National Conference in Hartford to Focus on Nonprofits, Philanthropy and Voluntary Action

The theme will be “Nonprofit and Voluntary Action in an Age of Turbulence” when more than 600 researchers, leaders and teachers from around the nation gather in Hartford later this week for the annual convention of ARNOVA – the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action.

As the leading organization supporting research and education in the fields of voluntary action, philanthropy, nonprofit management, and civil society, ARNOVA conducts its annual conference to create a public conversation on, as well as opportunities for presenting research about, pressing issues and vital opportunities facing the voluntary or nonprofit sector. It is considered to be both a showcase for the best and most current research, as well as a seed bed from which new research is born.

Scholars, practitioners and students from the U.S. and beyond will exchange knowledge about voluntary action, nonprofit organizations, and philanthropy – and Connecticut will be well represented among participants.   David Nee, representing the Connecticut Data Collaborative and Terry Edelstein, nonprofit liaison to the Governor will be among the panelists for a plenary session of the Conference.  Among those attending the national conference close to home are Kyle Barrette (UConn), Mary Bernstein (UConn), Ron Cretaro (Connecticut Association for Nonprofits), Robert Fisher (UConn), Richard Frieder (Hartford Public Library), Maggie Gunther Osborn (Connecticut Council for Philanthropy), Reinaldo Rojas (UConn), Homa Naficy (Hartford Public Library), Nmarasimhan Srinivasan (UConn), Rebecca Thomas (UConn) and Jun Yan (UConn).

The three-day conference (Thursday-Saturday) at the Connecticut Convention Center will include more than 100 sessions attendees can choose to attend.  Frieder will lead a session highlighting the Hartford Public Library’s Immigrant and Civic Engagement Project.  Cretaro will conduct a session devoted to outlining Connecticut’s Collaboration with Human Services Nonprofits.  Rojas will present Community Development and Its Socioeconomic Impact in Latino Neighborhoods.

Over recent decades, the public conversation at the conference – held last year in Indianapolis - has evolved to address new developments in the fields, including social entrepreneurship, social economy and all aspects of civil society, as well as to meet the needs of those who study and lead “the social sector.” ARNOVA’s Annual Conference is the largest gathering held regularly anywhere devoted to these matters, according to the organization.

Conference organizers report that roughly 80 percent of participants will be based in universities or colleges, and include leading scholars and teachers. Many also serve as community consultants and nonprofit board leaders. The remaining 20 percent will be staff or leaders of nonprofit or social-economy organizations, full-time consultants to those groups, and some who play other roles in the world of philanthropy.

ARNOVA’s work benefits all of society by helping generate the knowledge and perspectives that can make organizations and enterprises more effective. With a focus on teaching, we are also playing a key role in preparing the next generation of leadership. Special projects we carry out have directly addressed the needs of nonprofits and foundations in developing new knowledge and sustaining important conversations vital to refining and improving their practices and services. In short, a wide range of organizations and individuals seeking to serve the public good are strengthened by the work of ARNOVA and its members.

Among the conference sponsors are the UConn College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Department of Public Policy and the Hartford-based law firm of Reid and Riege.

Photo:  David Nee, Terry Edelstein, Ron Cretero, Richard Frieder

Local Entrepreneur Brings Social Benefits to Coffee Sales with Innovative Product

It took root when he was a 9-year-old earning nickels and dimes at the Hartford Regional Market,  gained impetus at Hartford High School and was cultivated at the University of Richmond.  By the time Ray Fraser graduated college in 2011 with a business degree in marketing and finance, he was convinced that his life’s work would not center solely on making a profit, but on simultaneously making the world a better place.  He’s doing just that, one tree at a time.

With a relentless work ethic and an engaging, easy-going personal style, Fraser’s start-up business – growing rapidly in just a few months – is called Tree Sleeves.  His mission:  to produce and sell reusable cup sleeves that combine comfort and utility with charity – “to help eradicate the cycle of deforestation affecting our planet.”

 For every Tree Sleeve sold, a tree is planted in a part of the world affected by deforestation.  It is a simple but profound concept, and the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive from a rapidly growing roster of retailers and consumers.  With a retail price of only $2.00 - a Tree Sleeve is perfect for daily use while on the go, quite affordable, and reusable.

Fraser has never shied away from challenges – in fact, he has consistently sought them out since he first visited the local Regional Market and asked what he could do to earn some money.  Told he needed to dump some boxes, he did – and came away with a nickel for his efforts.  Thus began a working relationship – and first-hand glimpse of what it takes to succeed in business – that continued as a part-time job through high school.  (The pay improved somewhat over time.)

