Early Childhood Education Supported Nationwide, Poll Finds; CT Improving Coordination of Programs

The First Five Years Fund (FFYF), a national advocate for preschool education, has released the results of a national survey of voters which finds that support across the political spectrum for a plan to help states and local communities provide better early childhood education programs to parents of children from birth to age five.

Conducted by the research team of Public Opinion Strategies and Hart Research, the national telephone survey found that 70 percent of Americans favored providing all low- and moderate-income 4-year-olds with voluntary access to high-quality preschool programs as well as making available more early education and child care programs for infants and toddlers and home visiting and parent education programs for families.

In Connecticut, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed an executive order in June that established an Office of Early Childhood (OEC)  in the state, bringing together various programs that had been under the jurisdiction of a number of state agencies.

The Office is “comprised of related programs that were previously housed in five separate state agencies — the Department of Education’s School Readiness program, the Department of Social Services’ Care for Kids, Children’s Trust Fund, and other childcare programs, the Department of Public Health’s childcare licensing program, the Department of Developmental Services’ Birth to Three program, and the Board of Regents’ Charts a Course program — the OEC will improve continuity and the reach of early childhood programs.”

The General Assembly failed to pass a bill creating the new office on the final night of the legislative session in early June, but the state budget allocated $127 million in the first year and $232 million in the second year to the office.  Instead of leaving those dollars hanging in legislative limbo, CT News Junkie reported, the executive order seeks to offer a temporary solution, on an issue that Gov. Malloy has long advocated.

Myra Jones-Taylor was appointed by the Governor as the agency's executive director. She is a member of the New Haven Board of Education and served most recently as director of the state Office of Early Childhood Planning. The Office of Early Childhood is responsible for providing “a comprehensive, collaborative system for delivering improved programs and services to children age zero to five and their parents.”

Nationally, support for the preschool proposal increased to 77 percent when respondents were told explicitly that the proposal would not add to the deficit, FFYF said, including 72 percent support from Republicans, 71 percent from Independents and 88 percent from Democrats. A majority of voters (51 percent) strongly support such a proposal.

Other findings from the survey include:

•  Ensuring children get a strong start in life was seen as an important national priority by 86 percent of respondents—second only to increasing jobs and economic growth—and 13 points higher than reducing the tax burden on families.
• Voters say the country is not doing enough on this issue, with 70 percent saying it is an area we need to “do more.” This includes large majorities of voters who have children (77 percent) and those who do not have children in their household (66 percent). Virtually no one (2 percent) thinks we’re doing too much already.

“Americans rightly perceive a need for all children to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to start kindergarten - and life - on the right foot,” said David Nee, Executive Director of the Hamden-based  William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund.  “Our own experience shows that early is good, and earlier is better.  Infants and toddlers and their families need our support. We can do more, now, to achieve this goal."

In addition to support from large majorities of voters across the political spectrum, key demographic groups are in support of the proposal, including Hispanics (83 percent), African Americans (82 percent), suburban women (68 percent) and young voters under the age of 35 (79 percent).

The survey found that three in five voters (63 percent) want Congress to act on legislation now rather than wait until later (32 percent). And even when presented with “an impassioned argument” from both supporters and critics of making such an investment in quality, voluntary early childhood learning and child care, Americans continue to express their overwhelming support of the proposal.

The survey was conducted from July 8-11 by the bipartisan research team of Public Opinion Strategies and Hart Research on behalf of FFYF. The demographically representative sample of 800 voters was distributed proportionally throughout the country and reached registered voters on landlines and cell phones. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.46 percentage point.

Nonprofits Boost Voter Turnout When They Reach Out to Clients, Study Finds

Voter turnout increases when nonprofit organizations are doing the asking.  That is the finding of a new study by Nonprofit Vote, which tracked the impact of nonprofit voter engagement efforts in seven states.  In addition, the demographic characteristics of the new voters is differs from the general voting population in ways that respond in traditional voting disparities.

