Votes to Decide if Hartford Journalism & Media Academy Will Receive $100,000 Grant

The Hartford Journalism & Media Academy is one of six education programs in New England vying for a $100,000 grant to further their student-centered learning approach to education.  Voting is now underway via the internet – and the deadline to cast a vote is September 30. The Lawrence W. O’Toole Award is given out each year to an individual, organization, school or district exhibiting great leadership through innovation or courage in moving student-centered approaches to learning forward in New England. The winner will receive a $100,000 grant from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation.

The Students at the Center Hub – a relatively new website - was created through a partnership between the Nellie Mae Education Foundation and Jobs for the Future. It is a resource for educators, families, students and communities interested in learning more about student-centered approaches to learning. Visitors to the site can “explore the research behind it; the practices that nurture it; policies that support it; and how to communicate about it.”  Details on each of the nominated programs are included on the site.

The mission of the Hub is to help raise the visibility of student-centered learning in New England and beyond, offer a centralized location for tools and resources on student-centered learning approaches, and provide a user-friendly, interactive space for practitioners, implementers and supporters of student-centered approaches to learning.

At the Hartford Journalism and Media Academy (JMA), students are learning first-hand how storytelling and student voice can transform education. Students at JMA attend a satellite campus at Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network (CPBN) in Hartford, where they are working alongside seasoned journalists to produce content for the station while gaining 21st skills like creativity, collaboration and communication. As part of the station’s Education Reporting Initiative, students are investigating the impact of student-centered learning policies and practices in the public education system.

The Nellie Mae Education Foundation is working to reshape public education across New England to be more equitable and more effective – so every student graduates from high school ready to succeed in college or the workplace – and contribute to their communities as informed citizens.

In addition to the Hartford Journalism & Media Academy, in the running for the grant are Portland Empowered (Maine), Burlington High School (Vermont), The Highlander Institute (Rhode Island), Sanborn Regional School District (New Hampshire) and Youth on Board (Boston).

Voting is open to one vote per email address. As of Monday morning, the Hartford Journalism & Media Academy was running fifth in the voting.  A total of nearly 11,000 votes had been cast.

https://youtu.be/Qq8w3mj4NZI

Got Drugs? Take 'Em Back

There will be 64 locations across Connecticut collecting drugs on Saturday, September 26.  It is part of National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, an initiative of the U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Office of Diversion Control.  The aim is to get unused prescriptions and other drugs out of closets, medicine cabinets, glove compartments, and random shelves and drawers, as well as off the streets, before they end up causing harm. In Connecticut, state police barracks and many local police departments are serving as drop off points.  The collection sites will be open as part of the initiative from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM on Saturday. (See the full list here.)

States around the country are participating, and all but Pennsylvania and Delaware, which held their collection days on September 12, are doing so on September 26. According to a public service announcement prepared by the DEA, “prescription drug abuse is an epidemic in this country, and the source of these drugs is often the home medicine cabinet.”

The National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications.

“Prescription drug abuse is a huge problem and this is a great opportunity for folks around the country to help reduce the threat,” DEA Acting Administrator Chuck Rosenberg said.  "Please clean out your medicine cabinet and make your home safe from drug theft and abuse.”

In the previous nine Take-Back events nationwide from 2010-2014, 4,823,251 pounds, or 2,411 tons of drugs were collected, officials reported.  Saturday’s event will be the 10^th national effort.

Many Americans are not aware that medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse, according to officials. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are at alarming rates, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs, they point out.

Officials cite studies that show many abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, manyAmericans do not know how to properly dispose of their unused medicine, often flushing them down the toilet or throwing them away – both potential safety and health hazards.

Three CT Companies Selected Among National Champions for Young Adult Hiring

The National Fund for Workforce Solutions has recognized three Connecticut companies - Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., Carey-Floyd Manufacturing, and Mallory Industries, Inc. - among 11 employers nationwide, spanning a variety of industries, as 2015 “Young Adult Employer Champions.” In its first year, the program was created to acknowledge employers who have made a lasting investment in young adult workers by promoting effective hiring techniques and providing access to onsite training and skills development opportunities that result in overall long term retention and career stability. 

