Two T’s in a Pod

The Holiday Season is upon us, and teachers, students, and community supporters have turned out once again to sponsor brighter holidays for hundreds of students around Connecticut through the Holiday Bear Project. On this episode, Avon Education Association President Jon Moss shares how his district is coming together to sponsor a record 110 students this year and talks with Kate and Joslyn about...

The State Board of Education has adopted new teacher evaluation guidelines that allow districts to move away from ratings, SLOs, and standardized indicators. To ensure districts move to an evaluation plan that really helps educators grow, teacher representatives to professional development and evaluation committees (PDECs) need to speak up and advocate for themselves and their colleagues. In this...

Teachers' advocacy and activism resulted in many important legislative wins this year—but as important as those wins are, how they're ultimately implemented is what impacts students and teachers. Hear the latest on teacher evaluation changes, classroom safety and school climate legislation, funding to improve indoor air quality, and more.

How do you welcome new teachers to your local association? In the latest episode of CEA's podcast, Darien Middle School English teacher Abby Shiner shares how her local association makes new teachers feel welcomed and supported as they begin their careers in the district. Listen to the great tips she shares in her conversation with CEA President Kate Dias and Vice President Joslyn DeLancey. 

CEA is celebrating 175 years of advocating for teachers this year. In this episode, CEA President Kate Dias and Vice President Joslyn DeLancey talk with former CEA President Daria Plummer about her years governing in the late 90s and about CEA's past, present, and future. Also learn about an upcoming fundraising gala to celebrate CEA's 175 years.

Teachers had many important wins this legislative session, including play-based learning, an older kindergarten start age, and additional funding for education. On this episode, CEA President Kate Dias and Vice President Joslyn Delancey talk with Education Committee members Rep. Jeff Currey, the House chair, and Rep. Kathleen McCarty, ranking member, about legislative successes for students and te...

Kate Cummings is the chair of CEA's Aspiring Educator Program, and in this episode she talks with CEA President Kate Dias and Vice President Joslyn DeLancey about what the state can do to attract more young people to the teaching profession.

CEA President Kate Dias and Vice President Joslyn DeLancey are back with author Alexandra Robbins to hear more about the teachers' stories she shares in her new book, The Teachers.

CEA President Kate Dias and Vice President Joslyn DeLancey talk with author Alexandra Robbins about her new book 'The Teachers' that follows the stories of three teachers as they navigate a year in the classroom. Tune in next week for part two of the conversation. 

Glastonbury Education Association President Kristen Basiaga talks about CEA's legislative priorities with CEA President Kate Dias and Vice President Joslyn DeLancey, and shares how she and her members have been and will continue to be advocating to get them signed into law. Join her and attend CEA's Lobby Day on 4.27.23 to get teacher priorities over the finish line. Find out more: https://cea.org...

With two months left in the legislative session it's a vital time for teachers to be having conversations with their lawmakers. In this episode, CEA President Kate Dias and Vice President Joslynn DeLancey talk with the co-chairs of CEA's Legislative Commission, Milford teacher Kellie Choquette and East Hartford teacher Kim Knapp, about CEA's legislative priorities and how members can best share th...

Danielle Fragoso, a Madison special education teacher, and Pam Penn, an East Hampton speech-language pathologist, join CEA President Kate Dias and Vice President Joslyn DeLancey to talk about the many challenges facing special educators and forcing many from the classroom, including CT-SEDS, the new special education data system.  

Requiring a minimum starting salary for Connecticut teachers, ensuring more play-based learning, lessening the role of standardized tests, improving teacher evaluation—these are just some of the legislative initiatives that CEA President Kate Dias and Vice President Joslyn DeLancey discuss with State Rep. Jeff Currey, the new co-chair of the legislature's Education Committee.

GPO and WEP —they sound like alphabet soup, but the federal Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision spell disaster for teachers. These federal acts, enacted 40 years ago, reduce or entirely eliminate the Social Security benefits teachers and their spouses receive upon retirement. Congressman John Larson has a bill before Congress that would repeal GPO and WEP, as well as expan...

Westport educator Faith Sweeney is taking a year away from her school to serve as an NEA Teaching Fellow to support CEA and local union's diversity, equity, and inclusion agendas. Listen to her discuss her plans for the year ahead with CEA President Kate Dias and Vice President Joslyn DeLancey. 

CEA President Kate Dias and Vice President Joslyn DeLancey discuss attracting and keeping teachers in the classroom with Bloomfield Local President and elementary interventionist Gail Jorden. In this episode, recorded at the beginning of the school year, the three talk financial incentives the state and districts can offer teachers, such as pandemic pension credits, housing credits, tax credits, a...

CEA President Kate Dias and Vice President Joslyn DeLancey chat with Sara Azukas, the former chair of CEA's Aspiring Educator Program, who recently started her first year as an elementary school teacher in Region 15. In this August conversation, they talk back-to-school, discuss the many advantages of CEA's Aspiring Educator Program, and talk about how the union supports young teachers as they beg...

This year’s legislative session resulted in a number of important wins for Connecticut students, teachers, and schools. CEA President Kate Dias and Vice President Joslyn DeLancey discussed many of those wins with co-chair of the legislature’s Education Committee, Senator Doug McCrory, while also looking ahead to legislation they hope lawmakers will pass in the 2023 session.

Remote learning, improved mental health supports for students and teachers, and recruiting and retaining more teachers of color are just some of the topics Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker discusses with CEA President Kate Dias and Vice President Joslyn DeLancey as a guest on Two T’s in a Pod.

From providing more mental health supports for children to additional assistance with special education costs to improving air quality in schools Senate President Martin Looney discusses many of the State Senate's education priorities with CEA President Kate Dias and Vice President Joslyn DeLancey in the latest episode of CEA's Podcast. 

Danbury schools are facing a number of challenges including a ballooning student population and a lack of investment from the city and state in the district’s public schools, but on CEA's latest podcast episode Senator Kushner said there's also reason for hope due to the fantastic school community and a proposal for a new career academy. 

What's the right verses the wrong way to go about remote teaching and learning? CEA President Kate Dias and Vice President Joslyn DeLancey discuss that with CT 2020 Teacher of the Year Meghan Hatch-Geary and share why a thoughtful, intentional, and practical approach is so critical.

Connecticut teaches have been advocating for more mental health supports in our schools for years but it's taken a pandemic to awaken the general public to students' struggles. State Representative Robin Comey is one of the lawmakers supporting legislation to improve children's mental health, and she spoke to CEA President Kate Dias and Vice President Joslyn DeLancey for the latest episode of CEA'...

In this week's episode, State Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff talks with CEA President Kate Dias and Vice President Joslyn DeLancey about education funding, open choice programs, and the latest on the 2022 legislative session. 

Sheena Graham, Connecticut's 2019 Teacher of the Year, had always found joy in teaching and, prior to the pandemic, planned to teach for another five to ten years. Instead she retired early this January--one of many teachers being forced out due to burnout, stress, and a lack of respect for teachers. In this episode of Two T's in a Pod, CEA President Kate Dias and Vice President Joslyn DeLancey ta...