Connecticut Campus Compact AmeriCorps VISTA Host Sites

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1 Connecticut Campus Compact AmeriCorps VISTA Host Sites Central Connecticut State University Connecticut Campus Compact Connecticut College Connecticut Main Street Center Fairfield University Goodwin College Hartford Consortium for Higher Education Higher Edge Housatonic Community College Mitchell College Norwalk Community College University of Connecticut: BRAVE Girls Leadership University of Connecticut: Academy of Nursing and Health Sciences University of New Haven Host Site Descriptions: Central Connecticut State University Cell phone provided CCSU s Office of Community Engagement (OCE) seeks to engage students, faculty, and staff in meaningful and mutually beneficial campus-community partnerships that meet community needs and advance the public good. The New Britain Grade Level Reading Initiative, a new partnership between CCSU, the Consolidated School District of New Britain, and the Coalition for New Britain s Youth, seeks to improve early literacy and grade level reading outcomes. With only a third of New Britain s Youth currently reading at grade level, this initiative will help increase the number of students who enter kindergarten school ready and leave middle school reading on grade level. The VISTA will help create the capacity for systemic recruitment and training of CCSU volunteers to support year-round literacy initiatives, engage faculty and leverage other university resources to help implement and evaluate intervention programs, collaborate in creating a city-wide literacy and attendance campaign, and identify a framework to prove year-round literacy support services sustainable beyond the VISTA term. Connecticut Campus Compact Partial meal plan provided

2 The Partnerships for Success VISTA at Connecticut Campus Compact (CTCC) will support CTCC in our efforts to improve PK-16 education, college aspirations, access, and success for low-income students by leveraging educational assets of Connecticut s institutions of higher education to enhance K-12 and Post-Secondary Success efforts throughout the state. The VISTA will implement and expand a program to offer College Positive Volunteerism training to mentoring and PK-12 outreach programs at member campuses, with the goal of offering at least 8 on-campus trainings in the academic year. In addition, the VISTA member will work with the CTCC network to do an assessment of current campus initiatives that utilize community engagement as a strategy for promoting the success of at-risk college students, and create resources, materials, and trainings on best practices for partnerships. The VISTA will also support other central programming related to access and success in the CTCC Office and contribute to CTCC data collection, communications, and social marketing efforts. Connecticut College Housing provided Partial Meal Plan provided Connecticut College's mission is to educate students to put the liberal arts into action as citizens in a global society. Connecticut College OVCS supports this mission and partners with organizations in New London to provide mutually beneficial community learning experiences for our students and to build capacity to collaboratively address community identified challenges. The poverty-related community need VISTA will help address Education, K-12 Success and post-secondary success. The capacity-building and community impact goals of the project include: enhanced resources for K -12 students; expanded publicity and outreach materials for the school system; strengthened collaborative capacity to increase academic achievement; sparked creative and critical thinking; and advanced physical fitness and nutritional well-being which are essential for optimum learning. Further, the College students recruited and trained for the project will increase their knowledge of poverty and its impact on educational disparities, improve their teaching/tutoring skills, and develop skills related to optimum team functioning and citizenship. Connecticut Main Street Center The Connecticut Main Street Center s (CMSC) mission is, To be the catalyst that ignites Connecticut s Main Streets as the cornerstone of thriving communities. This past year CMSC developed a new partnership with the University of Connecticut (UCONN), Department of Extension s Community and Economic Development Program. The goal of this program is to foster partnerships that link the University to local stakeholders, government agencies, businesses, and organizations to help create vibrant and sustainable communities. The focus of this effort will be the creation of a Downtown Resource Center designed to help communities and residents address downtown issues. In 2015, UCONN Extension s Community and Economic Development Educator conducted a needs assessment that demonstrated significant demand from communities across the state in the areas of placemaking and downtown development. The resource center will create researched, strategic content that addresses urgent and growing community needs. The VISTA team member will work in CMSC s Hartford