As a teenager, Fraser was an Eagle Scout (his Eagle project was organizing a blood drive accompanied by a canned food drive for a homeless shelter) and an athlete who excelled in football, wrestling and track.  He discovered a knack – and enjoyment – in working with people, as well as an aptitude for business.  He would be the first in his family to attend college, encouraged by his parents, a machinist and teacher who resettled in Hartford from the West Indies and took education and diligence seriously.  Missing a day of school for being sick, Fraser recalls, was simply not an option.

In college, he developed an affinity for brands with a cause, and in addition to working as a Resident Assistant on campus, had motivating internships with United Technologies in Connecticut and Saks Fifth Avenue in New York City.  Both would express interest in hiring him after graduation, but by senior year Fraser had decided to chart his own entrepreneurial path, the example of Tom’s Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie (the subject of a college research paper), among others, serving as his frame of reference.

“I had looked at the corporate ladder,” Fraser recalled recently, “and I wanted to have a bigger impact, to do more than just bring home a paycheck.  I wanted to expand my mind, and make a difference.”

Innovative Idea

After graduating from college and returning to Hartford, Fraser tried to develop an entrepreneurial business with friends that didn’t quite come together, stymied by software development issues.  Then one day in January, in a local Starbucks working on elements of that initial attempt at enterprise, the frequency which employees needed to empty trash cans overflowing with disposable cardboard sleeves caught his attention, and imagination.  He thought there must be a better way, and then went about inventing it.

“They’d empty the trash, and then two hours later they’d do it again.  The waste was astronomical.  When I looked into the numbers on paper sleeves, I was shocked.  We throw away 3 billion a year,” he emphasized.  “That translates into thousands of trees cut down needlessly each year.”

The traditional disposable cardboard cup sleevemakes carrying easier and holding the cup possible by providing an extra barrier to reduce the heat from the cup. Based on his extensive and resolute research, Fraser has done the disposable cup holder one better, with purpose.

It didn’t happen overnight.  He visited local coffee shops to talk to owners about their business, customers, and interest in a potential product.  He had informal conversations with friends, inquiring whether they’d buy a reusable sleeve, and what attributes would make it attractive.  (Being good for the environment was a recurring theme.) He scoured the internet in search of potential manufacturers, first in this country, then overseas.  He taught himself about nations that produce coffee, and learned of the challenges many face due to deforestation.

Building A Business

Fraser carefully nurtured relationships, engendering trust and crafting a business that he sees as having limitless potential – and enduring impact.  He developed and produced an attractive, lightweight design made of 100% food grade silicone, a reusable sleeve that makes going green easy.

Research completed and initial business relationships established, it was time to take a leap of faith.  With initial start-up funds borrowed, the 24-year-old ordered 1,000 silicon sleeves in July.  He was quite optimistic that he would be able to sell them to retailers.  But not certain.

After printing some promotional signs from his computer, buying handful of baskets at the local dollar store and a fistful of rubber bands at an office supplies store, Fraser set out to area coffee shops, bundles of product in hand.

One of the coffee shop owners he visited months previously to engage in speculative conversation was not surprised when he returned with a well-produced product – but he didn’t necessarily expect he’d be back.

“He was a nice polite young man, but I didn’t know that he’d actually do something.  We try to encourage renewables, so I thought I’d buy some, and if people liked the idea, they’d buy it,” said Bill Sze, owner of Jojo’s Coffee Roasting Company, with locations in Hartford and New Haven.  His initial order was for 100, this summer.  “I’ve been going through them at a good rate.  Most people like the idea.”  Sze just re-ordered, another 100 for each location.

Within a couple of months, Fraser – pounding the pavement and meeting with coffee shop owners – had Tree Sleeve locations grow from a handful, to a dozen, to now nearly 30.  By late October, he ordered the second batch of 1,000 to be manufactured, and continues to visit coffee shops personally, extolling the virtues of a product that allows purchasers to impact the planet, and people’s lives.

Along the way, he has patched together an informal set of advisors, including two of his former professors at Richmond, two volunteers from the Hartford chapter of SCORE (Senior Corps of Retired Executives), a local marketing professional that he learned of through CT NEXT, and a growing array of local coffee shop owners willing to give the product a try.

Another of the initial locations, J. Rene Coffee Roasters in West Hartford Center, has also re-ordered in recent weeks, based on solid sales.  Current locations include Avon, Stamford, Windsor, New Haven, Middletown, and Shelton.   But Fraser’s sites are set on a broader reach, and impact.

Having An Impact

The initial tree planting is being handled by Eden Reforestation Projects.  Since 2005, the California-based Eden has employed thousands of workers in Ethiopia, Madagascar, and Haiti who have planted millions of seedlings that are growing into healthy forests. They will be planting trees quarterly for Tree Sleeves, and Fraser now looks forward to 2,000 trees being planted in December.

