State officials seek future for former Stone students

Joseph Villanova, Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
·4 min read

Feb. 21—EAST HARTFORD — State officials say they are working on a path forward for former students of the Stone Academy after it abruptly shut its doors last week.

The for-profit career training institution, with campuses in East Hartford, Waterbury, and West Haven, announced its closure last Tuesday. Approximately 850 students were affected.

STUDENT INFORMATION FAIR

WHAT: The Office of Higher Education will hold a fair for students affected by the closure of Stone Academy, in order to provide information on opportunities for furthering their careers.

WHEN: Feb. 27 to March 1

WHERE: 450 Columbus Road, Hartford

HOW: Former students must register online by Thursday, Feb. 21 at

https://forms.office.com/g/r0s4SuZvAy.

The state Office of Higher Education identified eight areas where Stone Academy faced compliance issues, including using unqualified instructors, holding invalid on-campus clinical experiences, and pass rates far below the required benchmark.

Stone Academy officials said Monday that the school has identified and communicated academic opportunities for its students at four other Connecticut schools: Goodwin University, Lincoln Technical Institute, Porter and Chester Institute, and the University of Bridgeport, which is a partner with Goodwin.

Stone Academy said it also has engaged with Porter and Chester and Lincoln Tech to provide employment opportunities to faculty and staff, with a significant number of former employees accepting job offers.

Office of Higher Education Executive Director Timothy Larson, a former East Hartford state representative, said Tuesday that the transfer of credits will be on a school-by-school and student-by-student basis.

"We've had conversations with Porter and Chester and Lincoln Tech, and they're not willing to take these credits from students until they're verified," Larson said.

Larson said his office is preparing to conduct an audit of Stone Academy's records. The files will be picked up today and reviewed individually in the next three days to determine which credits and clinical hours are valid for each student.

"They'll have a validated transcript they can go to other schools with," Larson said of the students who spent Monday protesting outside the school building.

Larson said the Office of Higher Education also will hold a fair for affected students, from Feb. 27 to March 1 in Hartford. Representatives from Connecticut community colleges, the U.S. Department of Education, and the National Guard will be available for former students to gather information.

"We're trying to give folks as many options as we can," Larson said.

Larson said Stone Academy was "on watch" for the past few years, in particular from the state Department of Public Health's Board of Examiners for Nursing.

The board voted to remove Stone Academy's East Hartford day program from the list of approved practical nursing programs at its November 2022 meeting, as a result of National Council Licensure Examination pass rates failing to reach 80% for three consecutive years.

Pass rates for 2022 ranged from 70% at the Waterbury evening program to 43% for West Haven's evening program.

The state also determined that roughly 20% of Stone Academy's instructors were not qualified to teach in the practical nursing program, and that its on-campus clinical hours were being offered and counted for licenses in violation of regulations set by the state Department of Public Health.

Larson said the state would not give up on students affected by the closure, especially with the extreme need for nursing care in Connecticut, and the time students put towards their careers.

"These students all deserve some extra support and care," Larson said. "Truthfully, there may be some stranded students, and someone will have to pay for their time."

East Hartford Mayor Mike Walsh said the town is "standing down," and has deferred action to the Office of Higher Education, which regulates private schools, and the attorney general, who is investigating possible legal ramifications.

Walsh said two former Stone Academy students who were scheduled to graduate in the coming months reached out to his office, and their stories were heartbreaking.

"A lot of people's lives are at stake here, a significant amount of money was paid for education here," Walsh said. "They need to be held accountable."

Joseph covers Manchester and Bolton for the Journal Inquirer.