Fairfield County’s Community Foundation nominated Starwood for the national award, as the Community Foundation was aware of Starwood’s deep commitment to internships for youth and young adults in Stamford, where the company is headquartered. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with more than 1,200 properties in some 100 countries and over 180,000 employees at its owned and managed properties.

“Fairfield County’s Community Foundation believes honoring local employers like Starwood is important as this global company in our backyard is doing exemplary work on the youth employment/internship fronts,” said Community Foundation President/CEO Juanita T. James.

Since 1981, Carey Manufacturing has been supplying catches, latches, and handles for military, aerospace, computer, electronics, telecom, automotive, and consumer applications. In addition to an expanding global sourcing network, the company owns and operates a 30,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Cromwell. Floyd Manufacturing has been a high-volume, precision machining operation for a growing number of manufacturers since 1987.

At an early stage, founders Edward Floyd and John Carey, recognized the need for a company that could produce high-quality machined components on a consistent basis, according to the company’s website.   Based on their knowledge and experience, they both formed an eight-person operation to supply high precision components for the aerospace and defense industries, which has grown to a 75-person company.

Mallory Industries, Inc., incorporated in Connecticut in 1956, became an ESOP company in 1999. Located in central Connecticut, in the Farmington Industrial Park on three acres of land, the company’s manufacturing core competency has always been perceived as a cam manufacturer. Components produced have been installed in life critical medical devices, numerous aircraft and various industrial equipment.

The 2015 Young Adult Employer Champions have made substantial commitments toward helping to create well-paying, labor market-driven careers for young adult workers in their regions, the organization explained. Through these investments, the 11 Champions have been able to “successfully engage with their local youth via industry partnerships.”   As a result of hiring young employees and providing career building opportunities, “they have seen a multitude of companywide successes, from improving retention and employee engagement to minimizing recruitment costs,” according to the National Fund for Workforce Solutions.

A primary focus area of Starwood’s Global Citizenship strategy is to provide general skills and job readiness training for unemployed and underemployed individuals. The training can promote economic growth of local communities and stimulate interest in growing sectors that will increase the pursuit of employment in hospitality and related industries.

At its Stamford headquarters, Starwood recognized two needs – a local need for digital media and IT talent and rising youth unemployment. Starwood partnered with the Stamford Mayor’s Youth Employment Program (managed by the Stamford Youth Services Bureau) and Sacred Heart University to provide high school students with customized training and internships in these fields.

The approach combines work-based and classroom learning, giving young adults a unique learning experience. Starwood also works with the Stamford Public Schools to implement year-round academic curriculum, giving students real-world educational experience so that they may expand their exposure to digital marketing. By working with its community partners, Starwood is able to expose young workers to hospitality, give them new skills and perspectives while simultaneously addressing an imperative need in the local community.

In addition to the three Connecticut headquartered companies, other 2015 Young Adult Employer Champions are:

• Sinai Hospital/LifeBridge Health, Baltimore, MD
• Suffolk Construction, Boston, MA
• PTR Baler and Compactor, Philadelphia, PA
• AugustaWestland, Philadelphia, PA
• Keats Manufacturing Company, Wheeling, IL
• Swiss Post Solutions, Inc., New York, NY
• Pointe Precision, Inc., Plover, WI
• OpenSquare, Seattle, WA

“We applaud the continuous efforts and steadfast commitment to our nation’s newest generation of workers seen in the outstanding endeavors of all of the 2015 Young Adult Employer Champions.” said Fred Dedrick, Executive Director of the National Fund for Workforce Solutions. “These Champions exemplify how investment in young adults can both transform individual lives and collectively change the landscape of our national workforce.”