Eden’s website explains that radical deforestation is a major cause of extreme poverty and oppression in impoverished nations, and that deforestation, which can result in soil erosion and destructive flooding, contributes to the climate change crisis.

The local start-up company’s slogan of “Grab 1 Plant 1” is quite concise: GRAB 1 - customers purchase tree sleeves and the company provides the necessary funding to a non-profit tree planting partner; PLANT 1 - Tree Sleeve's nonprofit partner plants and nurses tree seedlings in greenhouses located within deforested parts of the world. Upon maturity, trees are then transported and planted in areas most affected.

With patent pending, Tree Sleeves are currently manufactured overseas, but Fraser hopes that as the business grows he will be able to bring manufacturing to the U.S., while keeping prices affordable for consumers and continuing to impact the environment and vast populations.  Not unexpectedly, he is optimistic.  “Our generation wants to make a difference.  Impact is huge for me, and this is a huge issue.  I want to be the one who helps to solve it.”

Always looking ahead, co-branding, college stores and internet sales may be on the horizon, Fraser says, and perhaps a college intern to provide support.  Right now, to help pay for the gas his car requires to get him around the region, Fraser is working an overnight job at a local warehouse distribution center while building his own business by day.

Don’t even ask when he manages to sleep -that’s not a priority.  Fraser has been taking samples of Tree Sleeves to retailers since early summer, shows no sign of slowing down, and is encouraged by the response.  He’s also quite proud to be launching his business in the city where he grew up.  “It feels good.  I went away to school, I came back.  We certainly have the resources here to get this off to a great start.”

Attractive Candidates Have Evolutionary Advantage, Study Finds

Leaders of Connecticut’s Democratic and Republican parties declared victory in last week’s municipal elections around the state, and each had solid examples to back up their claims.  Writing in the Journal Inquirer, one columnist summed it up, stating that  “as usual the municipal elections were determined by local issues and personalities and both parties had successes and failures.”

 But was there a factor that crossed party lines and helped determine winners?  Were local issues and personalities only part of the story?  Was it the pretty faces that won the day, in a string of election upsets (and some less surprising results) that propelled proponents of both political parties into mayoral offices in cities and towns across the landscape?

In a new article in the journal Psychological Science, “people’s preferences for good-looking politicians may be linked to ancient adaptations for avoiding disease,” wrote Andrew Edward White, a doctoral candidates in social psychology, and Douglas T. Kenrick, a professor of psychology, both at Arizona State University.  “Modern humans,” they write, “may have a vestigial tendency to prefer attractive leaders when disease threats are looming.” (Flu season is approaching?)

The basis of their work is that “our ancestors frequently confronted devastating epidemics that wiped out many of the members of their groups; at such times, having a healthy leader might have been particularly important,” they wrote recently in The New York Times.

Their study, which tested their hypothesis in a series of tests of varying approaches and reviewed past voting patterns, produced these findings:  People who said they were concerned with disease were more likely to desire that a more attractive person take charge.  And the preference for attractive group leaders goes above and beyond the more general preferences for attractive group members.   In one segment of the study, for example, they found that “in congressional districts with elevated disease threats, physically attractive candidates are more likely to be elected.” Their study abstract points out that “experimentally activating disease concerns leads people to especially value physical attractiveness in leaders.”

In their research paper, titled “Beauty at the Ballot Box:  Disease Threats Predict Preferences for Physically Attractive Leaders,” they conclude that “the link between disease and leader preferences aligns with other new findings showing that disease concerns are connected in functional ways to a host of human decisions,” noting that their work is part of a “larger program of research exploring how human decision making reflects the influence of our evolutionary past.”

Photo montage:  First-term winning candidates of Mayoral elections in Connecticut on November 5, 2013.

Nationwide Effort by Newman’s Own Foundation to Help Veterans; Local Initiative Lagging

When Westport-based Newman's Own Foundation launched a national fundraising competition aimed at supporting the work of veterans organizations across the country – coupled with plans to contribute an additional $180,000 to the most successful efforts - the inclusion of a Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network (CPBN) job training initiative for veterans was encouraging.

With the deadline just hours away, however, the local CPBN effort is ranked 23rd among the 28 participating organizations, having raised a total of $691.

A select group of military service nonprofits – a total of 28 organizations across the nation - were invited to raise money and compete for additional funds.  The Honoring Those Who Serve Challenge is a fundraising initiative developed to help charities gain awareness, recognition, and most importantly, cash.  It is an element in the Newman’s Own Foundation’s commitment to military personnel, veterans, and their families, providing a public awareness platform and funding support to organizations that help those who serve.

