The Northern Lights were once again visible in Connecticut, thanks to a solar storm that erupted from the sun’s surface earlier in the week.

The aurora will be visible through the early morning of Saturday with the best viewing time through 4 a.m.

Unlike the aurora event of October 2024, you won’t be able to see this with the naked eye, instead a long exposure camera will be needed.

Look to the north and away from city lights.

Your photos: Northern Lights visible across Connecticut

HARTFORD, CT — As measles outbreaks spread across the United States, Connecticut health officials are urging residents to double check their vaccination status, while also raising the alarm about the potential for outbreaks at more than two dozen elementary schools with low immunization rates.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are 378 confirmed cases of measles in the United States in 18 different jurisdictions, as far west as Alaska and California, as far east as New York and Rhode Island, and as far south as Texas and Florida. That number already eclipses the total number of measles cases for all of 2024, which stood at 285 at the end of the year.

There has been one confirmed death from measles, and another death remains under investigation.

Connecticut has avoided having any measles cases so far, but public health officials say the conditions exist for an outbreak.

Dr. Manisha Juthani, commissioner of the state Department of Health (DPH), said in an interview that there have been no confirmed cases of measles in Connecticut so far, but that cases in neighboring states require that residents be aware of their vaccination status and get the shot if needed.

“Vaccination is the number one way that we can make sure that we can help people stay protected, because you don’t always know exactly what your exposure has been, or what the situation may be,” she said. “Say if you’re in a broader group setting, like you’re at a park or in a movie theater, or something like that. You may not know somebody specifically (with measles), but there could have been somebody there.”

Juthani said the department is not concerned about community spread right now, thanks to high vaccination rates for measles in adults in the state. She also pointed to Connecticut’s childhood vaccination rate for children entering kindergarten, which is 97.7%.

There is still cause for concern though, she said. Juthani said in order to achieve herd immunity against measles, 95% of a given population needs to be fully vaccinated. Herd immunity is an epidemiological concept where high rates of immunizations protect those who are not immunized.

However, according to the state’s 2023-24 school year data on kindergarten immunization rates by school, there were 62 elementary schools where immunization rates below 95%. Of those, 26 were below 90%, and five schools had rates below 80%. The school with the lowest rate of immunization – Stamford Charter School For Excellence – had just 62.5% of its kindergarteners fully immunized.

Waterbury led the list with seven elementary schools where immunizations for measles were below 90%. Bridgeport was second with four, followed by Hartford with three. Schools in Mansfield, Ledyard, Moosup, and other small towns also had schools with sub-90% immunization.

“We continually work with areas where we may see (low immunization rates). When you have less than 95% there is a potential risk in a given community,” Juthani said.

Lack of clarity on immunizations at the federal level, and threats of funding cuts, have placed several state departments on edge, and DPH is no exception.

“We are a highly dependent agency in terms of federal dollars,” Juthani said. “We receive 80% of our funding from the federal government, and we are closely monitoring the situation on a daily and hourly basis, quite frankly.”

Juthani said she did not know what cuts could be coming to her department, “but we do need funding to be ready and to have a response.”

The size of the outbreak has garnered national attention from healthcare professionals. 

David Higgins, a practicing pediatrician and health service researcher at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, said even though vaccination rates may be high at the state level, measles spreads at the community level.

“We know, and this is why we’re here today, that in some communities we have seen vaccination rates drop so low that we’re seeing a resurgence in the spread of measles outbreaks,” he said Thursday during a webinar hosted by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. “I like to say that when vaccination rates drop in a community, it is not a question of if, it’s a question of when.”

Measles is one of the world’s most highly transmissible viruses, with a single victim infecting an average of 18 others.

The DPH recommends that everyone should ensure that their vaccination status is up to date before traveling internationally or to areas in the United States with an active measles outbreak. Children ages 6 to 11 months should receive a dose of the MMR vaccine at least two weeks before traveling.