The National Fund for Workforce Solutions, based in Boston, Mass., is a growing national partnership of employers, communities, workers and philanthropy. Together, they invest in more than 35 regional funder collaboratives to strengthen local economies by implementing demand-driven workforce strategies that create talent supply chains, close skill gaps and improve systems.

CT Ranks Fourth in Number of Planned Parenthood Sites Per Capita

As controversy continues to swirl in the nation’s capital regarding federal funding of Planned Parenthood, a recent tally of Planned Parenthood locations nationwide indicates that Connecticut ranks 4^th in the number of locations within the state, based on the state’s female population. The news organization Bloomberg ranked the U.S. states and the District of Columbia based on the number of Planned Parenthood locations per 100,000 women, ages 15 to 49.  Connecticut, with 2.08 locations per 100,000 women, ranked behind Vermont (8.74), Alaska (2.37), and Montana (2.33).  Rounding out the top 10 were Washington, Iowa, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Colorado, and Indiana. 

With 17 locations in Connecticut, the state ranked 14^th in the number of Planned Parenthood locations within the state.  The largest number are in California (114), New York (59), Pennsylvania (36), Texas (35), and Washington (32).  Also ranked among the top 15 are Ohio (28), New Jersey (26), Florida and Indiana (23), Wisconsin (22), Michigan and Colorado (21), Illinois and Minnesota (18) and Connecticut (17).

Locations of Planned Parenthood Centers in Connecticut include Bridgeport, Danbury, Danielson, Enfield, Hartford, Manchester, Meriden, New Britain, New Haven, New London, Norwich, Old Saybrook, Stamford, Torrington, Waterbury, West Hartford and Willimantic.

According to the organization’s website, Planned Parenthood has 59 unique, locally governed affiliates nationwide operating approximately 700 health centers, "which reflect the diverse needs of their communities."

These health centers provide a wide range of safe, reliable health care — and the majority is preventive, primary care, which helps prevent unintended pregnancies through contraception, reduce the spread of sexually transmitted infections through testing and treatment, and screen for cervical and other cancers, the website points out.

Research Shows Schools Start Too Early; Some South Windsor Students Begin at 6:30 AM

A national publication, highlighting policies that school districts around the country are experimenting with to “make schools better for kids,” suggests starting classes after 8:30 a.m.  Some schools in Connecticut and across the nation are doing so, moving high school start times from earlier hours.  In South Windsor, however, the experiment is in the opposite direction, with a select group of high school students beginning weekday classes at 6:30 a.m. It's part of a new pilot plan called "zero period," created as a temporary relief for some students until the school can transition from a seven-period to an eight-period school day, Principal Daniel Sullivan recently told The Hartford Courant.

"It's not for everybody and it's not a requirement for the kids that are doing it," Sullivan said. "It's going to be tough … but they chose it because it's what they want. They're doing what they want to do and we're glad to give them that opportunity."

In other schools, the pendulum is moving the opposite way.  “In order to stay healthy, adolescents need at least eight hours of sleep each night; deprivation can lad to weight gain, focus issues, lower academic performance and other problems, the article in TIME magazine points out.

“Biologically, adolescents are hardwired to stay up late, often until 11 p.m. or midnight.  That’s why federal official and medical experts are calling for middle and high schools to start after – at or after 8:30 a.m.,” the magazine indicates.  The Portland Press Herald recently reported that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC),  the American Academy of Pediatrics and numerous studies recommend later start times for secondary education – preferably 8:30 or later. 

In more than 40 states, at least 75 percent of public schools start earlier than 8:30 a.m., according to the CDC’s report. But those numbers are changing.  The idea is to improve the odds of adolescents getting sufficient sleep so they can thrive both physically and academically. Among an estimated 39,700 public middle, high, and combined schools in the United States, the average start time was 8:03 a.m., the CDC reported. In Connecticut, fewer than 5 percent of middle and high schools started at 8:30 or later, one of the lowest rates in the country.

