The Derby Early Childhood Council announced grant support for enhancing and implementing its community plan for improving outcomes for young children.
The $80,358 Discovery grant is funded by the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund, the Children’s Fund of Connecticut and the Office of Early Childhood.
The Council has also been awarded a $20,000 grant from the Valley Community Foundation, a $5,000 grant from the City of Derby and a $14,000 in-kind grant from Everyday Democracy.
“This grant supports local community action on behalf of young children and families,” said David Addams, Executive Director, William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund. “Early childhood councils, along with our state partners, work with Connecticut’s new Office of Early Childhood to create a comprehensive early childhood system in our state. By working together we can best utilize state and local resources to improve life for all children. ”
“It is vital that the Office of Early Childhood works intimately with the state’s communities and partners in order to establish an effective and comprehensive early childhood system,” said Dr. Myra Jones-Taylor, Commissioner of the Office of Early Childhood. “This support from the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund will help Derby serve their youngest residents and families and enhance the early childhood system in their community.”
Jenny Tropia, coordinator for the council explained that “the Derby Early Childhood Council brings together local, dedicated partners who work with young children. Together the council focuses on three domains important to the healthy development of young children; they are Early Care and Education, Health and Wellness, and Family Support and Engagement. Our collective goal is to improve child and family outcomes, and we are working to do that by coordinating and improving the availability, accessibility, capacity and quality of services locally.”
The work of the council over this past year has included the following: working in partnership with the public schools and Everyday Democracy to develop a Study Circle: Dialogue to Change Program in Derby; proving parent workshops through the Family Resource Center and public schools; providing parents with a summer learning calendar of activities to prepare children for kindergarten; working in partnership with the Parent Child Resource Center to run the Prevention through Early Intervention Program (PEIP) in kindergarten classrooms in both elementary schools; hosting a Kindergarten Readiness Roundtable for the public schools, parents, home care providers and preschool staff as well as development of a monthly Community Blog for parents written by professionals who work in our community.
“We are excited about the upcoming plans of the council,” Beth Colette, co-chair of the council stated. “We will be further developing the opportunity for parents to become equal stakeholders in the Study Circle: Dialogue to Change Program. There will also be the chance for parents to become leaders through the People Empowering People Program that the council will be running. More information on this will be available on our website at www.myfirst8.org in the new year.”
“In essence, the council is the hub for early childhood matters in Derby,” stated Michele Holovach, co-chair of the council. “We have successfully brought money into the community and our schools for training and programs. Through support, advocacy, and collaboration, we are building a system for children from birth through age eight to strengthen families and the community.”
The goal of Discovery is to create an early childhood system that ensures optimal healthy development leading to early learning success for Connecticut children of all races and income levels. Discovery supports communities in establishing collaborative structures in which parents are full partners. Each community creates and implements its own community plan.
Advocates and other stakeholders work to improve policy and practice at the local and state levels.
Across Connecticut, 52 communities focus on improving the quality of and access to early care and education, enhancing the quality of PreK-3rd grade education, increasing local and statewide capacity to measure and continue improvements, and improving young children’s health and social/emotional development. To learn more, visit: http://discovery.wcgmf.org.
Visit www.myfirst8.org for more information or contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) to find out how you can get involved in the Derby Early Childhood Council.
About the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund: The William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund works collaboratively to improve education for Connecticut’s children by strengthening the involvement of parents and the community in education, promoting school change and informing the public debate on educational issues.
About the Child Health and Development Institute: The Child Health and Development Institute advances and informs improvements in primary and preventive pediatric health and mental health care programs, practice, and policy in Connecticut, with particular focus on disadvantaged and underserved children and their families.
About the Office of Early Childhood: The Connecticut Office of Early Childhood was established in 2013 to coordinate and improve the various early childhood programs and components in the state to create a cohesive, high-quality early childhood system.
About the Valley Community Foundation: Established in 2004, the Valley Community Foundation distributes hundreds of thousands of grant dollars each year to support the local nonprofit sector and the people it serves. In addition to grant making, VCF works in strong partnership with The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, to promote philanthropy in Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, Seymour and Shelton. To learn how your gifts of cash, life insurance, appreciated stocks, bonds, real estate, and other assets can help to support the quality of life in the Valley, please visit the website at www.valleyfoundation.org or contact VCF President, Sharon Closius, at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 203 – 751-9162.
