Good evening everyone and thank you for the opportunity to provide some comments to the State Board of Education at your November 4th Board Meeting.

My name is Joan Venditto and I am the current Treasurer of the Connecticut Chapter of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE-CT). I am also the Director of Education Programs at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven. The ACTE-CT is an association of fourteen public and private colleges and universities that provide Educator Preparation Programs to students interested in the education profession. We promote and strongly support high quality teaching and education in the state’s schools and are advocates for robust educational leadership.

We thank the Board of Education, Commissioner Cardona, and the entire Department of Education, especially all those in the Talent Office and the Bureau of Certification with whom we work so closely, for their continuing support of teacher preparation programs and teacher candidates at all of Connecticut‘s colleges and universities. The AACTE-CT Chapter and all of the respective member college Deans and Directors are working hard individually and collectively during this continuing public health crisis to quickly respond to new challenges facing our programs, faculty, and students.

As we have learned from the COVID-19 public health data over the past couple of weeks here in Connecticut, the infection rate is on the rise in many of our communities across the state. This is already impacting school districts with more and more districts reverting to hybrid or fully remote instructional models. Our Educator Preparation Programs will continue to collaborate with the school superintendents and local districts to provide our teacher candidates the appropriate mix of in-person teaching and remote teaching. We especially want to thank those who have agreed to serve as cooperating teachers for our student teachers during these times of COVID-19. They are models of the resiliency and confidence demanded of teachers in times like this.

The AACTE-CT Chapter looks forward to continuing to work together with the Department of Education, the Board, and the various educational stakeholders such as the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents, the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education, and other education organizations.

As always, we will continue to advocate for highly qualified teachers who possess the knowledge and skills to effectively teach their students. Thank you again for the opportunity to address the Board.

Joan Venditto, D.A.
Treasurer, AACTE-CT Chapter
Director of Education Programs
Albertus Magnus College
700 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06511
203-773-8087
jvenditto@albertusmagnus.edu