The CDC’s recommendations in August came a year after the American Academy of Pediatrics urged schools to adjust start times so more kids would get the recommended 8.5 to 9.5 hours of nightly rest. Both the CDC and the pediatricians’ group cited significant risks that come with lack of sleep, including higher rates of obesity and depression and motor-vehicle accidents among teens as well as an overall lower quality of life, The Atlantic recently reported.

At South Windsor High School, two "zero period" courses begin at 6:30 a.m. and end at 7:15 a.m., allowing students about 10 minutes for breakfast before the start of first period at 7:25 a.m. The school day concludes at 2 p.m.

In South Windsor, the early classes are aimed primarily at sophomore intervention, special education, AP science and music and art students, according to school officials. About 25 students are participating in the pilot program as the school year gets underway. The Courant reports that similar programs have been implemented in schools on the West Coast, with mixed reactions.

In Guilford, school officials were considering revised start times in discussions late last year.  But the schedule for the new school year shows the high school start time as 7:25, with middle schools beginning at 7:50 and 8:00 a.m.

This fall, students can choose from a photography and a health class. In the spring, students will have the option of business communications and physical education. Bus transportation is being provided for the students, the Courant reported. "These kids are committing to getting up early, getting here early and taking care of business,” Sullivan said, indicating that the experimental zero period is not a substitute for an eight-period school day.

Youth Face Substantial Challenges in Fairfield County, Report Reveals

There are significant unmet needs among the children and youth of Fairfield County, with over 800 students dropping out of high school each year, 1 in 8 youth ages 16-24 unemployed and over 2,600 youth ages 16-19 neither employed nor in school, according to a new report by Connecticut Voices for Children.  Youth well-being differs from town to town and city to city according to the report, commissioned by Fairfield County’s Community Foundation. The outcome disparities “present a threat not only to the children, families and neighborhoods of Bridgeport, but also to Fairfield County,” the report concluded, noting that Bridgeport today educates as many students as Westport, Wilton, Weston, New Canaan, and Darien combined.  The report indicates that Fairfield County’s future lives in its cities and depends very much on the success of its vulnerable children and youth.

The purpose of the report is to inform and develop Fairfield County's Community Foundation’s Thrive by 25 Program, to help Fairfield County young people achieve self-sufficiency by age 25. The report points out that “Fairfield County’s 100,000 young people ages 16 to 24 face youth unemployment rates between 13.6 percent and 49.5 percent, one of the nation’s most expensive housing markets, and a shortage of living-wage entry jobs.  When large numbers of young adults remain dependent on family or relocate for jobs, their futures are shortchanged and their communities decline.”

Looking across the towns of Fairfield County, large disparities in relative opportunity emerged in the study. Six “very high opportunity towns” stood out clearly among their peers, the report highlighted: Darien, Westport, New Canaan, Wilton, Weston, and Easton are among the wealthiest towns in the United States. Unsurprisingly, few children in those towns face the sort of barriers to opportunity children typically face in Bridgeport, Stratford, Norwalk, Stamford, and Danbury, the report said.

Five relatively “low opportunity towns” also stood out: on nearly every indicator they fell in the bottom third of Fairfield County’s 23 towns. “Even more disturbing,” the report emphasized, these “low opportunity towns” were home to racially concentrated areas of poverty: “not only is youth opportunity lower, but that lower opportunity affects mainly children of color,” the Voices report indicated.

The 27 page report includes town-by-town breakdowns for each of Fairfield County’s 23 municipalities, including breakdowns of specific data for 20 distinct factors in the areas of Family, Community and School.  The assessment includes the percentage of the population that includes families in poverty, unemployment, housing unaffordability, preschool experience, median income and on-time graduation from high school.

