Nonprofit Organizations Help Boost Voter Numbers, Study Finds

If one concurs with the adage that all politics is local, it should come as no surprise that the dust has barely settled on the state and national elections of 2012 as the focus shifts to the municipal–level elections of 2013. A Massachusetts-based organization devoted to increasing the role of nonprofit organizations in spurring voter interest and participation is already publicizing its “Voter Participation Starter Kit for Nonprofits and Social Service Agencies,” available for web download, coming off what it describes as the success of 2012.

The benchmark National Election Exit Poll showed that the lower income, younger, and diverse populations typically served by nonprofits accounted for a greater share of voter turnout than ever before. While some of this can be attributed to population increases, it was also aided by unprecedented voter education and engagement efforts from the nonprofit and civic sector, according to the organization reported.

“Nonprofits are among the nation’s most trusted messengers. An annual Harris poll consistently ranks nonprofits among the few sectors (small businesses are another) that respondents would like to have more rather than less influ­ence in government.”  That observation published in The Nonprofit Quarterly, from George Pillsbury, MPA, founder and executive direc­tor of Nonprofit VOTE, underscores the organization’s initiative.

He adds:  “Nonprofits of the 501(c)(3) variety are pre­sumed to have a limited capacity for promoting political participation because laws prohibit them from engaging in partisan politics to support or oppose a candidate for public office. Yet nonprof­its’ inherent civic engagement assets make them a potent force for political and electoral engage­ment, further strengthened by their nonpartisan approach.”

Organizations including the Connecticut Association of Nonprofits — a long-time partner of Nonprofit VOTE — have led this transition in recent years by bringing voter engagement into the sector mainstream. According to the organization’s newsletter, for the 2012 election they pointed a spotlight on the sector by sending educational materials on the needs of nonprofits to all state candidates.

“Elected officials pay attention to which communities and which populations turn out and are generally more responsive to organizations involved in registering voters and encouraging turnout,” emphasized Sophie Lehman, Communications Director for Nonprofit VOTE.

The National Election Exit Poll is the most relied on exit poll conducted by Edison Research on behalf of ABC News, Associated Press, CBS News, CNN, Fox News, and NBC News.

Good News, Bad News in First-time CT Public School Ratings

The State Department of Education, following federal education guidelines and under a newly developed state rating system, has identified 28 Turnaround Schools in the state, which include 7 in Bridgeport, 5 in Hartford, 5 in New Britain, 5 in New Haven, 2 in Windham, and 1 in New London, Stamford, Waterbury and Bloomfield. The Turnaround Schools receive support from the state Department of Education in their efforts to develop and implement plans that will lead to improved academic performance, and will maintain this classification for three years. In order to exit Turnaround status, a school must demonstrate sustained improvement, which means it must meet overall School Performance Indexes and graduation targets for three consecutive years.

Turnaround schools are the bottom rung of a new five-tier accountability system that places each Connecticut public school in categories ranging from "excelling," "progressing," and "transitioning," to "review/focus" and "turnaround."  Shortly, all public schools in the state will receive a numerical rating from 1 to 100.  The goal is to exceed “88” in the scoring.  While the schools in some categories have been announced, the scoring is yet to come.

Also identified are 97 schools described as “Schools of Distinction.”  This classification consists of three different groups, with schools possessing either the highest-achieving subgroups, have the best overall student performance or have made the most progress from one year to the next.

Towns with the largest number of “schools of distinction” include Greenwich, Madison, New Britain and Newtown, Bridgeport, Hartford, New Milford, Stamford, Farmington, Guilford, Madison, Simsbury, and Trumbull.

Most schools are at various points in the middle, including 139 schools labeled as either "focus" or "review" schools. These rankings are given because of low performance among certain student populations such as special education, students from low-income families, and black or Hispanic students.  That list is still to come.

The performance measures and school ratings will be available for public review on a new web page on the state Department of Education website, www.sde.ct.gov, anticipated later this week.  (Keep checking the website?)    Overall, approximately 1,200 schools are to be  included in the ratings system, with a total student population approaching 50,000.

