The Student Achievement in Reading: Pilot State Profile CT

Connecticut State Profile

Lead Agency and Contact

Valerie R. Marino

Connecticut Department of Education
25 Industrial Park Road
Middletown, CT 06457

Phone: 860-807-2130
Fax: 860-807-2062
Valerie.Marino@ct.gov

Professional Development System

The Adult Training and Development Network (ATDN) of the Capital Region Education Council (CREC) is the professional development agent for the Bureau of Health/Nutrition, Family Services and Adult Education. ATDN works closely and collaboratively with the Bureau and local adult education programs. The Bureau with the support and collaboration of ATDN has designed and implemented a professional development model that features the following:

Professional Development Basics;
Site-Based Professional Development;
Field-Requested Professional Development; and
Stipend Funding.

The Reading and Language Arts Task Force (RTF). Established and coordinated by the Bureau with support and facilitation from ATDN, the RTF reviews existing reading instruction and strategies, adapts those strategies to teaching adults, helps create training initiatives, and advises the Bureau on reading, writing, and spelling issues and initiatives as they relate to adults. The RTF is very involved with Bureau efforts to introduce more adult education programs and expose more teachers to the STAR model. To that end, Connecticut's STAR Institute has been established. The Institute is a professional development initiative providing a series of seven required workshops focused specifically on improving instructional reading practices in our adult education classrooms.

STAR Pilot

Connecticut is implementing STAR in three local programs. These programs have large numbers of intermediate-level readers and the largest number of teachers at that level. Additionally, teacher surveys at these sites indicated a need and desire for professional development in the area of reading instruction.

All three programs identified teachers and a site coordinator to work closely with ATDN. The Project STAR pilot team also invited teachers of intermediate-level readers in other program areas to participate. The majority of the teachers have a background in education, but not in reading. However, each program has at least one to two teachers who do have formal reading training.

Programs Implementing STAR

Bridgeport Adult Education
Bridgeport, CT
Hartford Adult Education
Hartford, CT
New Haven Adult Education
New Haven, CT