Will New Haven and Hamden ever get to a point of offering universal preschool for 100 percent of its children?
N’Zinga Shani doesn’t know. She hopes so, because — as both a former teacher and an advocate for education in the Elm City — she’s seen the importance of early or head start education. And she’s going to the airwaves with it.
Karen Butler, principal at Hamden’s Ridge Hill School, is glad she is. A strong believer in universal preschool, she joined Shani and Hamden Public Schools Assistant Superintendent Christopher Melillo on the latest episode of “OneWorld Presents” to talk about what she is doing for preschool and K‑12 education, and what a city’s residents can, too.
During the episode, Butler stressed the importance of community members getting involved in a simple way: writing their legislators.
“Write you legislators,” she urged. “It’d one thing for educators to do that, but once taxpayers go, and speak up, they’ll really start listening. There is this need … to make it better for every child.”
Melillo echoed that sentiment, adding that technology skills and a kind of digital literacy was now as important as instilling students with confidence in math and reading.
“We want to close the achievement gap and get students to their highest performing ability … we want to close that gap and we feel that early childhood education is the way to go,” he said.
To hear more about how he and Butler plan to do that, tune into or download the audio above, or find the episode free for download on Soundcloud, iTunes or any podcatcher under “WNHH Community Radio.”