“The clients and constituents engaged by nonprofits were markedly more diverse, lower income and younger than all registered voters in the seven states, made up of populations with a history of lower voter turnout in past elections,” the study indicated in its analysis of 2012 voting.  Among the key findings:

Voter turnout among those contacted by nonprofits was 74%, six points above the 68% turnout rate for all registered voters. In fact, nonprofit voters outperformed their counterparts across all demographics.

Voter turnout among voters contacted by nonprofits compared to all registered voters was 18 points higher for Latino voters, 15 points higher for voters under the age of 30, and 15 points higher for voters with household incomes under $25,000.

“The action by nonprofits had its biggest impact on turnout among least-likely voters – those that campaigns typically disregard based on low ‘voter propensity scores’ assigned before the election to predict their likelihood to vote,” the analysis indicated.  Young voters, ages 18-29, topped the list.

The report--Can Nonprofits Increase Voting Among Their Clients, Constituents, and Staff? An Evaluation of the Track the Vote Program—reflects data compiled from 94 nonprofits in seven states that registered or collected voter pledges from 33,741 clients and constituents during services.

In Connecticut, the Connecticut Association of Nonprofits participated in Nonprofit Vote, a nationwide initiative to involve nonprofits in efforts to urge people to register and vote.  The organization’s September 2012 newsletter, in an article by Nonprofit Vote, pointed out that “Many organizations now recognize the value of voter engagement as a key component in their advocacy toolkit and are no longer watching passively from the sidelines on Election Day.”

 “What stood out the most in the data,” the report found, “was the effect the personal outreach efforts of the nonprofits had in shrinking voter turnout disparities evident among all registered voters and in Census surveys generally.”

The top reasons that nonprofit organizations cited for conducting voter engagement were to advance their organization’s mission and empower their clients.  Nonprofits used a range of agency-based strategies to engage voters, and the most identifiable success factors were motivated staff and volunteers and strong support from a state or national partner in the form of training, check-ins and materials, the report said.

"Nonprofit service providers are well positioned to integrate new Americans into civic life and engage others who need encouragement to exercise their right to vote. This report provides useful evidence on how service providers can help to increase voter participation of populations new to the political process," said Elizabeth T. Boris, Director of the Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy at the Urban Institute.

The states participating in the study were Arizona, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Ohio.  The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement (CIRCLE) at tufts University assisted in the analysis.

Noting that past research has found that personal contact with potential voters strongly encourages voting, the report indicated that the data “speaks broadly to the power of personal contact in mobilizing people to vote.  More specifically it affirms the impact of the personal contact coming from someone or an organization known to and trusted by the voter.”

If you’re planning ahead for voter registration efforts this fall, the National Association of Secretaries of the State (NASS) approved a resolution last month that establishes September 24, 2013 as National Voter Registration Day.  Within the resolution, the Secretaries, who serve as their states’ top elections officials, called for “new and innovative methods” of voter registration.

Founded in 2005, Nonprofit VOTE partners with America’s nonprofits to help the people they serve participate and vote.  The organization is described as the leading source of nonpartisan resources to help nonprofits integrate voter engagement into their ongoing activities and services.

NASS Resolution Establishing September 24th, 2013 as National Voter Registration Day

Manufacturing, Higher Education Strengthen Alliance, Looking Toward Future Jobs

As the New Haven Manufacturers Association celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2013, the future is looking up for an industry that has long been seeing at its heyday in the rear-view mirror.  There has been greater recognition that high tech manufacturing brings opportunities to attract and maintain jobs in Connecticut, and heightened connections between higher education and the manufacturing industry is reflecting the new approach.

That was evident when a fledgling initiative between NHMA and Southern Connecticut State University quickly filled to capacity in its pilot year.  NHMA and SCSU teamed up to sponsor a three-day program acquainting area science teachers with modern manufacturing and materials engineering methods this summer that officials hope will become an annual program.

