by
Allan Appel |
Apr 18, 2024 9:06 am
|
Comments
(4)
Allan Appel Photo
295 Wilmot Rd.
A new roof and new bathrooms, computer upgrades, reconfigured office and community space and a whole range of modernizing renovations, to the tune of $3 million.
All that shiny new stuff’s on the way to the Housing Authority of New Haven (HANH)’s community and family center over in West Rock on 295 Wilmot Rd. — thanks to an old fashioned federal earmark.
by
Maya McFadden |
Apr 17, 2024 11:37 am
|
Comments
(3)
Maya McFadden Photo
Brandon Haynes and Javon Culbreath on a mission: groceries first, then basketball.
Sixth- and seventh-graders Javon Culbreath and Brandon Haynes headed to The Shack to kick off their spring break playing basketball in the sun — and wound up grabbing some free groceries to take home, too.
In one half of the poster, a bright blue, clear sky shines down on wildflowers and healthy animals surrounded by lush trees and a flowing stream. In the other half, the stream and the field are filled with litter. The world has caught fire, emitting deathly pollutants
That was an art piece by fifteen-year-old Aaliyah Jones and seven of her peers displayed at Common Ground High School — all of whom sought to share both their optimism and their fears around a climate change-impacted future.
by
Ulisses Santos |
Mar 26, 2024 3:00 pm
|
Comments
(3)
This article and video were submitted by West Rock resident Ulisses Santos, who has been a student at 333 Valley St., an intergenerational community center known as “The Shack,” for the past two months.
by
Maya McFadden |
Jan 31, 2024 2:53 pm
|
Comments
(1)
Maya McFadden Photo
State Dept of Ed's Erik Clemons and Felicia Canty came to listen.
Dozens of Common Ground High School’s community members expressed support for the school’s state renewal while a handful said the renewal should be granted only if the school agrees to make administrative improvements.
Seeking higher ground: former staffer Victor Rios, student Kiana Camacho and friend, and former staffer Nicole Mackin.
Students, staff, and parents at Common Ground High School say the school is going downhill because of high teacher turnover and distrust for administration. The environmental-themed charter school’s board and leaders say they are working to get to the bottom of these concerns.
Nearly half of high schoolers attending a West Rock environmental charter school were “chronically absent” during the first two months of the school year — an uptick that school leaders are working to address through everything from perfect-attendance recognitions to home visits and family meetings to recommended withdrawals.
Karen DuBois-Walton with Sens. Blumenthal and Murphy, Mayor Elicker, and Alder Smith.
Fifty new low-income elderly housing units are coming to Level Street, bringing new life to the site of an abandoned nursing home and more options for aging tenants waiting for an affordable home.
Closed school, future black box theater, on Valley St?
Maya McFadden photo
Smith dreams of black box theatre and second community center for Ward 30.
If it was up to West Rock/West Hills Alder Honda Smith, her ward would put two now-vacant former public school buildings — including the recently shuttered ex-Clarence Rogers School on Wilmot Road — back to use by creating a black box theater for family-friendly programming, a rental space, a second community center, and an all-boys charter school.
Ronisha Baskin and her four-year-old, crashing with grandma in Waterbury.
Ronisha Baskin didn’t know how to tell her 14-year-old daughter that the Housing Authority of New Haven had evicted them. “I didn’t even know what to say.” She could not find the words to explain that a lack of housing options would force them to split up across different cities.
by
Allan Appel |
Jun 14, 2023 8:58 am
|
Comments
(3)
Allan Appel photo
Artist Adae with Common Ground student Leon Armstrong.
Kids with hands upraised half way between shouting hallelujah and playing volleyball with an immense sun. A green plant as imposing as Jack’s beanstalk growing out of the palm of one girl’s outstretched hand while goats, cats and two hens, notably a Buff Orpington and a Polish chicken, dash happily underfoot.
Those joyous images are at the heart of “Class of 2025,” a lush and engaging mural executed by long-time New Haven muralist Kwadwo Adae and the entire sophomore class (thus the title) at Common Ground High School.
Elm City Montessori students lead a tour of Elm City Montessori's newest murals.
James Baldwin, Sylvia Rivera, and Harvey Milk are now watching over the halls of Elm City Montessori School — in newly unveiled mural portraits that fit in well with the Blake Street charter school’s anti-bias and anti-racist values.
by
Maya McFadden |
Mar 27, 2023 4:07 pm
|
Comments
(6)
Facebook photo
Celebrating Black History Month at the Shack.
United Illuminating (UI) has awarded The Shack another $10,000 to help the Valley Street community center keep up with its life-skill-based programming for local youth and seniors.
by
Allan Appel |
Feb 16, 2023 8:42 am
|
Comments
(3)
Allan Appel photo
Malek Alkhalawe at Common Ground Wednesday.
When Malek Alkhalawe graduates from Common Ground High School this spring, he will already have in hand several serious Google IT certifications allowing him to start his own business online while studying computer engineering in college.
by
Maya McFadden |
Jan 24, 2023 4:11 pm
|
Comments
(1)
Thomas Breen File Photo
Elm City Montessori’s Blake Street campus.
The Board of Education signed off on extending Elm City Montessori’s charter, bringing the Blake Street local charter school one big step closer to winning another three-to-five-year renewal.
by
Maya McFadden |
Jan 20, 2023 5:24 pm
|
Comments
(3)
Maya McFadden Photo
Elm City Montessori's GSA students and staff, with local artist Kwadwo Adae, at a recent Friday meetup.
Contributed photo
Finishing up Elm City Montessori's new GSA-backed school mural.
Gender-neutral bathrooms. Thoughtful and caring educators. A Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) for middle schoolers. And a school mission statement that loudly and proudly supports LGBTQ students.
Those were just a handful of ideas that came to mind for the members of Elm City Montessori’s GSA when asked to dream up their ideal school.
by
Maya McFadden |
Jan 5, 2023 1:22 pm
|
Comments
(5)
Thirty-eight families so far have chosen to move their students out of a West Rock magnet school and to another city public school that has more teachers on staff.
by
Maya McFadden |
Dec 23, 2022 11:01 am
|
Comments
(10)
Maya McFadden photo
Honda Smith at the Shack: Banking on trust and community.
Honda Smith made a promise to herself and to her West Hills neighbors that, after retiring from three decades of working for the city, she would find a way to keep serving her neighborhood.
As a reborn westside community center thrives under her watch and neighbors keep busy and fed, that promise has been well kept.
An urban farming and ecology-centered local charter school has grown its outdoor classrooms on the far west side of town thanks to a team of environmental educators funded by a two-year, $100,000 federal grant.
by
Maya McFadden |
Dec 14, 2022 5:21 pm
|
Comments
(6)
Maya McFadden photos
Sarah Wall, Catherine Thigpen, Honda Smith, Rev. D’Hati T. Burgess, Richard Furlow, Carolyn Kinder, and Jalmar De Dios at The Shack.
EastCoastin's Sal Fusco drops off Winter Wonderland toy donation.
Three community-boosting miracles — including an oversized check from a power company and a truck full of toys from a bike life group — showed up at The Shack to help the West Rock community center get in the holiday spirit.
by
Maya McFadden |
Nov 28, 2022 3:11 pm
|
Comments
(8)
Maya McFadden photos
Sabrina Gibbs with daughters Xora and Nova.
Alder Smith greets Stetson Librarian Diane Brown.
Sabrina Gibbs and her two daughters Xora and Nova got a slice of their new neighborhood — and a slice or two of pumpkin pie — at a reborn West Hills community center’s inaugural “Our Table” Thanksgiving dinner.
