Written Testimony of ConnCAN CEO Jennifer Alexander Before

the NAACPs New Haven Listening Tour Forum

Good afternoon. My name is Jennifer Alexander and I am the CEO of
ConnCAN, a statewide education advocacy organization.
Thank you to the NAACP for hosting todays discussion, and for your
years of advocacy on critical education issues. Were especially
grateful for the work that weve done in partnership with the
Connecticut NAACP in recent years to help increase the number of
high quality teachers and leaders in Connecticut schools. ConnCAN
stands with the NAACP on these important issues and we look
forward to continuing to work with you to advocate for great public
schools for all.
In this time of great uncertainty and division in our country, I think
there is at least one thing we can all agree on. One thing that can
bring us together: we all want a brighter future for our children.
We know this bright future -- strong communities and a strong
economy -- depends on all of our children receiving a great public
education that prepares them for success.
Unfortunately, we also know that our states public education system
is leaving far too many of our low income students and students of
color behind. Here are just a few facts:
Connecticut has some of the largest achievement gaps in the
country between children of color and low income children and
their more affluent, white peers.
Recent SAT scores show that only 4 in 10 of all Connecticut
11th graders and even fewer students of color and children in
poverty are ready for college level work in math.
On state proficiency exams, only about 1 in 8 African-American
students and less than 2 in 10 Hispanic students met or
exceeded state math standards, compared to about half of all
white students.

 Too many Connecticut students who graduate from our public

high schools end up needing remedial coursework in college.
These results are unacceptable. They hold back the future potential
of generations of our children and also hold back the future of our
state.
This is particularly true as our states population is becoming more
diverse, while at the same time we know the jobs of the future will
increasingly require education beyond a high school diploma. A few
quick facts:
For the first time, last years Connecticut kindergarten class
was a majority students of color.
By 2020, nearly of Connecticuts working-age population and
nearly of our youngests workers will be people of color.
By 2020, 70% of Connecticut jobs will require some form of
higher education.
In fact, 65% of the jobs our children will take do not exist today.
These numbers are a clarion call to dramatically improve our public
education system, especially for our children of color, so they are
ready to compete in this new economy.
One critical way to achieve this goal is to provide access to high
quality public school options of all kinds. That includes great
traditional public schools, magnet schools, career and tech schools,
and charter public schools.
We respectfully disagree with the NAACPs call for a moratorium on
charter public schools. We do so because Connecticuts charter
schools have a proven record of serving our neediest communities
while also making real progress in closing achievement gaps.
More than 85 percent of students in our states charter schools are
African American or Hispanic, and more than 70 percent are lowincome. While serving some of our highest-need learners, several
charter public schools are achieving amazing results. For example:

 At Achievement First Amistad Academy, right here in New

Haven, students score in the 97th percentile on math
proficiency and in the 86th percentile on English proficiency.
Achievement First Bridgeport is the highest-performing charter
school in Bridgeport.
A number of charter high schools report college acceptance
rates between 90 and 100 percent, with similarly high college
persistence rates.
On a national level, we also know that charter public schools are
making a real difference, particularly in urban districts. According to a
2015 Stanford University study, African American children attending
urban charter schools are gaining 36 extra days of knowledge in math
and 26 more days in reading skills than their African American peers
in traditional public schools.
In Connecticut and nationally, charter public schools have proven to
be a lifeline for students who need a better public education, right
now. We should not take this choice, just one among many public
school choice opportunities, away from Connecticut families and
children.
At the same time, ConnCAN strongly believes that Connecticuts
charter public schools should be held accountable for their results
and be transparent in their governance practices.
This is not, however, an either/or choice. As we support public
charter schools, we must also work to strengthen ALL of our public
schools by expanding access to high quality early childhood
education, turning around our lowest-performing schools, and
ensuring all students have access to great teachers and leaders. We
also need to fund all schools fairly. Right now, Connecticut has no
education funding formula to distribute resources to our communities
and students in the greatest need. Thats not right and it is why we
are working with faith and community leaders across our state to urge
the General Assembly to adopt a fair, equitable, and predictable
funding formula by the end of the 2017 legislative session.

Adequate and predictable funding for all of our public schools, bold
systemic reforms, and a range of high quality public school choice
options will help close achievement gaps, provide all of our states
children with the great public education they deserve, and lay the
foundation for our states future economic prosperity.
Thank you.
Jennifer Alexander, CEO
Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now (ConnCAN)