The Materials & Manufacturing Summer Teachers' Institute, a collaboration that also includes Platt Technical High School in Milford and CRISP (Center for Research on Interface Structures and Phenomena at Yale University and Southern), attracted 30 science teachers from grades 7 to 9.

The program was designed to enable teachers to better educate middle school students about the relationship between STEM and manufacturing and what types of careers are available in the manufacturing field. Officials say that grade level was specifically targeted because students often decide as early as the middle school years whether or not to pursue math and science in high school, college and even in terms of career paths. More than 40 Connecticut teachers applied to attend the program, which could only accommodate 30 this summer.

Christine Broadbridge, chairwoman of the Physics Department at Southern and education director at CRISP, says area manufacturers and academics have been working for the past year to bring teachers, engineers and scientists together in more effective ways.

"We've learned from the teachers that they value relationships with industry," Broadbridge says. "At this institute, the teachers have found out about potential careers for their students as they learn about engineering and cutting-edge science. It has given them an opportunity to network with industry leaders and to gain hands-on knowledge about manufacturing. We hope they can bring that excitement back to their students."

Gregory W. Gray, the recently installed President of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities, which includes 17 institutions across Connecticut, told the Connecticut Post this week that he wants the community colleges to take on a more aggressive workforce-development mission by expanding a manufacturing technology program that exists now on a few campuses, including Housatonic Community College (Bridgeport), Naugatuck Valley Community College (Waterbury) and Quinebaug Valley Community College (Danielson).  The program expanded a year ago, based on a very successful program offered at Asnuntuck Community College in Enfield.

There are almost 5,000 manufacturing companies in Connecticut, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and Connecticut manufacturing employees are 20 percent more productive than competing states, data from the state’s Department of Economic and Community Development indicates, as featured on the ConnSCU website.

The New Haven Independent recently reported on a New Haven company that is very much a part of the future of New Haven manufacturing. That future lies in specialization, in the rapid turnaround of high-tech niche parts, the Independent reported, according to Bill Neale, head of the New Haven Manufacturers Association and vice-president of operations at Radiall manufacturing on John Murphy Drive in the Fair Haven section of the city. The factory isn't trying to compete with massive operations in places like China and India, Neale said. It’s advantage lies not in productivity, but in speed and specificity.

Governor Malloy announced in June that state’s Advanced Manufacturing Centers at the three community colleges will receive $7,325,000 in funding for facility and equipment upgrades that will allow the centers to enhance and develop their educational opportunities. The funding was approved by the State Bond Commission.  According to ConnSCU, the funds would be allocated:

• $1.5 million for Housatonic Community College to add a welding lab to their manufacturing center. HCC continues its work with its Regional Advisory Board to confirm the need for skilled welders in the region, including the review of options for virtual equipment and the pursuit of appropriate faculty expertise for student learning.
• $825,000 for Naugatuck Valley Community College to add additional manufacturing equipment to the existing advanced manufacturing center, retrofitted to support local industry needs including the purchase of a deep draw press.
• $5 million for Quinebaug Valley Community College to build an advanced manufacturing center on their campus in Danielson. For the first year, QVCC has worked with nearby Ellis Technical High School to utilize existing space until the college could grow the program and obtain funds for construction on its own campus. The funding will be used for construction, as well as for the purchase of machinery and other manufacturing equipment.

NHMA was founded in 1913 as the Employer's Association of New Haven County. Today the organization serves businesses, especially manufacturers, in the entire Southern Connecticut region and beyond. They’ll be celebrating a century of operations - looking forward - with a gala on September 19 at Housatonic Community College in Bridgeport.

Half of Eligible Teenagers Delay Drivers License, Study Finds

In an unexpected sign of the times, about half of the teenagers in the U.S. who are old enough to obtain a drivers license are waiting to do so, according to a new survey.  The most common reasons cited for delayed licensure were not having a car, being able to get around without driving, and costs associated with driving.

