CCCC grads get ready for new year

NORTH CANAAN — It was a joyous and tearful day at Canaan Child Care Center (CCCC) on Aug. 21 as the center’s pre-schoolers “graduated” to kindergarten.

They call it Step-up Day. It is attended by families and kindergarten teachers from North Canaan Elementary School, who greet their new students as they cross a balloon-decorated bridge.

The emotional day illustrates how important a good child care facility is to a community, especially one as progressive as this. CCCC is National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) accredited. Rigorous standards include a school readiness curriculum and a requirement for day care workers to attend classes toward degrees in early childhood education.

CCCC also provides the hugely valuable resource of affordable day care. With help from organizations like the United Way of Northwest Connecticut, fees coincide with family incomes, and can be as low as $10 per week. 

Other programs are the Back to School Clothes for Kids Campaign, a collaborative of the CCCC and United Way, which states North Canaan’s poverty rate at 12.7 percent, about 50 percent higher than the statewide average. 

It is a chance to help a child to head off to school with a new backpack and school supplies, new sneakers and clothes, and set the tone for a positive experience. Sponsors can donate items specifically for a child or donate toward the approximate $250 per child.

CCCC Director Fran Chapell said they were up to 30 sponsored children last year, but are at only 15 to date. There is still time for parents to apply, either through the town social worker or CCCC.

Donations or requests for shopping lists should be made to Pat Marciano, United Way of Northwest CT, P.O. Box 10001, Torrington, CT 06790 or pat@northwestunitedway.org.

A more long-term project is to move the center from an inadequate building behind the highway garage to a parcel of land on Pease Street, across from the elementary school. The building has been designed to accommodate the specific needs of an accredited day care, and allow them to expand their license from a maximum of 25 to 48 children.

The board of directors has been so far unsuccessful in getting a state Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP) grant of $500,000 to add to funding set aside for construction. Another application will be submitted this fall.

Meanwhile, the center is working on a second $10,000 matching capital campaign grant from the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, which collects and invests donations toward enhancing the well-being of area residents.

As in the past year, the center has from Aug. 1 to May 1 to raise $10,000 to release the grant, through fundraisers and donations. Next up is a Lyman Orchards pie sale in the fall.