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Amid Declining School Enrollment and Budget Constraints, Are International Students a Boon?

About two-thirds of students at community colleges in Connecticut are not prepared for college-level work.
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How can we adequately fund public education?

There's a debate in West Hartford over plans by a for-profit company to open an educational academy for Chinese students in town. The plan would include sending some students to the public high schools.

What are the pros and cons in allowing international students into our public schools at a time when districts face declining enrollment and budget constraints? Is this a creative way to fund public schools or is it detrimental to their mission? 

This hour, we discuss the impact of international students on public education, a system with limited resources. 

GUESTS:

  • Ronni Newton - Managing editor of We-Ha.com
  • Beth Kerrigan - Member of the West Hartford town council
  • Jason Guerrera - Co-founder of Apex International Education Partners
  • Patrice McCarthy - Deputy Director and General Counsel at the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education
  • Peggy Blumenthal - Senior Counselor to the President of the Institute of International Education

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Lydia Brown and Chion Wolf contributed to this show.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.