The study, by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, found that less than half (44 percent) of teens obtain a driver’s license within 12 months of the minimum age for licensing and just over half (54 percent) are licensed before their 18th birthday. These findings mark a significant drop from two decades ago when data showed more than two-thirds of teens were licensed by the time they turned 18, according to AAA.

The report found “Large social and economic disparities in licensing rates and in the timing of licensure.” Low-income, African-American and Hispanic teens are the least likely to obtain a driver’s license before age 18.

Only 25 percent of teens living in households with incomes less than $20,000 obtained their license before they turned 18, while 79 percent of teens were licensed by their 18th birthday in households with incomes of $100,000 or more.

 The findings for licensure by age 18 also differed significantly by race and ethnicity, with 67 percent for non-Hispanic white teens, 37 percent for non-Hispanic black teens, and 29 percent for Hispanic teens.

Some had suggested that teens were waiting simply to avoid graduated driver’s licensing (GDL), missing both the limitations and benefits of the laws, which vary across states, aimed at improving new driver training and safety, and causing some concern.  The survey, however, did not find this to be a prominent reason in delayed licensing.  A number of other reasons for delaying licensure were cited, including:

• 44 %– Did not have a car
• 39 % – Could get around without driving
• 36 %– Gas was too expensive
• 36 % – Driving was too expensive
• 35 % – Just didn’t get around to it

Many states impose the GDL restrictions only for new drivers younger than 18.  The AAA report indicated that “Given the  large proportion of new drivers who are 18 years old or older, further research is needed to investigate their levels of safety or risk, to evaluate the potential impacts of extending GDL systems to new drivers aged 18 and older, and to explore other ways to address the needs of older novice drivers.”

In Connecticut, anyone 18 years of age or older must hold an adult learner’s permit for 3 months before obtaining a driver's license.  The state Department of Motor Vehicles website outlines the procedures in Connecticut, which have been revised as recently as January 2013 based on new laws approved by the state legislature.

The proportion of teens who were licensed varied strongly by geographic region, the AAA study found: licensing rates were much higher in the Midwest (82%) than in the Northeast (64%), South (68%), or West (71%).

The study did not discern major variations by gender among teens.  Although males were slightly more likely than females to obtain a license within six months of their state’s minimum age (33% vs. 28%), females were actually slightly more likely than males to obtain a license within 1-2 months of their state’s minimum age.

The researchers surveyed a nationally-representative sample of 1,039 respondents ages 18-20. The full research report and results are available on the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety website.

Reducing Utensil Use on Campus Helps Sustainability Efforts

In a presentation earlier this year on the website TED, known for “Ideas Worth Spreading,” Dr. Michael Shaver of the University of Edinburgh suggested “saving the world one plastic fork at a time.”  Courtesy of Sodexo, the mammoth  international food service company, that’s exactly what Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) is doing.

CCSU now features utensil dispensers in their student center dining area, replacing the traditional bins and bunches of forks, spoons and knives.  The dispensers operate at the simple push of a lever.  They only eject one fork, knife or spoon with each action of the lever, rather than having customers dip their hands into a bin, only to pull out a fist-full of utensils.

This simple change to the single-touch dispensers, according to Sodexo, reduces the number of wasted utensils by over 40 percent, thus reducing the amount of plastic used on campus – which firmly places the university on the right side of sustainability efforts.  The dispensers now in use at CCSU indicate that "dispensing one fork at a time reduces usage by up to 49%," pointing out that "less is definitely more when it comes to sustainability."

The “greening” of the campus food service – driven by Sodexo at facilities across the nation – also includes napkins, which switched to a single dispensing system years ago.  In fact,  Sodexo announced in 2008 that after only one year, the program resulted in a 25 to 50 percent reduction in the actual number of paper napkins used - thanks to the introduction of dispensers that dispense a single napkin at a  time.

A  switch to recycled napkins in the company’s 1,300 food service operations nationwide has resulted in saving nearly ten million gallons of water, more than 23,000  trees, half a million gallons of oil and five and a half million kilowatts  of energy, officials report. The company began using two types of recycled napkins as part of a commitment to leadership in sustainability and to providing.

