Whereas the current Commissioner of Education, Stefan Pryor, a man with no teaching experience or education degree was hired to head Connecticut's Dept of Ed, and who will resign shortly, needs to be replaced by a qualified educator. Mr. Pryor created undue damage because of his lack of educational expertise, and to his ties to the for-profit charter school industry. In addition, Pryor hired political cronies to fill positions in the Department of Education that were once occupied by experienced personnel, and has taken a once-proud Department and made it a dumping ground for cronyism. Connecticut's schools, teachers, administrators, and most importantly, its students, deserve a qualified, respected educator for this important position, and not someone without an education pedigree, ties to the private sector, and someone who does not support public education. We call on Governor Malloy to make the Commissioner of Education a true educator like governors in CT have done prior to the Pryor error. If Gov. Malloy refuses, we call on the State Legislature to insist that an educator be appointed to run the Department of Education.
Why is this important?
Connecticut deserves a qualified educator to head its Department of Education to preserve public education and to implement policies that are best practices and researched-based.