As of November 10, a total of $388,922 has been raised by 28 participating nonprofit organizations.  The Challenge began on Monday, September 30, and closes on Veterans Day, Monday, November 11, at noon.  Only charities pre-selected by Newman’s Own Foundation were eligible to compete and win – among them Connecticut Public Broadcasting’s Veterans Vocational Training Program.

The CPBN program is free to veterans to train for a career in media arts and video production at Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network’s Learning Lab in Hartford.  Veterans learn from award-winning professionals in television, radio and new media production.  Participants gain experience working on digital projects and productions, ranging from live broadcasts to studio operations to web services.  Completion of the program leads to industry-specific certifications in digital arts or video production and includes portfolio development and business connections.

The charity that raises the most money during the Challenge wins a $75,000 grant. Second place will receive $50,000, and third place will receive $25,000.  Another $30,000 is being given throughout the campaign, through weekly bonus challenges.  As of November 10, the leading organizations were the Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Community Services and Easter Seals ($122,194), Operation Finally Home ($53,331) and Hero Dogs Inc. ($41,531).  All the participating organizations in the Competition – operated through a specially designed Crowdrise website - will keep the money they raise, regardless of whether they receive the additional prize money contributed by Newman’s Own Foundation.

To carry on Paul Newman’s philanthropic legacy, Newman’s Own Foundation turns all net profits and royalties from the sale of Newman’s Own products into charitable donations. To date, Paul Newman and Newman’s Own Foundation have given over $380 million to thousands of charities around the world.

Among a range of programs supported by Newman’s Own Foundation – including the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang Camp in Ashford, CT and an array of nutrition programs nationwide, the organization has been a consistent supporter of veterans initiatives and public broadcasting.  Earlier this year, the organization announced a series of grants totaling $2.4 million over two years to 13 public broadcasting stations and organizations. The grants represent an ongoing commitment to support open dialogue and promote civic engagement.

Funds were used by some stations to generate increased donor giving through challenge grants. In other cases, funds will be directed to programming or special projects, such as National Public Radio’s Military Voices Initiative, where the experiences of military personnel, veterans, and their families are recorded and broadcast.  Among the affiliates included were Connecticut Public Broadcasting and WSHU Public Radio in Fairfield. 

This fall, Newman’s Own Foundation committed $7 million in grants over three years to support United States military men, women, and families through its “Honoring Those Who Serve” program. The grants will be awarded to more than 50 nonprofit organizations that help military personnel, veterans, and their families successfully manage deployments and the transition from active duty to civilian life.  The current Challenge that concludes on Veterans Day, along with $300,000 in grants for nonprofit organizations that assist female veterans with career development, are segments of the overall commitment.

“There is no greater sacrifice than serving and defending our country,” said Robert Forrester, President and CEO of Newman’s Own Foundation. “We have a responsibility to support our military men and women, since they protect the freedom and privileges we enjoy as Americans.”

The grants will help military service organizations across the country that deal with issues such as health, housing, education, career development, and family support. When veterans return home, they face vast and complex challenges. According to the Department of Defense, the military suicide rate hit a record high in 2012, increasing nearly 16 percent over the previous year. Over 60,000 veterans are homeless.  The unemployment rate for Gulf War-era veterans was 9.9 percent in 2012, compared to 8 percent for all Americans.

“Recalling Paul Newman’s service in the United States Naval Corps in World War II, we have been committed to supporting military nonprofits for over twenty years,” said Forrester. “Paul felt that we can all make a difference by helping others, and there is no better time to announce our military grant commitment.”   The actor and philanthropist who founded Newman’s Own passed away on September 26, 2008.

For more information on Newman’s Own Foundation, visit www.newmansownfoundation.org. Any questions regarding the Veterans Vocational Training Program can be answered by contacting Donna Sodipo, Director of Education Services at dsodipo@cpbn.org

UPDATE:  At the end of the challenge, a total of just over $670,000 was raised during the Honoring Those Who Served Competition, including $741 for the Veterans Vocational Training Program at CPBN.

Student Innovators in Computer Applications Converge at Yale's First-ever “Hackathon”

At the recent inauguration of Yale University’s first new President in two decades, the call for a greater emphasis on entrepreneurship did not go unnoticed.  This weekend, the first annual “Y-Hack” will put an estimated 1,200 innovative, primarily computer science and engineering, students and cutting edge industry minds together for an intense 24-hour effort to see what computer programs might develop – or, more literally, be developed.

Y-Hack is a “national hackathon” hosted by and at Yale University. A hackathon is an event in which computer programmers and others involved in software development, including graphic designers, interface designers and project managers, collaborate intensively on software projects.

A key goal this weekend is to bring together students and entrepreneurs with experienced industrial innovators, to stimulate creativity and creation.  Anyone currently enrolled in a bachelor's program – at any college in the country – has been eligible for Y-Hack with confirmed registration.  Registration, according to the program’s website, is now full.

