CEA Kicks Off Public Education Champions Campaign
The Connecticut Education Association (CEA) kicked off its Public Education Champions campaign in Glastonbury on Monday, calling attention to mental health issues facing students and the need to better support teachers to help prepare tomorrow’s workforce.
Officials held the press conference to launch the “Public Education Champions” campaign at Glastonbury High School. They said higher teacher salaries – particularly for newer teachers – will help attract strong candidates during the state’s ongoing teacher shortage.
Nolan Henry, a past-president of the Glastonbury Parent, Teacher, Student Organization, tells reporters that getting into the car and starting it up is only the first step toward a cross-country drive. It was a metaphor for the need to provide more support for public education in Connecticut during the CEA’s Champions For Public Education event Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, at Glastonbury High School. Credit: Screengrab / CEA via Facebook
Students are battling anxiety and depression, an increasing problem that takes time to deal with in their classrooms, teachers said.
Anagha Sabnis-Samboy, a Glastonbury High School teacher and parent to 11-year-old twins, said students have 24/7 access to the knowledge of the world through the Internet and cell phones.
“It’s amazing for them,” Sabnis-Samboy said. “But nobody ever stopped to think that we need to teach them how to process this information.”
Kristen Basiaga, Glastonbury Education Association President, said the state is facing unprecedented levels of student disengagement and dysregulated behavior. She said 20% of her students are struggling with some type of anxiety or depression, both issues that can interfere with their access to school.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Basiaga said, adding this is an issue that impacts all grade levels across the state.
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“Some of the most caring, loving and thoughtful educators have left the profession because of burnout, leaving fewer and fewer teachers to address these big concerns, these growing concerns,” Basiaga said.
Basiaga said coalitions such as the Public Education Champions campaign work.
“We wouldn’t all be here if we thought these problems were insurmountable,” she said. Wellness and academic performance are connected, she added.
The CEA recently released a survey of Connecticut teachers that showed:
- 97% said stress and burnout is a major issue;
- 88% said student mental health issues continue to be a major concern;
- 85% of educators overall cite low salaries as an ongoing issue, which is a number that jumps to 98% in urban districts.
Chris Davis, vice president of public policy for the Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA), talks about the assoication’s support for the Connecticut Education Association’s Champions For Public Education campaign on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, at Glastonbury High School. Credit:Screengrab / CEA via Facebook
Chris Davis, Connecticut Business & Industry Association Vice President of Public Policy, said his organization is partnering with the CEA and other public educators across the state to come up with a long-term economic plan. Davis said support of the public education system is essential in building the future workforce.
In a recent CBIA survey, 78% of the businesses who responded reported difficulty in finding and retaining employees in Connecticut; 46% responded that retention and recruitment is one of the highest costs they have and one of their main priorities in budgeting; and 33% said a lack in skilled job applications is a main factor hampering their growth as a business in the state.
Davis reported that the CBIA heard from one president of a construction company who reported that mental health struggles and high suicide rates are issues impacting that industry, demonstrating the need for providing mental health supports to students.
“It’s really important to recognize that our new workforce going forward really begins in today’s public schools,” Davis said.
Doug Foyle, Glastonbury Board of Education Chairman, said that the district has addressed mental health issues by expanding mental health support for teachers and students as well as professional development for teachers.
Dr. Alan Bookman, Glastonbury Superintendent of Schools, said being a teacher or an administrator has become harder than it has ever been.
“We are asking for support from the entire state to make sure we are providing the highest quality education for all the students in Connecticut,” Bookman said.