The U.S. Secretary of Education was back in his home state of Connecticut on Monday. Miguel Cardona was in New Haven to formally introduce an initiative that will bring more full-service community schooling to the district.
A $2.5 million federal grant was awarded to the Clifford Beers Community Center. They have partnered with New Haven Public Schools and will use the money to expand some existing programs.
The grant comes from the U.S. Department of Education. The announcement was made in November, and Cardona will help launch the planning efforts, addressing New Haven school leaders.
“Anyone in education recognizes, if you’re going to meet the needs of a student, you have to think of them and what their entire needs are. You have to start with the whole child approach,” Cardona said.
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On Monday, school officials and the Clifford Beers Community Care Center launched plans on how to implement the grant and celebrated the opportunity.
“We just don’t see the level of investment needed to meet the needs. The actual needs given the levels of poverty, of ELL, of trauma that we see,” Clifford Beers Strategy Director Sarah Miller said.
The money will be distributed over five years, benefiting the Family Academy of Multilingual Exploration and the Fairhaven School.
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“I think it will have a huge impact on our students and their families both inside and outside of school,” Fair Haven School Principal Monica Morales said.
Morales said this money will allow them to bring more outside resources into the school to enrich the educational experience.
“It will really just integrate everything to serve the whole child and family unit,” Morales said. “Because it takes a village.”
The partnerships will incorporate 14 community agencies. The aim is to add pre and post-school activities, expanding arts, sports, educational programs and mental health resources.
“Hopefully it will help students academically,” Miller said. “It will help families achieve more stability and just help with social and emotional health of kids, too.”
According to the mayor’s office, the first half of 2024 will be used for planning the usage. Implementation is expected to begin at the Fair Haven School in August of 2024 and at FAME in August of 2025.
