I’m writing with an update on both the state COVID-19 response and our advocacy efforts.

Updates from the State Capitol

This week, Governor Lamont announced his plan to call for a special session to address police reform and absentee ballots in Connecticut. Additionally, on June 5, the Governor also announced that Connecticut is ready for phase II of re-opening, moving up his original date for Phase II to June 17.

Updates on our work

Over the last several weeks, our team has hosted several virtual convenings with school leadership and staff, parents, and other community members to continue our work. If you are interested in participating in one of our virtual convenings, or if you have a suggestion for a meeting, please reply directly to this email. All are welcome to participate!

This week, our team hosted a virtual charter advocacy meeting with State Representative Gerald Reyes, Jr.! During this meeting, members of the Brass City Charter School community shared their recent experiences with Representative Reyes and advocated for their community and charter school funding. As we approach the anticipated special session, our team will continue to host these meetings with key legislators.

This week marks the end of the school year for many of our schools; Congratulations! This year has certainly been a challenge, however, I have been inspired by the tenacity and creativity that you all have shown during these uncertain times. To the class of 2020, their families, dedicated teachers and school staff: congratulations on a great, yet challenging year from all of us at the Connecticut Charter Schools Association.

As we continue to move our advocacy work forward, we ask that you take a moment to share your stories with us. We will share them to celebrate your school communities, particularly as we approach the end of the school year.

Many of you have mentioned that you are looking for unique ways to celebrate your 2020 graduates publicly. To that end, several local Connecticut news stations are looking to help! See the linked instructions to submit to NBC Connecticut and/or Fox61.

Lastly, we encourage you to review the resources available to all charter schools on our Coronavirus Resources Page. And if you’d like to read our end of year report, take a look here.

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.