Congressman Joe Courtney accepted an award from members of UConn Jumpstart, which works with children to increase literacy and better prepare them for kindergarten.
Storified by nicholascollins · Tue, Dec 03 2013 21:11:38
Matt Farley, the Associate Director for Community Outreach at UConn, opened the lecture by addressing the importance of programs like Jumpstart, which began in 1993 after four college students, three from Yale and one from Harvard, worked intensively with kids and became inspired to help them further. After graduation, the four friends moved to Boston and officially started the program, which works with children to increase literacy and prepare them for kindergarten.
“This is about pushing us to address the root causes of the problem,” Farley explained. “Why do we continue to need programs like Jumpstart? The reality is because the current system is broken.”
“You guys are going to be fighting this battle when you're my age. Priorities and budgets are a never ending battle. It will be about the haves and have nots until we do something to change it.” (Photo: Nick Collins)
“Connecticut is a tale of two cities,” explained Courtney. “We are the wealthiest state per capita, but the disparity is clear across the state. Jumpstart is an incredibly important program when we talk about strategies to improve education.”
The Congressman is a big supporter of Jumpstart, as well as the No Child Left Behind program, which is another education program built on assisting students who are at a disadvantage.
"Other countries are outperforming us in terms of critical skills necessary for the workforce" - Congressman Courtney #J3005
Congressman Courtney will also be accepting an award for his support of Jumpstart, which prepares children for Kindergarten #J3005
Congressman Courtney's nickname is "Landslide Joe", which pokes fun of his extremely narrow victory in the 2006 elections #J3005
