B C
www.cabe.org
Vol. 25, No. 7
July/August, 2021
CABE Survey Results Released
Understanding and Reducing Cybersecurity Risks Doug Casey
Executive Director, Connecticut Commission for Educational Technology
See CYBERSECURITY RISKS page 6
Dr. Martha Brackeen-Harris DEI Consultant, CABE
Robert Rader
Executive Director, CABE
Yay Summer!
Equity / Roles and Responsibilities Workshop Held in Enfield Robert Rader
Executive Director, CABE
Last Spring, the Enfield Board of Education asked CABE to provide a workshop on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and roles and responsibilities. That workshop took place June 1st, led by CABE Equity Consultant Dr. Martha Brackeen-Harris and Executive Director Robert Rader. While CABE, through use of its Equity Toolkit, has facilitated community discussions on DEI issues, this workshop focused exclusively on the needs of the Enfield Board to better understand cultural competence and the duties of board members. Enfield Board Chair Walter Kruzel and Superintendent Chris Drezek were both very pleased with the workshop. Mr. Kruzel said that the workshop enabled the Board to discuss difficult issues in a collegial way. Superintendent Drezek stated that “I’ve gotten nothing but positive feedback from members and it was an important first step on our “journey”. The workshop, provided at no
cost to Enfield, began with a discussion of “Who’s at the Table,” as equity work begins with understanding the backgrounds of the Board members, superintendent and assistant superintendent. This is consistent with the work that CABE has long presented as the need for the Leadership Team to know where other Board members and staff are “coming from.” This is one key to ensuring the Leadership Team successfully works together. This was followed by a discussion of some of the more important “fairness” definitions, including equity and equality, implicit bias, systemic and institutional racism. The work that CABE is doing helps Leadership Teams to become aware of the forces that have affected every human,
In collaboration with the Northeast Regional Educational Laboratory, the results of our survey on School Board Members in Connecticut has now been released. The goal of the survey, as determined by the CABE Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee, was to gather demographic data from school board members, as the Committee develops plans for affinity groups. Those groups will be designed to provide a space where those who share racial identities can discuss their common experiences, offer support, and encourage each other. At this time, the groups will be African American, white, and Latino members. In designing the affinity groups, the Association will help identify the needs of school board members and enable CABE to better help all members. The survey contained 11 questions on Board Members’ engagement in DEI activities and their demographics. The response was returned from 171 of the 1,275 Connecticut School Board Members. This 13.4 percent return rate was lower than we hoped, but, not altogether surprising. Other surveys have gotten low results in similar situations. However,
See WORKSHOP page 6
inside
The seismic expansion of technology over the last year and a half has created a “perfect storm” of cybersecurity risk. In response to the Coronavirus pandemic in the spring of 2020, districts invested in devices and home broadband connections to support remote learning. Connecticut is now a “1 to 1” state, with more than 140,000 computers procured and delivered to students through the Partnership for Connecticut and the State. Every student who needed a device in early 2020 should have one now, and tens of thousands of home broadband connections through the Everybody Learns initiative have brought those students online. District leaders and educators quickly adopted remote and blended learning approaches, with a 30 to 40 percent increase in educational software usage nationwide. The average district now uses more than 1,300 apps for teaching and learning, a staggering number that reflects the rapidly spreading digital footprint of student and educational data. This school year, with instruction shifting from remote back to in-person, those new computers have made their way into schools. Some of those devices have viruses and malware downloaded through unprotected home networks. The risk “vectors” and points of vulnerability have never been more numerous or widespread. Cyber incidents continue to blanket our news feeds, with plenty of local examples to raise concerns among Connecticut education leaders. If the national trends and totals seem concerning, consider that reported data generally underestimate the real
7
Federal Delegation Meetings
See SURVEY RESULTS page 6
10
There is an Urgent Need for Bus Drivers
13
Joint Statement on Culturally Responsive Education