Washington, DC – Congressman Jim Himes (CT-4) has secured $700,000 in the U.S. House-passed version of the Labor, Health, and Education Appropriations Act for Bridgeport’s Total Learning Program run by Action for Bridgeport Community Development, Inc. The bill provides short-term relief to struggling families and puts in place long-term solutions to help grow our economy and build up the workforce of the future.
“Funding early education is one of the most effective investments we can make to prepare our future workforce for success,” said Congressman Himes. “Ensuring all children are prepared for school is the right thing to do, and it’s got a great return on investment.”
The funding will allow ABCD to extend its services to more children and improve the teacher-to-student ratio in its classrooms. Total Learning provides a system for learning that significantly increases the skills of infants, toddlers, and pre-schoolers, leading to measurable academic improvement of Bridgeport’s elementary school children. The key elements of Total Learning include a multi-sensory, arts-infused approach to curriculum, reduced class sizes, an extended school year, extensive professional development, family support services, and parent and infant and toddler programs. The program is implemented in several locations, including Bridgeport’s public schools.
In addition to funding projects like Total Learning, the bill includes a number of provisions to train the next generation of employees. It provides funding to recruit and train health professionals in underserved areas and for programs to boost literacy and help disadvantaged students prepare for college.