Lisa Reisman Photo
Charee Anderson with daughters Layana and Kahlea at Sunday's Q House event.
A day or so before the New Haven Public Schools were putting on a “Holiday Children Gifts & Books Giveaway” at the Dixwell Q house, organizers realized they didn’t have enough toys.
“The turnout was going to be much larger than we expected, so we reached out to NHPS staff and they came through with at least 100 toys,” Gemma Joseph Lumpkin, the school system’s chief of youth, family, and community engagement, said at the Sunday afternoon event in the Q House gymnasium.
Youth, Family & Community Engagement team, with dropout prevention specialist Jene Flores (front, second from left), superintendent Iline Tracey (front, fourth from left); Gemma Joseph Lumpkin (second from right); and dropout prevention specialist Dania Torres (third from right, behind Tracey).
The event was billed as a “sneak preview” of a Reading Across New Haven Festival planned for January.
“Everyone pitched in,” Lumpkin said as “Jingle Bell Rock” played on the loudspeakers in the brightly lit gym. “Everyone saw this event as a celebration of the season and of our families, and also an opportunity for us to partner with our families to promote attendance and learning,” she said.
NHPS dropout prevention specialist Jere Flores (right) with daughter Valerie Rodriguez and grandchildren Eva Luce and Aiden Luce.
For Jene Flores, a NHPS dropout prevention specialist, reading is the key to learning.
“Every subject involves reading — history, spelling, even math and science,” she said, as she handed out ribbon-festooned paper bags to a seemingly endless line of families.
Inside each were books donated by Read to Grow, as well as games and toys. Stapled to the outside with a holiday bow was a multi-colored flyer on the importance of attendance.
“If kids don’t show up for school, they fall behind, and they get discouraged about not being able to read like their classmates, and it’s easier just not to go,” Flores said.
That’s why it’s crucial to emphasize the importance of attendance as early as possible, said Dania Torres, a longtime NHPS dropout prevention specialist.
“If you have chronic absences in kindergarten, it starts a trend where the child is much less likely to be reading at grade level later on, and then it becomes harder and harder to catch up,” she said.
That was among the reasons the organizers decided to invite families with students from kindergarten to the fourth grade, according to Superintendent of Schools Iline Tracey.
“K‑4, they’re the group whose learning was most impacted by the pandemic,” she said, as she stood with her team, greeting each family. “We’re here to show these parents that we care about their children’s future, and part of that is helping them understand the importance of attendance to learning.”
Leighton Johnson discussing Ice the Beef's programs with families.
Chaz Carmon, president of the anti-violence group Ice the Beef, offered another perspective on chronic absence.
“During Covid, there were so many needs we were trying to meet that we kind of lost sight that maybe a kid wasn’t showing up for school not because they have bad parents, but maybe they don’t have lights, or gas, or someone died of Covid,” he said as his team distributed educational materials and flyers on job opportunities.
Carmon said Ice the Beef, in an initiative with United Way and the New Haven Board of Education, knocked on the doors of roughly 6,000 chronically absent students this past year.
“We were delivering food, dropping off diapers, we were helping people with rental assistance, utilities,” he said. “That’s where we learned that, sure, you need to be in school to get your education, but you’re not going to be able to focus if you have no food, no power, no lights.”
“So that’s why this event is not just about toys and books,” he said, gesturing at two nearby tables.
Joanne Wilcox and Tirzah Kemp of Clifford Beers.
At one table, Tirzah Kemp, a vice president at Clifford Beers, was providing information on mental health resources.
“It’s a tough time of the year for a lot of families,” she said. “Behavioral health for the whole family is very important, especially around the holiday season. We’re here to send the message that you are not alone, and make sure these families know we’re there for them.”
At the other table was a group from Upon this Rock Ministries on Grand Avenue.
“We have a food bank, which is free, and a school academy,” Robin Burke was telling Charee Anderson. “We have an extended hours school program, we have clothing drives, a women’s support group. We have a ton of services.”
Anderson’s daughter Layana had just taken a box of alphabet beads out of her bag. Her sister Kahleah was studying the cover of “Just Pretend,” her new book.
“Let’s go,” Kahlea said, pulling on her mother’s coat.
Clockwise, from left to right: Roniece Richardson, Sharnice Myers, Rosa Mccarter, Chazz Mccoter, Robin Burke, Toccara Graham, pastor Valerie Washington of Upon This Rock Ministries.