State Grant Will Help Fund Pre-School Initiative

August 2, 2010 by Josh Morgan

The Cheshire School District got a slight boost recently, thanks to a grant from the Connecticut Community Foundation that will help fund early childhood education programming.
A total of $6,800 was awarded to Cheshire on July 12, to prepare students for the transition from daycare and private pre-school to Darcey School for kindergarten instruction. Superintendent of Schools Dr. Greg Florio explained that, in tight budget years, money for this particular program is very sparse and the grant would be beneficial for the youngsters preparing to start their Darcey careers.
"We have an outreach with the pre-school and daycare providers and we work with them on transitioning from their facilities to the Cheshire Public School system," Florio explained. "We have done some of this work before, but this grant allows us a few more resources."
The Connecticut Community Foundation awarded more than $250,000 in grant money in the first round of 2010 grants. Another announcement is scheduled for September, but it is unclear if Cheshire will be the recipient of additional funding. A total of 22 area nonprofits and organizations received funding this month from the Foundation.
Florio explained that kindergarten readiness is an important aspect of early education, but it's done "on a very limited basis" because of budget constraints. Every district might have a different stance on what are the important areas for early childhood development and what areas can be focused on in the classroom. For instance, there could be a focus on reading and writing, which Florio said is important, but not paramount, at such a young age. Instead, Florio hopes to prepare the would-be kindergarteners with social skills and "the ability to function effectively" in the classroom setting.
"Part of this grant is to help us communicate what we think is readiness," Florio said. "The students need to be effective in school."
While acknowledging that a "combination of both" reading and social skills is ideal, the focus is more on the latter, Florio indicated. He said students should be able to recognize letters and numbers and have those "basic foundational skills," but it was not required to have a kindergartener reading from day one at Darcey.
"I think there are some misconceptions about what readiness is," Florio stated. "It's not so much coming in (to kindergarten) reading, but more about those basic skills."
There are many pre-school and daycare centers in Cheshire that funnel students into Darcey, such as the YMCA and various private providers. Florio suggested it is important to work with the early childhood providers to prepare students for success in the Cheshire School District and beyond.
"We didn't really have a significant amount of funding in the budget for this, so the grant will help supplement that," Florio said.
Founded in 1923 as the Waterbury Foundation, the Connecticut Community Foundation was the first of its kind in the state. The Foundation works with 21 towns in the greater Waterbury area and is funded through local donations. According to the Foundation, grants reflect a "variety of philanthropic interests and support a range of giving opportunities in the arts, environment, health care, education, human services, and women’s and children’s initiatives."
Besides providing monetary grants to organizations, the Foundation also issues scholarships to students.