Central, as the other state universities, and more than 600 public and private institutions in Connecticut and nationwide, is a signatory to The American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment.  The official commitment signed by all members says in part, "We believe colleges and universities must exercise leadership in their communities and throughout society by modeling ways to minimize global warming emissions, and by providing the knowledge and the educated graduates to achieve climate neutrality."

The Connecticut institutions participating include:

• Central Connecticut State University
• Connecticut College
• Eastern Connecticut State University
• Fairfield University
• Middlesex Community College (CT)
• Norwalk Community College
• Southern Connecticut State University
• Trinity College
• University of Connecticut
• Wesleyan University
• Western Connecticut State University

According to the corporate website, Sodexo touches the lives of 75 million consumers in 80 countries every day. In North America alone, the company serves more than 15 million consumers at 9,000 client sites. In 2012, named 89 Sodexo-served colleges and universities among the nation's most environmentally responsible "green colleges." They were named to The Princeton Review's Guide to 322 Green Colleges: 2012 Edition, which profiles institutions of higher education in the United States and Canada that demonstrate notable commitments to sustainability.

By the way, if you’re looking for a one-at-a-time fork or spoon dispenser for your business, you can pick one up for $27.29 on Amazon.  The Knife dispenser goes for $8.89.

Quinnipiac, Eastern, Middlesex Among Nation's Great Colleges to Work For

The Chronicle of Higher Education has named three Connecticut institutions - Eastern Connecticut State University, Quinnipiac University and Middlesex Community College – as among the top schools in the country for the people who work there.

The Connecticut schools are among 97 institutions across the United States to achieve the title ‘‘Great College to Work For’’ in recognition of best practices and policies.

The results of the analysis, based on an institutional audit of demographics and workplace policies as well as a survey of more than 45,000 faculty, administrators and professional support staff at 300 colleges and universities, are part of the publications’ sixth annual report.

Quinnipiac University reached the Chronicle’s great colleges to work for list for the first time; Eastern Connecticut for the fifth consecutive year.  Middlesex Community College debuted on last year’s list.

Among the “outstanding features” described by the Chronicle about Quinnipiac: “The university’s wellness initiative pits teams of employees against one another in friendly competition. Quinnipiac administrators say the atmosphere has lightened the mood at faculty meetings and helped employees maintain a more healthful lifestyle.”

Quinnipiac not only made the list, but earned a spot on the Honor Roll as well – one of just 10 medium-size 4-year colleges to do so.  Those institutions were described as “the best of the best.”  Quinnipiac was recognized in eight of the publication’s 12 categories:  Collaborative Governance, Compensation and Benefits, Confidence in Senior Leadership, Facilities, Workspace & Security, Job Satisfaction, Professional Career Development Programs, Respect and Appreciation, Teaching Environment, and Tenure Clarity and Process.

Eastern was noted in three categories: collaborative governance, compensation and benefits, and facilities, workspace and security.  Eastern was previously recognized in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012.  Among the university’s “outstanding features,” according to the Chronicle,  are the university’s announcement in April of “plans for a 135,000-square-foot arts facility; it follows the 2008 construction of a new science building. Eastern Connecticut has been recognized by the Princeton Review as a “green college” for four years in a row.”

“Receiving this national recognition from the Chronicle of Higher Education each of the past five years is very gratifying, especially given our high ranking in three important areas of campus operations. The spirit of collaboration that exists on our campus is a strength that helps us better serve our students and the state of Connecticut,” said Eastern President Elsa Núñez.

Middlesex was recognized for its compensation and benefits along with  professional/career development programs. The Chronicle noted that “At Middlesex, faculty are not the only employees eligible for tenure. Exempt professional staff may also apply for and receive tenure after six years of working for the college.”

