{"id":5084398,"date":"2019-08-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-08-09T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ctlatinonews.com\/a-quality-preschool-education-is-right-around-the-corner\/"},"modified":"2019-08-09T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-08-09T04:00:00","slug":"a-quality-preschool-education-is-right-around-the-corner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/2019\/08\/09\/a-quality-preschool-education-is-right-around-the-corner\/","title":{"rendered":"A Quality Preschool Education is Right Around the Corner"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\nBy Lena Rodriguez<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/ctmirror.org\/2018\/10\/22\/still-no-state-child-care-rating-system-parents-left-guessing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">report in the Connecticut Mirror<\/a>\u00a0(first published in October 2018, but just recently re-published),\u00a0as of 2017,\u00a0\u201cForty-one states\u00a0had a county or state-wide Quality\u00a0Rating Improvement System\u00a0for parents to use to research safety and educational quality of daycares.\u201d\u00a0But\u00a0Connecticut is not among those 41 states, even after\u00a0more than a decade of\u00a0efforts by state leaders\u00a0to create such a valuable system.\u00a0This is a huge disservice to parents statewide.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So when it comes to finding a high-quality preschool or daycare classroom for your children, what is the best way to find what you need? To my mind,\u00a0every parent should know \u2013 particularly those in urban areas like Hartford \u2013 that they can\u00a0easily\u00a0find safe, nurturing and affordable preschool and daycare\u00a0classrooms right in their own community.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For working families&nbsp;and single parents, knowing that there is a high-quality preschool within&nbsp;walking distance of their home&nbsp;is key.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Among the families that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crtct.org\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Community Renewal Team (CRT)<\/a> serves in Hartford with its preschool program, more than 73% are single-parent households; and nearly 92% of the children enrolled qualify for free or reduced-price meals during the school day.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the case of all of the preschool and child daycare facilities offered by\u00a0CRT, parents have access to full-day and full-year programming.\u00a0Being able to drop-off a child first thing in the morning before work, and then being able to make an easy pick-up at the end of the day can make a real difference for any working parent.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For many of the families that\u00a0rely on CRT for a high quality, affordable preschool program, those classrooms also serve as\u00a0a gateway to multiple\u00a0programs and services\u00a0offered by CRT\u00a0that will benefit the entire family, including things like:\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li> Energy Assistance\u00a0to pay home-heating costs during the winter<br \/> <\/li><li>Enrollment in the\u00a0Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)<br \/> <\/li><li>Behavioral health services<br \/> <\/li><li>Job placement<br \/> <\/li><li>Financial literacy classes<br \/><\/li><li> Free tax preparation services and so much more.<br \/><\/li><li> The help we provide\u00a0starts with the classroom, but it can become a\u00a0real\u00a0lifeline for families in need of support. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">CRT has been providing these educational programs\u00a0to young children (ages 0 \u2013 5)\u00a0for over 50 years;\u00a0and all\u00a0CRT\u00a0locations are fully\u00a0accredited by the\u00a0National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC),\u00a0which is\u00a0considered by many to be the \u201cgold standard\u201d for measuring the safety and quality of a program.\u00a0It is worth noting that\u00a0only 17 percent of programs in\u00a0Connecticut have NAEYC accreditation, and \u201cwith the exception of a few programs (such as preschools in public schools) every provider must be licensed and inspected for safety.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For the children we serve, we know that the educational environment they experience in preschool sets them up for success in later schooling and beyond. In the case of one of our classrooms, the children\u2019s teacher is a real-life example of this experience. Marilyn Rhodes-Gooch&nbsp;was in&nbsp;a CRT&nbsp;preschool classroom&nbsp;as a child, and&nbsp;today she a dedicated part of our teaching staff.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Additionally,\u00a0CRT partners with Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters here in Hartford to bring what is lovingly known as \u201cAbuelas\u201d into our classrooms every day. These\u00a0volunteer foster grandmas\u00a0assist our teaching staff and provide a valuable connection to the children who\u00a0may not always have a grandma in their daily lives.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We know that recent assessments of our School Readiness program\u00a0do not paint an accurate picture of what is really happening in our classrooms. A\u00a020-minute\u00a0classroom\u00a0evaluation on one day\u00a0\u2013\u00a0based on purely non-scientific,\u00a0subjective opinions\u2013 does\u00a0not properly\u00a0demonstrate what goes on throughout the day, all year long in our classrooms. And we know that is the\u00a0case with any preschool program that you might find.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On behalf of the parents and children that we serve each and every day throughout the year, we\u00a0extend an open invitation to members of the community \u2013 and in particular\u00a0to\u00a0our\u00a0local elected officials \u2013 to\u00a0spend a day in one of CRT\u2019s\u00a0classrooms, and see for themselves just what we do to help young children thrive and get ready for life after preschool.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From there, let\u2019s have a frank discussion\u00a0with families, community leaders and elected officials (both state and municipal)\u00a0about what it will take to finally\u00a0establish a\u00a0Quality Rating Improvement System here in Connecticut.\u00a0The families of Connecticut deserve nothing less.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Lena Rodriguez is the President and CEO of the Community Renewal Team,<\/em><em>&nbsp;<\/em><em>a multi-service, not-for-profit agency serving people throughout<\/em><em>&nbsp;<\/em><em>Hartford and Middlesex Counties.<\/em><em>&nbsp;<\/em><em>CRT is committed to finding ways to empower individuals and families that help them to achieve their goals. In 2018, CRT served the needs of more than 35,000 families and over 86,000 individuals.<\/em><em>&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Publisher\u2019s Note: CTLatinoNews.com champions the discussion and debate of issues addressing the quality of life of the Hispanic\/Latino community. We welcome the opinions of all Connecticut communities in sharing knowledge, skills, values to make a difference through civic engagement.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>If you have an idea for an Opinion-Editorial piece, please send your ideas to Info@CTLatinoNews.com for consideration.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Lena Rodriguez According to a\u00a0report in the Connecticut Mirror\u00a0(first published in October 2018, but just recently re-published),\u00a0as of 2017,\u00a0\u201cForty-one [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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