The teacher situation in Connecticut is, like many other things, vastly different between poor and wealthy communities.
Teachers in urban areas, where most of the students are black or Hispanic, are much more likely to be inexperienced. And they're more likely to take jobs in wealthier, whiter towns instead of sticking around. There are very few minority teachers across the entire state.
These are just a few of the issues described in Judge Thomas Moukawsher's scathing critique of Connecticut's education system.
The judge is asking the state to rework completely how it hires, pays, and retains teachers. His recent decision in a landmark school funding lawsuit has sparked some concern among the state's teachers' unions.
"The problem is that in Connecticut there's no way to know who the best teachers are, and no rational and substantial connection between their compensation and their affect on teaching children," Moukawsher said.
Recent results from teacher evaluations found that nearly all teachers were rated at the top. Members of the advisory committee that created the evaluation system have been aware of the problems, but have been divided on how to fix it.
Moukawsher said the committee has continued to water down the system to the point where it's virtually meaningless.
"The state's teacher evaluation system is little more than cotton candy in a rainstorm," he said.
According to Moukowsher, teachers are not being held accountable, and there's no rational reason reason for why they get paid based on seniority.
But Jan Hochadel sees things differently. She's president of AFT Connecticut, one of the state's two teachers' unions. In a statement, Hochadel said the judge's comments on teacher accountability were "not just disappointing, but disrespectful of education professionals."
The judge ordered the state to create new standards for hiring and evaluating educators by March 2017. The state's attorney general's office is appealing the decision to the state Supreme Court.
