For Immediate Release

August 5, 2009

60 CONNECTICUT TEACHERS PARTICIPATE IN CBIA SUMMER INSTITUTE

Program designed to improve success of students taking AP classes and better prepare them for the future

Nearly 60 high school teachers and guidance counselors from across the state participated in a week-long summer institute to help improve their skills and learn new techniques for teaching Advanced Placement (AP) classes at Connecticut high schools.

The summer institute was sponsored by Project Opening Doors, an initiative of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association’s (CBIA’s) Education Foundation and the Connecticut Department of Education. Its goal is to improve math and science education in the state, to better prepare students for success in the workplace and post-secondary education, and help close the state’s achievement gap. With funding from a National Math and Science Initiative grant, Project Opening Doors has helped increase the number of non-traditional students taking AP classes in math, science, and English in Connecticut by nearly 500 students in nine schools during its first year of operation.

Teachers participating in the institute received content-specific training in several subjects including calculus, biology, and English literature, and were taught techniques for differentiating instruction based on student learning styles and needs. The training also emphasized approaches to working with historically underrepresented groups within the Latino and African American populations.

Guidance counselors worked with representatives from the National Office of School Counselors Advocacy, focusing on outreach efforts with minority populations and developing advocacy skills to support student efforts in AP courses.

“There is a real need for investment in teacher preparation and professional development programs in Connecticut,” said Cam Vautour, president of CBIA’s Project Opening Doors. “By providing advanced training to teachers, we are able to improve student achievement and better prepare these students for the future.”

The following high schools and educators participated in the summer institute:

Academy of Engineering and Green Technology, Hartford Public High School

Frank Giannini

Heidi Tuttle

Jennifer Smagin-Gorden

Nicole Myers

Bacon Academy, Colchester
Jeanne Bussiere

Carol Hale

John Leece

Thomas Racing

Ronald Sefchik

Bloomfield High School

Maryann LaCava

Laura Cipriano

Meggan Montano
Evonnie Gbadebo

Bulkeley High School, Hartford

Mario Sousa-Pena

Deborah Davis

Wendy Jackwin

Cooperative Arts and Humanities Magnet High School, New Haven

Marialuisa Sapienza

Sandra Puchi

Sondra White

Coventry High School
Allyson Hand

Michelle Swanson

Timothy Dillon

Heather Mackintosh

East Hartford High School

Laurie Abo

Stacy Leone

Fred Carofano

Roy Jordan

Hill Regional Career High School, New Haven

Andy Wight

Richard Palmer

Kathleen Rooney

Deborah Boughton

Tasonn Haynes

Michael Wheaton

Kathleen Rooney

Barbara Drummond

New Britain High School

Salvador Escobales

Rosemary Craig

Virginia James

New London High School

Denise Swiatek

David Bridges

Deanna Brucoli

Parish Hill High School, Chaplin

Bruce Kopec

Andrew Clark

Shannon Entwistle

Plainville High School

Deborah Seibert

Eileen Hebert

Putnam High School

Diane Dery

Westhill High School, Stamford

Erin Florio

Patricia Brown

Christine Wheeler

Michael Capriotti

Wilbur Cross High School, New Haven

Gwendolyn Bright

Noelle Shipley

Windham High School

Sheryl Garcia

Jane Carey Lyon

Thomas Drewry

Alan Moger

Patricia Doyle

Windsor High School

Eileen Blair

Project Opening Doors began in Connecticut in 2008 with nine schools participating.  Since then,  enrollment of minority and under-represented students has increased in those schools and is now above the state average.  Those nine schools are Ansonia High, Bulkeley High (Hartford), Coventry High; East Hartford High; New Britain High; New London High; Putnam High; Westhill High (Stamford), and Wilby High (Waterbury).

An additional 12 schools are expected to join the program in the fall.

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CBIA is the state’s largest business organization, with 10,000 members.

For more information contact Nancy Andrews, CBIA media relations manager, at 860-244-1957 or andrewsn@cbia.com.

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