Discovery community coordinators, statewide grantees, and Memorial Fund staff met on January 13, 2010 to engage in a conversation about building a comprehensive early childhood education system in Connecticut. This initial meeting, facilitated by Curtis Ogden and Melinda Weekes from the Interaction Institute for Social Change (IISC), focused on what the process for designing this work may look like. There was rich dialogue about what has already been done in Connecticut, what different visions people have for a system, and what high-level strategies could be used to achieve desired results.
To download notes from this meeting, visit "What's New" section on the homepage of the Discovery website at http://www.discovery.wcgmf.org/ For more information about this process or to get involved, contact Nancy Leonard at nleonard@wcgmf.org
Communities have four options in applying for 2010 Discovery grants. “Why options? Discovery has always been about planning and local decision making,” said David Nee, executive director. “In the last biennium, when we worked in partnership with the State of Connecticut, we discovered that dedicating resources to local efforts accelerated progress. In those two years, 23 communities worked on plans and built relationships that are already paying off for young children. The Memorial Fund has decided to align its resources most closely with those communities that use an inclusive process to make decisions and work collaboratively. At the same time, we also want to keep as many communities as possible engaged in Discovery at some level.”
Option 1 is for communities that have completed a community plan and are using the plan for local decisions about how to improve early childhood outcomes. Option 2a is for communities that have worked on a community plan but still have some portions to finish or enhance. Option 2b is for communities that are now ready to begin the planning process. Option 3 is available for communities that are not taking on planning work and will focus on a project that addresses one or more Discovery strategies.
To download the [1] full application for each option, and responses to Frequently Asked Questions, visit the Discovery website at http://www.discovery.wcgmf.org/category_327.html
For more information, contact Carmen Siberon at csiberon@wcgmf.org
The Memorial Fund continues to offer to match State funding for local community planning efforts. State funding in the last biennium provided over $1 million in two years to 23 communities. Most recently, the Memorial Fund repeated its offer to match State funding in a letter to the Governor’s office and the Office of Policy and Management. To date there has been no response.
To [2] read the letter the Memorial Fund sent to the Governor, visit the Discovery website at http://www.discovery.wcgmf.org/resources/sps_resource_1364.pdf
[1]: http://www.discovery.wcgmf.org/category_327.html
[2]: http://www.discovery.wcgmf.org/resources/sps_resource_1364.pdf