Norwalk Plus February 17, 2009

HEADLINE: Fairfield County Community Foundation grants Norwalk Education Foundation funding for after-school program

Norwalk Public Schools' pilot before- and after-school program got a huge vote of confidence recently with a $25,000 competitive grant from the Fairfield County Community Foundation to the Norwalk Education Foundation. After the Bell opened its doors just this past September at Kendall and Rowayton Elementary Schools.

After the Bell provides a safe and nurturing environment both before and after the school day for students with working parents. The program offers the children both specialized academic support delivered by Norwalk teachers and teacher's aides, and a wide variety of supervised enrichment activities such as math games or Spanish, knitting and cooking clubs. Through these, the program reinforces classroom work and provides creative learning opportunities. Currently, there are 150 children enrolled at the two elementary schools, with an average of 48% of them qualified to receive free or reduced lunch.

“The Fairfield County Community Foundation was an original funder of the NEF's after school literacy program called Power Hour, which is at 11 Norwalk elementary schools. The Foundation, in fact, helped NEF design Power Hour by introducing NEF to after school literacy curricula piloted in other youth-serving organizations. It was from the evaluation of the Power Hour program that the need for a stronger connection between the school day and after school became apparent,” says Karen Brown, vice president of programs of the FCCF.

One of the Foundation's goals is to help close the achievement gap in area schools by providing children with academically focused after-school programs. The Foundation also convenes the Fairfield County After School Network, a peer learning network for the after school alliance in Bridgeport, Danbury, Norwalk, and Stamford. The NEF is an active member of the Norwalk After School Alliance.

The Fairfield County Community Foundation, now based in Norwalk, promotes the growth of community and regional philanthropy to improve the quality of life throughout Fairfield County. Individuals, families, corporations and organizations can establish charitable funds and contribute to existing funds. The Foundation also provides philanthropic advisory services, and develops and leads initiatives to tackle critical community issues. It is in compliance with the Council on Foundations' national standards for community foundations. The Foundation has awarded over $100 million in grants to nonprofits in Fairfield County and beyond. For more information, visit www.fccfoundation.org.

The Norwalk Education Foundation is an independent, nonprofit organization that works to improve education for Norwalk schoolchildren by providing programs and funds for innovative classroom instruction, teacher and technology training, and a variety of learning opportunities beyond the school day. For more information, visit www.norwalkeducation.org.