Opinion: Norwalk ACTS director’s weekly shout outs

Anthony Allison is the executive director of Norwalk ACTS. 

Shout Out to all of the local organizations and businesses who are hosting high school senior interns and providing invaluable opportunities to take learning outside of the classroom. Starting next week, 109 Brien McMahon High School seniors and 45 from Norwalk High School will be working at PDC Corporation, The Norwalk Courthouse, The Norwalk Hospital, The Norwalk Police Department, Innovative Health & Rehabilitation, Norwalk Community College, William Raveis, Norwalk ACTS and numerous other locations. During their 5-week, self-designed internships, Norwalk students will have the opportunity to learn new skills, gain experience in the workplace and develop professional relationships — a step forward toward getting them career ready.

Shout Out to Yale’s Partnership for Early Education Research (PEER) for hosting its Closing Gaps, Supporting and Engaging Families of Young Learners Stakeholder Workshop this week. PEER is a research alliance among early childhood stakeholders in Connecticut that conducts rigorous, collaborative, actionable research focused on children from birth through age 8.

It was so gratifying to participate in this week’s workshop and to see so many Norwalk ACTS’ members engaged in the collaborative work. The workshop reaffirmed for all of us that our Pre-Natal to 3rd Grade Workgroup is truly building an Early Childhood System that will have a significant, positive impact on this cohort of children. PEER’s Dual Language Learner (DLL) projects will enhance Norwalk ACTS’ capacity to mobilize our community members to support and amplify the DLL work already underway within Norwalk.