The CDC describes measles an airborne, extremely infectious, and potentially severe rash illness. Before the measles vaccine was introduced, an estimated 48,000 people were hospitalized and 400 to 500 people died of it in the United States each year. This year’s death of a child from measles was the first in the U.S. since 2015.

The data below are listed by name of school, public or non-public, town, MMR vaccination rate %, and number of religious, medical and total exemptions.

2023-2024 Connecticut Kindergarten Immunization Rates by School by Doug Hardy

HARTFORD, CT — State officials and educators decried President Donald Trump’s executive order calling for the federal Department of Education’s closure on Thursday, vowing to fight the administration on education issues.

“Programs like Title I, IDEA, Pell Grants, and Impact Aid are essential to ensuring that all students have access to a high-quality education, regardless of their family’s income,” Gov. Ned Lamont said. “These investments help level the playing field, providing critical resources for low-income students, funding mental health and school safety initiatives, and guaranteeing services for students with disabilities.”

Lamont said the executive order “threatens the strength and stability” of public schools.

The executive order instructs Education Secretary Linda McMahon “to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law, take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities.” 

It also instructs McMahon to ensure the continued allocation of DOE funds, except to programs and activities that utilize “diversity, equity and inclusion” or “[promotes] gender ideology.” 

The president does not have the power to unilaterally shut down the department. That would require an act of Congress. However, the executive order is the latest step in the Trump administration’s multi-pronged plan to strangle the DOE. Last week, the administration fired 1,300 DOE employees as it continued to downsize the agency.

McMahon said that the executive order was a “history-making action” that sends education back where it belongs.

“Education is fundamentally a state responsibility,” she said in a statement. “Instead of filtering resources through layers of federal red tape, we will empower states to take charge and advocate for and implement what is best for students, families, and educators in their communities.”

McMahon went on to say that the closure of the department would not result in the loss of funds the department coordinates and disperses to schools and programs across the nation.

Kate Dias, president of the Connecticut Education Association, acknowledged that the order doesn’t formally close the DOE. However, she said the action continues to “devalue” and “deemphasize” the work that goes into public education and the importance of that work. She vowed to fight the administration on education issues,

“We need to lift it up and honor the more than 500,000 students that are engaged in public education here in the State of Connecticut,” she said in a video shared with the media. “So while the feds are going to do what they’re going to do, we here in the State of Connecticut are going to continue to fight for what’s right. And that is protecting and preserving the education for more than 500,000 students across the great State of Connecticut.”

Rep. Joe Courtney, D-CT, honed in on the specific programs that the executive order could affect. 

“To dismantle the Department of Education is to dismantle the pathways to success local students use every day to build a rewarding and family-sustaining career,” he said. “In just the last year, Thompson and Westbrook high schools in eastern Connecticut used financial assistance from [DOE] to open new and expanded welding labs, which are critically important to connecting students to good-paying manufacturing jobs right out of high school.”

He said 95 percent of K-12 public schools in Connecticut’s Second Congressional District depend on federal Title I funding. Additionally, he said 1,600 teachers, nurses, police officers, and other public servants earned debt relief through the bipartisan Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. Both are administered by the DOE.

Senate Pro Tempore Martin Looney, D-New Haven, and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, issued a joint statement accusing the president of offering up American children as a “sacrifice” in service of the administration’s pursuit of tax cuts for the wealthiest people in the world. 

According to the senators, Connecticut relies on the DOE for more than $394.5 million in funding, which accounted for more than 10% of the state’s total revenue for education in 2024. DOE funds also support free and reduced-price meals, funding for schools in low-income communities, mechanisms for processing civil rights and disability-based discrimination cases, and management of student aid programs such as Pell Grants.

“This reckless order puts nearly $400 million for Connecticut schools in jeopardy, including funding for school meals and special education,” the senators said. “For weeks, we’ve witnessed a deliberate effort to hollow out the core of this nation’s institutions to facilitate more favorable conditions for the fabulously wealthy elite. As the Trump Administration writes off the future of Connecticut kids as collateral damage, Connecticut Republicans stand idly by.”

