On behalf of the CfAL organization, we wish to express our appreciation and thanks to The Amity Club and The Amity Worthy Projects Committee for awarding CfAL with a $2,000 grant. This grant will be used for our 5-week summer math project called Learning Math After School Can Be Fun.

The goal of the project is to significantly improve the math literacy and attitude toward math of underperforming 3rd thru 5th grade students attending elementary schools from the poorest neighborhoods in New Haven, CT.

We have already begun identifying students for this summer’s math training, with morning and afternoon classes starting on July 9th.

We are excited about giving up to 30 students a brighter math future, and improving their attitude toward math and self-esteem.

The Amity Club Grant and CfAL are working together to improve disadvantaged New Haven children’s education.

A very big thank you to our partner, The Amity Club.

We are very pleased to announce Pfizer, Inc. and Groton Laboratories has awarded CfAL with a $2,750 grant for our summer math project called Learning Math After School Can Be Fun.

We wish to express our appreciation and thanks to Pfizer, Inc. and Groton Laboratories for awarding CfAL with this grant. The grant will be used to significantly improve the math literacy and attitude toward math of underperforming 3rd thru 5th grade students attending schools in the poorest neighborhoods of New Haven, CT.

We have already begun identifying participants for this 5 week summer math project. Classes begin on July 9th.

We are excited about having the opportunity to train up to 30 students and helping them improve their math performance, self-esteem and attitude toward math.

As our community partner, Pfizer, Inc. and Groton Laboratories and CfAL will make a significant difference by improving public school children’s education in New Haven.

Thank you!

Graduating Parents!

We are pleased to announce that 28 parents completed 3 weeks of basic computer training in April. The training took 10 1/2 hours and covered:

• Computer hardware
• Computer software
• How to use a mouse
• Word processing
• Monthly budgeting using a spreadsheet
• Creating an email account for themselves
• Internet navigation and research
• Basic computer maintenance, including running ant-virus software

These parents were given a gently used computer that CfAL installed in their homes, along with a year of technical support. The computers run Windows 7 and Office 2007, along with anti-virus and anti-spyware programs.

We are proud of these parents for taking the initiative to attend training and commit to increasing their involvement in their children’s education.

Since 2003,  2,477 parents have participated in the parent computer program and received the benefit of training and a gently used computer. Their initiative helps them to extend learning beyond the classroom for their children, and increase their involvement in their children’s education at home.

Thank you!

During the April 17th CfAL Board of Directors meeting, 2 wonderful people entered the meeting room with big smiles, carrying balloons saying Congratulations, and 2 placards.

The 2 people were Kim Healey, the Executive Director of the NewAlliance Foundation, and Maryann Ott, the Associate Director of the NewAlliance Foundation. Their first placard read Hi5 High Impact Literacy Award, Honoring: Vision, Responsiveness, Innovation, Spirit + Results. Their second placard was a shocker. It was an image of a bank check from the NewAlliance Foundation, made out to Concepts for Adaptive Learning, in the amount of $25,000, and signed by Kim Healey.

The CfAL Board members were thrilled and at the same time more than curious. Ms. Healey went on to explain that CfAL was selected by the NewAlliance Foundation Board of Directors to receive this prestigious award for its work in promoting and advancing literacy.

To receive this award and a $25,000 check was a very proud moment, and on behalf of the CfAL Board, staff and volunteers, we thank the NewAlliance Foundation Board of Directors, Ms. Healy, and Ms. Ott for their steadfast support of CfAL and the 2013 Hi-5 High Impact Literacy Award.

See the award and smiling faces below.

Left to right, Hillel Auerbach, Sandra Trevino, Kim Healey, Toby Holloran, Curtis Hill, and Carole Sklar

First Niagara Financial Group Grant Award

We are pleased to let you know the First Niagara Financial Group has awarded CfAL with a $2,500 grant for our summer math project called Learning Math After School Can Be Fun.

This grant, along with support from other funders, will be used to instruct and significantly improve the math literacy and attitude toward math of up to 30 students. These underperforming 4th thru 6th grade students attend public schools in the poorest neighborhoods of New Haven, CT. Without the intervention of the Learning Math After School Can Be Fun project, these students would continue to fall further behind in math and have very limited opportunity to ever catch up.

