Fields Corner Children Thrive
School Readiness Roundtable Meeting
Neighborhood House Charter School
January 26, 2011
Present: Noemia DoCanto (Family Nurturing Center), Ellie Rounds (Neighborhood House Charter), Jacqueline Rue (Codman Square Health Center), Melissa Ryan (Codman Square Health Center), Mary Kinsella (Boys & Girls Clubs of Dorchester), Karl Coiscou (Parent, St. Mark’s), Bob Paret (Parent), Adam Gibbons (Parent), Phuong Dao (VietAid), HoaMai Nguyen (VietAid), Kimberly McCleary (Fields Corner branch of Boston Public Library), Cindy Dye (Fields Corner branch of Boston Public Library), Cheryle Bianchi (Countdown to Kindergarten playgroup leader), Joel Wool (DotWell- mydorchester.org), Aine Creedon (DotWell- mydorchester.org), Loreto O’Connor (WIC), Kate Audette (Harbor Health Services), Nicole Zina (Family Nurturing Center-Wheelock Collge) Bichphuong Do (Dorchester House Multi-Service Center), Tom Powers (DotWell), Marika Hewes (Dorchester House Multi-Service Center), Michelle Nadow (Dorchester House Multi-Service Center).
Desired Outcomes for Meeting: By the end of this meeting we hope to have:
1. An understanding of what each workgroup has identified as potential implementation activities for Fields Corner Children Thrive.
2. An agreement within each workgroup in three to five strategies for Fields Corner Children Thrive.
AGENDA AND DISCUSSION:
· Start ups:
o Welcome – Many thanks to Ellie Rounds for hosting us at the Neighborhood House Charter School.
o Introductions
o Updates and Announcements: The Countdown to Kindergarten playgroup at the Holmes school has availability.
· Goals for Fields Corner Children Thrive (FCCT)
Our goals are to:
· Empower and support parents and caregivers with new knowledge and skills to nurture children’s healthy development through reading, talking and playing
· Ensure collaboration among service providers, developing programs that prepare children to learn and meet parents and caregivers where they are and without prejudice
· Involve the entire Fields Corner community in creating, identifying, mapping and connecting resources that are accessible to all
· Results of Work-Group Breakout Session
Each workgroup reviewed the activities they worked on at the December School Readiness Roundtable meeting to see if there are any other ideas to consider. Following that each group selected 3-5 activities they think are the most important and realistic to implement. Pending available time, some groups worked on the specifics of deliverables for the activities to be implemented.
FIELDS CORNER CHILDREN THRIVE PLAN COMPONENTS AND ACTIVITIES:
- Community Resource Engagement of Family and Informal Community Leaders – This includes coordination of services in a neighborhood among family service providers and the menu of quality programming, services and supports available to a family.
Selected Activities for Implementation and specifics on concrete deliverables:
· Connecting to resources
· Community demonstrations of mydorchetser.org
· Getting WIC referral booklet (and other resource booklet) on-line / cross reference resources
· Creating tabs for parenting categories for on-line use
· Identify gaps in service through a thorough needs assessment
· Identify new venues / places to make resources available
· Playgroups (fitness)
o Create peer lead group activities
o Recruit “master parents/caregivers” to lead activities
o Work with parks and recreation to have groups in our neighborhood
o Recruit participants by site (listings through parks / play spaces
· Infant Groups
o Begin “lap/sit” reading group with the library
o Revive “waterbabies” activity at the DH pool
o Expand infant massage program that FNC is doing
o Create baby sign language activity
o Collaborate with WIC, DH, Health Start Initiative to offer behavioral health and breastfeeding program
· Parenting Classes; Topics include:
o Finance: WIC and SNAP
o Housing/Lead
o Communicating with BPS
o Socializing and having fun
o Intro to parenting (Babies 101)
o Identify venues that are appropriate and accessible
- Family to Family and Neighbor to Neighbor Engagement: Include increasing the number of connection points for families to early childhood development information and the resources that exist to support their families.
Selected Activities for Implementation and specifics on concrete deliverables:
o Resource Guide: My Dorchester is a potential website for FCCT.
o Create a “School Readiness” or “Early Childhood” tab which could contain all information that falls under FCCT.
o In order to be assessable to other languages could have PDF files with all Vietnamese, Cape Verdean, Haitian, and Spanish speaking activities, contacts, and resources.
o A section on Tips or words of encouragement could be included
o Workgroup members are collecting the various resource guides in the community to give to My Dorchester.
o My Dorchester has offered to contact resources to make sure they are up to date.
o Well-child visit for school readiness
o Dorchester House FCCT staff will look into a cost/benefit analysis for this type of visit.
o The workgroup will discuss from the consumer perspective what would families need or like during this type of visit.
o Language translation for all materials
o This is going to be a challenging and ongoing strategy for FCCT.
o Welcome Baby Packets
o Every baby born in the city of Dorchester should receive a Welcome baby visit and resource packet.
o Included in the visit will be resources for parents including early childhood information for their child and neighborhood resources.
- Family Leadership and Advocacy: This includes how families are engaged in Boston Children Thrive’s implementation and how Boston Children Thrive will focus on enhancing families’ leadership and advocacy skills.
Selected Activities for Implementation and specifics on concrete deliverables:
· Widely disseminate Read, Talk, Play materials to help parents, families, friends and neighbors understand children’s ages and stages
o Select a pilot group of dissemination partners (suggestions for partners include: YMCA, Boys &Girls Clubs, Daycares & Preschools, WIC, Community Health Centers and other pediatric practices, library, small transportation facilities, Family, Friend, Neighbors)
o Acknowledge that dissemination partners will need training and education to have a conversation with parents, families, friends and neighbors about using Read, Talk, Play
o PARKING LOT: Mary Kinsella reported that another sector of Boston Children Thrive is working to develop a document for preschool/early childhood centers to use to provide a snapshot of what children have learned in these centers. This document would then follow the child and be given to their teacher upon entry into kindergarent.
· Create a Parent Mentor Network for Fields Corner families
· Help parents navigate the maze of daycare, preschool and kindergarten (registration, selecting schools [public, charter, parochial, private], costs and vouchers)
· Lightening Round: Groups report back on their discussions
· Next steps:
o NEXT SCHOOL READINESS ROUNDTABLE MEETING IS FEBRUARY 9, 12P-2P AT THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB AT 1135 DORCHESTER AVENUE.
o Other outreach engagement: Parents, Haitian Multi-Service Center, Fields Corner Main Streets, Boston Haitian Womens Association, Mujeres Unidas, Uphams Corner Health Center, MAPS, Office of New Bostonians
· Plus/Delta
Plus / DeltaFood / Prepare a timeline for the Thrive project to share at the next meeting
Host
Good attendance on a snowy night
Clear goals
Feeling like there is forward motion on this project