History of the ECCS

In 2003, The William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund awarded a four-year grant to the United Way of Southington to improve the lives of the young children in town. At that time, the United Way was implementing an early childhood initiative known as “Smart Wiring” under the direction of Jan Hayes. In 2004, supervision of the grant was transferred to the Southington Community YMCA.

A well-attended Community Conversation in 2005 set the agenda for the future work of the ECCS. Community concerns included

  • access to quality preschool
  • implementation of all-day kindergarten
  • communication between home care providers and centers
  • number of available preschool slots educating parents on how to prepare children for school

A small group of committed educators, providers and parents continued to work to address the community concerns.

2006 brought renewed energy as the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain became involved as the fiscal agent, took over the supervision of the grant, and funded the hiring of a part time coordinator. With a coordinator on staff and a new highly supportive school superintendent, the ECCS quickly gained momentum and in December of 2007 was awarded another two years of funding through the Graustein Memorial Fund. The work of the group centered on professional development for home and center providers, improving communication between preschool providers and the school system and the establishment of a Family Resource Center of Southington (FRCS). The FRCS began programming in January of 2009, with a part time director and within the first six months had held programs in 5 of the 8 elementary schools, serving 44 families and 80 children. The FRCS, which split from the ECCS and is now a program of the Southington Public Schools, currently employs a director and family program coordinator. The FRCS programs and office space are located in Strong Elementary School.

In 2012 the ECCS was awarded a two-year grant from the Graustein Memorial Fund to develop a community plan. This involved data gathering from many sources, community forums, and the hiring of a new coordinator, dedicated solely to the development and implementation of the plan.

This video was designed for the ECCS to be shown at the unveiling of the Community Plan on May 29th, 2014. A second community survey occurred over the winter of 2015-2016. Funding from Graustein continued until 2016.

Mary Yuskis, Ed. D. was brought on as the director of the ECCS in July 2014. When Mary and her family moved out of state in July 2016, longtime Southington resident Joanne Kelleher was hired to continue the work of the Collaborative. A press release about the transition can be viewed here.

Since the first grant was awarded in 2003 a dedicated group of individuals have been working diligently toward the ECCS mission. Initially that vision was focused on school preparedness. Initiatives related to health and safety were added around 2017 and the content on the website continued to expand.

With feedback from the community, a strategic plan was developed in late 2019 and rolled out in February 2020. Three trends were identified: the town demographics were changing, mental health needs were increasing, and an increased use of electronic devices was impacting children’s school readiness. These issues became even more urgent as we came through the Covid pandemic.

The pandemic caused the organization to adjust – workshops were presented online, there was lot of health information that needed to be shared, and connections with the childcare providers were strengthened through regular support calls. As required by new funding from the Office of Early Childhood via The Connecticut Early Childhood Funders Collaborative, and later the Connecticut Children’s Collective, the Parent Ambassador program was started to help with family outreach. A parent survey and focus groups were conducted. The SPARKLER Mobile App was rolled out to parents and providers. Community Cafes were held about developmental screening and special ed supports (November 2023) and the impact of screen usage (May 2024).

In September 2023, the ECCS Board approved this new vision, mission and values.

Vision Statement: That all children are healthy and prepared to learn.

Mission Statement: Collaborating to ensure Southington’s children are healthy and prepared to learn through advocacy, programs, resources, and support.

Values (In alphabetical order)

  • Connector
  • Community building
  • Helpful
  • Inclusive
  • Intentionality
  • Supportive
  • Trustworthy

The work of the ECCS continues to evolve based on the needs of our community and requirements of our funders.