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What We Do
Meriden Children First Initiative seeks to assist children 'cradle through career' and their families residing in Meriden. In addition, CFI is currently conducting a survey of individuals who live in the Meriden Family Zone to find out how they feel about their schools and neighborhoods. Information provided by these families will be used in the planning of a comprehensive cradle-to-career continuum of services for these families. Read here for more information about the Family Zone.
A Snapshot of Meriden
The Meriden Family Zone
includes two of Meriden’s poorest census tracts. The MFZ is significantly more diverse than the City or State. The
number of residents who identify as Hispanic / Latino has increased by 63%
since 1990, and more than 2 in 3 children are Hispanic.
We address
multiple barriers to early literacy and school success: (1) Severe family
poverty, with 51% of Zone children under 5 years old below poverty; (2) Limited
English Proficiency: 55% of children
live in homes where the primary language is not English; (3) Absenteeism: 14%
of MFZ students had > 20 absences, double that of those outside; 20% of MFZ
9th graders had > 20 absences, versus 10% outside. (4) Behavioral issues:
25% of students show behavioral health needs; 85% of parents surveyed sought
help supporting their children in managing emotions.
These
barriers are compounded by a lack of quality early care and education slots and
cultural and linguistic barriers to engagement in available early literacy
programs. The result
of these barriers is low levels of achievement (2012): In Reading, only 26% of MFZ 3rd
graders scored in goal range (State: 58%); 29% of Maloney 10th grade students
reached goal in reading (State: 45%).
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