Vincent LaFontan advocates for quality in after-school programs

KENT — Lifelong Kent resident Vincent LaFontan has been elected vice chairman of the board of directors of the 5,000-plus member National AfterSchool Association (NAA). LaFontan’s three-year term began on July 1. The LaFontan family has been in Kent since 1789. LaFontan lives here with his wife, Maria, and daughters Olivia, 16, and Abigail, 14, and a dog and several cats.Since 2004 LaFontan has been director of Extended Care and Learning for Farmington Public Schools. He commutes daily from Kent to Farmington.With two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Connecticut — one in family studies and one in sociology — and a master’s degree in health administration from Western Connecticut State University, he has also worked for Kent Park and Recreation, the state of Connecticut and a New Milford youth agency.While Farmington Extended Care and Learning is part of the Farmington Board of Education, it does not receive any taxpayer support. It is funded entirely by participants’ fees, although, LaFontan said, “the city makes in-kind contributions such as free space, electricity, et cetera.”During the school year, about 450 children participate in the extended care and learning programs. That number increases during the summer programs.Farmington has four elementary schools, one upper elementary school, one middle school and one high school which all offer after-school programs. The Farmington after-school program has approximately 25 full-time employees and 75 to 100 part-timers.When asked why he commutes about an hour each way, sometimes longer, to a job he loves rather than living closer to work, LaFontan said, “I could never leave Kent. My family has been here for generations, and we carry on their farming traditions.”After-school programs have become increasingly important in the last decade, LaFontan said. The NAA, founded 25 years ago, focuses on ethics policy, quality standards and credentials for professionals.According to LaFontan, the growth in after-school programs is driven by community needs, especially families with two working parents.In addition to his professional work, LaFontan is author of numerous nationally published articles and publications about his work.