The report indicated that Danbury has the highest proportion of students learning English in Fairfield County (21 percent), and a rate of student arrest twice that of Bridgeport, Norwalk and Stamford.  Over one-third of Danbury children live in households with income below 200 percent of the poverty level, which is $47,700 for a family of four.  Among the other data revealed in the report:

• Bridgeport is the city in Fairfield County with the greatest need, with over 1,100 disconnected youth 400 annual high school dropouts and a youth unemployment rate of 17 percent.
• Shelton (13%) and Wilton (17%) have exceptionally high rate of chronic absenteeism – on par with cities like Norwalk (12%) and Stamford (15%).
• Redding performs exceptionally low on housing affordability compared to other high opportunity towns, with almost half of housing unaffordable (45 percent).
• Stamford’s teenage pregnancy rate (3 percent of total births) is lower than in many suburban towns.

The comparison between Bridgeport’s youth and their counterparts in Westport is striking.  Bridgeport educates a student population of which nearly 40 percent never attended preschool and almost 80 percent of third graders failed to score proficient in reading, drawing from a property tax base less than one-sixth the size per pupil of Westport. In Westport, barely 5 percent of students miss preschool and only 17 percent of third graders fail to score proficient in reading. While over 400 students drop out of Bridgeport high schools each year and only 18 percent of Bridgeport students complete college within six years, Westport reports only 4 high school drop-outs per year and a 71 percent college completion rate.

Connecticut Voices for Children is a research-based think tank that focuses on issues that affect child well-being, from educational opportunity to healthy child development to family economic security. Its mission is to ensure that all of Connecticut’s children have the opportunity to achieve their full potential.

To assess specific obstacles to youth opportunity in Fairfield County and to prepare the way for new solutions, Connecticut Voices for Children constructed a Youth Opportunity Index containing over two-dozen indicators from the U.S. Census Bureau, State Department of Education, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and others. Guided by existing research, the researchers, including Ellen Shemitz, J.D., Nicholas Defiesta, and Wade Gibson, J.D., compiled family, community, and school indicators for every town in Fairfield County.

The study also assessed three measures of the number of disconnected youth in each town: the annual number of high school dropouts, the number of youth, ages 16-19 neither employed nor in school, and youth unemployment (ages 16-24). For each indicator, they assessed towns’ standing relative to one another. They then looked across indicators and assessed how each town stacked up relative to others in Fairfield County. In addition, Fairfield County as a whole was compared with the broader State of Connecticut.

Religion Slipping Away From Millennial Generation

A major academic study into millennials and religion is gaining attention for its conclusion that the generation born in this century appears to be the least religious generation of the last six decades, and possibly in the nation's history. “Survey results from 11.2 million American adolescents demonstrate a decline in religious orientation, especially after 2000. The trend appears among adolescents as young as 13 and suggests that Millennials are markedly less religious than Boomers and GenX’ers were at the same age. The majority are still religious, but a growing minority seem to embrace secularism, with the changes extending to spirituality and the importance of religion as well.”

The report also indicates that “correlational analyses show that this decline occurred at the same time as increases in individualism and declines in social support. Clearly, this is a time of dramatic change in the religious landscape of the United States.”

The researchers -- including Jean M. Twenge and Ramya Sastry from San Diego State University, Julie J. Exline and Joshua B. Grubbs from Case Western Reserve University and W. Keith Campbell from the University of Georgia -- analyzed data from 11.2 million respondents from four nationally representative surveys of U.S. adolescents ages 13 to 18 taken between 1966 and 2014.

Recent adolescents are less likely to say that religion is important in their lives, report less approval of religious organizations, and report being less spiritual and spending less time praying or meditating, the researchers point out. The results were published recently in the journal PLOS One.

Compared to the late 1970s, twice as many 12th graders and college students never attend religious services, and 75 percent more 12th graders say religion is "not important at all" in their lives. Compared to the early 1980s, twice as many high school seniors and three times as many college students in the 2010s answered "none" when asked their religion.

Compared to the 1990s, 20 percent fewer college students described themselves as above average in spirituality, suggesting that religion has not been replaced with spirituality.

