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MARCH news & updates

March 15, 2024

CEO Corner

Jennifer D. Barahona, LCSW

When I get overwhelmed by the seemingly intractable issues we face, I try to think of what is in our individual and collective power to change. Changing the world starts with taking local action. A year ago, we took stock of our policy & advocacy work and made deliberate shifts toward civic engagement to build a groundswell of local action. Thanks to a grant from our national partner, StriveTogether, we are so happy to be launching the inaugural cohort of Norwalk ACTS Civic Influencers next month! Please consider applying for this fellowship program and spread the word to Norwalk community members interested in learning how to amplify their voices for power. Please see our Policy & Advocacy Cornerstone section below to learn more!

SAVE THE DATES

3/28/24 - SEH/OST Initiative Meeting

4/13/24 - Early Childhood Celebration

5/4/24 - NorWALK Mental Health Walk

MARCH CONVENING RESOURCES

Thank you to all who joined us on Tuesday for our March Convening. The CT State Department of Education Chief Performance Officer Ajit Gopalakrishnan showcased a new statewide Postsecondary Labor and Earnings dashboard and walked us through some important data, inspiring deep discussions. We also previewed a new Norwalk Civic Engagement Dashboard that shares voter turnout data for local, state, and president/federal elections and gave updates on our College and Workforce Readiness Initiative!

Watch the Convening

Convening Deck

CORNERSTONE UPDATES

Community Engagement

🎉 Thank you to everyone who mingled with us last Wednesday night! Connecting in person with so many people who share our passion for collective impact was awesome! We look forward to working together.

Data

We’ve updated the Early Childhood section of our Norwalk Data Dashboard with new Kindergarten Readiness data for the 2023-24 school year. Check out the updated dashboard here!

Policy & Advocacy

Embark on a civic engagement and equity journey by joining our new Civic Influencer Program! Please consider applying for this fellowship program and spread the word to our community members interested in learning how to amplify their voices for power. Join by Friday, March 16th.

INITIATIVE UPDATES

Social Emotional Health/Out of School Time

Be a Reading Buddy!

Do you know someone who would be a great Reading Buddy? A friend? A family member? Someone who wants to make a difference in a child's life?

Volunteer to help a third grader become a better reader.

One hour/week
Same time each week
One training session

Contact Roz McCarthy (rozmcc2@gmail.com) or Gina Ortolono (GOrtolano6@gmail.com), and they'll take it from there. You can also sign up directly at the NEF website: norwalkeducation.org.

College & Workforce Readiness

Synchrony will be recruiting once again for its Summer 2024 6-week program and its 2024-2025 school year program in partnership with DAE. The programs will take place at the Synchrony Skills Academy, 777 Long Ridge Rd, Stamford, CT 06907. Registrations are now open!

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JOIN NORWALK ACTS

Norwalk ACTS

[www.norwalkacts.org]