Virtual Technology Drives New Collaboration to Respond to Achievement Gap Challenges

A persistent academic achievement gap, determination to advance an effective response and the emergence of a cutting-edge technology are driving a new collaboration that is aiming to improve education opportunities for students in underserved communities and strengthen connections among students, teachers, parents, and the community. The first steps of the initiative – which brings a leadership donation by the Travelers Foundation together with the just-formed Connecticut Technology and Education Collaborative (CTEC) and the Hartford Public Library – will lay the groundwork for the introduction of “desktop virtualization” technology to support education for Hartford students.

The Travelers Foundation is providing no-longer-needed computers and financial support to CTEC, which includes The Walker Group, Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT), GreenShare Technology and SpaceFitters. The CTEC initiative marks the first time that such an effort has been undertaken in Connecticut - designed specifically to bring an evolving cutting-edge technology to K-12 students in the state.  A pilot project launched by CTEC began earlier this year in Windham schools.

The donation by the Travelers Foundation will support repurposing and installing the computers at a number of Hartford Public Library locations. In turn, they will be designated for student use and connected to the Hartford Public School network. This will give HPS students after school access to the applications and files they’ve used during the school day from reconfigured PC’s that operate better than new ones.  Access to their classwork offers the students the means to spend additional time reviewing material, working on assignments, and reinforcing lessons.

The technology enabling these donated computers to perform so well is known as desktop virtualization, which shifts the more intensive processing from the computer itself to a specialized server running in a secure data center in East Hartford, part of a previously established and underutilized state network that was developed to advance educational purposes.

The desktop virtualization technology enables students and faculty to access their school network from anywhere, anytime, using any type of device. It is a transformational technology in education, giving students a new way to access technology and opening up extended learning options for disadvantaged schools and communities.

“Virtual desktops hold tremendous potential for enabling under-served students to gain access to school technology," commented Tony Budrecki, Virtualization Services Director at The Walker Group in Farmington. “Our repurposing of legacy machines donated by Travelers into high performance systems wouldn’t have been possible just a few years ago. It’s a great example of creative philanthropy helping to solve a big societal problem.”

The Connecticut Technology and Education Collaborative is made up of Connecticut-based for-profit and non-profit organizations. The group’s goal is to help level the playing field for access to high-quality, affordable technology in school and from home, through creative public-private collaboration.  The initiative also offers the potential of cost-saving benefits to local schools, as computer network capacity is used more efficiently.

State's Childhood Obesity Numbers Continue to Raise Concerns

M. Alex Geertsma, Chairman of Pediatrics at St. Mary's Hospital in Waterbury and director of the Children's Health Center, says the road to childhood obesity is paved in tasty treats that are attracting children’s palates unnecessarily – and beginning very early in life. “Commercialism is driving change in how we feed our infants,” Geertsma recently told a group of advocates at a Capitol forum on childhood obesity.  Geertsma, who has practiced pediatrics in Connecticut for three decades, is a member of the Connecticut Commission on Children.

After being on a liquid diet for the first six months of life, they begin to taste discriminate, or recognize certain foods as tasty or disgusting. They begin to want something “novel” whether it is extremely sweet or really salty.  Food manufacturers take full advantage, producing choices with hefty salt content and other ingredients that begin to push the scales upward.

The increase in body fat has been occurring much earlier than seven to eight years of age in children who eventually become long-term obese. This pattern is worse in African-American and Latino children, Geertsma said.

A recently released report projects that if obesity rates continue on current trajectories, 46.5 percent of adults in Connecticut will be obese by 2030.  The rate in 2011 was 24.5 percent.  Commissioned by The Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the “F as in Fat Report” projects that nationally, 13 states could have adult obesity rates above 60 percent by 2030.

Currently Connecticut is not among the worst offenders, ranking among the states with the relatively lowest adult and childhood obesity rates (#40 in childhood obesity; #49 in adult obesity).

