Officials from TEAM, Inc., the city of Shelton, and the Shelton Public Schools Sept. 15 heralded the opening of a preschool classroom at the former Lafayette School on Grove Street.
The room opened earlier this month for 18 students; a ribbon cutting ceremony was held last week.
The staff includes a head teacher and three assistant teachers, TEAM CEO David Morgan said.
The preschool program for 3‑to‑5 year olds is designed to even the playing field for families unable to afford high-quality preschool instruction. Preschool has become increasingly important over the decades, as kids need to be more academically prepared for kindergarten than they were years ago.
Click here for a column summarizing the changes in education philosophy of the last 50 years.
Today it’s widely accepted that kids who access good early-learning programs benefit in the long run.
The new program in Shelton offers a sliding scale for income-eligible parents. Some pay as little as $50 a week for full-time preschool, with before and after school care built into the program.
Morgan offered “big kudos” to Mayor Mark Lauretti and Shelton officials for their support in establishing the site at the school, which is owned by the city and also houses offices for Center Stage Theatre and the Valley United Way.
TEAM’s first school readiness program in Shelton opened in 2007 at Trinity Lutheran Church on Howe Avenue.
The city had a large wait list and the new classroom funded by a $25,000 startup grant accommodates 18 additional Shelton families.
TEAM, Inc., by the way, turns 50 this year. A gala celebration is scheduled for Oct. 3. Click here for info.
Data Demonstrates Need
The need for more preschool education is a demonstrable one throughout the Valley.
According to data in “The Valley Now: A 2015 Snapshot,” a 12-page report funded by the Valley Community Foundation, in 2012, 44 percent of preschool-aged children were not enrolled in preschool, even as slots in Valley public schools increased since 2002 — to 429 openings in 2013.
Between 2000 and 2012, Valley-wide preschool enrollment was stable at 56 percent, the report found, while at the same time preschool enrollment increased statewide, from 61 to 64 percent.
According to the report, in 2013 only 57 percent of all third-graders in Valley public schools were reading at goal or above.
In Shelton alone, that figure stood at 72 percent, the highest in the Valley next to Oxford’s 73 percent.
Article continues after report.
Valley Now 2015 Snapshot by ValleyIndyDotOrg
Early Learning Matters
Morgan said the school readiness curriculum will boost literacy and math skills, among others. The curriculum is based on Connecticut Early Learning and Development Standards for children from birth to age 5.
He said the standards focus on what preschoolers should know and be able to know, including literacy and numeracy development.
“The science is clear,” Morgan said. “Early experiences matter.”
He said the development of a young child involves a partnership between preschool staff and families.
He said the “rigors” of preschool learning have increased over the years. What used to be considered first grade work is now taught in kindergarten; and children learn in preschool what once was part of the kindergarten curriculum.
The snapshot in 2013 found that chronic absenteeism among Valley students in Kindergarten through Grade 3 ranged from a low of 3.7 percent in Oxford to a high of 12.1 percent in Ansonia.
In Shelton that number was 6.8 percent. Morgan said school readiness educators are working to instill a regimen of daily attendance in children early on.
“It is a major concern for us,” he said.
Morgan said the school readiness officials seek to provide affordable child care so people can work.
The snapshot report also found that number of families earning below the cost of living is 14 percent in Ansonia, 12 percent in Derby, 3 percent in Oxford, 7 percent in Seymour, and 5 percent in Shelton.
Morgan said the school readiness program is targeted to address the economic gap faced by families struggling to make ends meet and unable otherwise to provide a high quality educational experience.
Shelton Board of Aldermen President John Anglace said using the former elementary school for the preschool “is a good step in the right direction.”
The building, which is owned by the city, houses the Valley United Way offices, Center Stage Theatre, the Shelton Registrars of Voters, and now the preschool.
Anglace said the aldermen will be asked at next month’s meeting to vote to rename the building “The Richard O. Belden Cultural Center.”
Belden, a Shelton resident, served as a state representative from 1974 until his death in August 2007, earning him the title of “Dean of the House of Representatives.”
Shelton Superintendent of Schools Freeman Burr said it was the people in the classroom that made the program happen.
He credited volunteers and those committed to school readiness who worked under Morgan’s leadership for establishing the preschool.
“I’m happy to endorse it, and honored to be here,” Burr said.