Developing Worldwide Impact

“With Y-Hack, thousands of students across the country have come to see Yale as an innovator in the technology, computer science, and engineering fields, and we're attempting to push us further onto the world stage,”  explained organizer Mike Wu, a Yale student. “We want to make sure that Yale students are actively contributing positive impact to the world by sharing their talents, creating value, and giving back to the community.”

Participants will be descending on Yale not only from throughout the New Haven campus, but from campuses all nationwide, from public and private schools, as well as from Canada and England.  Among the more than 70 colleges represented among the participants are students who attend Harvard, Princeton, MIT, Dartmouth, Brown, UMass, RPI and, more locally, Connecticut College.

The who’s who of technology companies taking part in one way or another – more than two dozen – includes locally-based Prometheus Research, as well as well-known names including Redhat, Intel, Google, Dropbox, and Bloomberg.  The top sponsors are Akamai, Amazon, Microsoft and Goldman Sachs. Connecticut Innovations, the state’s quasi-public agency that financially supports in-state start-ups, will also be on hand.

In looking ahead to the student innovation that may result, Wu said “We challenge them to push each other and make the best products they can. It's rare to have so many intelligent and motivated minds from both the industrial and educational worlds together in one place with no other goal than to make something cool. It's a pretty powerful atmosphere.”

Teams of four are encouraged; some formed during advance registration, others will be formed on the spot.  Expert judges will ultimately assess presentations by the top 15 teams, based on criteria that include innovation, technical talent, the pitch and popularity, providing the students with meaningful and instructive feedback.

24 Hour Intensity

It all beings mid-afternoon Friday (Nov. 8) with displays set up by the corporate sponsors alongside student registration. Strict credential reviews will take place, and necessary release forms signed.   Friday evening, the sponsor companies will provide technology briefings to the students.  Then the action begins in earnest.

For 24 hours, from 6 PM Friday to 6 PM Saturday, participating students will have a single focus – development of their computer applications.   There will be meals and snacks available, and some diversionary activities in need of a short break, but the intense activity will be exclusively on innovation and development. Little sleep is anticipated.  A closing dinner, keynote address, presentations, judging and awards ceremony will be held on the Yale campus beginning at 6 PM Saturday.

New Haven-based Prometheus Research, an integrated data management services provider, announced this week that co-founder Clark Evans will be one of six judges for the inaugural Yale Hackathon (Y-Hack). Evans will evaluate student projects based on the four criteria and also award a separate, "Best use of HTSQL," prize to one talented entrant. HTSQL is a Prometheus product.

"Our developers, analysts, and clients think HTSQL is transformative,” Evans said. “It empowers them to securely interact with relational data over the Web in ways they previously wouldn't even attempt. So, it will be really fun to see how the students adapt it to their own novel applications."

There will also be a good amount of free stuff for participants, courtesy of the corporate sponsors.  As Wu points out, in addition to the opportunity to innovate with like-minded, top-caliber student and professional application innovators, “swag is what makes Hackathon enticing.”    The top prizes include thousands of dollars in cash, along with all-expense paid trips to Microsoft and Amazon to present winning “hacks” to company engineers, and there will be raffles of tablets, phones, and other devices throughout the event.

Majority of Students in 17 States Are Low Income, Study Finds; Connecticut Schools Among Most Income Diverse, Except in Cities

Echoing concerns that “a house divided against itself cannot stand,” a new study is raising alarm about the dramatically increasing percentage of low income students in American public schools – and the implications for the education of a generation of school children.

A new study from the Southern Education Foundation shows that 17 U.S. states have reached an unenviable tipping point: the majority of students in their public school systems receive free lunches — effectively indicating that the public school systems in these states can now be described as institutions that mostly serve the poor, rather than public institutions that serve a representative cross-section of their state’s population.

As states coast-to-coast reach that new imbalance – particularly in the South and West – the Northeast, including Connecticut, continue to have the smallest percentages of low income students in their public schools, according to the most recent data used in the study, from 2011. The states with majority-poor school systems include almost the entire South, as well as Oregon, Nevada, and California.

The study pointed out that “from 2001 through 2011, the numbers of low income students in the nation’s public schools grew by 32 percent – an increase of more than 5.7 million children. As a result, low income students attending the nation’s public schools moved from 38 percent of all students in 2001 to 48 percent in 2011.”

In Connecticut, the percentage of low income students in public schools was only 34 percent, among the lowest percentages in the nation.  Only four states had a lower or equal percentage – New Hampshire (25%), North Dakota (32%), New Jersey (33%) and Massachusetts (34%).