We are excited about having the opportunity to instruct these students and help them improve their math performance, self-esteem and attitude toward math.

On behalf of the Board, staff and volunteers of CfAL, we wish to express our appreciation and thanks to the First Niagara Financial Group for the grant and its continued support of our organization.

Working together, the First Niagara Financial Group and CfAL will make a significant difference by improving public school children’s math education in New Haven.

Thank you!

On March 20^th, CfAL officially launched its new program called Digital Literacy for Early Learners, “A Primer” for Parents” (DLEL), before an audience of 18 participants.

The program is a 4-part workshop series intended to educate parents who have a child(ren), ages birth to 5. For nearly 2 hours, the star of the launch, Stephney Gonzalez, instructed participants on the risk of not educating their early learner before the child enters kindergarten, the benefit of early education and things they can do to help their early learner(s) be successful. The next 2 workshops will include visiting important early learner resources on the internet to help parents educate their early learner(s).

The goals of the DLEL program are:

• Engage parents in the early education of their children to ensure children enter kindergarten ready to learn

• Children from disadvantaged families are prepared and ready to learn and succeed when entering kindergarten

Funding for the delivery of the program has been made possibly through the generosity of Comcast Communications, the NewAlliance Foundation, United Illuminating Holdings Corporation and the Williams Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund.

Dear Readers:

It gives me great pleasure to announce the NewAlliance Foundation has awarded CfAL with a $7,500 grant, in support of implementating our organization’s new program called Digital Literacy for Early Learners, “A Primer for Parents”. This is exciting news, and we are so proud of the partnership CfAL has with the NewAlliance Foundation. This partnership has and continues to helps improve learning outcomes of public school children in CT, and especially in New Haven.

The goals of this new program are:

• Engage parents in the early education of their children to ensure children enter kindergarten ready to learn

• Children from low-income families are prepared and ready to learn and succeed when entering kindergarten

Achieving goals of this magnitude are not possible without the investment of our partner and the confidence the NewAlliance Foundation has in our commitment to achieve these goals.

We are very grateful and thankful to the NewAlliance Foundation for this grant.

Sincerely,

Curtis Hill

Executive Director

UIL Holdings Corporation Grant Award

We are pleased to announce UIL Holdings Corporation has awarded CfAL with a $1,000 grant for our summer math project called Learning Math After School Can Be Fun.

We wish to express our appreciation and thanks to UIL Holdings Corporation for awarding CfAL with this grant. The grant will be used to significantly improve the math literacy and attitude toward math of underperforming 4th and 9th grade students attending schools in the poorest neighborhoods of New Haven, CT.

We have already begun identifying participants for this 5 week project. Classes begin on July 5th.

We are excited about having the opportunity to train 30 students and help them improve their math performance, self-esteem and attitude toward math.

Working together, the UIL Holdings Corporation and CfAL will make a significant difference by improving public school children’s education in New Haven.

Thank you!

We are very pleased to inform you that  Comcast Communications will help launch the Digital Literacy for Early Learners, “A Primer for Parents” program (DLEL) with a $5,000 sponsorship.

The DLEL program has been designed to increase disadvantaged parents’ awareness of the benefit of early learning, and help them engage in educating their children, age birth to 5, so their children can start kindergarten with the critical skills they’ll need to learn and succeed in school. The program combines platform instruction, along with detailed instruction and discussion about use of Libraries and engaging early learner educational websites targeted for each specific age level from birth to 5.

The goal:  Children from disadvantaged families are prepared and ready to learn and succeed when entering/starting school

Comcast has been a continuous supporter of CfAL and this sponsorship is in recognition of Comcast’s commitment to the communities where its customers and employees live and work. Since its founding in 1999, The Comcast Foundation has distributed over $90 million in support of programs implemented locally in Comcast Communities.

We are very thankful to Comcast for this sponsorship of the DLEL program and its on-going support of CfAL and public school children’s education.

Sincerely,

CfAL Board of Directors