cheshirecitizen.com
Volume 14, Number 10
Thursday, March 9, 2023
Area schools celebrate Read Across America By Jessica Simms Record-Journal staff
The National Education Association’s Read Across America day was March 2, and area school districts planned programs to celebrate the big day of reading. NEA launched Read Across America in 1998 and it does offer opportunities for reading year-round, but the big celebration of reading is on March 2, the birthday of children’s author Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss. “Read Across America Day is more so a reading program, which calls upon everyone to read and engage with children to make reading a more fun and interactive experience,” according to National Today. See Read, A4
Luis Ortiz, the state grassroots manager of The Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now, better known as ConnCAN, gives instruction during a parent training session in Cheshire on Feb. 22. Dave Zajac, Record-Journal
Parents, advocates support English learners’ Bill of Rights By Lau Guzmán Record-Journal staff
CHESHIRE — Marisabel Huarca sat in front of her laptop and took a few breaths. She reached over and squeezed Jennifer Gómez’s hand. “Gracias,” she whispered in her native Spanish. Gómez smiled.
Gómez had agreed to translate for Huarca during a public hearing of the Committee of Education that was held in Hartford on Feb. 22. The hearing lasted about five hours and centered on House Bill 6663, an act that would establish a bill of rights for English Language
Learners and their parents in statewide schools. Although there are already a number of laws and requirements in place to protect ELL students, the bill seeks to add protections to these rights – including the right to attend public school regardless of immigration status, See Bill, A3
$125M in state loans available for companies By Lau Guzmán Record-Journal staff
The Connecticut Small Business Boost Fund still has $125 million in loans available, especially for businesses owned by minorities and women. The fund was launched in July as a public-private partnership that provides low-interest loans to small businesses and
nonprofits in Connecticut. The program was designed to lend over $75 million-$150 million from a foundational investment from the state. So far, the fund has loaned $23 million to more than 190 businesses, according to fund statistics sent to the Record-Journal via email. See Loans, A16
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