CERCLE

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CERCLE An Early Childhood Collaborative Improving Education Outcomes For Underserved Communities

CERCLE's approach recognizes that when business practices are efficient, early care and education providers can prioritize the learning environment. This renewed focus at the classroom level enables higher performing programs because the time and attention of early care and education professionals are concentrated on their areas of expertise, i.e., implementing robust curricula and rigorous classroom assessments, retaining teachers with superior qualifications, lowering child-teacher ratios, and improving family involvement and support. As members of CERCLE, providers gain access to resources that may be otherwise out of reach due to their organization's size, incorporation structure, and limited human and financial capital, among other factors. Additionally, CERCLE members become a part of a network where knowledge and best practices are freely exchanged.

Connecticut is making a major investment in early childhood education. Now, it's time to make sure the voices of those c...
10/16/2026

Connecticut is making a major investment in early childhood education. Now, it's time to make sure the voices of those closest to our children help shape how that investment is used.

The Early Childhood Education Endowment Advisory Board is holding its Annual Public Hearing, offering an opportunity to share your experiences and priorities for Connecticut's early childhood education system.

📅 Wednesday, October 21 | 5–8 PM
📍 Legislative Office Building, Room 2B, or virtually via Zoom

Want to testify? You can participate in person, virtually, or submit written testimony. Oral testimony is limited to three minutes.

⚠️ Registration to speak closes Tuesday, October 20, at 5 PM.

Learn more, register, or submit written testimony: https://portal.ct.gov/ott/early-childhood-education-endowment-advisory-board/annual-public-hearings

The people caring for and educating our youngest children have invaluable knowledge about what our early childhood system needs. Let's make sure those experiences are part of the conversation.

United in Care is coming up soon! 🍂Join the CERCLE Network on Saturday, October 24 for an afternoon designed for the peo...
10/15/2026

United in Care is coming up soon! 🍂

Join the CERCLE Network on Saturday, October 24 for an afternoon designed for the people who spend so much of their time caring for others.

Early childhood educators, parents and providers are invited to come together for connection, community and a little fun. With returning guest speaker “The Childcare Whisperer” Mr. Ty’Heim Clark, plus conversation, games, prizes, free food and more.

📅 Saturday, October 24, 2026
⏰ 1–5 PM
📍 The Cooper Elephant, 221 Bull Hill Lane, West Haven
🎟️ $60 | Adults only

Don’t miss it! RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/united-in-care-a-fall-seminar-social-tickets-1999038177000

Child care is more than a family issue. It’s an economic issue, a workforce issue, and an investment in our future.This ...
10/12/2026

Child care is more than a family issue. It’s an economic issue, a workforce issue, and an investment in our future.

This month, CERCLE was honored to welcome Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President and CEO Susan M. Collins to New Haven for a firsthand look at our upcoming Legacy Learning Lab and a conversation about the critical role of early childhood education in Connecticut’s economy.

The visit began with a tour of the Legacy Learning Lab, where early childhood educator and future program owner DeVonna Lewis shared her journey and commitment to creating opportunities for children during their most formative years.

Following the tour, we gathered at CERCLE headquarters with early childhood leaders and providers to discuss the challenges facing Connecticut’s child care system, from affordability and access for working families to the needs of the educators and providers who make quality care possible.

The conversation reinforced what we've long advocated: Child care is essential infrastructure. When families cannot find or afford quality care, the effects ripple across our workforce, our economy, and our communities. And when we invest in early childhood education, we're investing in both children's futures and the economic well-being of our state.

Thank you to President Collins and the Boston Fed for taking the time to listen, learn, and elevate these important conversations.

🔗 Read more about the visit and the Boston Fed's conversations across Connecticut: https://www.bostonfed.org/news-and-events/news/2026/09/boston-fed-president-connecticut-child-care-inflation-health-care.aspx

The first five years of a child’s life are critical for brain development, learning, and building the foundation for lif...
10/09/2026

The first five years of a child’s life are critical for brain development, learning, and building the foundation for lifelong success. Head Start helps make sure every child, regardless of their family’s income or circumstances, has the opportunity to thrive.

But new federal proposals threaten to weaken the very standards that make Head Start so effective.

The proposed changes would allow larger class sizes, weaken staff qualification requirements, reduce protections for children with disabilities, and create additional barriers for families experiencing homelessness.

These changes would have real consequences. For children, they could mean less individualized attention and fewer opportunities to get the support they need during their most important developmental years. For families, more barriers to accessing quality early childhood education. And for providers, fewer resources and protections to deliver the high-quality care children deserve.

