Prior to this role, Brandon worked as a legislative aide in the Connecticut General Assembly. Through his work in that role, he helped to form numerous legislative concepts and provided crucial support to constituents during the COVID-19 pandemic.
His passion for improving the lives of Connecticut’s youth stems from his upbringing. Being raised by an immigrant family from Nicaragua, he noticed the differences in access to resources in education for families. The lack of education on resources that his family could have potentially accessed made it so that he didn’t have the monetary resources possible to attend college fluidly and instilled a drive in him to get engaged in the legislative process to make a difference for Connecticut’s youth.
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Denique and Jesse discussed Norwalk ACTS on the Whistle Post, a podcast covering the world of workforce and community development with the people who are making it happen. Click the image below to listen.
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Norwalk ACTS recently presented about collective impact to Wesleyan University's Jewett Center for Community Partnerships. Read the blog post.
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INTEMPO and Norwalk Public Schools: Partnership Liaising through Norwalk ACTS
After joining the Norwalk ACTS Out of School Time (OST) and Implementation Team in the middle of the pandemic, INTEMPO’s founder, Angelica Durrell, began talking about the importance of creative youth development through music and the benefits of engaging immigrant and non-English-speaking populations.
In spring 2021, Norwalk ACTS co-sponsored Voices and Actions, INTEMPO’s statewide convening on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and helped confirm Norwalk Superintendent Dr. Alexandra Estrella’s participation on the conference’s educational equity panel. Shortly thereafter, in a monthly meeting to prepare for summer school 2021, we met Donalda Chumney and Dr. Jennifer Katona, who invited INTEMPO to co-plan and co-teach with NPS general music teachers during summer school 2021. This would be the first time a community organization would partner with the NPS music department. It would also be the first time since the onset of the pandemic that students would be coming back for in-person instruction. Read more.
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Please save the date for the next Youth Town Hall. You can register now and more details will follow. |
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The Statewide Summative Assessment Results for the 2020-21 School Year were released. Data shows that student growth suffered during the pandemic. You can read the full assessment here or visit the results here.
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SOCIAL JUSTICE & RACIAL EQUITY |
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You are invited to our Community Conversations on Equity virtual discussions. Please see details in the Upcoming Events section. |
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Norwalk ACTS has partnered with GetCTC, an IRS Volunteer certified nonprofit to help you get into this new Federal program. |
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As you may be aware, school districts received Covid Relief money to meet the needs of their children and help solve some of the issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Now it's time for us to make sure that that money is going to good use.
We would love for you to be part of our parent oversight panel as we work with districts and community leaders to make sure your children receive an equitable education. Parents who participate will receive a small stipend. Please email Jennifer at jennifer.gomez@conncan.org for more information.
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Please join us for the virtual launch of Childcare for Connecticut. We need your help to build sustained public support for high-quality, affordable care provided by well-trained, well-compensated educators for all children.
Register to attend and pass the word!
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As a follow-up from The Social Emotional Health of Norwalk Youth meeting on October 22, the results of the Norwalk Partnership youth survey were presented to 100 community members and providers.
As an immediate next step for all participants (and feel free to share with others!), please find time before Friday, November 5 to complete this form to identify current and potential community-based mental health partnerships.
We will be taking your feedback to build an action plan to address identified needs and align objectives to guide our work. We will go through the results, strategies, and next steps at our next meeting on Tuesday, November 16 from 9:00-10:00 AM.
Watch the meeting recording here. Passcode: aL4@D%Fi
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The Norwalk Partnership in collaboration with NACTS and other community partners released the first edition of the Wellness Bulletin for Norwalk Parents, to help parents with info, tips, and resources. Please share throughout the community!
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You are invited to our Out of School Time virtual Family Design Planning. Please see details in the Upcoming Events section. |
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COLLEGE AND WORKFORCE READINESS |
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FREE Virtual FAFSA workshops for students and their families. There will be more to come on the list below.
Financial aid professionals will be available to help students and families navigate the process of need-based federal aid. Those who sign up will receive a checklist of items that they will need to successfully complete the process. These events are open to high school students across the state.
VIRTUAL
IN-PERSON
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INTERESTED IN BECOMING MORE INVOLVED? |
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GIVE WHILE YOU SHOP: Are you an Amazon shopper? Set Norwalk ACTS as your selected charity on Amazon Smile, and a portion of every purchase will be donated to transforming how community works. Get started here.
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Norwalk ACTS | [www.norwalkacts.org] |
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