3 office researching and developing website content including innovative mixed use redevelopment strategies, identifying the appropriate layout and design for the new web based resource, and developing a communications strategy including extensive use of social media. The VISTA will also work with CMSC, UCONN Extension and CT Campus Compact to explore the roles universities can play in directly shaping neighborhoods and downtowns as drivers of economic development. Fairfield University VISTA Stipend, pretax, every pay period (every 14 days): $641.16, monthly= $1,393 Housing likely provided Partial Meal Plan provided Tuition/Course Benefits provided The VISTA position at Fairfield University will be located in the Center for Faith and Public Life s Office of Service Learning (OSL). The VISTA will serve as Partnership Coordinator and help to build the capacity of the Cesar Batalla-Fairfield University partnership to improve academic and social-emotional outcomes for students by creating sustainable systems for communication, engagement, coordination, and evaluation. The Partnership Coordinator will also help to jumpstart new activities, including a 6-8th grade tutoring program. Cesar Batalla Elementary School (CB) is a Pre-K-8 Grade school in Bridgeport, CT that is the largest elementary school in Bridgeport, 71% of the students are classified as Hispanic or Latino. English Language Learners and Special Education students make up almost 50% of the student population. Cesar Batalla is one of the only Bridgeport public schools with a traditional, transitional bilingual program. Under federal eligibility guidelines, all CB students receive free lunch. Since 2011, approximately 100 GSEAP students have tutored and mentored 450 CB students annually. Fairfield is only beginning to evaluate the impact on student learning from these efforts but CB faculty believe it is substantial. Fairfield and CB are embarking on an ambitious plan to increase the level of support to include all of the expertise in GSEAP (teacher preparation, special education, TESOL, counseling, marriage and family therapy, school psychology, and educational technology). Goodwin College Housing Provided Partial Meal Plan provided For a new workforce development project (Career Pathways in Manufacturing), a program assistant VISTA member will contribute ideas and gain experience in project management, evaluation, and workforce development for low-skilled adults. The Project Assistant VISTA will maintain partner relations and overall data collection. The mission of this private nonprofit baccalaureate college, in an urban area of high unemployment, is to educate a diverse student population in a dynamic environment that aligns education, commerce, and community. By 2025 Connecticut's economy will require a work force in which 70% must have some post-secondary education. Yet, in 2011, 56.1% of Connecticut s year olds earned associate and higher degrees or certificates but among minorities, the figure is only 39.1%. Goodwin won a three-year grant with four community partners, from Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, to prepare for employment low-literate, low-income, low-skilled persons

4 who receive SNAP benefits and/or are unemployed. After screening, participants enroll in a summer math/english Boot Camp; then, in an entry-level, 18-credit, manufacturing certificate course accompanied by intensive student supports and career services, to prepare for paid apprenticeship or job placements with employers committed to this project. The VISTA member will expand our capacity to engage partners and employers, and to evaluate in more depth. The project will offer, to a new cohort of participants each year, workforce credentials, lifting them from poverty. Hartford Consortium for Higher Education Tuition/Course Benefits provided Additional support in the form of gift cards The Greater Hartford Consortium for Higher Education is a voluntary association of public and private organizations in Greater Hartford that fosters collaboration among higher education institutions and within the community. The vision of the Hartford Consortium is for all of the region s young people to have access to higher education, be considered college and careerready, and be robustly supported as they transition into college so that they can attain college degrees and self-sufficient careers. The VISTA will work with our target population in the Hartford County area, which includes students at-risk of dropping out of high school or college, historically underserved and/or underrepresented, first in their family to go to college, and students who have a historically low college graduation rate. The VISTA member will work primarily with the Jr. Apprentice Program, a teen apprenticeship program that promotes career-readiness and workforce development by connecting Hartford teens with apprenticeship opportunities; and The College Supports Network, a community wide partnership initiative in the city of Hartford with a purpose to increase the successful pursuit of postsecondary education by ensuring Hartford students are prepared for, enroll and persist in college, and complete degree programs This initiative will work to create a college going culture among students, families and the community at large. The goals for this assignment will include, but are not limited to, program development and delivery evaluation of existing programs and the possibility for expansion; developing program content and activities to increase engagement and support. Furthermore, the VISTA will conduct outreach and community assessment in order to effectively reach the populations that can benefit from our programs and to create more robust partnerships among community leaders and members. Higher Edge Housing provided Monthly cellphone stipend provided Higher Edge guides low-income and first-generation students through enrollment, retention and graduation from college by providing the support and resources needed for success. As Higher Edge continues to expand, it becomes critical that we invest in development staff. Our college access peers agree that building a robust fundraising team at this stage of organization growth is a game changer,

5 and Higher Edge has already seen how a VISTA positively and drastically raises revenue by pursuing new grant and donor opportunities. The VISTA will act as a development associate, focused on grant-writing, fundraising, donor cultivation, and database management. This work will strengthen the fiscal health of Higher Edge and lead to more low-income students enrolling, succeeding, and graduating from college. Housatonic Community College VISTA Stipend, pretax, every pay period (every 14 days): $641.16, monthly= $1,393 Parking and library passes provided In 2012, HCC interviews with staff indicated that students did not have a grasp of many financial literacy principles, although most HCC students understand the need, and share the desire, for attainment of an education in order to advance into the middle class and a family-sustaining income. Achieving the Dream s December 2014 publication Building Capability, Empowering Students and Achieving Success: The Financial Empowerment for Student Success Initiative asserts, While academic issues hinder many students, financial issues are often the reason why students interrupt their postsecondary education The financial pressures students face are often compounded by the fact that many of these individuals lack the knowledge necessary to manage their finances. Working with the CSIEL and TCP-CT, the VISTA will develop workshops, create a virtual comprehensive financial literacy resource center, and cultivate and expand linkages between financial literacy and service learning. The capacity-building and community impact goals based upon these activities are to establish a college-wide service learning program and in doing so to build upon current HCC financial literacy education services and programs in order to improve enrollment and retention of low income students. Mitchell College Housing Provided Partial Meal Plan Provided Fitness and Library Passes Provided New London Public School (NLPS) students are among the poorest and lowest performing in the state. The graduation rate for the district is 67.8% and approximately 80% of the students are Free/Reduced Lunch Eligible (CT State Department of Education, CT District Performance Report, School Year ). Flock Theater is currently operating a program to integrate theater and the arts into the NLPS curriculum and extracurricular programing. It is well documented that exposure to and involvement in the arts improves student academic performance and behavior, which increases the likelihood of poverty alleviation in their lives. In particular, participating in theater has a documented positive impact on students critical and creative thinking, communication skills, and problem solving. The VISTA will work closely with Mitchell faculty and Flock Theater to coordinate Mitchell College student volunteers and interns to increase the capacity of Flock s after-school program, curriculum integration projects and productions within NLPS. Providing this support will improve the programs and strengthen their impact on the NLPS students. This will result in increased NLPS student attendance, consistency in artistic roles, program mentors and role models, and additional resources for data collection and some analysis of the

