CT’s superintendents get on the same page as school year begins

HARTFORD, CT (WFSB) - Superintendents from across the state met in Hartford on Tuesday to discuss goals for the new school year.

The East Hartford marching band welcomed the state’s superintendents to another school year.

The annual education commissioner’s back-to-school meeting was held Tuesday morning at the Connecticut Science Center.

The audience was full of superintendents from districts across the state.

They said the goal was to make sure all the school districts were on the same page as students returned to their classrooms.

“They’re responsible for the 508,402 students that go through our system,” said Charlene Russell-Tucker, education commissioner. “So, getting together, networking with each other, and hearing from us. The governor will be here just to say ‘listen, we see you, we are here to support you.’”

The theme was “unlocking lifelong potential.”

Groton superintendent Susan Austin told Channel 3 that her district is doing that by opening a new manufacturing center at Fitch High School, through the Career Pathways Program that provides students with specialized courses to prepare them for jobs after graduation.

“There are different pathways and there are so many opportunities in Groton,” Austin said. “We want our kids ready for all those opportunities.”

Superintendent of the Year Christine Carver of Bethel Public Schools said this year, her teachers will be preparing students for jobs in a highly technical world.

“They say two-thirds of the jobs that our elementary students will have, have not even been invented yet,” Carver said. “So, we are preparing kids for jobs that don’t exist. So, how do you give them the knowledge and skills they are going to need to be successful?”

Gov. Ned Lamont shared his message to the superintendents as they embarked on the new school year.

“Connecticut has some of the best schools in the country, meaning some of the best schools in the world,” Lamont said. “That’s thanks to great teachers in the classroom, and superintendents keeping an eye on things. Don’t be afraid to be innovative. We have to keep changing.”