Vernon School
Readiness
Collaborative
Results: 2008 One-To-One Listening Campaign

“There is no power for change
greater than a community
discovering what it cares about.”
- Margaret J. Wheatley
2

Who Was Interviewed
* 100 Females , 27 Males
* 115 interviewers with children, 12 without children
* Ethnicity
9 Black 1 Mexican
3 Asian 1 Middle Eastern
9 European 1 Native American
1 Hawaiian 1 South American
2 Hispanic 93 White
4 Not Listed 3

Where do they live?

What Vernon Residents Love
• Neighborhoods
• Affordability
• Natural Setting
• Accessibility to
Businesses
• Casual Feel & Charm
5

What Vernon Residents Love
• School System,
CREC, & Adult
Education
• Diversity
• Parks & Recreation
Services & Activities
6

What We Heard
“I love the size of Rockville – its walkability, the history, the
traditions and celebrations like the Car Show, July in the Sky, the
National Night Out they started a couple years ago, the local
businesses.”
“We love our neighbors here in Rockville. Our street is very
friendly and people help one another.”
“I like the stores in Vernon – I don’t have to go far for
groceries, there’s a 24-hour pharmacy, and the mall is
just a couple exits away.”
“We love the town of Vernon for its diversity and its
small-town appeal.”
“I love the library! There are so many activities going on there.”
“Our family loves taking walks and we use the trails in
7
town a lot. Vernon does a great job of offering courses, classes,
camps, and sports for all ages.”

The Visions
We asked:
If you had a magic wand you could wave
over Vernon, what would it change?
There is a longing for a feeling of
community.
8

Three Visions of Community
• The Neighborhood
Oriented Community
• The Achievement Oriented
Community
• The Innovative
Community
9

Neighborhood-Oriented Community
“More and better sidewalks would be nice – not
just for my family but for elders and people with
disabilities. I worry when I see people walking
with strollers or riding in wheelchairs on Union or
up on South Street.”
“w
I ould love to have a safe com unity w
m here
crim w not a concern… I w
e as ould like to have a
place w here everyone can go to feel safe and
loved.”
“I would like more low-cost and free activities
to be offered for children. Current offerings
are too expensive for many families with two 10
or more children.”

Fact
In one study of a community as it began to alter its design
to a more walkable one…
- active people cost the town $98 per person.
- inactive people cost $300-400 more for health care.
- Wang, G. Preventative Medicine, 2004.
“Education and health care [are] key to minimum provision.
Moreover… [minimum standards beyond poverty
require] the means for social participation – the ability to
engage in activities and social networks outside the
home.”
- The Joseph Rowntree Foundation 11

More concerns
“I am concerned about transiency because of poverty. Children
switch between schools year to year because their families
are having trouble making ends meet.”
“The transition to VCMS is hard on a lot of kids. Our
community is so fragmented and a lot of kids end up
feeling alienated or intimidated by other kids. We should do
more as adults in a community together to model for our
children.”
“Our community it too age-segregated. We need
more opportunities for mingling with all ages so we
can understand and help one another.”
12

Fact
For the Hartford area, the basic family budget
calculated by the Economic Policy Institute for a
family of four in 2007 is $55, 440.
The median household income in Vernon in 2007:
$57, 587.
13

The Visions
• Could neighbors work with Parks and Rec to construct
more (safe!) playgrounds for children in walkable
distance of where they live?
• What can be done about trashy properties?
• What if we had places or occasions in town where
neighbors could meet and eat together regularly?
• What if we had a bus depot or a trolley system offering
more routes in town? Teens would have more places to
go and everyone would have more access to work and to
patronizing local businesses.
14

The Achievement-Oriented
Community
“I would like to see Rockville become a charming downtown with
unique, independent shops and restaurants, and basically be
completely renovated. Even more than shopping I would like a
nice town green, a safe, clean outdoor area for strolling and
organizing events.”
“I wish Vernon offered full-day kindergarten. Our
friends in other towns have children who are writing
stories already and it feels like our son doesn’t get
opportunities for this more advanced work except at
home. It would be a big financial relief for my
husband and me, too.”
“w the tow w
I ish n ould be m supportive of the school
ore
system and its budget so they don’have to keep voting on
t
the budget. I w ould like som extracurricular program
e s
15

Fact
Vernon Preschool Availability
Style # of Sites Capacity
Preschool Center 8 317
Preschool Home 27 115
Provider
Nursery School 5 188
16
2006 from 211 Childcare Infoline figures

Concerns
“My children had some great teachers in Vernon,
but we need more offerings for educational
enrichment for all ages, especially in the arts,
language, and computer science.”
“I would like to see more affordable quality preschool
for middle-income residents.”
“Our children aren’t challenged enough. Special needs
come in a lot of forms – including the need for flexible,
challenging, creative schoolwork.”
17

