After a great deal of discussion and compromise, the Connecticut State Legislature passed education reform legislation which Governor Dannel Malloy signed into law on Tuesday, May 15. To help parents and BCAC supporters understand the bill, we have prepared a fact sheet that dissects the legislation and explains its important components. To view the fact sheet, click here.

BCAC’s 27th Annual Breakfast on Tuesday, May 1, brought noted civil rights attorney and child advocate Connie Rice (cousin to Condoleeza Rice) to Bridgeport’s Holiday Inn. To a capacity crowd, Rice spoke about the violence, education, health, and poverty issues plaguing Los Angeles and how Bridgeport was a microcosm of that larger city.

Rice, who was recently named one of the 100 Most Influential Black Lawyers in the United States, signed copies of her new book, Power Concedes Nothing, which chronicles a career in which she has taken on school and bus systems, Death Row, the states of Mississippi and California, and the Los Angeles Police Department—and won.

But Rice told BCAC’s guests that winning in court wasn’t enough. “I was winning all my cases, but my clients were losing their lives in the kill zones [of poor Los Angeles neighborhoods].” To change problems into solutions, Rice told the audience that they must reach out to a variety of constituencies so that these issues can be attacked from different levels. We all need to be involved Rice said, because “When you have a malaria epidemic, you can’t hand out fly swatters!”

Also at the event, BCAC presented Jeanne Milstein with its Jan Park Advocacy Award. Milstein served as the "public voice" for children in Connecticut for the past 12 years in the Office of the Child Advocate, which monitors and investigates services to children that are either provided by state agencies or funded by the state.

BCAC presented Hernan Illingworth with its Cesar Batalla Community Service Award for his strong leadership with Bridgeport parents and his deep commitment to improving the Bridgeport public schools. Illingworth has been Co-Chair of BCAC’s Education and Early Care Task Force and has served on BCAC’s Board of Directors. He has been integrally involved with the Parent Leadership Training Institute and currently sits on the Bridgeport Board of Education.

As Liz Dupont-Diehl, BCAC supporter and Policy Director of the Connecticut Association for Human Services, told us, “Congratulations and thanks for a MARVELOUS event! Once again you have hit it out of the park with an outstanding and inspiring speaker. I always think: Bridgeport is lucky to have BCAC.”

We thank the sponsors below for their generous support of BCAC's 2012 Annual Breakfast:

Aquarion Water Company                The United Illuminating Company and Southern Connecticut Gas

AT&T                                                The Workplace, Inc.

Casey Family Services                     William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund

Bridgeport Hospital                          General Electric Company

People's United Bank                       Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder, P.C.

 

The Bridgeport Child Advocacy Coalition was recently presented the 2012 Community Service Award by Juneteenth of Fairfield County at its Black Tie Awards Dinner on March 10. The award acknowledges organizations that “have provided the impetus and venue for political commitment and volunteer activities” and “have a positive impact on the rights and privileges of poor, economically disadvantaged and politically disenfranchised residents.” All of us at BCAC thank Juneteenth for this honor and congratulate them on a successful event.

There has been a great deal of discussion at the local, state and federal level addressing the achievement gap and the critical role that teachers play in the learning process.  An integral part of this discussion is assessing which teacher evaluation models are most effective at measuring and improving teacher quality.  So that Bridgeport parents and other concerned constituencies can engage in a thoughtful discussion about teacher evaluations, BCAC has prepared a guide, The ABCs of Teacher Evaluations: Best Practices to Improve Teaching and Learning. Please read it and share it with your neighbors and friends.  If you need additional copies, please call us.

The 2011 State of the Child in Bridgeport Executive Summary and the Report Card on the Well-Being of Bridgeport Children has been translated into Spanish. To read more...

