Kindergarten Readiness Workshop - April 14 from 6:30 pm to 8 pm

The Southington Public Schools and Early Childhood Collaborative of Southington invite parents of preschoolers to this free workshop.
Come learn about what children should know about literacy, numeracy, developmental play and fine/gross motor skills to be prepared for entering kindergarten in the Southington Public Schools in the Fall of 2026 or 2027. For Southington parents and caregivers of 3 -5 year olds.

This is for the parents/guardians of children entering kindergarten in the next two school years. Come learn about what children should know about literacy, numeracy, developmental play, and motor skills to be prepared for entering kindergarten in the Southington Public Schools in the Fall of 2026 or 2027. Register in advance for this free workshop.

Topics and speakers:

Literacy Readiness

Stephanie Lawlor, ELA/SS Curriculum Coordinator

Numeracy Readiness

Alicia Naleway, Math/Science Curriculum Coordinator

Developmental Play

Cathy Goralski, Special Education Coordinator

Fine/Gross Motor Skills

Learn more and register for this FREE workshop here.

Thank you to Betsy Mintz for serving as Parent Ambassador for the ECCS for 5 years. After lots of advocacy work, numerous workshops, and events, Betsy is resigning to focus on new opportunities. We appreciate all the work she has done and wish her well on her new endeavors!

The Early Childhood Collaborative of Southington is looking for a new Parent Ambassador to help with community outreach. The Parent Ambassador is a trusted community member who helps connect families with local early childhood programs and services. As a parent leader, the Parent Ambassador will build relationships with families, share important information, and ensure parent voices are reflected in the design and implementation of the ECCS’s Local Governance Partner (LGP) work. Are you interested in this stipend position? Learn more.

For the last several years, the Southington Board of Education (BOE) has been working on an Elementary Facilities Plan. If approved, these projects will impact the children who are currently not yet in elementary school and so the ECCS is helping to share information.

Status of project as of 3/23/2026:

The BOE voted in May 2025 to rebuild Kelley and expand South End and in February 2026 to rebuild Derynoski and close Flanders. As part of the new Kelly Elementary School, the existing 7 preschool classrooms at Strong and Hatton schools would be moved to Kelly, the design will include a separate entrance and better parking flow.

The Town Council voted on 3/9/2026 to allow a public hearing on the project to be held on March 23, with an optional second session scheduled for April 6 or April 27 and referred the proposal to the Planning and Zoning Commission for comment. The Board of Finance will hold a public hearing on March 25th.

To move the project forward beyond that, a vote will be needed by the Board of Finance and then vote by the Town Council to have a referendum, which is scheduled for June 2nd. If the referendum is not passed, then the District will need to determine how to handle the maintenance and capital costs for the existing buildings.

The District will need to redistrict, but wants to do that only once. That will happen 18 months in advance of the completion of the construction, using the most recent housing and enrollment data.

Southington Public Schools has presentations, meeting videos, and a way for you to ask questions at https://www.southingtonschools.org/district-wide-facilities-committee. 

For more details and a full schedule of activities leading to the referendum, go to https://www.southingtonearlychildhood.org/elementary-facilities-plan/.

The eighth and final RAPID-CT survey for Connecticut families with children under the age of 6 closes March 25th. You can take this survey even if you've already taken any of the previous surveys.

The survey should take no more than 15 minutes to complete and is available in English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, and Portuguese. It is open through Wednesday, March 25th.

You are welcome to invite family and friends across Connecticut with children under the age of 6 to also take this survey, but please do not post the link on social media to cut down on the spammers.

If you successfully completed any of the previous surveys, we thank you and you will also be receiving messages directly from the RAPID Survey Project at the Stanford Center on Early Childhood about future surveys. We will be sharing the results of these surveys as we get them.

• Know: Understand your child’s development with the mobile Ages & Stages Questionnaires® (ASQ)
• Play: Spark learning with fun, off-screen activities to play together and tips for parents
• Grow: Follow your child’s progress in your Sparkler scrapbook

April 1st - ECCS Office Hours - 1 pm to 3 pm at 35 North Main Street, Suite 3A-8. Stop by to see ECCS Executive Director, Joanne Kelleher. She can answer your questions about raising children here in town.

April 14th - Southington Kindergarten Readiness Workshop - 6:30 pm to 8 pm at John F. Kennedy Middle School. Come learn about what children should know about literacy, numeracy, developmental play and fine/gross motor skills to be prepared for entering kindergarten in the Southington Public Schools in the Fall of 2026 or 2027. Register for this free workshop here.

April 16th - ECCS at the Library - 9 am to 12 pm at Southington Public Library in the Children's Department. Stop by to ECCS Executive Director, Joanne Kelleher. She can answer your questions about raising children here in town. 

April 28th - Community Table Meeting - 1 pm to 2 pm at 35 North Main Street, Suite 3A-8. Contact us for more information about this meeting. 

Save the date for these family-friendly events taking place later this Spring

Touch a Truck on May 16th, W.I.S.E. Mental Health Community Block Party on May 17, and Family Fun Day on June 13.

For more details, visit www.southingtonearlychildhood.org/events/ or follow us on our social media.

Copyright © 2026 Early Childhood Collaborative of Southington, all rights reserved.

Early Childhood Collaborative of Southington
35 North Main Street, Box 10, Suite 3A-8
Southington, CT 06489

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