A report last year by the Connecticut Department of Public Health, “Overweight and Obesity Among Kindergarten and Third Grade Children in Connecticut,” found that the prevalence of obesity was significantly higher in grade 3 children than in kindergarten children. Third grade girls were more likely to be obese when compared to kindergarten girls.  Similarly, third grade boys were more likely to be obese when compared to kindergarten boys.

Almost one third (32%) of all the students in the sample were either overweight or obese. The prevalence was similar when compared by sex. Third-graders (33.6%) were more likely to be either overweight or obese than children in Kindergarten (29.8%), but the difference was not statistically significant. However, the non-Hispanic Black (40.8%) and Hispanic (43.3%) children in the sample were significantly more likely to be overweight or obese than non-Hispanic White (26.8%) children.

Obesity is the second-leading cause of preventable death in the United States, after smoking, according to the Connecticut Public Health Department.  If a child is overweight before age 8, obesity in adulthood is likely to be more severe, statistics by the American Academy of Pediatrics have noted.

The Connecticut Coalition Against Childhood Obesity, a coalition of more than 30 health advocacy organizations across the state which conducted the hearing, is encouraging discussion of ways to overcome the obesity epidemic, which they say is contributing to the academic achievement gap.

Quest Program Participants Target Issues From Sex Trafficking to Job Skills

Leadership Greater Hartford’s highly regarded Quest program develops and engages emerging and established leaders in the region through opportunities to sharpen skills, build new professional relationships and – most importantly - address pressing community issues.  The 2012 class of Quest – 47 participants strong – were grouped into four teams, each pursuing distinct and important projects during the course of the year.  Their work is already in evidence in the community, and received high praise at a recent “graduation” ceremony held at the Mark Twain House in Hartford.  The initiatives:

• The HartBeat Ensemble taskforce focused on what members described as the “appalling, abhorrent and terrifying nature of human sex trafficking” in the Hartford region, coordinating with the Hartford Police Department. They worked with HartBeat Ensemble, an ensemble company that creates original, professional theater based on stories from the community. To help increase public awareness of the issue, the taskforce developed a marketing, collaboration and public relations plan for their newest play in development, Project: Turnpike, which is based on the 2007 landmark federal trial of United States vs. Dennis Paris that took place in Hartford. The play represents 72 hours in the life of four exploited sex workers in a motel room on the Berlin Turnpike.  The play’s opening night is scheduled for April 24, 2013.

Law enforcement officials have observed that Hartford’s location  - near mass transit and between New York and Boston – contributes to the human trafficking industry’s presence here.  Recently, human trafficking – estimated to be a $32 billion-a-year business worldwide – has been the subject of a national crackdown by the travel industry, which has launched an initiative to train employees to identify and report potential trafficking incidents.    The U.S. Departments of Homeland Security and Transportation along with Amtrak also announced plans to training 75,000 employees.

• The North End Career Resources taskforce focused on the importance of providing career resources to the North End community of Hartford.  They developed and conducted a “Job Skills Resources Fair” at the Albany Avenue Branch of the Hartford Public Library on September 25, 2012.  It was a job skills fair, not a job fair – with the goal of connecting fair attendees with the skills necessary to make them employable in a tough hiring environment.  The “vendors” were non-profit agencies that work in the areas of job skills training.
• The Billings Forge Community Works taskforce worked with Billings Forge Community Works, an innovative job education and training, housing, and community development organization that serves the residents of Hartford's Frog Hollow neighborhood. This taskforce accomplished three main goals: enhanced their corporate sponsorship program, implemented their auction event for the annual “Farm to Table” event/fundraiser and created an organizational membership program.
• The Hartford Children’s Theatre taskforce partnered with Hartford Children’s Theatre, which provides theatrical training and entertainment for Connecticut children and families. The taskforce focused on the summer theatrical production of Hartford Children’s Theatre and worked specifically in the areas of development, marketing and general public relations efforts.  In doing so, they not only raised sufficient funds to offset the costs of the production, they also provided input and novel suggestions for future marketing and fundraising operations.

