The State Board of Education today approved the charter for The School for Young Children on Asylum Hill. The School is a collaboration between the Asylum Hill Congregational Church and Saint Joseph College. It opened as a private preschool in 2006 and will now increase its enrollment to 140 students. In 2008 The School for Young Children on Asylum Hill will add kindergarten and then add a grade each year up to third grade.

“This is a great day for the children and families in Asylum Hill and for suburban families who will benefit from this high quality, economically integrated School located in the Asylum Hill Neighborhood,” said Gary Miller, senior minister at Asylum Hill Congregational Church. The Asylum Hill Congregational Church raised the funds to renovate space in the Church and was instrumental in bringing the partnership together.

The School will be a College Lab site for Saint Joseph College where students will have internships, student teaching placements and service learning opportunities in early childhood education. The College opened the original School for Young Children at Saint Joseph College in 1936 as a lab school. “The site on Asylum Hill site gives our students the opportunity to work in an integrated urban setting near campus,” said Saint Joseph College President Pamela Trotman Reid. “It also expands the College’s outreach into the community by providing a high quality education to more children and families in the area. Educating our children is critical to the health and vitality of this region. The School for Young Children on Asylum Hill is a win for everyone involved.”

CREC will manage The School for Young Children for the Governing Council. The Council will be comprised of members representing Saint Joseph College, the Asylum Hill Congregational Church, the Hartford Board of Education, and a parent and teacher from the School.

CREC has a long history of successfully managing integrated schools in the region. Bruce Douglas, executive director of CREC said, “This School is a unique partnership made up of strong institutions that have supported the opening of educational and economic opportunities for children and families in the City of Hartford. CREC is ready to open The School in September with state-of-the-art curriculum and the highest quality teaching staff and leadership. The School will be a place of inquiry and learning for both the children and for teachers pursuing professional degrees and professional development.”

Posted 07/03/08.