"Unlike previous studies, ours is able to show that millennials' lower religious involvement is due to cultural change, not to millennials being young and unsettled," said Twenge. "Millennial adolescents are less religious than Boomers and GenX'ers were at the same age. We also looked at younger ages than the previous studies. More of today's adolescents are abandoning religion before they reach adulthood, with an increasing number not raised with religion at all."

The study comes just after research released last month by the Pew Research Center that showed the portion of U.S. population as a whole that's not affiliated with any religion has climbed from around 16 percent in 2007 to nearly 23 percent last year. Christianity's share of the country's population dropped from 78 percent to under 71 percent, according to Pew.

"These trends are part of a larger cultural context, a context that is often missing in polls about religion," Twenge said. "One context is rising individualism in U.S. culture. Individualism puts the self first, which doesn't always fit well with the commitment to the institution and other people that religion often requires. As Americans become more individualistic, it makes sense that fewer would commit to religion."

Twenge and her colleagues looked at four large, nationally representative studies, according to published reports: The annual Monitoring the Future studies of eighth, 10th, and 12th graders, and the American Freshmen survey of entering college students (focusing on the years 1966 through 2014). They compared answers given by each of those groups to those given by members of previous generations at the same age.

The study finds the decline in religiosity is larger among young women, whites, those of lower socioeconomic status, and residents of the Northeast, the publication Public Standard points out. In contrast, this trend is “very small among blacks,” the researchers write, “and nonexistent among political conservatives.”

NewsON Venture to Bring Local Newscasts to Smart Phones & Tablets Nationwide, WTNH Set to be Among Participants

Five major broadcast television station groups collectively reaching two-thirds of U.S. TV households have formed NewsON, a new venture to provide live and same-day local TV newscasts on demand from leading stations around the country to consumers' mobile and selected connected TV devices. Two Connecticut-based TV stations are part of the NewsON venture – WTNH and WCTX, both in the Hartford-New Haven TV market, which are owned by NewsON partner Media General. The NewsON (www.newson.us) service will be provided by a new venture formed by The ABC Owned Television Station Group, Cox Media Group, Hearst Television, Media General and Raycom Media.  In New Haven, the WTNH news staff produces newscasts for WTNH NewsChannel 8 and WCTX, known as MyTV9. 

Plans for NewsON were announced prior to the more recent announcement this month of Media General’s plans to buy Meredith Corp. for about $2.4 billion in cash and stock.  Meredith, which began as an agricultural publisher in 1902, is known for magazines such as Better Homes & Gardens and Family Circle. But its 17 local TV stations – including Hartford-based WFSB - are the centerpiece of the deal. The combined company—Meredith Media General— would encompass 88 stations that reach 30 percent of U.S. households, or 34 million homes.

Meredith had not been part of the NewsON venture, and it is unclear whether the combined company would remain in the plan, or whether a combined company may be required to divest of either WFSB or WTNH, which serve the same Hartford-New Haven market.

The free, advertising-supported NewsON service will be delivered through apps available for download from leading mobile and connected TV app stores.  NewsON will enable users to watch live and on-demand newscasts from their local markets or from any of the 112 participating news stations, in 84 viewing markets across the country, whose owners have already contracted to deliver their news streams through NewsON.  These include stations in eight of the Top 10 U.S. TV markets and 17 of the top 25.

Multiple stations will be available through NewsON in 21 markets, giving viewers the opportunity to "change channels" as they wish. The number of participating TV stations is expected to grow in the months ahead as additional broadcast TV station groups activate their streams into NewsON. Whether the Hartford-New Haven market will ultimately be among them may hinge on the outcome of the Meredith-Media General deal.

Media General is one of the nation's largest connected-screen media companies that operates or services 71 television stations in 48 markets, along with the industry's leading digital media business. Their portfolio of broadcast, digital and mobile products informs and engages 23 percent of U.S. TV households and 46 percent of the U.S. Internet audience.