House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, was more cautious in his statement about the executive order, saying it had ignited “much-needed debate” about the nation’s education bureaucracy and criticizing state Democrats as “defending a broken architecture that drives up college debt and fails K-12 students and educators year after year,”

Candelora said Democrats should “join the conversation about creating real reform that supports educators while ensuring every student gets the education they deserve.”

More news about education

Lamont Addresses School Superintendents On Education Funding, Mental Health, Technology

BRISTOL, CT – Gov. Ned Lamont outlined the state’s priorities for education funding, student mental health, and the role of technology in schools – emphasizing the need to limit distractions in classrooms – during the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents spring conference on Thursday.

Speaking over breakfast at the Bristol Events Center, Lamont acknowledged the challenges facing national education policy, referencing recent travels during which he observed how other countries approach education, artificial intelligence, and social media regulation.

“There is uncertainty coming out of Washington, D.C.,” he said. “Other countries are already implementing national policies on artificial intelligence and social media regulation. Meanwhile, here in the U.S., our leaders are debating whether to eliminate the Department of Education.”

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He stressed the importance of preparing students for a competitive workforce: “We need to ensure that we have the best-trained workforce in the world. We’ve got to make sure that we’re thinking about our kids, not just in terms of school today, but in terms of preparing them for the world they’re going to enter tomorrow.”

Reflecting on the challenges schools have faced in recent years, Lamont noted that student struggles extend beyond the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Coming out of COVID, I thought all this anxiety and isolation were just related to the pandemic,” Lamont said. “But years later, we’re seeing these issues persist. Something deeper is going on.”

He pointed to the growing body of research linking screen overuse and social media to rising rates of anxiety, stress, and depression among young people.

“We started seeing a rise in anxiety, stress, and depression long before COVID,” he said. “It’s clear that the overuse of screens and social media is playing a role.”

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Lamont also spoke about efforts to reduce distractions caused by smartphones in schools, highlighting districts that have already begun limiting phone use during the school day.

“More and more of you are getting phones out of schools, and I’m hearing from teachers that things are enormously different. Students are able to concentrate and engage in class again.”

He acknowledged that some parents are hesitant about such policies.

“Some parents feel like they need to be in contact with their kids 24/7,” he said. “But even now, I’ve found there’s a lot more relaxation going on, and I think parents are starting to appreciate what it means for their kids.”

Following Lamont’s remarks, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt spoke about the long-term effects of smartphones and social media on child development. Haidt, author of “The Anxious Generation,” has studied the impact of digital habits on mental health, citing data that shows a sharp increase in anxiety, depression, and self-harm among teenagers after 2010.

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“There was no trend before 2010,” Haidt said. “Then social media exploded, and everything changed.”

He described what he calls the “great rewiring” of childhood, in which in-person socialization has been replaced by digital interaction.

“The play-based childhood that previous generations experienced has been replaced by a phone-based childhood, and we are seeing the consequences in rising rates of anxiety, depression, and social anxiety,” he said. “If you take a child’s ability to explore, take risks, and problem-solve away from them and instead give them an endless stream of curated digital content, their brain is going to develop differently.”

Haidt recommended delaying smartphone use until at least middle school, prohibiting social media access for children under 16, and implementing phone-free school policies statewide.

Connecticut Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker emphasized the importance of addressing student well-being through policy and data-driven decisions.

“More and more students are struggling with anxiety, depression, and stress,” she said. “They watch the same news as we do, they see the same social media trends. This is impacting every zip code in Connecticut.”

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She pointed to ongoing legislative efforts, stating that “we have over 50 bills in the legislature right now that could shift the education landscape. We must stay engaged and ensure that policies serve the well-being of every student.”

Lamont reaffirmed the state’s commitment to supporting educators and students.

“We can’t afford to lose a generation to distraction and depression,” he said. “Our kids deserve better – and we’re going to give it to them.”

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by Karla Ciaglo
March 20, 2025, 2:49 pmMarch 20, 2025, 4:13 pm