Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com June 26, 2017 • Hartford Business Journal 3 Businesses seek bigger say in education reform By Patricia Daddona pdaddona@HartfordBusiness.com A bout a month before Connecticut careened into an extended legislative session to address its fiscal crisis, two industry-backed nonprofits joined forces with the hopes of giving businesses a bigger say in education reform. The Connecticut Council for Education Reform (CCER) and the Connecticut Busi- ness and Industry Association (CBIA) affili- ated in mid-May, hoping to align their areas of expertise so that businesses can assist educators in improving literacy, fostering professional development and establishing other policies that help strengthen the state's workforce and close the so-called "achieve- ment gap," which is the difference in educa- tional performance between Connecticut's low-income and non-low-income students. Among their goals is to redefine what it means for students to be college- and career- ready, improve test scores and graduation rates, and ensure preschool slots are avail- able to children across the state, says Jeffrey Villar, CCER's former executive director. Villar is now vice president of education policy for CBIA's Education and Workforce Partnership. "Fiscal issues aside, it really is your work- force that differentiates [one] state's economy from another, so it's incumbent on CBIA to be more vocal, active and successful in prepar- ing a workforce for our member companies," says CBIA CEO and President Joe Brennan. The affiliation pairs Villar and Andrea Comer, formerly CBIA's Education and Work- force Partnership executive director and now vice president of workforce strategies. Togeth- er, Villar said, the newly formed group is craft- ing a 2018 policy agenda that can be pursued not only at the local level but statewide. Specifically, they are targeting reforms in K-12 education. Since the CBIA already had a longstand- ing relationship with CCER and a seat on its board of directors, coming together was "a natural fit," said Steven J. Simmons, CCER's board chairman. As part of the merger, CBIA and CCER will retain their respective boards. CCER's board includes heavy-hitting, corpo- rate executives like Travelers Cos. CEO Alan Schnitzer and Ramani Ayer, retired CEO of The Hartford. Simmons is also chairman of Greenwich-based Simmons/Patriot Media & Communications. "CCER grew out of Steve Simmons' efforts to keep a governor's commission on closing the education gap going," said state Rep. Andy Fleischmann, a West Hartford Democrat who co-chairs the legislature's Education Com- mittee and is also CEO of the nonprofit Big Brothers Big Sisters. "I'm hoping Jeff and the team from the council continue to have strong roles after this merger." While business input is plentiful for the state's technical high schools, which help lead students to careers in manufacturing, information technology and health services, among many others, there are tech programs within Connecticut public high schools that don't have those same business connections, said Fleischmann. He said he sees the new partnership as a group with the potential to change that, as well as strengthen intern- ships and apprenticeships for economically disadvantaged students. In 2016, CCER, which has moved into CBIA's downtown Hartford offices, had an operating budget of $1.2 million. Its key corporate supporters include Stanley Black & Decker, Travelers, the Grossman Family Foundation and People's United Bank. "We had more than enough money in the bank to operate without raising another penny in the foreseeable future," said Simmons, "but by combining with the CBIA we will operate more efficiently. The primary reason for doing this was, we felt we would be a much stronger voice in improving education." In its affiliation with CBIA, CCER elimi- nated its finance director and an office man- ager and data analyst — services already staffed at CBIA, Villar said. Comer points out that better outcomes are attainable by focusing on rigorous student curriculums, high expectations for teach- ers and empowered leaders and equitable resources. She warned that the continued exodus out of the state of capable Connecticut youth and workers is the penalty Connecticut will pay if it doesn't pursue these goals. "You've seen it play out with GE and Aetna," she noted. "They're not saying, 'We're leaving for tax reasons;' they're leaving pri- marily for talent reasons. Academia is saying, 'We need to listen to business and meet their workforce needs.' " However, in many ways, businesses are already engaged, Comer said. CBIA's Educa- tion and Workforce Partnership website pro- motes continued implementation of education reforms that use metrics to measure outcomes and programming that addresses the skills gap Continued www.kelsercorp.com 43 Western Blvd, Suite 150 Glastonbury, CT 06033 860 610 2200 Getting hacked isn't annoying. It's costly. 66% of organizations would not survive a cyber attack. Our monthly Cybersecurity-as-a-Service offering makes practical cybersecurity affordable and easy to plan for. www.kelsercorp.com/defendfinance Jeffrey Villar and Andrea Comer are leading the Connecticut Business and Industry Association's workforce preparedness and K-12 policy reforms. P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D ▶ ▶ " You've seen it play out with GE and Aetna. They're not saying, 'We're leaving for tax reasons;' they're leaving primarily for talent reasons. Academia is saying, 'We need to listen to business and meet their workforce needs.' " Andrea Comer, vice president of workforce strategies, CBIA

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