The Town Council is looking for four new members for its Middletown Outreach Sub-Committee. The group formed recently to augment the out-of-classroom assistance to students in the wake of learning loss from COVID-19. #Outreach #HereToHelp #MiddletownRI
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CONTACT: Matt Sheley at (401) 842-6543 or msheley@middletownri.com
MIDDLETOWN LOOKS FOR HELP WITH ITS OUTREACH GROUP
MIDDLETOWN, R.I. (MARCH 16, 2022) – The Middletown Outreach Sub-Committee is looking for new members.
During a recent meeting in Town Hall, the Town Council voted to advertise four open spots on the recently developed board aimed at improving out-of-classroom opportunities for local children and others across the community.
Among the groups the sub-committee would like to see represented included those with school-aged or pre-school children, senior citizens as well as those with expertise working with the special needs, English language learners and the home and/or food challenged.
Up to this point, council members Terri Flynn, Christopher Logan and Dennis Turano have been the lone representatives on the sub-committee.
To apply, visit https://mdl.town/Volunteer to fill out an application. The deadline to submit paperwork is March 25.
“We’ve been working with the state and the Governor’s office, talking about some funding…” said Turano, who has been the driving force behind the new Outreach group.
“The Governor has put millions of dollars into his budget for this year directed towards this program. He has made this program a priority.”
As part of the recent action, the council also signed off on a resolution to seek grant funding from the state to help establish its own “Municipal Learning Center” program and set a strong foundation.
A briefing from Turano indicated the concept has strong support with Gov. Daniel McKee as well as a number of legislators.
The goal, Turano explained, was to help communities like Middletown provide more out of school opportunities for children and eventually adults without duplicating existing services.
Turano said among those included tutoring, art, music classes, early educational opportunities and other free options for children. As part of the effort, Turano said each student would get an annual report from the program on their progress, showing where gains were being made and more attention was needed.
Currently, Turano said there were expected to be 11 applicants for the state grant funding, most in Providence and the state’s larger cities. From Turano’s report, Middletown was the lone municipality in Newport County to be considering applying for state assistance.
Another report to the council indicated the Middletown Outreach Sub-Committee has been busy in recent months, working to set all the proper pieces in place.
This included submitting a request to the Town to use part of its close to $5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding to act as seed money for the effort. Other steps included working with ILO consultants for support and guidance to get the program up and running and identifying where assistance was needed.
Turano said one of the keys to the program was working with existing service providers, everyone from the Town’s schools, library and parks and recreational offerings to the community-based organizations.
“There’s a lot of support out there for this and we’re looking to build on what we already have,” Turano said.
Document Link: https://www.middletownri.com/DocumentCenter/View/4130/NYCU-Outreach
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