Study after study shows that learning begins at birth, that children who grow up in nurturing, literacy-rich home environments will thrive, and that children whose parents are engaged in their learning and involved in their school will do well academically. Based on this early learning, family-centered approach, United Way of Western CT is piloting the Strong Start Neighborhood Initiative at Park Avenue School in Danbury this year.
The purpose of the program is to connect families with children under age 5 in the Park Avenue Neighborhood with services and supports, and to get their families involved in the life of the school well before their children enter kindergarten. The goal is that children will have the skills they need to succeed academically when they begin their formal education at age 5.
“The project takes a whole family and a whole neighborhood approach,” explains Kim Morgan, CEO of United Way of Western CT. “We want to make the Park Avenue neighborhood a place where families feel supported and where young children are encouraged to learn. We want to involve not just educators and family support providers, but neighborhood businesses, churches, and civic organizations. The idea is to make the Park Avenue neighborhood a great place for families and children to live and thrive.”
Phase 1 of this multi-pronged approach began in November, and provides funding for Play to Learn playgroups at the school. The playgroups give parents of children from birth to age 5 the opportunity to come into the school to connect with other parents and learn about opportunities and resources. Parents make friends with other parents and learn about the importance of reading and talking with their children, while their children begin to learn to play in a group setting, develop early language skills, and are screened for developmental milestones.
“Playgroups build on the idea that young children learn through play,” says Anne Mead, who is providing the playgroups at Park Avenue through the Family Learning Centers of the Danbury Public Schools. “But they also do much more—they create a sense of community and connect families with resources that can make life less stressful. They can be a key component in preparing children from all income levels for future academic success.”
Phase 1 of the Neighborhood Initiative is also funding a Transition Night as well as ongoing workshops for parents of children who are entering kindergarten in the fall of 2015. The workshops and Transition Night focus on supporting families as their children make the important move from preschool or home to elementary school. They provide parents with details about what to expect when their children begin school at Park Avenue, and how to help their children succeed in their first experience in a more formal classroom setting. Parents receive the book “Kindergarten Here We Come,” while their children receive a free book, packages of crayons, and other fun learning tools. The Parent Workshop and Transition Night are being provided by Education Connection. All programs are conducted in English and Spanish.
An important component of the Park Avenue Neighborhood Initiative is providing incentives for parents to attend the programs. That’s how local businesses can get involved. Businesses that are frequented by Park Avenue families can offer discounts and rewards to parents who register for and attend programs. Parents may receive points for attending events and rewards based on the number of points earned. United Way of Western CT plans to develop the reward and incentive program in partnership with neighborhood businesses in the coming weeks and months.
Collecting evidence that the program works is also key to its success. Data on children whose families are involved in Neighborhood Initiative programs will be collected and, upon entering kindergarten, their reading scores will be assessed to look at their progress as compared to low-income children in the school district who weren’t connected with programs.
“In Danbury, as in most of Connecticut, we have a large Achievement Gap between low-income children and their higher income peers,” explains Kim Morgan. “Right now, Danbury’s low-income children are scoring 30 percentage points below more affluent Danbury children on standardized tests. The ultimate goal is that those low-income children will be as prepared for school as children from middle- and upper- income families. All children should be given the opportunity to succeed in school and in life. We want to bring the whole community together to achieve that goal—to make the Park Avenue neighborhood, and ultimately the City of Danbury, a place of opportunity for every child, no matter what the income level of the family.”
For more information about the Park Avenue Neighborhood Initiative, and to get involved, contact Caroline LaFleur at United Way of Western CT at 203-792-5330 ext. 245 or email caroline.lafleur@uwwesternct.org