Smiles All Around at CT Forum's 18th Annual Hartford Children's Holiday Party

What a day!

Some very happy children holding special gifts and photos with Santa!

The Hartford Marriott Downtown was the place to be yesterday! 
A fantastic group of people - including 300 Hartford elementary school students, 100 CT YOUTH Forum elves, 33 sponsoring organizations, numerous volunteers and one great big Santa Claus - made this our best Children's Holiday party yet!

"Is it really you, Santa Claus?"

This lucky child guessed the correct number of candies in the jar...
and took home the jackpot!

Frosty the Snowman and Rudolf helped make this a day to remember!

"Who's ready to go see Santa Claus?"

Sincere thanks to all of our wonderful volunteers and sponsors, especially Target Stores and the Hartford Marriott Downtown for making this great event possible. 

You can read more about our Annual Hartford Children's Holiday Party here, or call us at (860) 509-0909 if you would like to get involved in the outreach activities of The Connecticut Forum.

Happy Holidays!

The CT Forum's Annual Hartford Children's Holiday Party: It's All About the Kids

Something magical is happening on Monday, December 13, 2010. 

Imagine... the expressions on the faces of hundreds of children as they enter the Hartford Marriott Downtown for the first time.  

Watch... their eyes widen as they are escorted through the hotel's luxurious lobby to what appears to be the tallest escalator in the world. 

See... smiles expand as they are greeted by Frosty the Snowman, Rudolf, and dozens of real live Elves, green tights and all. 

Feel... their excitement as they enter the Grand Ballroom and find crafts to make and cookies to decorate and games to play and food to eat and presents to open - presents that have been hand-picked just for them. 

Hear... shrieks of laughter as they "high five" a juggler on stilts, see magic tricks performed before their eyes and - wait, did you just hear jingling?- SANTA!

Now in its 18th year, The CT Forum's Annual Hartford Children's Holiday Party may well be one of Hartford's very best kept secrets - an event made possible by hundreds of CT Forum volunteers and sponsors, including national corporations, local businesses, schools, towns, groups and individuals.

But this party is not about them, and that's why you might not have heard about it.

It's all about the kids. 

If you would like to get in on the secret by donating your time and/or resources, please call us! (860) 509-0909

Read about last year's party here!

Continuing the Education Conversation: CT Business Leaders Gather at Early Childhood Summit

As promised, The Connecticut Forum presented the first of several education summits last week to continue the conversation about education started at our November Forum, Our Great Education Challenge.

A partnership between The Connecticut Forum and The CBIA Education Foundation, the summit, "Why Business Should Care About Early Childhood Education," focused on the importance of preschool education to our state's economic competitiveness and how the business community can get involved.

Nearly 100 CT business executives and educators were in attendance to hear featured presentations from:
- Elaine Weiss, Project Manager, PEW Center on the States, Partnership for America's Economic Success
- Rob Grunewald, Associate Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
- Rob Dugger, Managing Partner, Hanover Investment Group and advisory board chair of The Partnership for America's Economic Success.

Richard Sugarman, founding president of The Connecticut Forum, was the moderator.

Robert Dugger, managing partner of Hanover Investment Group,
presenting at the summit.
Photo by Christine Stuart, CT News Junkie

After their presentations, the panelists were joined for discussion and a Q&A session by local panelists, including:
- Karen Foley-Schain, Executive Director, Children's Trust Fund
- David Nee, Executive Director, William Graustein Memorial Fund
- Linda Kelly, President, Hartford Foundation for Public Giving

Linda McMahon with Bryan Flint.
Photo by Christine Stuart, CT News Junkie

We hope that this summit is the first of many to raise awareness and public will for education reform.

You can read further coverage of the event by CT News Junkie and CBIA.

The CT Forum Panelists - In the News!

Connecticut Forum panelists have been making lots of headlines lately. Here's a round-up of some past and future CT Forum panelists who have been featured in recent national headlines:

Kurt Vonnegut: The Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library was recently the recipient of a $100,000 grant that will go towards finishing up the library's downtown Indianapolis space dedicated to the legendary American author. Vonnegut participated in our 2006 Forum, An Evening With our Favorite Writers. You can read about the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library in the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune.

Watch Vonnegut at The Forum

Tina Brown: A seasoned Forum Alum, Tina Brown has participated in not one but two Forum events - A World of Change in 2010 and Talkin' 'Bout My Generation in 2005. As the founder and editor of The Daily Beast, Brown's been making headlines this week - including this story in the New York Times - because of The Daily Beast's merger with Newsweek in a joint venture to form The Newsweek Daily Beast Company.

Watch Brown at The Forum

Jonathan Franzen: We're beyond excited that Celebrated Author Jonathan Franzen will be participating in our last Forum of the season, Forum Book Club on May 7, 2011. Franzen, who was also recently featured on the cover (the COVER!) of TIME magazine, has been showered with accolades for his new novel, Freedom, since its release earlier this year. He'll be a guest on Oprah (OPRAH!!) on December 6, where the two are expected to kiss and make-up after their publicized spat a few years back. Here's the dish: Oprah wanted to feature Franzen's first novel, The Corrections, in her book club. Franzen spoke publicly about his concerns that the opportunity might turn off potential readers (namely: males) from reading the book. Oprah subsequently un-invited him and, we can assume, many Oprah viewers added him to their black-list. Now, however, the spat seems to be over and the love-fest can begin.

Patti Smith: Rock Legend Patti Smith wowed everyone at our Forum Music Fest last May - from long time fans to high school age CT YOUTH Forum members who were just meeting her for the first time. Cool, real, and incredibly talented, we celebrate Patti's latest accomplishment: the National Book Award for nonfiction for her memoir, Just Kids.

