My name is Megan DeSombre.

For more than three years, I’ve been blogging about education in Connecticut, focusing almost entirely on Bridgeport schools. More recently, I’ve started to tackle more issues across the state.

I’m often asked why I started this blog. The answer is, it’s personal.

Education is and has always been a passion of mine. School wasn’t easy for me. Growing up, I had a speech and language delay. According to my mother, I hadn’t really begun reading until fourth grade.

Despite my obvious deficits, my mother fought the system for years to get me tested. Finally, in seventh grade, I was diagnosed with auditory processing disorder. She still says that was her “Aha!” moment.

If it wasn’t for my mother’s constant advocacy I wouldn’t be writing at all, let alone writing a blog. She knew there was something wrong even when everyone insisted there wasn’t.

That’s why I believe that Connecticut parents have the power to change things, but they need a system that works for them. Especially in struggling school districts like Bridgeport, New Haven, Hartford and Waterbury, parents should have decent options for their kids and be given a say in the education of their own children.

Education is a fundamental human right. It’s the cornerstone of a free society, yet many kids in Connecticut are being systematically denied this right. Whether you have kids in the system or not, this should upset us all.

Shortly after moving to Bridgeport in 2013, I began reading about what was going on with the schools, and It made my heart hurt. I had moved to one of the wealthiest states in the country, yet students in our poorest urban districts were (and are) being denied their right to an equitable education. All you have to do is look at the statistics to see that something’s wrong. Meanwhile, Bridgeport’s embattled board of education focused more on political infighting than what was going on in the classroom.

I felt like I needed to do something. Kids are given one chance at an education. I know that all too acutely. I could have very well been illiterate. In another time I would have been.

So I’m using my background in politics and writing to shed light on what’s going on with our schools. There’s a lot of talk about what’s best for children, but where is the action? With this blog, I hope to do my part.