Fact
High Scope Perry Preschool Study at 40
18

The Visions
• What if teachers were given more freedom to
innovate and more incentives to do so?
• Could we do more to teach children about life
choices (finances, etc.) in school?
• What can be done to offer more affordable pre-K
and childcare options for middle income
residents?
• Can we put more pressure on the State for
picking up a greater share of educational cost
(as in Massachusetts)? Is there more federal
money we could get? 19

The Innovative Community
“I feel like we have a negative culture around taxes and governance in
our town. I would like to see people move beyond partisanship,
beyond thinking of their own immediate needs, and think about our
town’s future.”
“I make too much to qualify for WIC, but I need a better-paying job to
pay for baby formula.”
“I would like to see more agencies in town cater to
working families with evening and weekend activities.”
“I wish we had a Public Montessori in this town. A lot of people
have trouble paying for pre-K or don’t like the schools here so
they’re sending their kids to the CREC magnet schools. Maybe
if we had a magnet school or a more innovative model in our
schools, more magnet school money would stay in town and
more children could attend pre-K.”
20

Concerns
“The town and schools could use better
communication to help families find the
resources they need.”
“ I woul d l i ke m r e pa r e nt s t o be abl e t o
o
s pe nd m r e qua l i t y t i m wi t h t he i r
o e
c hi l dr e n . The r e s ho ul d be ways t o
s uppo r t bus y o r unpr e pa r e d par e nt s t o
be m e pr e s e nt and s uppo r t i v e of
or
t he i r ki ds . ”
“I feel that improving our educational system would
attract higher income residents and tax revenue
that could then be used for more community- 21
building.”

Fact
“The only education that prepares us for
change is a liberal education. In periods of
change, narrow specialization condemns us
to inflexibility—precisely what we do not
need. We need the flexible intellectual tools
to be problem solvers, to be able to continue
learning over time.”
David Kearns, former CEO of Xerox Corporation
22

The Visions
• What if we laid out long and short-term goals for
the town and then implemented structures that
would support them?
• How might it be possible to instill in our
children values that will help them grow to be
happy, successful, engaged citizens?
• Could we give the Town Administrator’s office a
larger purview to offer us greater continuity over
our mayors’ short terms?
• What can be done to give teens more access to
useful and exciting activities at the same time
fostering more independence and maturity? 23

Assets
• Variety of skills, professions, and talents
• Diversity
• Beautiful architecture downtown
• Unique local history (Gene Pitney, Civil War
Museum, etc.)
• Gorgeous natural setting and good trails network
• Attractive to professional singles and young families
• Significant UConn population and potential to attract
more
• Lots of support services
24

Early Care & Education
- Pre-K affordable and available for all
- Full-day kindergarten
- A culture of life-time learning
- Support for children with all kinds of
needs, a flexible and rich curriculum
25

Family Resources
• Meeting places in neighborhoods – parks,
eating places, planned activities
• A more walkable town with better public
transportation
• Coordination of town and non-profit
services
• More flexible offerings (day, night,
indoors, intergenerational) for family
activities 26

Economic Security &
Community Development
• Revitalized downtown attractive to both
residents and visitors
• Creative thinking about how to address
employment needs, especially for families
with complicated schedules and limited
means
• New structures enabling town support for
citizen-led initiatives 27

What Can We Do Now?
28

Special Thanks
• Those willing to have a conversation.
• The interviewers
• The Vernon School Readiness Collaborative
• The William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund
• Connecticut Parent Power
29

References
• “A Children’s Stock Portfolio,” Connecticut Commission on Children,
April 2007
• Bisantz, June. “Signs of Life,” retrieved from http://junebisantz.com
• Childcare Infoline retrieved from www.infoline.org.
• Connecticut Economic Resource Center retrieved from www.cerc.com
• Connecticut Voices for Children retrieved from www.ctkidslink.org
• Economic Policy Institute retrieved from www.epi.org
• “Estimating the costs of child poverty” Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2008.
• High/Scope Perry Preschool Study Through Age 40 – 2005
• State of Connecticut Department of Public Health, Regulatory Services
Branch, Community Based Regulation Section, Child Day Care Licensing
Program.
• The Importance of a Liberal Education retrieved from
http://www.zeleza.com/blogging/u-s-affairs/importance-liberal-education-
our-globalizing-world
• Town of Vernon Connecticut. Retrieved from http://www.vernon-ct.gov/
• U.S. Census Bureau. Census 2000.
• Wang, G. “A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Physical Activity,” Preventative 30
Medicine, 2004.