) to determine what they would look like today. The 2016 DRGs were determined through calculations by the CSFP and are not official classifications produced by the Connecticut State Department of Education. While the 2016 DRGs are not official, they were calculated using the same methodology and variables used by the CSDE in 2006 to determine the existing DRGs. See where your district would fall now.

Back to Contents