UConn the Latest to Proceed with Scoreboard Replacement; Controversy Erupts at Penn State

When the State Bond Commission voted last week to approve $2.8 million for repairs to Rentschler Field in East Hartford, home of the newly rebranded Connecticut Huskies, it was said that about $1.67 million of that money will be used to replace scoreboards at the stadium.

The Hartford Courant reported that Kim Hart, the venue director for the Capital Regional Development Authority, which overssees the state-owned facility, said that scoreboards like the main one at Rentschler are typically replaced every 7 to 8 years.  The main scoreboard at the Rent has been in place since the facility opened, a decade ago.

“It’s outlined its useful life and we’ve squeezed a few years out of it,” she was quoted as saying.

For sports fans accustomed to seeing stadium scoreboards in place for well over a decade at venues across the nation, the statement may have been jarring.  But apparently, new technology is driving new scoreboard purchases at colleges coast-to-coast – and at costs considerably higher than in Connecticut.

In 2012, Ohio State University announced plans to install a larger high-definition scoreboard screen and improved audio equipment as part of $7 million in upgrades at its football stadium.  The school said that the new 42-by-124-foot scoreboard at Ohio Stadium would  replace an 11-year-old board that measures 30 feet by 90 feet, the CBS affiliate in Cleveland reported.   When the new scoreboard debuted in August 2012, the school’s Lantern newspaper website reported that Don Patko, associate athletic director of Facilities Management, said the improvements were necessary and well worth the cost.  “It was time for the video board to be replaced,” Patko said. “The usual life for a scoreboard is 12 to 15 years, and the last one was 12 years old.”

When Brigham Young University announced plans for a new scoreboard in 2012, to be paid by corporate donations, it was noted that  “In 1996, a video wall was added to the south end zone and a matrix scoreboard to the north end zone. The north end zone scoreboard was updated in 2008 to include a small video board. The project will include state-of-art LED video walls in the north and south end zones, as well as LED ribbon boards across the top of both end zones.”

When North Carolina State University embarked on a fundraising drive for scoreboard replacement in 2011, Mark Steinkamp, a senior marketing director at Brookings, S.D.-based scoreboard provider Daktronics, told the StateFansNation that “large college football scoreboards can cost as much as several million dollars. Schools typically will replace them every seven to 10 years as new control and display technologies come along.”

Also in 2011, Penn State University launched a scoreboard replacement initiative.  In a letter to prospective design professionals, University Architect David Zenghut pointed out that “The existing main end zone scoreboards were installed prior to the 2001 football season and operational maintenance is becoming increasingly challenging and costly. In addition, there have been dramatic advances in the audio/video technology of these products. In order to address the operational issue and enhance the game day spectator experience, we intend to replace both scoreboards with state-of-the-art, HD video boards that will complement the character of the stadium.”

Penn State assumed a construction budget of $5.5 million, according to the document.  A year later, it was reported by StateCollege.com that the completion of the scoreboard replacement was pushed back from 2012 to 2014. And this week, with the projected cost now pegged at nearly $10 million, a local newspaper is calling for the project to be scaled back or scrapped.

The Centre Daily Times, in an editorial published on July 28, 2013, said “We question the decision to install a new scoreboard, approved at last week’s board of trustees meetings, … while costs tied to the Jerry Sandusky abuse scandal reached nearly $47 million. We wonder what the scoreboard decision says about the school’s priorities,” The newspaper continued “We’re surprised Penn State thought this was the right time to take an expensive step toward enhancing its athletics brand, the stated goal with the scoreboard, given criticism hurled at the university during the Sandusky scandal. Those same trustees meetings approved yet-another tuition hike — this one nearly 4 percent ...”

Just last month, progress in construction of a new scoreboard at the University of Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium was reported by the local ABC affiliate, which explained that “The video board/sound upgrades will be up and running for Iowa’s home football schedule this fall. The financing package the board approved for that Kinnick project totals $8 million, but they expect the total cost of everything will be $9 million because of the increase in bids on a portion of the project.  The existing video walls, control room equipment and sound system at Kinnick are eight years old, UI officials told The Gazette.  The company handling the project is Daktronics, Inc. As per usual, the Iowa athletics department will foot this bill using no tax or tuition cash.”

