August 27, 2012

MAYBERRY SCHOOL IN EAST HARTFORD
TO HOST FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER

By Melissa Traynor, The Hartford Courant

EAST HARTFORD — The Franklin Mayberry Elementary School is slated to be one of the newest recipients of state funding for a family resource center.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said the state will set aside $1.9 million in grants to establish new resource centers, and about $800,000 to support the 62 existing centers.

"Given that East Hartford has long been shortchanged in the [education cost sharing] formula to reflect the level of poverty, I think [the] additional resources will help fill a gap that's existed for far too long," said Rep. Jason Rojas of East Hartford, a member of the House's education committee.

According to a news release by the governor's office, "initiatives [at the family resource centers] include home visitations to screen for child development needs, before- and after-school care, summer camps, child-rearing skills classes, high school equivalency classes and English as a Second Language (ESL) programming, among other services."

Rojas said that the centers will largely serve to refer families to services they may be eligible for, but did not know about, or to help non-native English speaking parents.

"Some of the resource centers offer GED classes or help with finishing high school diplomas. Other family resource centers partner up with ESL services," he said. "We always talk about how to get parents more involved — a lot of these people who we're looking to engage had a negative experience with education themselves and they may feel intimidated."

The added family resource center funding will also benefit new locations in schools in New Haven, New Britain, Hamden, Waterbury, Hartford, Meriden, Bristol and Norwich.

Malloy said that adding new resource centers, which will also serve as contact points for the HUSKY and SNAP programs, will help make a difference in the lives of families and children.

"Whether it's an after-school program that opens up a new world to a young mind or a little extra help for an English language learner, the result is a young person that's poised for success in school and whatever else they choose to do later in life," Malloy said in a statement. "Simply put, creating more family resources centers will help us level the playing field, so we can begin to eliminate the nation's largest achievement gap."

According to the Connecticut Family Resource Center Alliance, Silver Lane and Hockanum Schools also host resource centers.