Registration for the CAS Annual Summer Leadership Institute closes in two days and there are a few spots left! The SLI is the association’s largest and most lauded educational gathering, 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.

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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 thirty more voters to reach our quorum requirements. Please add your vote!

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The deadline for applications for the Dawn Lafferty-Hochsprung Memorial Grant is June 30th. Dawn was the principal of Sandy Hook Elementary School who died while trying to keep her school family safe. This grant is available to active K-12 CAS school principals and is to be used for professional development activities that support excellence and enhance leadership skills.

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Are you aware of all of the programs and services that the association provides? Do you ever wonder what your central office staff members do in a given year? Here are two ways to find out! Review the annual reports published by each of the association’s divisions. Or, watch this video to get a glimpse of all of the events and activities that CAS sponsored during the 2015-2016 year!

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There is no one in the Connecticut education community who hasn’t heard the name Jahana Hayes. She is the spirited and sprightly social studies teacher from John F. Kennedy High School in Waterbury who was recently named National Teacher of the Year. She is also the keynote speaker for this year’s CAS-CAPSS convocation! The annual convocation will be held at the Aqua Turf on September 20, 2016, with buffet stations open at 5:00 p.m. Stay tuned for further details later in the summer. Pencil in the date now and plan to jumpstart the 2016-2017 year with an infusion of Jahana’s energy and inspiration!

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Nominations are now being accepted for the CAS First-Year Principal Awards for 2016-2017. These awards recognize individuals whose instructional leadership, innovative practices and managerial skills have had a positive impact on the school district in their first year of school administration. One award is given at each level: elementary, middle and high school. The deadline for submitting nominations is September 9, 2016.

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In the wake of the devastating shooting in Orlando last weekend, the Connecticut State Department of Education has made available a number of helpful resources to assist schools and districts in easing students and families through tragedies such as this one. While many schools have left for the summer, these resources might nonetheless prove useful for administrators to have on file.

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CAS is pleased to announce that a customized, updated CAS Coaching Program will be implemented during the 2016-2017 school year. If you think that you or an administrator in your district might benefit from the guidance and expertise of a coach, the CAS Director of Coaching, Marie Salazar Glowski, is available to discuss and identify what type of coaching service would suit your needs.

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Nominations are now being accepted for the CAS Elementary School of the Year Award for 2016-2017. The purpose of this award is to recognize an outstanding CAS member elementary school for its exemplary programs and for its successes in meeting the needs of its students. The deadline for submitting a nomination is August 26, 2016.

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Thirty of Connecticut’s top juniors were honored at the Twentieth Annual Governor’s Scholars Luncheon held at the Aqua Turf on May 19, 2016. Sponsored by Berchem, Moses & Devlin, P.C., this annual recognition event celebrates academically high-achieving students from high schools throughout the state. In addressing this year’s class of scholars, CAS President Donna Schilke stated, “The selection criteria for this award are demanding; the competition is intense; and, the process leads to the selection of an elite group designated as Governor’s Scholars.”

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On September 21st and October 5th, two noted assessment presenters, Barbara Beaudin and Linda Kauffman, will facilitate a professional learning community experience on developing quality formative assessments. This two-day workshop, sponsored jointly by CAS and EASTCONN, is open to district and building administrators, curriculum developers, instructional specialists and teacher leaders. Registration is open and space is limited!

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On June 2nd, the CT State Department of Education presented the 2016 Challenge to Educational Citizenship Awards to six Connecticut schools. These awards celebrate student-organized activities that demonstrate good citizenship, a commitment to others, civic awareness, leadership, responsibility and teamwork. Read about the amazing projects which were chosen for this year's awards.

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The Connecticut Teachers’ Retirement Board has released a draft document that provides clarification of the "45% rule." The Q&A document was designed to help alleviate the widespread confusion over how that rule is applied. In a positive development, recent legislation has brought back the option for health benefits.

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In response to the growing demand for parent and community collaboration, UConn’s Neag School of Education has been awarded a $20,700, four-month planning grant from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving. The funds will support a collaborative, research-based process to augment the UConn Administrator Preparation Program (UCAPP) for aspiring school principals and intermediate managers. CAS, the administrator of the internship component of UCAPP for the past sixteen years, is proud of its longstanding partnership with Neag.

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The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) includes numerous early learning provisions designed to encourage and empower states, school districts, and schools to strengthen and expand connections between early childhood programs and elementary school. The First Five Years Fund, a bipartisan advocacy group working to promote early childhood development for disadvantaged children, has released a summary document describing how ESSA could impact state and district efforts specifically in the area of early childhood education.

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