At CERCLE, we believe strengthening early childhood education means investing in children, supporting the educators who care for them, and removing barriers for families — not lowering standards.

Head Start has been a lifeline for generations of families. We should be building on that legacy, not undermining it.

🔗 Read more from CT Mirror: https://ctmirror.org/2026/10/06/head-start-changes-ned-lamont-trump/

At CERCLE, we believe access to opportunity, meaningful career pathways and a strong support system can help people buil...
09/23/2026

At CERCLE, we believe access to opportunity, meaningful career pathways and a strong support system can help people build the futures they envision for themselves.

That’s why we’re proud to uplift our partners at Christian Community Action, Inc. and their Homeless to Boldness Career and Fashion Event, an evening celebrating resilience, opportunity, hope and individuals moving forward with BOLDNESS.

Creating stronger communities means opening doors, investing in people and celebrating every step forward.

Join CCA for this special evening and show your support. RSVP at: tinyurl.com/HTB2026

Save the date for United in Care: A Fall Seminar & Social!Join the CERCLE Network for an afternoon bringing early childh...
09/22/2026

Save the date for United in Care: A Fall Seminar & Social!

Join the CERCLE Network for an afternoon bringing early childhood educators, parents and providers together for connection, community and a little fun.

We’re excited to welcome back “The Childcare Whisperer” Mr. Ty’Heim Clark as guest speaker for an afternoon featuring conversation, games, prizes, free food and more.

📅 Saturday, October 24, 2026
⏰ 1–5 PM
📍 The Cooper Elephant, 221 Bull Hill Lane, West Haven
🎟️ $60 | Adults only

Because caring for children also means creating space for the people who care for them to connect, recharge and build community.

RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/united-in-care-a-fall-seminar-social-tickets-1999038177000

09/21/2026

In case you missed it: Governor Ned Lamont joined CERCLE Co-Founders Georgia Goldburn and Kim Harris on the September 14 episode of Inside Voices for a conversation about the future of child care in Connecticut.

They discussed what it will take to move toward universal child care, how funding must match the scale of that goal, and why equity has to remain at the center of the work.

Because building a stronger child care system means investing in families, educators and communities.

▶️ Watch the clip, then catch the full conversation on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQQwJmSQHrI&t=1s

OR tune in wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Ready to start a career in early childhood education and get paid while you learn? CERCLE is now accepting applications ...
09/17/2026

Ready to start a career in early childhood education and get paid while you learn?

CERCLE is now accepting applications for FRAME: Future Ready and More Equipped, a full-time, paid training program for aspiring early childhood educators ages 16–26.

Participants receive hands-on classroom experience, mentoring, career coaching, and access to job placement opportunities across CERCLE’s network of 40+ child care programs.

The program also offers pathways to credentials, higher pay, and free college tuition in Connecticut, up to a bachelor’s degree, for eligible participants entering the field.

Learn more and apply at www.ct-cercle.org/frame

Being eligible for child care assistance only matters if families can actually access it.A new Associated Press investig...
09/13/2026

Being eligible for child care assistance only matters if families can actually access it.

A new Associated Press investigation found that hundreds of thousands of children across 23 states and D.C. (including Connecticut) were sitting on child care assistance waitlists this spring, leaving many parents to choose between work, school, bills, groceries and the care their children need.

We know child care is not simply a family expense. It is essential infrastructure that makes it possible for parents to work, children to learn and communities to thrive.

At CERCLE, we believe building a stronger child care system means making sure public investments translate into real, reliable access for families and sustainable support for providers.

Read more from the Associated Press via the New Haven Register: https://www.nhregister.com/living/article/ap-exclusive-hundreds-of-thousands-of-eligible-22415694.php?

What will it take to build a child care system that truly works for every Connecticut family?On the next episode of Insi...
09/11/2026

What will it take to build a child care system that truly works for every Connecticut family?

On the next episode of Inside Voices: Community Conversations, we sit down with Governor Ned Lamont to talk about the future of child care in Connecticut, including the state’s early childhood endowment, what greater access will require, and how child care connects to the economic security of families and communities across the state.

After the conversation, Georgia and Kim debrief on what they heard, what stood out, and the questions Connecticut still needs to grapple with as this work moves forward.

🎙️ Tune in Monday, September 14 at 11am LIVE on WNHH 103.5FM or stream the episode wherever you listen to Inside Voices.

Address

370 James Street, Suite 402
New Haven, CT
06513

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+12034875217

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