BEST program starts at Shelton school

Businesses urged to support early childhood education

SHELTON - The Susanna Wesley School in Shelton has six new smiling faces for the start of their school year, thanks to a new program, Connecticut BEST – Businesses Enriching Scholars Together.  

Established by Shelton farmer Terry Jones, and Roberta Cenci, Director of Susanna Wesley School, BEST seeks to create opportunities for the private sector to help children from families whose socioeconomic situation impacts their ability to acquire a quality early childhood education for their sons and/or daughters.

Jones said, “A few years ago, we at Jones Family Farms were asked to adopt a street in Shelton – to be responsible for cleaning up roadside trash, etc.  It struck me that if we could adopt a street and make an impact, maybe we could get the business community in general to “adopt” kids in need of a better start in education - to reach out to children who might not otherwise be able to attend preschool. 
"I started thinking about it, and came up with the idea of businesses providing scholarships to a local preschool.  We’ve had a long standing relationship with Susanna Wesley School here in Shelton, and after contacting them, their Board was willing to partner with us to help move this pilot project forward. 
"We’ve also developed great partnerships with the Boys and Girls Club and TEAM to help identify children to participate in this program, as well as the Valley Chamber of Commerce to help get the message out to the business community.”

To get the BEST Program up and running, the Jones Family Farms has established the BEST Fund at the Valley Community Foundation in Derby.
This donor advised build-a-fund has been endowed at $10,000, and will help provide initial working capital for students to participate in the program. 
“We are delighted that Terry and the Jones Family have chosen VCF to partner with them on this exciting endeavor,” said VCF President and CEO Sharon Closius. 
“VCF is committed to helping children and families throughout the Valley, and this is an excellent opportunity to expand our relationship with one of our existing fund holders to help bring this program to fruition.  We look forward to working with the Jones Family in the coming years to continue to bring even more students into the BEST program.”

“Connecticut BEST is a wonderful program, and we’re delighted to pilot it here at Susanna Wesley,” said Roberta Cenci.  
“When Terry and I first started to discuss this, what struck us was that it was really life changing for these four year old children.  It provides an opportunity for them to have a level playing field as they move forward into Kindergarten, and gives them a positive head-start in their educational career.
"We are hopeful that the Connecticut BEST Program at Susanna Wesley School can serve as a model that can be replicated in other schools throughout Connecticut.  As additional businesses become involved, even more children in the Valley will be able to benefit from this wonderful experience.”

Many eyes are on this unique Valley project and its potential for success.
 “The spirit of businesses joining the BEST pilot program in the Valley will be a great contribution to leadership in our state’s education reform,” said Connecticut State Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor.
“You are pioneers, innovating to make our “Connecticut Way” the BEST!”  Gov. Dannel P. Malloy also expressed his support for BEST.  
“The BEST program demonstrates the role our business community can play in helping young people – especially those that would otherwise miss out on a preschool experience.  We know that early learning is critical to a young person’s future academic success – BEST encourages early education, and gets the business sector involved in a meaningful way.”

“At the Farm, we spend our time growing trees from seeds,” said Terry Jones. “The most critical time in that growth cycle is when we are nurturing the seedlings. A well nurtured seedling becomes resilient and can be transplanted and able to deal with adversity. There are unquestionable comparisons between seedlings and young children – the greatest return on investments for both to succeed happens early on. It is our responsibility as a society to help them as much as we can to grow and to thrive.”

For information about how to contribute to the BEST Fund at VCF, contact Sharon Closius, VCF President and CEO, at 203-751-9162 or at sclosius@valleyfoundation.org.


This is a press release from the Valley Community Foundation.