ANSONIA - State Sen. Joseph Crisco Jr., D-Woodbridge, Wednesday toured a new pre-kindergarten classroom for 12 children at John C. Mead School that he helped create and fund last year through Connecticut’s Smart Start initiative.
The initiative is a competitive state grant program designed to expand preschool classrooms in public school settings.
Ansonia successfully applied for $75,000 in state funding (which Crisco voted for) to retrofit and furnish a classroom with new desks, chairs, bookshelves, rugs and other equipment. The Smart Start hours will be from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily for the entire 181-day Ansonia Public School system school year.
“Over the past decade, Ansonia has done a tremendous job of increasing the percentage of kids who are entering first grade with pre-K experience, and we all know that every bit of early learning a child gets makes a great difference down the road,” Crisco said.
“I was very proud to support Connecticut’s Smart Start pre-K initiative, and very proud to vote for the funds to make it a success, and I am equally happy that some of that money has come home to help kids right here in Ansonia.”
“It is a great opportunity to be able to expose more of Ansonia’s pre-K age students to the readiness skills required for kindergarten,” Mead School Interim Principal Elizabeth Nimons said. “It also provides them time in a school setting to develop their vocabulary and language acquisition skills.”
Since 1998, Ansonia has provided a high-quality preschool program for 3- and 4-year olds through the School Readiness program. In 2004, the percentage of children entering kindergarten in Ansonia was 33%; by 2013, that had increased to 78%.
The new Smart Start classroom will be staffed by one certified early childhood/special education teacher; a non-certified lead teacher with an associate’s degree in early childhood education; and a non-certified Pre-K classroom support assistant with experience in special education classes.
This is a press release from Crisco's office.
The initiative is a competitive state grant program designed to expand preschool classrooms in public school settings.
Ansonia successfully applied for $75,000 in state funding (which Crisco voted for) to retrofit and furnish a classroom with new desks, chairs, bookshelves, rugs and other equipment. The Smart Start hours will be from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily for the entire 181-day Ansonia Public School system school year.
“Over the past decade, Ansonia has done a tremendous job of increasing the percentage of kids who are entering first grade with pre-K experience, and we all know that every bit of early learning a child gets makes a great difference down the road,” Crisco said.
“I was very proud to support Connecticut’s Smart Start pre-K initiative, and very proud to vote for the funds to make it a success, and I am equally happy that some of that money has come home to help kids right here in Ansonia.”
“It is a great opportunity to be able to expose more of Ansonia’s pre-K age students to the readiness skills required for kindergarten,” Mead School Interim Principal Elizabeth Nimons said. “It also provides them time in a school setting to develop their vocabulary and language acquisition skills.”
Since 1998, Ansonia has provided a high-quality preschool program for 3- and 4-year olds through the School Readiness program. In 2004, the percentage of children entering kindergarten in Ansonia was 33%; by 2013, that had increased to 78%.
The new Smart Start classroom will be staffed by one certified early childhood/special education teacher; a non-certified lead teacher with an associate’s degree in early childhood education; and a non-certified Pre-K classroom support assistant with experience in special education classes.
This is a press release from Crisco's office.
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