In September the AFT CT informed educators that the rollout of the new Foundations of Reading survey required for K-3 teachers was being delayed. This was a result of joint efforts by AFT Connecticut and the Connecticut Education Association (CEA) to address a number of issues with implementation and application of the new survey.
For the past three months we have worked with the Malloy-Wyman Administration and the legislature to find solutions to members’ concerns. The State Department of Education (SDE) yesterday announced significant improvements that we advocated for, along with new window dates for administration.
SDE has established two survey administration windows for districts to choose from: 
  • January 20, 2015, through May 15, 2015; &
  • August 17, 2015, through September 11, 2015.
Key survey application protections and improvements include:
  • Discretion by local education agency, not SDE, for administration; 
  • Protection of anonymity for teachers;
  • Restriction of results from evaluations; 
  • Exemption from FOIA disclosure for results; &
  • Prohibition of certification consequences from results.
This update will be posted to the “Professional Development” page of the AFT CT website, where we have linked a practice survey and the Connecticut Foundations of Reading (CFOR) website.
We appreciate your trust and support as we worked to ensure the new survey did not put our member at unnecessary risk. Together, we showed what “solution-driven unionism” is all about.
More to come, and in solidarity, 
Melodie Peters
President, AFT Connecticut
Steve McKeever
First Vice-President, AFT Connecticut
Jean Morningstar
Second Vice-President, AFT Connecticut
Patti Fusco
Pre-K-12 Jurisdictional Vice-President, AFT Connecticut
Advertisement