The largest percentage of low income students were in Mississippi (71%), New Mexico (68%), Louisiana (66%), Oklahoma (60%), Arkansas (60%), Georgia (57%), Kentucky (57%), Florida (56%), Alabama (55%), Tennessee (55%), South Carolina (55%) and California (54%).

Overall, the rates of low income students in the public schools, by region, was 53 percent in the South, 50 percent in the West, 44 percent in the Midwest and 40 percent in the Northeast.  The national average was 48 percent. As the report pointed out, “in 2011 the nation stood within only two percentage points of enrolling a majority of low income students in public schools across 50 states.”

The study  also compared the rates of low income students in cities, suburbs and rural areas in each state.  In each of the nation’s four regions, a majority of students attending public schools in the cities were eligible for free or reduced lunch.

The Northeast had the highest rates for low income school children in cities: 71 percent. The next highest rate, 62 percent, was found in Midwestern cities. The South had the third highest percentage of low income students in the cities – 59 percent.  In Connecticut, 62 percent of students in the cities were low income students, compared with 26 percent in the suburbs and 13 percent in rural areas.

“Low income students are concentrated in the nation’s cities but are by no measure confined to only cities,” the study noted.  “Forty percent or more of all public school children in the nation’s suburbs, towns and rural areas are low income students.”

 The report, released in October 2013,  indicated that low income students “generally are more likely to score lowest on school tests, fall behind in school, fail to graduate, and never receive a college degree,” and yet “the growth in the number of low income students far out-stripped the growth in per pupil spending in public schools during the last decade in every region of the country, except the Northeast.”  The nations per pupil expenditure (adjusted for inflation) in public schools increased by only 14 percent – less than half the rate of growth in the numbers of low income students,” according to the report.

The study concludes by stating that “The trends of the last decade strongly suggest that little or nothing will change for the better if schools and communities continue to postpone addressing the primary question of education in America today: what does it take and what will be done to provide low income students with a good chance to succeed in public schools? It is a question of how, not where, to improve the education of a new majority of students.”

The Southern Education Foundation’s mission is to advance equity and excellence in education for low income students and students of color.  The Foundation’s “core belief is that education is the vehicle by which all students get fair chances to develop their talents and contribute to the common good.”

CT Drops Among States But Exceeds National Average in Opportunities Available to Residents

A new report and analysis focusing on four “impact areas” of daily life – opportunity, economy, education and community - has determined that Connecticut exceeds the national average in each category, by at least five percentage points and as much as nearly seven.  Overall, the state ranked 13^th in the U.S., with a score of 56.9 out of 100 in the study's index, designed to measure economic, academic, civic and other key factors.  The state ranked 10^th a year ago, and is the only state to fall out of the top 10.

The top 10 states in the latest analysis are Vermont, Minnesota, North Dakota, New Hampshire, Nebraska, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Jersey, South Dakota and Maryland.   In addition to Connecticut, three other states (Montana, Oregon and Pennsylvania) dropped as many as three slots in the state-by-state rankings.

According to the report, developed by Measure of America  and Opportunity Nation, Connecticut did better than the national average in  mean household income, the number of banking institutions, and the percentage of households with high speed internet.  The state also exceeded the national average in the percentage of 3- and 4-year olds attending preschool and the percentage of the population (age 25 and older) with an associate degree or higher.  The unemployment rate in Connecticut was higher than the national average, but the percentage of the population with earnings below the poverty line was less than the average nationally.

Perhaps surprisingly, the percentage of students who graduate from high school on time (within four years) is below the national average – 75.1 percent in Connecticut as compared with 78.2 percent nationally.

The Opportunity Index focuses on the conditions present in different communities and is designed to connect economic, academic, civic and other factors together to help identify solutions to lagging conditions for opportunity and economic mobility.  From preschool enrollment to income inequality, from volunteerism to access to healthy food, expanding opportunity depends on the intersection of multiple factors, Opportunity Nation's website explains.  The Index is designed to provide policymakers and community leaders with a powerful tool to advance opportunity-related issues and work, advocate for positive change and track progress over time.  

In the area of community health and civic life, the level of volunteerism among Connecticut residents exceeds the national average, as does the   number of primary care providers (per 100,000 population) and the percentage of adults who are involved in social, civic, sports and religious groups.  Violent crime is below the national average and the percentage of youth, ages 16-24, not in school and not working is also below the national average, at 12.3 percent as compared with 14.6 percent nationwide.

Nationally, almost 6 million young people are neither in school nor working, according to the study - almost 15 percent of those aged 16 to 24 nationwide who are neither employed or in school, the Associated Press reported.  In Connecticut, 12.3 percent of those aged 16 to 24 are not working either at a job or in class, the study found.

The study also determined that 49 states have seen an increase in the number of families living in poverty and 45 states have seen household median incomes fall in the last year, the AP reported.

