I’m writing with an update on both the state COVID-19 response and our advocacy efforts.
Updates from the State Capitol
On Tuesday, May 9, 2020, Governor Lamont released his guidance for Phase 1 of re-opening the state. Schools are not included in this plan, however, some guidance for Connecticut’s schools can be found in the Superintendent’s Digest. We expect that there will be additional guidance on education released in the coming weeks. In the meantime, also on May 19, the CDC released its guidance for re-opening schools.
During the upcoming June 3, 2020, State Board of Education meeting, we anticipate that the remaining five 2020 charter renewals will be addressed. Please watch your inboxes for a summary following this meeting.
Finally, a reminder – the deadline to participate in the US Census is quickly approaching. Please consider sharing this link with your school communities to help our state receive our fair share of funding!
Updates on our work
To address charter school leadership questions and concerns during these uncertain times, the Connecticut Charter Schools Association will be hosting a Virtual Charter School Leader Convening on Thursday, June 4, 2020, from 10:00 am to 11:30 am. If you are an executive leader of a charter school, you should have received an invitation in your email. If you did not receive this email but feel as if you should have, please reply to this email directly.
Additionally, on Thursday, May 28, 2020, at 2 pm in partnership with Booker T. Washington Academy, our team will be hosting a Virtual Operations Leader Convening to facilitate the sharing of resources, best practices and lessons learned among charter operations leaders. If you are an operations leader of a charter school, you should have received an invitation in your email. If you did not receive this email but feel as if you should have, please reply to this email directly.
In the coming weeks, our team will be hosting a series of Virtual Charter Advocacy Lobby Days. During these meetings, members of our charter school community will share their recent experiences with legislators and advocate for charter school funding in advance of an anticipated summer special session. If you are interested in participating in a Virtual Lobby Day, please let us know by responding directly to this email. All are welcome!
Last week was 2020’s National Charter Schools Week. In celebration of this, and to highlight the great education her child is receiving, Tara Ramlal, Brass City Charter School parent and Waterbury resident, wrote the following letter which was published in the Republican American. To read this letter, click here.
How is your school community in this crisis? Share your stories with us, both big and small and we will share them on social media and with local media.
Local Connecticut news stations are looking to celebrate Connecticut’s class of 2020! See the linked instructions to submit to NBC Connecticut and/or Fox61.
Lastly, a reminder about the resources available to all charter schools on our Coronavirus Resources Page.
We will continue to provide you with important updates as we become aware of them. In the meantime, let us know how else we can support you.