Participating in Quest 2012 were:

Kelsey Aderman - Lincoln Financial Group Debbie Albrecht- Murtha Cullina, LLP. Deb Battit - Hartford Foundation for Public Giving Yvette Bello - Latino Community Services Theresa Benoit - ConnectiCare, Inc. Joe Bierbaum - Stone Academy Maureen Bowman - Travelers Monique (Roxanne) Brown - Phoenix Life Suzanne Butler - OptumHealth Katie Carges - Hartford Hospital Vrinda Dabke - OptumHealth Theresa Desilets - Cigna Steve  Dibella - Hartford Police Department Alisa Dzananovic - Saint Francis Hospital Martin Estey - Hartford Consortium for Higher Education Tom Farrish  - Day Pitney, LLP Fred Faulkner - The Open Hearth Julie Geyer - Capital Workforce Partners LaResse Harvey - Civic Trust Lobbying Company John Henry Decker - Certified Financial Planner Kelly Hewes - The Hartford Carolyn Hoffman - Junior League of Hartford, Inc. Margo  Kelleher - VestA Corporation Lynne  Kelleher - CT Children's Medical Center Ryan Kocsondy - University of Connecticut John McEntee - Travelers Nicole  Miller   Goodwin College Kelly Muszynski - OptumHealth Tokuji Okamoto - Our Piece of the Pie Mario Oquendo, Jr. - Hartford Fire Department Janet Pasqua - ConnectiCare, Inc. Lisa Pawlik - Catholic Charities Sara Phillips - Travelers Jason Roberts - Travelers Josie Robles - Hartford Behavioral Health Kevin Roy - Shipman & Goodwin LLP Michael Ryan - Lincoln Financial Group Leslie Sanborn - Oak Hill Jerene  Slivinsky - UnitedHealthcare Quinten  Smallwood - Travelers Danielle Smiley - City of Hartford - HHS Jen Sprague - United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut Paul Stigliano - Hill-Stead Museum Amelinda Vazquez - Eastern Connecticut State University Sonia Worrell Asare, Esq. -  Travelers Andrea  Young - Goodwin College

New Website Promotes Action to Reduce Harm from Stormwater Runoff

There is a new green infrastructure website in Connecticut, www.ReduceRunoff.org, specifically designed to assist Connecticut homeowners in reducing the harmful effects of stormwater runoff.   It’s a collaborative initiative of Save the Sound, a program of Connecticut Fund for the Environment, and the University of Connecticut Center for Land Use Education and Research's (CLEAR) Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials (NEMO) program . When it rains, or when snow melts, impervious surfaces like driveways, sidewalks, and streets prevent water from naturally soaking into the ground, creating stormwater runoff. Manmade gray infrastructure like curbs, gutters, and storm drains quickly carry stormwater runoff directly to local streams, rivers, and Long Island Sound—without any natural filtering process.

That runoff can overwhelm the sewer systems of older, combined sewer overflow communities like Bridgeport, New Haven and Hartford—resulting in releases of raw sewage.  In other communities, it floods streets and carries fertilizers and pesticides into rivers and the Sound.  This pollution forces summer beach closings, and make it hard for shell fishermen to earn a living. According to state data, many rivers and shoreline waters fail to meet key water quality standards because of stormwater.

What’s a concerned citizen to do?  Turns out, there are a growing number of common sense solutions that can have an impact.  Innovative green infrastructure concepts like rain gardens, rain barrels, downspout disconnections, permeable pavers, and green roofs, can help naturally manage stormwater, limit raw sewage discharges, reduce flooding risk and improve water quality.

The new website includes a cost calculator to estimate the cost of developing a rain garden, and site features information on three Connecticut locatities using green infrastructure to benefit the community:

• In the Quinnipiac River Watershed, small rain gardens and large bioswales will be used to boost drinking water supplies.  And
• In New Haven and Bridgeport,green infrastructure will help reduce flooding, reduce non-point source pollution, and limit combined sewer overflows.

There is also information about efforts in major cities including Portland, Kansas City, Philadelphia and New York which are working to promote the use of green infrastructure.  ReduceRunoff.org shares the experiences of those cities and provides guidance to Connecticut residents seeking to green their neighborhoods and contribute to reducing pollution statewide.