MOOCs Started, Not Finished, in Massive Numbers; Rapid Growth Raises Questions

A massive open online course (MOOC) is an online course aimed at unlimited participation and open access via the web.  Even as MOOCs continue to accelerate in popularity - enrollment in all online courses is reportedly up 29 percent since 2010 - and variety of offerings institutions and courses, there are some speed bumps worth considering – led by the very high percentage of courses that are started but not completed.  The reasons why are unclear.

An infographic illustrates the current reality, and suggests that the lack of enthusiasm in some higher education circles for offering MOOCs may have justification – even if data in the relatively new field remains short of robust. Courtesy of the blog Classes and Careers (Marcus Varner) and education blogger Katy Jordan, the completion percentage of extremely popular courses becomes evident – as low as two percent in some cases.  Given the often massive numbers of enrollees, the small percentage may belie the raw numbers – and the benefits to those students, as well as to those who may have decided not to see a course through to the end.

The recently issued 2013 Campus Computing Survey by The Campus Computing Project, the largest continuing study of the role of computing, eLearning, and information technology in American higher education, found that CIOs and senior campus IT officers “are not overly optimistic about MOOCs as a viable strategy for instruction or for revenue.”  The survey indicated that just over half (53 percent) agree that MOOCs “offer an effective academic model for the effective delivery of online education” while less than a third (29 percent) view MOOCs as offering “a viable business model” for campuses to secure new revenue from online courses.

In Connecticut, Wesleyan University led the way into the MOOC world, announcing last September its partnership with Coursera, one of the leading companies in the field. Wesleyan was Coursera's first small liberal arts college and offered six courses, The Hartford Courant reported earlier this year. Among those teaching a MOOC course was Wesleyan President Michael Roth, who told the Courant that the class "has been a wonderful surprise. I have been so impressed by the level of discourse among the students and by their excellent questions back to me … I will offer the class again for Coursera, and my teaching at Wesleyan in the future will be informed by my online experience."

According to Wall Street Journal reporting by the publication’s deputy technology editor, “Early studies highlight a number of problems with the learning experience in online courses that educators are scrambling to solve. Perhaps most important: Staring at a screen makes some students feel isolated and disengaged, which can lead to poor performance or dropping out altogether. Often, more than 90% of people who sign up for a MOOC don't finish, though many come to online learning with a different intent than would students at a traditional university.”

Writing last year in UConn Today, a publication of the university, Jeremy Teitelbaum, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, said of the wave of institutions adding MOOCs:  “I tend to be skeptical of predictions of doom for universities, and I’m especially skeptical of claims that online education will put an end to the classroom experience. After all, the university as an institution has successfully evolved through the inventions of the printing press, the steam engine, the telegraph, radio, television, and the atomic bomb; given that record, it is likely to survive the Internet as well.”

The largest provider, Coursera, has five million participants, and nonprofit provider edX more than 1.3 million, according to the Wall Street Journal.  While the majority are based in the U.S., their learners come from all over the globe: among edX's students, 9% came from Africa and 12% from India, the Journal reported.

The Courant reported that Yale has long had a presence online, most notably with its Open Yale Courses program, which began in 2006 and made free noncredit courses available worldwide. In mid-May Yale announced that it would partner with Coursera to begin offering classes during the upcoming academic year.  Other Connecticut schools — UConn, Quinnipiac, Trinity, the University of New Haven and the University of Hartford — have been exploring and offering various online options but have no immediate plans to offer MOOCs, according to The Courant.

UConn’s view appears not to have substantially changed since Teitelbaum, a year ago, concluded: “For individuals working in higher education, staring at technological change and reading alarming editorials and features in the newspapers, there’s a temptation to panic. That’s a mistake. Good universities confronting technological change should play to their strength: a talent pool with a broad perspective and deep expertise. If we stay current, try new things, and keep a critical, but not overly critical eye on the opportunities, we’ll find that technology only makes us stronger.”

Biking, Walking Gain Traction Around Connecticut; Training, Gala Upcoming

November is shaping up to be another busy month for Bike Walk CT, a member-supported non-profit organization making cycling and walking safe, feasible and attractive for a healthier, cleaner Connecticut. Bike Walk CT is once again offering the League of American Bicyclist-designed Traffic Skills 101 program, a day long course to give cyclists the skills, knowledge and confidence to handle on-road cycling in traffic. The program will be held on Sunday, November 10 at Bishops Corner in West Hartford.

Just days later, bicycling and walking enthusiasts will celebrate the progress made by Bike Walk CT at the organization’s Annual Dinner and Silent Auction, to be held on Tuesday, November 12 at Central Connecticut State University.

