Geoff Luxenberg Calls for Achievement Gap Task Force

Today Geoff Luxenberg announced his plans for the creation of an achievement gap task force, that would produce a detailed report for the Board of Directors within a year.

The task force, co-chaired by one Democrat and one Republican member of the Board of Education, will consist of two more Board of Education members, school administrators, a PTA representative and others.

From the Journal-Inquirer article outlining the plan (emphasis mine):

One Republican and one Democrat from the Board of Directors would serve ex-officio roles on the task force because, Luxenberg said, he wants "the folks who control the purse strings, the folks on the Board of Directors, to have a stake in this process."

The achievement gaps are a problem nationwide and statewide as well as in Manchester. Connecticut's achievement gap has been measured as the largest in the nation.

"It's a major civil rights issue of our time," Luxenberg said.

Superintendent of Schools Kathleen M. Ouellette and other administrators have made closing the achievement gaps a top priority, but "the Board of Education has to become an active player in achieving this goal," Luxenberg said. "It's not enough to just have the superintendent and central office working on it."

The task force would look for proven ways to address the gaps in all subject areas but with a special emphasis on reading, where the gaps widened at some grade levels.

"Reading is really the most critical of subjects and it's where the gap is most harmful," because poor reading ability affects the ability to learn in other subjects, Luxenberg said.

The Board of Education is expect to vote on Luxenberg's proposal at tomorrow night's meeting.