The State of Early Childhood in Southington
On May 16, 2017, the ECCS gave a presentation called “The State of Early Childhood in Southington” as part of their annual meeting. Over 25 educators and community leaders attended and the 2017-2018 ECCS Board of Directors were elected.
The presentation compared birth rates, childcare slots, the number of children who have had a pre-school experience and school enrollment. For example, the number of children born to parents in Southington per year reached a low point of 321 in 2012 and this is the class currently in kindergarten. Since then the annual number of births in town has been on an upward trend. Changes in demographics were also examined. In 2014, 14.9% of the children born to Southington parents (54 of 363) had mothers who were born in a foreign country. The percentage of children in K-3 eligible for free and reduced lunch has increased from 8% in 2009 to 18% in 2014.
Program updates from organizations that provide services to young children were presented by Krista Pisano, director of the Family Resource Center of Southington, Cindy Wall, head of the children’s department at the Southington Library and Joanne Kelleher, director of the Early Childhood Collaborative of Southington.
This market research information will be helpful to anyone who provides childcare, healthcare, enrichment activities or other services or is simply curious about the state of young children in Southington. View the presentation at: ECCS-2017-Annual-Meeting-Slides.
The ECCS also tracks statistics about young children in their Community Plan . It showcases “headline indicators” that the ECCS is tracking to see how the programs and support services that are being implemented throughout the community are improving the lives and education of Southington’s young children. Embedded throughout the ECCS Community Plan, the data shows that an increasing number of Southington families are facing challenges, including economic difficulties and language barriers resulting in what has been called “two Southingtons.”
