United Way of Greater New Haven's 'Success by 6' program turns 6

Source: New Haven Register
Published: Thursday, May 19, 2011
By: Pamela McLoughlin, Register Staff

NEW HAVEN — United Way of Greater New Haven held a sixth birthday breakfast Thursday for its early childhood initiative, “Success By 6,” designed to give kids a solid start in life and in hopes of making strides in closing the achievement gap.

It was a big party, with some 300 guests, held at the Omni Hotel at Yale, with Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman among the guests, as Gov. Dannel Malloy was called out of town and couldn’t speak as planned.Al Smith, chairman of the organization’s Board of Directors, noted like any proud father that United Way has transformed itself from a community fundraising agency to a community impact agency and Success by Six is an example of that.

Among the program’s measurable accomplishments in the last six years: 2,620 parents have learned skills to become better parents, such as reading to their children; 435 children from low income households received services; more than 400,000 households in Connecticut received valuable information regarding child development.

The program was established because of the premise that experiences children have in their earliest years determine the structure of their brain and, according to United Way literature, “lay the foundation for their ability to learn, as well as their emotional and behavioral well-being.”

In outlining the Success by Six program, United Way literature puts “alarming disparities” in the achievement gap in Connecticut front and center. According to United Way materials, Connecticut has the largest achievement gap in both reading and math between children who are in poverty and those who are not. The organization’s chart indicates that children in the area’s lower-income towns perform 30-50 percent lower than those in higher-income towns.

All of it is affected in part by early experiences, or lack of them, and family circumstances, including a mother’s lack of education, according to United Way officials.

Mayor John Destefano Jr., who has made school reform and closing the achievement gap the cornerstone of his mayoral tenure, said collaboration with groups such as United Way is what brings the best success.

He praised Malloy for his commitment to education in these tough financial times - Malloy kept the Educational Cost Sharing grants intact - and Wyman thanked DeStefano for “everything” he’s done for education.

Wyman reminded the audience that Malloy himself had serious learning problems.

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