TOP TASKS

Push past politics and bureaucracy to expand choice in the Constitution State

“Connecticut is the only state in the country that requires legislative approval in the creation of charter schools, according to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. It’s currently home to 21 charter schools, and approved funding for two more charter schools,” Jessika Harkay wrote for the CT Mirror last week. The low number of charters in the Constitution State, compared with 115 for Utah and 81 for Nevada–states of similar population size–reflect the structural challenges faced by school leaders and advocates in broadening the suite of educational options available to families when funding is so tenuous.

As of last week, however, there’s going to be five new charter schools in Connecticut–a 20% increase–as ConnCAN and their coalition partners notched the first win across the 50CAN network in 2025.

“When we look families in the eye and say that we promise we’re going to fight for them to find the education that’s right for their children, I take that promise seriously,” said Steven Hernández, ConnCAN Executive Director. “And what I’m most excited about is that each of the schools have drastically different visions that are going to appeal to different kids and different families. That’s the type of pluralism that families deserve.”

The approved charters include:

• • Two schools in the Taino Collab network, high expectations charter schools serving a diverse student population that pairs academic excellence with additional coursework on AI, robotics, machine learning and biotech.
  • Olam Public Charter School in Stamford, modeled after Hebrew public schools in New York, combining rigorous instruction with daily Hebrew lessons.
  • PROUD Academy in Ansonia, a school designed for LGBTQ+ students and allies.
  • Big Picture Learning Academy, also in Stamford, that aims to match every student with daily counseling, an individualized learning plan and academic internships.

To get these charter schools approved, ConnCAN partnered with the Connecticut Charter Schools Association (CCSA) and Latinos for Educational Advocacy and Diversity (LEAD) to elevate parent voices and mobilize grassroots supporters. Those efforts were noted as critical to success, with the CT Mirror reporting that the schools “received initial approval after dozens of advocates voiced support for the five schools at the school board’s meeting Wednesday.”

“This win could not have happened without the leadership and commitment to parent voice and engagement from our partners CCSA and LEAD. We asked the board to imagine a state where kids have a future of emerging opportunities, where kids feel safe and welcomed in an environment ready for learning. And in approving these charters the state board took a step toward making that a reality–with charters and districts working together to build the best opportunities in the state. Moving forward, we’re going to look at ways that we can streamline this process for future charter school approvals,” Steven told us.

Don’t sleep on advances in AI

“If we have learned one thing from the history of invention and discovery, it is that, in the long run—and often in the short one—the most daring prophecies seem laughably conservative,” Arthur C. Clarke observed in his 1951 book The Exploration of Space.

There is no shortage of “doomers” in the discussion of AI and education. But it’s worth asking: what if these new tools turn out to be great?

That’s what we were wondering as we watched a new demonstration from OpenAI of its “Operator” agent.

“AI is evolving from this tool that could answer your questions to one that is also able to take action in the world, carrying out complex, multistep workflows,” Peter Welinder, VP of product at OpenAI, told WIRED. “We’ll see a lot of impact on people’s productivity—but also the quality of work that people are able to accomplish.”

How could a school of the future operate if each teacher had an assistant like this and the central office had access to a nearly unlimited number of low-cost AI support staff?

What kinds of schools are going to be able to leverage these advances in the years ahead? Probably not the ones that are mired in red tape, contracts and compliance systems. That’s why making room for new kinds of schools, freed from the constraints of the past, will be so important. They won’t get everything right all at once, but they may chart new paths forward that we all can follow.

Key Resources

HawaiiKidsCAN conducts poll on residents’ education priorities

HawaiiKidsCAN polled voters in the state, finding that public education was the second most important issue for the electorate, following homelessness. Additionally, 77% of respondents indicated that they wanted to see the state spend more on education, with additional pay for special education teachers emerging as a top priority. Read more about the poll’s findings here.

Brookings hosted an event on the future of the U.S. Department of Education, featuring former Secretaries Margaret Spellings, Arne Duncan and John King.

The Alliance for Learning Innovation (ALI), which includes partners Education Reimagined and Transcend, issued a new policy brief with recommendations for improving state education R&D efforts, including establishing a dedicated office to oversee innovation and research projects.

New America highlighted strategies to “activate explorer mode” in children to address the growing disengagement crisis–only 25% of tenth graders say they love school.

New York Governor Hochul will need $13.5 million to implement a statewide ban on cell phones, Chalkbeat reported.

The Urban Institute published a case study on efforts to strengthen student data privacy in the Nebraska Statewide Workforce & Educational Reporting System.

Education Next explored what personal viewpoints teachers are sharing in class according to a nationwide survey of high school students. They found that 56% teachers often say that America has made a lot of progress toward racial equity the past 50 years while only 20% express support for the concept of white privilege.

EdWorkingPapers examined the evolution of career and technical education credentials, finding that industry credentialing certificates were often being issued outside of a student’s particular CTE program of study, suggesting programs may be meeting state or federal requirements through loopholes.