And earlier this year, Virginia Tech issued an RFP for a new scoreboard, which would be among the largest in college sports.

Free Summer Meals Program for Children Aims to Provide Nutrition, Sustain Academic Progress

Turns out, there is a free lunch.  In fact, Connecticut’s summer meal program for children 18 and under is providing hundreds of lunches – and breakfasts.  As Governor Malloy points out in a radio commercial now being broadcast around the state, 3 in 4 Connecticut children who could receive free meals aren’t doing so.

Officials say that the absence of good nutrition over the summer – when children are out of school and school lunch programs are unavailable - may contribute to children slipping somewhat in their educational progress.  “Summer learning loss,” they say, may be caused in part by “summer nutrition loss.”  The free Summer Meals program aims to turn that around.

The statistics are startling.  There are 100,000 children in Connecticut who don’t know where their next meal is coming from, according to Lieut. Gov. Nancy Wyman, who helped to kickoff the statewide initiative, and joins the Governor in the radio announcement.   That is why more than 400 locations around the state,  including churches, parks, schools and even some pools, are serving free meals to children throughout the summer as part of the summer meals program and the state’s ongoing End Hunger Connecticut initiative.

A new interactive website, www.ctsummerfoods.org, was launched at the beginning of the summer that lists all the locations serving the meals.  The site allows people to simply type in a town or zip code to see a list of locations in that area that offer the meals.

Children and teens, under 18, do not have to be receiving free or reduced price school meals during the school year to eat a free, nutritious, summer meal and/or snack at participating locations.  Connecticut ranks 5th in country, as of 2012, for such programs, with  about 25% of children who are eligible are receiving the breakfasts.  “We need to do better,” said Stefan Pryor, Commissioner of the State Department of Education, when the program began just after the school year ended.

The program website notes that “Only 25.8 of every 100 low-income students that participate in school lunch also participate in summer nutrition. If participation reached 40 percent, an additional 19,558 students would be reached and that would bring an additional $1.35 million federal dollars into the state.”

By heightening visibility of this program, the Connecticut No Kid Hungry campaign and its partners aim to increase participation in the state’s 2013 summer meals program by 9 percent. Flyers and other program material is available on-line to help local organizers get the word out in their communities.

In launching the program, “Blitz Days” were held in Hartford, Groton, Naugatuck, Norwalk and Waterbury to bring attention to the initiative, which is mostly funded by the federal government.  CT News Junkie has reported that program organizers don’t ask too many questions of those coming to receive meals. Income guidelines are not required because the idea is not to discourage anyone from receiving a meal, state officials said.

Last year the state of Connecticut received $1.55 million to administer the program. The bulk of that or $1.3 million was used to purchase food. Summer meals are paid for by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Connecticut State Department of Education works with the USDA to reimburse sponsors for the summer meals they provide to children and teens, under 18, at participating summer meals locations.

For details on dates and times that meals and/or snacks are being served at particular locations, individuals can use the Location Finder, text “CTmeals” to 877877, or call, toll-free, 2-1-1.  It is anticipated that the program will continue until the start of the school year in late August.

New Leadership at UConn's Roper Center for Public Opinion Research

There is new leadership at the helm of UConn’s Roper Center for Public Opinion Research - the leading educational facility in the field of public opinion. Paul Herrnson takes over this week as Executive Director of the Roper Center, and joins the faculty as a Professor of Political Science. The Roper Center, which was founded in 1947, promotes the intelligent, responsible and imaginative use of public opinion in addressing the problems faced by Americans and citizens of other nations. Dr. Herrnson comes to UConn from the University of Maryland, where he was a Professor in the Department of Government and Politics and recipient of outstanding teaching awards from the University and the American Political Science Association. He was also the Founding Director of the Center for American Politics and Government at the University of Maryland.