"As a truly connected-screen media company, we are always seeking innovative ways to share our superior local content with a broader audience, no matter where, when or what screen or device they prefer," said Robb Richter, Chief Digital Officer of Richmond, VA based Media General.  He told Connecticut by the Numbers said the new service would provide “brand extension” for WTNH newscasts, and increase viewership.  “Now, about 15% to 20% of the market has downloaded their app.  This will draw more people to WTNH who have not. It’s a great way to gain more audience.”

Richter said that the appetite for breaking news is strong, and that may be attractive to advertisers as well, as more people use mobile devices to watch locally originated newscasts.  The ability to send out breaking news alerts and live stream coverage of breaking local news provides a potential new revenue stream,” as well as providing viewers nationwide easy access to local coverage of news that may be of interest beyond a local region.

A recent commentary by former WFSB news director Mark Effron, now a college professor, points to the need for local news to find new ways to attract audiences – especially younger audiences, for whom watching television on a television is fast becoming a footnote in their media consumption.

“For them, watching content on channels and networks and stations hasn’t only lessened, it’s actually fallen off the cliff,” Effron observed.

NewsON officials stress that Americans place a great deal of trust in their local news teams, who are typically the first informers from the local scene of the biggest news developments around the country.  NewsON will bring instant access to live local news to a generation of viewers accustomed to using mobile and connected TV platforms to stay informed.

According to the March 2015 report "Local News in a Digital Age" by the Pew Research Center, local TV stations remain the dominant source of news for Americans in large and small markets.  NewsOn points out that the appetite for local and neighborhood news, the staple of TV station newscast coverage, is up to twice the appetite for national and international news, the study found.

The NewsON service, current in BETA testing, is expected to launch to the public later this fall. “We are driving the evolution in local content creation and distribution and we are excited about the opportunities with NewsON," Richter added.

Building Character in Children Can Improve Voter Participation As Adults, Study Finds

As primary voters head to the polls in nearly two dozen Connecticut communities, with relatively low turnout anticipated, a newly released academic study on connections between childhood character-building and adult voting participation is gaining some notice. A researcher at Duke University has found that data from years of national surveys of youth reveal “a strong relationship” between measures of character in youth and the subsequent likelihood of voting, even controlling for test scores and demographics.

The study appears to have identified a causal relationship: Disadvantaged elementary-school children around the country who were randomly assigned to receive character-building education two decades ago were more likely to vote as adults by 11 to 14 percentage points.

The research paper, by John B. Holbein of Duke University, is entitled “Childhood Non-Cognitive Skill Development and Adult Political Participation.” Matching participants to voter files, Holbein found that childhood intervention had a large long-run impact on political participation.”  Non-cognitive factors were seen as at least as critical as cognitive factors – and perhaps more influential on voting behavior later in life.

The results of the study “suggest a refocusing of civics education.”  The study, published on the Social Science Research Network, concludes that “specific programs that schools implement—including those targeting psychosocial skills—appear to have a large impact on civic participation later on. This finding has important policy implications.”

In the last midterm election, in 2014, only 36.4 percent of eligible voters cast a ballot nationwide, the lowest turnout since 1942. To understand the causes of low turnout, the Census Bureau regularly asks citizens why they chose not to exercise their constitutional right, Jonah Lehrer points out on his website, summarizing that “the number one reason is always the same: ‘too busy.’ (That was the reason given by 28 percent of non-voters in 2014.) The second most popular excuse is ‘not interested,’ followed by a series of other obstacles, such as forgetting about the election or not liking any of the candidates.”

The Holbein study suggests there is more behind the lack of voting behavior than those oft-cited reasons would suggest.

Critical factors in character building are self-regulation and those involving social skills.  Components of self-regulation include, but are not limited to, grit or perseverance, emotion recognition and emotion regulation—the ability to understand and control individual affect; and inhibition, or the ability to avoid negative behavior and exhibit positive behavior.  Social skills involve the ability to work with others productively; components include the ability to communicate, build friendships, and solve group-based problems.

