NEW HAVEN, CT – The Connecticut Council for Education Reform (CCER) today announced a two-week advertising campaign to generate public awareness and engage a broader group of residents in the discussion around some of the key issues in the education reform debate during this current legislative session. The two commercials, titled “Fostering Great Teachers and Leaders” and “Turnaround Schools,” focus on two important aspects of the current education reform debate.
“We are truly at a crossroads on education in Connecticut,” said Rae Ann Knopf, Executive Director of CCER. ”This is the moment where we as citizens decide whether or not we care enough stand up for what is right for our children. With more than 100,000 children destined to drop out of high school and thousands more to graduate without the requisite skills in reading and mathematics, it’s hard to imagine why we don’t have more public outcry demanding solutions to these problems.”
“It has become way too easy for us to blame one another or cite poverty as the root of the problem. The truth is, our children are victims of circumstance, and they rely on us, as adults, to have the courage to act on the solutions we know work to overcome whatever disadvantages they may be experiencing. We need to move beyond the rhetoric and support a revised education system that works to meet the learning needs of every child in Connecticut,” Knopf added.
CCER is comprised of business and civic advocates for comprehensive reform efforts and is dedicated to closing the achievement gap while raising academic outcomes for all students in Connecticut. CCER supports the original Senate Bill 24 and Governor Malloy’s education reform agenda.
The CCER advertising campaign will run statewide on radio, broadcast and cable television stations between April 2nd and April 15th. One of the first television spots will air tonight during the NCAA men’s national championship game between the University of Kentucky and Kansas University. Other spots are scheduled to run during The Masters golf tournament, popular primetime shows, news programs on all of Connecticut’s network affiliates and cable systems and radio stations throughout the state.
CCER utilized footage from its in-depth, three-part documentary, Great Expectations: Raising Educational Achievement, to create its television spots. The spots highlight important concepts for improving Connecticut’s education system and raising academic outcomes for all of our state’s students.
The ads can be viewed here.
Contact: Robert Townes
Communications Manager
Connecticut Council for Education Reform
195 Church Street, 7th Floor New Haven, CT 06510
