First Niagara Bank has pledged $3 million to support a nonprofit group that is representing business interests in Connecticut’s education reform debate.
The money will go to Hartford’s Connecticut Council for Education Reform (CCER), which is led by a group of prominent Connecticut business leaders including former Hartford Financial Services Group CEO Ramani Ayer, and Peyton Patterson, the former chief executive of NewAllinace Bank, which was acquired by First Niagara Bank last year.
The Connecticut Council for Education Reform also unveiled Thursday its education agenda for the upcoming legislative session, which includes urging the state to adopt:
–Teacher and leader employment and retention policies that attract the highest quality professionals and insist upon effectiveness as defined by their ability to demonstrate improvement in student performance, not seniority, as the measure of success defined by redesigned evaluation systems.
–A system of high-quality academic interventions for every K-12 student who is behind in reading and math, which may include summer school or extended learning time, and a high school graduation assessment to ensure that a high school diploma reflects levels of competence.
–A state strategy for addressing turnaround schools and districts, which includes specific recommendations for increasing authority, accountability, parental choice and funding that follows the child.
–A chart of common accounts for accountability of state funds to determine the effective use of funds to improve student performance.Â
–A multi-year phase-in process to provide sufficient funding for all low-income three and four year olds to attend a high-quality preschool program.
CCER also expanded its board of directors. It’s newest members include Marna Borgstrom, president and CEO of Yale-New Haven Hospital; John J. Crawford, president of Strategem, LLC and lead independent director of Webster Financial Group; Richard C. Levin, president of Yale University; Brian MacLean, president and chief operating officer of Travelers; and James P. Torgerson, president and CEO of The United Illuminating Company.