During the evening celebration, Department of Economic and Community Development Deputy Commissioner Kip Bergstrom will lead a discussion of the important and growing role of active transportation and bikeable, walkable communities in Connecticut's economy and tourism industry.

Bike Walk CT works locally to increase grassroots efforts to make communities better places to bike and walk; at the state legislature to advance laws that protect the rights of cyclists and walkers, and at the DOT to make sure that policies and engineering practices that will improve conditions for cyclists are implemented. The organization is also active at the federal level, working cooperatively with national organizations to ensure continued funding for biking and walking projects.

Bergstrom has 30 years of experience as a strategist, business executive, economic development professional and place-maker. His DECD portfolio includes the development of the innovation economy, statewide branding, as well as the arts and culture, historic preservation and tourism functions.

Bike Walk Connecticut was formed in 2005 as the Central Connecticut Bicycle Alliance (CCBA), with a mission to advocate for bike-friendly facilities and policies in central Connecticut to benefit all bicyclists, both recreational riders and commuters. CCBA received 501(C)(3) status in January 2006. In April 2010, CCBA broadened its mission to include walking issues, adopted a statewide focus, and changed its name to Bike Walk Connecticut.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that 618 cyclists were killed in the United States in automobile accidents in 2010 (the last year for which statistics are available). That same year, 32,885 bikers were injured in traffic crashes. Although the numbers have declined since 2005 — when 43,510 bikers were injured, 786 of them fatally — these rates of injuries and deaths highlight cyclists' continued exposure to serious risks.

From West Hartford to Widespread Acclaim, Local Talent Resonates

On back-to-back nights, an indie/roots rock band and a singer/songwriter, each gaining increasing notoriety, performed just a stone’s throw from the West Hartford – Hartford town line.

Bronze Radio Return, a six member band that was formed when the musicians were students at the University of Hartford only a handful of years ago, returned to their roots in West Hartford just after completing a 15-city tour that brought them through the West and Southwest, including dates in California, Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.  A special performance at their alma mater, as part of the university’s homecoming weekend, was also a precursor to upcoming performances in Portland, Burlington and Boston.

Just a day earlier, singer/songwriter Kate Callahan, fresh from being selected as Best Singer/Songwriter at the Connecticut Music Awards, performed with her band Echo Joy.  The evening performance at the Hartford Seminary was highlighted by songs from her recently released third album, Two Doors, which evokes folk sound with textures of indie, country, and soul.

Callahan took top honors at the 2^nd annual Connecticut Music Awards that were held last month at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford.  Shehas been named the Hartford Advocate’s “Best Solo Performer” three times.  Next on her performing schedule is a trip to New York City, followed by local performance dates in Connecticut early next month.

Bronze Radio Return has clearly been on the ascendency, as FOX Sports recently selected their recent single “Further On” for use in the network’s NFL, college football and NASCAR game-day coverage.   During the summer, the band’s “Shake, Shake, Shake” surpassed 500,000 views on YouTube, and their latest album, Up, On & Over reached the Billboard magazine “Heatseekers Albums” list at number 17.

They have performed at music festivals nationwide, and their music has also proven extremely popular for television commercials and programs, among them a worldwide Nissan Leaf commercial and a national Behr Paint/Home Depot ad. In addition, HBO, ESPN, NBC, MTV, the CW, American Idol, ABC Family, USA, and more licensed their music for shows, promos and bumpers.

The band’s website noted that “their story starts in Hartford, where members orbited each other at The Hartt School, one of the country’s top music conservatories. After finding each other and solidifying their line-up in 2008, they began writing music and found that their surroundings played a huge part in their creative energies.”   The band includes lead singer and guitarist Chris Henderson, drummer Rob Griffith, lead guitarist Patrick Fetkowitz, keys player Matthew Warner, bassist Bob Tannen, and harmonica/banjoist extraordinaire Craig Struble.

 Kate Callahan, acoustic guitarist as well as singer/songwriter, has opened shows for folk legends Judy Collins and Noel Paul Stookey (Peter, Paul & Mary), and troubadours Aztec-Two Step, Mustard’s Retreat, the late Bill Morrissey, and Rachael Sage. Callahan says a defining element of her music is innocence and she’s unapologetically optimistic in concert.  From West Hartford, and now Hartford, she has been recognized by the Hartford Courant as a "Woman of Character," and has a longstanding relationship with the West Hartford Public Schools as an  Artist in Residence.

In 2011, Javier Colon, also of West Hartford, trying for a second shot at a recording career that had stalled, won the first season of "The Voice," the NBC singing competition.   Colon is a graduate of the University of Hartford's Hartt School of Music, and returned to his alma mater to perform later that year.  Since winning “The Voice,” Colon has released an album, “Come Through For You,” and has performed at concerts and charitable events around the nation, including locally at the Travelers Championship last year.