ReduceRunoff.org was funded by the Fairfield County Community Foundation, the Greater New Haven Green Fund, and the Quinnipiac River Groundwater Natural Resources Damages Fund administered by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP).

Student Debt Continues to Climb; CT is 5th Highest in USA

Two-thirds of college seniors who graduated in 2011 had student loan debt, with an average of $26,600 per borrower, up from $25,250 in 2010, according to a recent report from the Project on Student Debt at The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS).  The loan burden of Connecticut college students, on average, exceeded the national average. The top-five leading high-debt states were New Hampshire ($32,440), Pennsylvania ($29,959), Minnesota ($29, 793), Rhode Island ($29,097)and Connecticut ($28,783).  In addition, 64 percent of Connecticut college students have debt, which places the state 15^th in the nation.

The five-percent increase from 2010 to 2011 is similar to the average annual increase in recent years. The report also found that about two-thirds of the Class of 2011 had loans, and that private (non-federal) student loans comprised about one-fifth of what they owed.

The report’s findings focus solely on public and private nonprofit four-year colleges, because so few for-profit colleges chose to report the necessary data. However, federal survey data show that nationwide, graduates of for-profit four-year colleges are much more likely to borrow federal and private student loans, and they borrow significantly more than their counterparts at other types of colleges.

Utah and Hawaii had the lowest and second lowest average debt at $17,250 and $17,450.

In looking at the institutions specifically, the only Connecticut higher education institution to reach the top 20 High-Student Debt Public Colleges was the University of New Haven.   Among the top 20 “low-debt” institutions was Yale University.

Effort to Combat Stereotypical Views of Women Gains Support

When the University of Hartford’s Women for Change student organization unveiled their new calendar - geared toward promoting women’s self-esteem - last week, they announced that sales will benefit CTGirlcott, the new initiative led by Charter Oak Cultural Center and a collaboration of Hartford-area organizations. This year's calendar is the largest to date, featuring 45 women, including students, staff, faculty, alumnae, and community leaders. The annual calendars are designed to combat stereotypical images of women. To create the calendar, Women for Change asked women to write about what they are “free to..” be, do, think, live, etc, and submit a photo to accompany the write-up.  Mala Matacin, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychology, founded Women For Change three years ago, which has grown to more than 150 members. In previous years the calendars have sold hundreds and received national attention.

The theme dovetailed perfectly with Girlcott, a locally-inspired initiative of women willing to go makeup free for a portion of  March 2013 (Women’s History Month) and donate the money usually spent on cosmetics to organizations that benefit women and girls in Connecticut and around the world, raising awareness about the relationship between women and the makeup they wear, issues of body image, self-esteem, gender roles and more.

CTGirlcott is being organized by the Charter Oak Cultural Center, YWCA Hartford Region, Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, and The Women’s Education and Leadership Fund.  A website has been developed, featuring additional information and photographs.

Last week, organizers of CTGirlcott appeared on WFSB-TV Channel 3’s Better Connecticut program, where host Kara Sundlun was make-up free, in keeping with the theme of the initiative.  Organizers are seeking other prominent people – as well as women from all walks of life – to participate as a means of highlighting the importance of self-image among girls and women.

In the run-up to March, a series of panel discussions, movies, and other events are being held to raise awareness for the effort.

Acapella Music Thrives at Colleges in Connecticut; Sing-Off Winner from CCSU

Interest in acapella singing on college campuses – clearly on the upswing in recent years - shows no signs of slowing down, if the standing-room-only crowd at the second annual Connecticut Collegiate Sing-off is any indication.  Hosted by Eastern Connecticut State University, the friendly competition included seven groups from four colleges – UConn, Central Connecticut, Western Connecticut, and Connecticut College. A Cappella is a way of singing that does not include being accompanied by musical instruments. (In Italian it means in the "style of the church or chapel".)  In recent years, the musical style has been featured in a number of network television programs, most notably in Glee.  The vocal performances come in many styles, including Doo Wop, Beatboxing and even some modern rock and popular music, often with a dash of good-natured humor.

