Why We Do It
State testing results tell the story of two Connecticuts.
One Connecticut is wealthy, suburban, and predominantly white. Students have access to well-funded schools and a plethora of opportunities. Students here performed better than the national averages in both reading and math.
The other Connecticut is lower-income, a mixture of urban and rural communities, and includes the vast majority of the state’s Black and brown students.
Students often attend underfunded schools with limited resources to help them reach their full potential.
Students of color here not only scored far below their in-state peers, but have also fallen to the back of the pack nationally.
And it doesn’t have to be this way. We are the third smallest state in the nation. We can operate as a single Connecticut that does right by all students. We just have to change.
Right now, a Black student in Mississippi is getting a better education than a Black student in Connecticut. The Southern states many of our ancestors left so they could get a better education for their children are now outpacing Connecticut. Our state is hindered by its racist and classist public education system.
Our Stories
Our people deserve and demand equitable access to quality education. And we deserve to tell our own stories.
The Crisis
All kids in Connecticut are not getting access to an equitable and excellent education. Connecticut’s Black, brown and low-income children get among the worst. It doesn’t have to be this way.
