A group of students from the Freshman Academy at Hartford Public High School created this video in response to the national call to defend education on March 4.

Marissa Janewska discusses the issues and organizing behind the March 4 Defend Education day of action, to be held at colleges and universities across Connecticut and nationwide.

Click here to download the MP3

Got Equality? Not if you’re 51% of the population.

The new campaign slogan for the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women certainly gets right to the point. And if anyone is unconvinced of their assertion, then I wish you could have attended Women’s Day at the Capital on Tuesday.  Invited speakers and the public submitted testimony on Tuesday and called attention to many issues like health care, domestic violence and protection, education, employment, women in politics, and childcare.  Two high school students from the Young Women’s Leadership Program essay contest also read their winning essays which focused on breaking the cycle of domestic violence and the need for more women in leadership positions. Read the full story

February 9th is fast approaching and the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women is looking for oral or written testimony from the public on issues that are important to women.

Any interested individuals may testify by submitting oral and/or written or electronic testimony. For oral testimony, sign-up will begin at 9:00 a.m in the same room as the hearing. Oral testimony should be no longer than 3 minutes. Read the full story

While violence and gang activity in Hartford and other urban areas have been covered with gusto by the mainstream media, the underlying causes of these issues have not been examined. The Black and Latino Caucus will host a timely town hall meeting on the statewide education achievement gap Thursday November 19, 6 PM at the Legislative Office Building.

In a blatant attempt to decapitate the Hartford Federation of Teachers (HFT), Superintendent Stephen Adamowski has hired a law firm to enforce a “use tax” upon union leadership, according to HFT officials.  Because HFT president, first vice president and second vice president are on what’s called detached duty, sources inside union leadership say that the law firm, Shipman and Goodwin, maintain that the union must pay a tax for the detached duty, the services provided by the leadership.  To date, neither the Board of Education nor its legal representation has provided  evidence to support this claim.  Adding to the assault, the Board of Ed. sent HFT leadership a letter stating that as of August 24 its detached duty will be considered unauthorized, unpaid leave.   This change would cause the three officers of HFT to lose their rights to contribute to their individual State Teachers Retirement accounts and lose their health insurance benefits.  Read the full story

Interview with Alex Johnston of ConnCAN and Justin Camp, recent graduate of Capital Preparatory Magnet School in Hartford.

Click here to download the MP3

The latest blow to the museum field comes from the rejection of the We’re Making Connecticut History Interdistrict Grant program with the Connecticut Historical Society.  Funding provided by the State Department of Education, this program pairs Hartford 4^th and 5^th grade urban students with suburban 4^th and 5^th grade classrooms from all over Connecticut.  This study of Connecticut history partnered with students from diverse backgrounds helps to reduce racial and economic isolation and helps to build important relationships between urban/suburban children.  Read the full story

Perhaps it was a bluff, but sources indicate that even though Hartford Public High School officials planned a virtual lockdown of the school for today’s PBS Newshour visit, the plan to sequester a list of problem students was not implimented.  No word yet as to why this action was not taken as planned.  A list of students was circulated late last week.  These students were to be kept in a designated room all day while the PBS film crew was present.  Read the full story

On Monday May 18, PBS’s News Hour will be visiting Hartford Public High School.  They will arrive at 7:00am and are scheduled to interview superintendent Steven Adamoski.  And to make sure everything looks good on camera, they’re sequestering the trouble kids.  Read the full story