Watch Smith at The Forum

Education Showcase and More at "Our Great Education Challenge"

We'll be holding a special Education Showcase featuring local education groups in the Bushnell theater lobby on Thursday, November 11 as a part of our second Forum of the Season, Our Great Education Challenge.

The Education Showcase will be available to Forum audience members beginning at 7pm, during intermission, and immediately following The Forum. The Showcase offers an opportunity to interact with local education groups, ask questions and learn more.

The following organizations will be part of the Education Showcase:

Achieve Hartford: Achieve Hartford is an independent, nonprofit organization of business and community leaders that focuses on student achievement and supporting effective and sustained school reform in the Hartford Public Schools.

CBIA Education Foundation: CBIA's Education Foundation is a nonprofit affiliate of CBIA whose mission is to help develop a skilled, knowledgeable workforce in Connecticut.

CommPACT Schools: CommPACT Schools is a partnership including the American Federation of Teachers - Connecticut; Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents; Connecticut Education Association; Connecticut Federation of School Administrators; and Neag School of Education at The University of Connecticut.

ConnCAN: ConnCAN is a platform for Connecticut citizens to effectively speak up for kids. To close Connecticut's gaping achievement gap, a new ethos of reform must permeate state government, the education establishment, and the wide community of citizens.

The Connecticut State University System: The Connecticut State University System is an exemplary state university system advancing the educational needs of the citizens of Connecticut and the nation within a global society.

William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund: The mission of The William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund is to improve the effectiveness of education in fostering both personal development and leadership. A belief that education benefits both individuals and society as a whole guides their work.

University of Connecticut Neag School of Education: The Neag School of Education works to develop students with strong ethical standards into leaders dedicated to improving education, health and wellness for all children and adults.

Sheff Movement: The Sheff Movement Coalition is a collaboration of parents, citizens, educators and others who work to educate the public about proven voluntary integration measures and increase support for quality education for all children.

The Connecticut YOUTH Forum Student Voices: With more than 750 high school-aged youth from 40 high schools and community groups, The CT YOUTH Forum comes together year round to exchange ideas and learn from one another. We invite you to ask us about our schools and our views on education.

Exciting Panelist Announcement! Vice President of NEA, the Largest Teachers' Union, Joins CT Forum on Education

We are thrilled to announce that
LILY ESKELSEN
Vice President, NEA
The largest teachers' union, 3.2 million members
will be a panelist at
Our Great Education Challenge on
Thursday, November 11, 2010!



As vice president of the National Education Association (NEA), Lily Eskelsen is one of the highest-ranking labor leaders in the country and one of its most influential Hispanic educators. Named Utah Teacher of the Year after teaching for only nine years, later serving both the Utah Education Association and the NEA, Eskelsen believes that educators are professionals with the responsibility to take action, individually and collectively, to make the promise of public education a reality and to prepare every student to succeed.

Eskelsen began her career in education as a lunch worker in a school cafeteria and a kindergarten aide before pursuing degrees in elementary education and instructional technology. She taught kindergarten to sixth grade in the middle-class suburbs of Salt Lake and its one-room shelter school. She has taught children labeled gifted and children labeled homeless. In 1989, after being named Utah Teacher of the Year, she used the platform to speak out against the dismal funding of Utah schools. She was subsequently elected president of the Utah Education Association, her first elected position in the Association. She has also served on the NEA Executive Committee, and as NEA Secretary-Treasure.

Eskelsen was president of the Utah State Retirement System, president of the Children at Risk Foundation, and a member of the White House Strategy Session on Improving Hispanic Education. She has built alliances with parents, business and civil rights organizations, and with advocates for the disabled and the poor. In 1998, she ran for political office as the first Hispanic to be chosen as her party’s nominee for U.S. Congress in Utah, raising close to $1 million and taking 45% of the vote against the incumbent.

Eskelsen authored a humor column on parenting that ran in 22 local newspapers. Her advice for parents has been published in Time, Working Mother and Parenting magazines. She’s been featured on Fox News’ “Hannity & Colmes” and CNN’s “Lou Dobbs Tonight.” She has been the invited keynote speaker for hundreds of education events and was highlighted by Education World in their “Best Conference Speakers” edition.

We believe Lily's perspective and experience will bring much to this important conversation.  Hope to see you at The CT Forum!

Great Questions Raised at CT Forum on Civility

From left to right, The End of Civility? panelists David Gergen, Gina Barreca,
Connie Schultz (screen), Stephen Carter, & Christopher Buckley

Now that our first Forum of the Season, The End of Civility? is over, it's truly "the end of civility" - in one sense, at least.

However, there's no end to the questions we all have about civility. We were inundated with audience questions for the panelists during Intermission - many more questions than we could possibly address in the Q&A during the Forum's second half. For now, we can only imagine Stephen Carter's response to the question, Who are we to judge what is civil behavior? or Christopher Buckley's facial expression when asked, In 20 years, will there be anyone left who knows what civility is?

Here are just a few of the thoughtful and provocative questions that we're continuing to think about and discuss. We hope you do the same!

• Is incivility a leading or trailing social indicator?
• How is the loss of civility linked to a sense of hopelessness, a sense of loss of the "civil contract"?
• How can we be a moral leader around the world when we exhibit such vitriol and lack of civility in our public discourse?
• Is an attitude of "we're all in this together" a central element of a civil society? Have we lost that?
• How do we break the cycle of ever-increasing incivility, disrespect, and intolerance?
• Don't you think there's a huge correlation between the lack of religion and the lack of civility?