The Roper Center is an archive—it preserves the data from polls conducted by many leading survey organizations for the use of researchers, students, and journalists. Its collection now includes 18,000 datasets and continues to grow by hundreds of datasets per year. In total, it includes responses from millions of individuals on a vast range of topics.

Since its beginning, the Roper Center has focused on surveys conducted by the news media and commercial polling firms. However, it also holds many academic surveys, including important historical collections from the National Opinion Research Corporation and Princeton University's Office of Public Opinion Research.

Today, the Roper Center Facebook page includes current polling data from around the world, including questions culled from recent surveys on breaking news and topical events.

Herrnson is a well-published scholar whose research papers have appeared in the leading journals. His recent books include: Interest Groups Unleashed (2012), and the 6th edition of his widely used text, Congressional Elections (2011). According to the University of Maryland web site, Herrndon’s “dedication to civic responsibility and the political process fuels a number of activities on local and national levels.” He has provided expert testimony to the Maryland legislature, U.S. Congress and federal courts in the areas of voting technology, ballot access and campaign finance.

When the Center was launched, Elmo Roper and others in the emerging field of survey research recognized that the information they were gathering should be preserved for future generations of scholars, students, and journalists. Since that time, the Roper Center has continued to acquire and archive public opinion data.

Since its founding, the Center has maintained two key objectives: (1) to preserve the voice of the public in the form of public opinion polling data and maintain these data in the most current formats possible, and (2) to re-disseminate the data in detailed and complete form via intuitive access tools.

Most of the surveys in the Roper Center are national samples, but there are also some state and local surveys, as well as a number of surveys of special populations of interest. Nearly all of the surveys are based on representative samples drawn according to the best practices of the time. The Roper Center now focuses on data from the United States, but continues to acquire some surveys from other parts of the world, particularly Latin America.

The Roper Center contributes to education at the University of Connecticut.  Although the Roper Center does not offer any degree programs, it works with a wide range of programs-including the departments of Political Science, Sociology, and Statistics—in giving employment and research opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students.

New London Harbor Light Recognized as State's Leading Lighthouse in USPS Stamp

The U.S. Postal Service has unveiling a stamp featuring the New London Harbor Light, the oldest and tallest lighthouse on Long Island Sound. The USPS indicates that it was originally established in 1761, financed by a lottery held by the Connecticut colonial legislature. The present lighthouse, built in 1801, was one of the earliest American lighthouses with a flashing beacon.

The lighthouse, which is owned by the New London Maritime Society, is the featured lighthouse for Connecticut in the 2013 United States Postal Service’s New England Coastal Lighthouses series. The stamp series highlights lighthouses from throughout the country.

New England Coastal Lighthouses also features the lighthouses at Portland Head, Maine; Portsmouth Harbor, New Hampshire; Point Judith, Rhode Island; and Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. Each stamp shows a close-up view of one of the five lighthouses that captures not only the down-to-earth aspect of the tower but also the mysterious qualities that compel us to come closer.

These five lighthouses are among the oldest in the U.S., and each is on the National Register of Historic Places. Boston Harbor Light is also a National Historic Landmark.  Howard Koslow created original paintings for New England Coastal Lighthouses stamp art-and for the entire lighthouse series. Howard E. Paine and Greg Breeding served as art directors.

The New England Coastal Lighthouses stamps are being issued as Forever® stamps. Forever stamps are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce rate.  The USPS has also developed a short video about each of the lighthouses.

Previously, the Connecticut state 34 cent stamp from the Greetings From America commemorative stamp series featured the state. The United States Postal Service released this stamp on April 4, 2002. The retro design of this stamp resembled the large letter postcards that were popular with tourists in the 1930's and 1940's.

Last fall, Westport Now reported that Westport holds a special place in U.S. Postal Service history with more of its artists (17) designing more postage stamps (161-plus) than any other community in the nation.