El Resumen Ejecutivo Del Estado del Niño en Bridgeport del 2011 y el Reporte de Calificaciones en el Bienestar de Niños en Bridgeport ha sido traducido en Español. Leer más…

On January 26, Interim Bridgeport School Superintendent Paul Vallas met with BCAC's Education and Early Care Task Force and more than 40 parents and community leaders to discuss his preliminary plans to improve the Bridgeport School District. Attendees could each ask Vallas one question regarding the school district, and the meeting lasted for nearly two hours. Vallas whole-heartedly endorsed BCACs Bridgeport Children’s Bill of Rights for Education and, as seen in the accompanying photo, signed a facsimile Bill of Rights document. Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch, the Bridgeport Board of Education and the Connecticut Post all endorsed BCAC’s Bill of Rights for Education within the past month.

The Bridgeport Board of Education signed the Bridgeport Child Advocacy Coalition’s Children’s Bill of Rights for Education at its meeting on Monday, January 24.

Hernan Illingworth, who represents parents on the Board of Education, introduced the Bill of Rights and asked the board to sign the three-foot by four-foot Bill of Rights document.

Robert Trefry, chairman of the Board of Education, signed the Bill of Rights in front of an audience of about 60 parents, educators and concerned citizens.   [read more]

BRIDGEPORT, CT, January 23, 2012 – The Bridgeport Child Advocacy Coalition (BCAC) has received a $30,000 grant from the Fairfield County Community Foundation to support BCAC’s Parent Engagement Program. The Parent Engagement program has two goals: (1) to engage parents in the education process by encouraging and promoting meaningful dialogue about teacher accountability, and (2) to give parents the necessary tools and strategies to be successful advocates.  [Read more]

Nearly 100 people showed their support for  the Bridgeport Child Advocacy Coalition’s (BCAC)  “Children’s Bill of Rights for Education” by taking pen in hand and signing their name to the document, which was mounted on a two-foot by three-foot board and displayed at the Community Center of the Mt. Aery Baptist Church in Bridgeport Tuesday evening.

“We have been in a holding pattern since the reconstitution of the Bridgeport Board of Education earlier this summer,” said Mary Pat Healy, BCAC’s Executive Director.   That reconstitution is currently being challenged at the Connecticut Supreme Court level. 

“BCAC felt that setting forth a Children’s Bill of Rights for Education could be a rallying point for all parties with a vested interest in Bridgeport’s education system,” said Frances Newby, Chairwoman of the BCAC Board of Directors.  “We believe our 10-point Bill of Rights outlines the foundation for a revived school system that is accountable to parents and, more important, to children.”

The Children’s Bill of Rights for Education supports a school system and school board that is transparent, equitable, appropriately funded, safe, encourages public engagement, represents  and answers the needs of the city’s  diverse community and which has strong leadership.  “For too long the children of Bridgeport have been short changed in receiving the education they deserve,” said Healy.  “The Board of Education and the school system must be accountable and committed to excellence.  It is not too much for our children to ask.”

At last night’s introduction of the Children's Bill of Rights for Education, State Representative Andres Ayala and Representative Auden Grogins signed the Bill of Rights as did more than 50 audience members.  Many Bridgeport agencies representing the community also signed the document, including the Bridgeport Children’s Leadership Training Institute, Bridgeport Education Fund, Bridgeport Parent Leadership Training Institute, Bridgeport Schools Parent Advisory Council, the Center for Women and Families, Greater Bridgeport Branch of the NAACP, the Greater Bridgeport Latino Network, RYASAP, and the United Way of Coastal Fairfield County.

If you would like to show your support for the Bridgeport Child Advocacy Coalition’s Children’s Bill of Rights for Education, please click here.

May

BCAC Board of Directors Meeting, Thursday, May 10, 2012, 8:00am-9:30am, CANCELLED

Meeting with State Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor, Tuesday, May 15, 2012, 6:00pm-8:00pm, Mount Aery Baptist Church, 73 Frank Street, Bridgeport 06604

BCAC Education & Early CareTask Force Annual Planning Meeting, Wednesday, May 30, 2012, 5:15pm-7:00pm, Burroughs Community Center