The Meriden-New Britain-Berlin YMCA is assisting the OEC in reaching local families who did not enroll in public preschool, private programs or licensed family child care homes this year and are missing out on critical early learning experiences. Free educational resources are available to help these families.
OEC Announces: CTCARES for All Young Children
The Challenge: On November 4th, the Connecticut State Department of Education released enrollment numbers indicating a 3 percent decrease in total statewide student enrollment. This decrease was heavily weighted in the early years. 20% fewer preschool students were enrolled in public school and 12% fewer enrolled in Kindergarten. The picture was similar for private early learning programs who saw a decline of 15% in enrollment, with significantly larger declines in CT’s largest cities. OEC and SDE are seeking your help to reach families who are disconnected from educational programming during the pandemic.
Missing out on early learning experiences has long-term consequences for children, families & communities, both educational and economic. Research by the Nobel Prize winning economist James Heckman shows that for every dollar spent on high-quality birth to-five programs for disadvantaged children, taxpayers can expect a 13 percent per annum return on investment, with the greatest returns associated with programs at the earliest stages of life. (Hunt Institute, 2020).
Partners: The Meriden YMCA is one of the partners helping to identify families in our local community who could be helped by free educational resources.
Learning Materials for Families: A package of learning materials will be mailed to the families that sites identify as disconnected from programming to support learning. CT ELDS supported the selection of materials such as:
o Paper, scissors, language, literacy, sensory, and math materials.
o Educational materials for families.
o CT ELDS at home learning guides for families
o Access to Sparkler App for screening
If you are a family or know of a family that is not connected to a program at this time and needs assistance, please contact Allyson Miller at (203) 800-7925.