“Rather than focusing exclusively on the number of years a citizen spends in school, it is important to consider what context they were exposed to while in school… In a landscape of stagnant macro-level trends in participation and small estimates for many adult mobilization efforts, this finding should give scholars and policymakers renewed hope,” according to the study.

The research indicated that “interventions in early life can have large and long-lasting impacts on stubbornly low rates of political participation in adulthood. This finding suggests a reorientation of political socialization studies towards early childhood; a previously neglected critical period in the development of participatory predispositions.”  Similar research into the impact of non-cognitive learning has come away with consistent findings.

Looking ahead, the study suggests that “expanding our view in this way will help expand our understanding of why some people vote, while others do not, and how to design reforms to increase turnout, particularly among individuals with a low propensity to vote.”

First-Of-Its-Kind Audio Service for Spanish-Speakers with Print Disabilities Launched in CT

CRIS Radio, a 36-year-old nonprofit based in Windsor and Connecticut’s only radio-reading service, has introduced its new Spanish-language streaming service, expanding the services offered by the volunteer-based organization with a longstanding, solid track-record of responsive programming. The service, called CRIS en Español, is the first in the nation to offer an extensive line-up of audio versions of Spanish-language magazines – all featuring human narration -- for Spanish-speakers who are blind or have a print disability, including those with learning, physical, emotional or intellectual disabilities.

“This collaboration is essential to the people we serve in the Hispanic community,” said Annette Deonarine, director of Latino Initiative of Advocacy Unlimited at Toivo Center in Hartford. “It will enable people who are disabled to receive quality broadcasts that are culturally competent and in a language that is understood by many people from different Latino cultures.”

Hartford Mayor Pedro E. Segarra, who attended the launch of the new audio services, said: “CRIS Radio has for years made sure people stay connected to current events, culture and literature. I’m very grateful to see that they’re expanding this valuable service to Spanish-speaking audiences.”

Included in the CRIS en Español programming are articles published in Spanish-language magazines and newspapers such as Identidad, National Geographic in Spanish, Cosmopolitan in Spanish, Hola and People in Spanish.  All CRIS recordings feature human narration, thanks to CRIS volunteers who provide the voice talent. The recordings also are available on-demand at crisradio.org or from special CRIS Internet radios.

“Thanks to funding from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, CRIS Radio is launching Spanish-language programming to better meet the needs of the Latino community who are blind or print disabled,” said Diane Weaver Dunne, executive director of CRIS Radio. “CRIS is now providing Internet radios tuned to CRIS en Español’s URL free-of-charge to organizations that serve Spanish-speakers with disabilities.”

CRIS (Connecticut Radio Information System) provides audio access to news and information for people who are blind or print-challenged, including those unable to read due to physical, learning, intellectual or emotional disabilities. CRIS operates with more than 300 volunteers at its broadcast center in Windsor and regional studios located in Danbury, Norwich, Trumbull, West Haven and at ESPN in Bristol.

Jon Jacobs, program director of Humanidad, which operates group homes for Spanish-speakers with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Greater Hartford, piloted the service at two group homes. “CRIS en Español is an impactful and informative service that brings Spanish-language programming right to the homes of our consumers, Jacobs said. “This is a warm, informative, and user-friendly way to bring culturally competent content to the members of our community with special needs.”

CRIS Radio broadcasts 24 hours a day, seven days a week featuring articles published in more than 70 newspapers and magazines, including award-winning children's magazines available online and on-demand. Programs powered by CRIS Radio include: CRIS Radio; CRIS Listen Now (online streaming); CRIS Listen On Demand; CRISKids, and CRISKids for Schools.

Photo:  Attending the demonstration of CRIS en Español, are: (sitting), Diane Weaver Dunne, executive director of CRIS Radio; and Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarro; Standing, from left, are Standing, from left, Annette Deonarine, Yanira Rios, Alice Diaz, Deron Drumm, Kelvin Young and Jon Jacobs.

https://youtu.be/DzN3Bi-vjyw