In November, Trumbull High School was recognized in three top 10 lists -- for best academic performance among low-income, Hispanic and African-American students -- published by the group, also known as ConnCAN. The New Haven-based group has released such lists for six years.
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At first, staff members were proud to be recognized for doing their part to close the nation's worst achievement gap.
That all changed last week, said Nick Banks, a Trumbull High English teacher and union vice president, when he and others started looking into ConnCAN after the group threw its wholehearted support to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's education reform plan. That plan would increase funding for charter schools, in part by making local districts contribute financially toward their operation.
Malloy also wants to link student achievement to teacher evaluations and force teachers to re-earn tenure -- or the right to due process -- every five years. Banks said he heard ConnCAN's chief operating officer, Patrick Riccards, state repeatedly that for the reform plan to work, it had to be an all-or-nothing proposition.
That prompted Banks and eight or nine union representatives at Trumbull High to craft a letter to ConnCAN, which received approval from Tammy Baillargeon, president of the Trumbull Education Association.
Signed by TEA, the letter, in part, states: "We do not recognize or value your opinion of our performance and we view our inclusion in your 2010 State of Education Report as an opportunistic ploy to further promote your privatized agenda on the backs of hardworking public school teachers.
"Our inclusion in your list is not what inspires us to succeed with all of our students; it is our drive as highly trained, highly qualified educators to provide a rich public education for our students, free of the influence of corporate agendas," the letter continued.
Banks said he is not one to turn away a compliment but simply does not want an award "from these people."
Rather than an educational advocacy group, Banks said he considers ConnCAN to be a business out to "profit off of the public education system."
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