Through an array of services and products, the CT Academy assists school districts and others through fees for service, public and private foundation support, corporate program sponsorships, and additional government grants. The CT Academy regularly collaborates with and provides technical assistance to Connecticut school districts, the State Departments of Education and Higher Education, Legislature and Governor's Office.   It also partners with other educational organizations and deploys a cadre of more than 50 highly qualified consultants and over 200 CT Academy Fellows to help increase the effectiveness of local education systems.

2005 ­ 2006 Operating Goals/Results  

1. Refining Your Strategie­Mathematics: continue to implement RYS-M in existing and new districts with specific teacher/program/student performance measurement goals,CT Academy received 25 contracts in 18 districts, 80 schools; 837 teachers; 23,500 students;  
2. Refining Your Strategies-Science: continue to implement RYS-S as a continuation service through CASAP and Pathways in existing and new districts with specific teacher/program/student performance measurement goals,CT Academy received 42 contracts 40 districts; 108 schools; 832 teachers; 27,800 students ; Received $220,000, three-year grant from Hartford Foundation for Public Giving to implement the Tri-Town Consortia science project  
3. Refining Your Strategies: Mathematics and Science ­ Results-based Accountability Study

A review of three years of student performance data confirms that over 80% of the districts and schools that have purchased CT Academy tools and services for multiple years have improved science and mathematics achievement overall and reduced performance gaps among students. CT SDE Mathematics Framework: exploit the State's new frameworks to partner with CT State Department of Education on ­ Pathways workshops and to increase the number of district technical assistance and professional development contracts with districts and schools.

Co-presented with CSDE Mathematics Consultants to introduce the new Mathematics Framework through implementation of the Understanding the Framework workshops: 12 workshops presented.

The CT Academy completed 13 years of service to Connecticut educators in 2004. During the 2003-2004 school year, 41 school districts contracted with the CT Academy to use our teacher-developed, field-proven products and services. The Connecticut State Departments of Education and Higher Education recognize the CT Academy as one of the state's premier mathematics and science professional service providers and has used our monographs and materials to craft State policy.  

Connecticut Governor Rell has proclaimed October "Connecticut Teachers of Mathematics and Science Appreciation Month." Download a copy of the official proclamation here.

NES Partnerships for Sustainability: The NES Partnerships for Sustainability Program was launched in 2003 as a pilot to gauge the effectiveness of state-based coalitions working in active collaboration with the NASA Explorer Schools. The Sheridan Communications & Technology Middle School, New Haven School District, and CT Academy jointly received a $20,000 NES pilot grant in 2004, which is augmenting Sheridan's NASA Explorer School improvement plan. Sheridan is Connecticut's only NASA Explorer School.

NASSMC State Summit Implementation Program (NSSIP):  NSSIP, funded through NASA and the U.S. Department of Education, provides assistance to eligible state based organizations with planning, developing, administering, implementing, following-up and sustaining state science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education summits. Governor M. Jodi Rell authorized the CT Academy for Education to submit a proposal on behalf of Connecticut to hold a Science, Technology, Mathematics, and Engineering (STEM) statewide summit.  CONNvene: a Platform to Advance a Statewide STEM Dialogue and Strategy was held October 26, 2005. Business, government and education leaders who gathered in Hartford October 26 agreed that Connecticut must stimulate greater interest and training in math and science. Current trend lines are ominous, speakers warned:

• By 2020, about 40 percent of new workers will come from the state's poorest cities, where math and science performance is low.
• Fewer college students are pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering and math.
• More than 60 percent of the state's math and science teachers are 45 or older.

The conference - organized by the state and the Connecticut Academy for Education -- marked the beginning of a year-long effort to identify strategies for reversing these trends. The state could increase the supply of trained workers by making college more accessible to women and minority groups, said Daryl Chubin, director of the Center for Advancing Science and Engineering Capacity. Connecticut's year-long STEM initiative is intended to result in:

• A blueprint to focus federal, state, and local resources on STEM improvement;
• Strategies for consideration by the governor, legislature, state boards of education and higher education, local school districts, and communities on how to improve student interest and achievement in STEM education for all students, with specific emphasis on eradicating achievement gaps;
• A proposal for a coordinated and comprehensive business and industry support program;
• Consideration for public policy initiatives; and
• Implementation of a statewide public awareness campaign to engage parents and child caregivers to ensure that all Connecticut students receive appropriate STEM education opportunities.

State Education Commissioner Betty Sternberg said too many poor children are at an academic disadvantage from the start. "I see youngsters who don't know shapes, who don't know numbers, who don't know how to count. It's essential we provide high-quality preschool programs to all 3- or 4-year-olds who need them," she said.

The CT Academy is a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation that was incorporated in 1991 through a partnership of the Connecticut State Departments of Education, Higher Education, and Economic Development and the Legislature. Connecticut's General Assembly has recognized the CT Academy as an organization that provides leadership and technical support for the improvement of mathematics, science, and technology education for all citizens.

The original role of the CT Academy was to administer and broker a ten-year, $15.4 million National Science Foundation (NSF) funded initiative to increase student achievement in mathematics and science throughout Connecticut. The CT Academy has brought more than $16.5 million to Connecticut since its inception. Notable products and programs developed over the past 13 years include:

1. CT Academy Science Assessment Program CASAP;
2. CT Mathematics Program Evaluation Guide MPEG;
3. CT Science Program Evaluation Guide SPEG;
4. Refining Your Strategies: Math/Science Professional Development Services;
5. Learning Doesn't Take a Vacation public outreach program;
6. Discovery Guide to CT's Informal Science Centers;
7. Recommendations to Improve Preparation of New Math/Science Teachers;
8. Better Use of Time Monograph, Survey and Database;
9. Implementation of Technology Evaluation Guide;
10. Parents' Math/Science Expectations & Gift Ideas (English/Spanish);
11. Partnership to Improve Science Education initiative;
12. CT Math, Science & Technology-Leadership Council;
13. CT Building a Presence for Science Network;
14. Pathways to Science Framework Workshops; and
15. Governor Rell's Math & Science Summit plan and funding