6 program s impact on the students school lives. The goal of this project is to alleviate poverty through the arts: setting students on an educational path of success through engagement in arts programming. Norwalk Community College VISTA Stipend, pretax, every pay period (every 14 days): $641.16, monthly= $1,393 The VISTA at Norwalk Community College (NCC) will be part of an expanding initiative on providing food secure opportunities to NCC students in the greater Fairfield County community, primarily in the cities of Stamford and Norwalk. The VISTA will work closely with both external and internal partners to build capacity and create sustainability programming around the topic of food insecurity. The VISTA will be a link to the greater community to food security resources to increase degree completion among low-income students to enhance self-sufficiency and long-term change. Research has shown that poor food security has a negative effect on student GPA, levels of energy, and concentration. Obtaining an adequate food supply is often a major component of the financial stress that students bear. And while there are community resources available, it may be difficult to access them due to transportation, scheduling, or eligibility guidelines. The seeks to alleviate the barriers and challenges associated with food insecurity and hunger so that students can remain in school, and ultimately, earn their degrees. The VISTA with participate and organize and initiate student focused activities to promote the benefits of the pantry. The VISTA will oversee the daily operations of the pantry and maximize the resource on campus. University of Connecticut: BRAVE Girls Leadership Library Pass provided The University of Connecticut is a Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching classified university in the category of Community Engagement. A component of its mission is to embrace diversity and cultivate leadership, integrity, and engaged citizenship in our students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Health education through the Peer Health Exchange can help to reduce issues that young people in poverty disproportionately face, such as teenage pregnancy, underage drinking, and substance abuse. BRAVE Girls Leadership Inc. is a nonprofit that works to empower people and develop their leadership skills, which can help to draw their communities out of poverty and bring positive change. This project aims to expand the impact of BRAVE by helping to expand the program to rural and urban schools across Connecticut, as well as to develop a Peer Health Exchange with UConn students and East Hartford High School. They will also facilitate the expansion of the BRAVE curriculum to include health. University of Connecticut: Academy of Nursing and Health Sciences Library Pass provided The University of Connecticut is a Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching classified university in the category of Community Engagement. A component of its mission is to embrace diversity and cultivate leadership, integrity, and engaged citizenship in our students, faculty, staff, and

7 alumni. The Academy of Nursing and Health Sciences began in 2007, with the primary goal of preparing high school students for collegiate work to study nursing or other health sciences and contribute to the needed healthcare workforce. The project aims to increase both the retention at the Academy and enhance career development thereby contributing to the future economic growth of the students and community. The Internship Evaluation project aims to expand and develop an evaluation model for the Internship Support program for high school students at the Academy, expand the nursing and healthcare themes into the summer bridge program, and focus on developing a sustainable program for offering life skills modules including interview skills and conduct, resume development and tailoring for specific opportunities, school/job selection processes, and workplace comportment University of New Haven VISTA Stipend, pretax, every pay period (every 14 days): $509.98, monthly= $1,108 Housing provided Fitness & Library passes provided The University of New Haven (UNH) is a private comprehensive university that prepares students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a global society by providing the highest-quality education through experiential, collaborative and discovery-based learning. The Engineering Science University Magnet School (ESUMS) was established in 2008 as an inter-district magnet school (grades 6-12) through a collaboration between the cities of New Haven, West Haven and the University of New Haven. The school emphasizes academic achievement in all areas with a special focus on STEM curriculum. Further strengthening the partnership between UNH and ESUMS will extend experiential, collaborative and discovery-based opportunities across the curriculum to the ESUMS student body. Our goal for partnership is to make it a model university-magnet school collaboration, demonstrating best practices that raise rates of student achievement, college enrollment and completion among at-risk youth, while also increasing community service and engagement among UNH students. Preparing these youngsters to compete for high-paying jobs in STEM-related areas will have a multiplier effect on their communities. The VISTA member will evaluate progress in implementing the best practices and the transition of ESUMS to the main UNH campus, as well as launch a peer tutoring and mentoring program for UNH and ESUMS students and support the development of a UNH service-learning course. The member will also support the development of contacts across both institutions, and facilitate productive interactions between university faculty and ESUMS teachers. Please return completed form to Colleen Dorney via colleen.dorney@ctcampuscompact.org