The competition for best ensemble was won by CCSU’s Too Good For Instruments (TGFI), the university’s 14-member all-women group, based on the votes of audience members.  The roster of performers included:

• UConn Extreme Measures
• CCSU AcaBellas
• WCSU Parallel Fifths
• UConn Rolling Tones
• Connecticut College ConnChords
• CCSU Divisi
• CCSU TGFI

Each of the groups heard comments, compliments and critiques from a panel of judges immediately following their performances, prior to the audience vote at the end of the evening.  Eastern’s three groups - Fallin' Flat, 6 Ways to B Natural and Key of She – also performed, but stayed out of the competition so as not to use their home field advantage.

A capella music has been the basis and inspiration for many top musical acts on the charts from Motown to Boyz to Men. In recent years, it has been the focus of national tournaments and exploded in popularity on college campuses all over the country. Where there were once just over 200 groups nationwide, their numbers are now estimated to be in the thousands, with many campuses having multiple groups.

The A cappella movement is believed to have its roots here in Connecticut beginning a century ago, in 1909, when part of the Yale Glee Club broke off and formed the Yale Whiffenpoofs, the first collegiate a cappella group. It has been reported that entertainers including John Legend, Anne Hathaway, Cole Porter and Art Garfunkel sang in a capella groups when they were in college.

High Cost of SAT-Prep Classes Hurt Low Income Students Aiming for College

When high school students take the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), their shot at a college career often hangs in the balance.  Recognizing the importance of the standardized exam, many students take private preparatory classes that explain how the SAT differs from exams students are accustomed to taking in class. To succeed at the SAT, it is essential to understand test-taking strategies that are specific to this test, in addition to the subject area content.  But some students can’t afford the cost of the preparatory classes, and their results often suffer.

Connecticut’s 2011 Teacher of the Year is not happy about that.  Kristen Record, a Physics Teacher at Bunnell High School in Stratford, told an education forum in Hartford recently that her district previously offered all students an SAT-prep course, but dropped it as part of budget reductions.  Record noted that many families in Stratford – as in other Connecticut towns and cities, especially lower-income communities – cannot afford the fees of the private prep classes.

“Students take their first SAT in October of their senior year, cold, with no preparation, no guidance, no previous SAT-test taking experience.  It’s no wonder that many of them score below the state average,” she said.  Even when students retake the test a month later, it is often without any “intervention or guidance,” unfortunately leading to similar disappointing results - with potentially devastating consequences.

"In the classroom, teachers want to see attempts to answer every question," she said.  On the SAT, attempting to answer every question can be counterproductive.  “It can be the difference between being accepted to (college) or not being accepted,” Record said.

The state of Georgia offers high school students free access to the SAT Online Prep Course developed by the College Board, the organization that administers the SAT. The free SAT Online Prep Course is open to all Georgia high school students – public, private and home schooled.  In 2008, among Georgia's 2008 graduating seniors, the students who used the free SAT Prep Course scored, on average, a total of 48 points higher than those who did not.

In Roanoke, VA, Roanoke City Schools go even further, offering free SAT Prep Courses.  The district web site announces “these courses are free.  They are administered by Princeton Review.  If you were to pay for these courses on your own, it would cost you well over $600.”

Some local school districts in Connecticut continue to offer SAT prep courses, but for a fee.  In Hamden, the SAT prep course fee is $525.  In Stratford, it is $210.  In Branford it costs students $185, and in Danbury, $135.  The frequency and duration of the classes vary.

“Taking an SAT is different than taking a test in school,” Record said at the Oct. 22 forum sponsored by CT Mirror.   When students don’t know that going in, they often end up with scores that misrepresent their true ability – and lessen their chances of admission to college.

As Connecticut looks to close the achievement gap and prepare more students for college, the state’s Teacher of the Year is shining a bright light on another disparity in need of remedy – preparing students adequately  to take an exam that may determine whether a college admission office says yes, or no, to their application.