Our NE preschoolers visit Superintendent Dr. Hartzell

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I received a special visit from some of our PreK students and was honored to read them a new story!  Thank you Early Connections!  Photo: NESD’s Superintendent Dr. Hartzell reading to Early Connections preschool children.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Presque Isle Downs & Casino-September charity of the month

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Way to go, Presque Isle Downs and Casino! Through their charity program, they raised $26,714.21 for Early Connections during the month of September. Thank you so much for your partnership. From left to right: Casey Foust, VP of Employee and Grant Management, Early Connections; Hannah Cowan, VP of Finance, Early Connections; Michelle Harkins, Executive Director, Early Connections; and Gary Hendricks, Vice President and General Manager, Presque Isle Downs & Casino.

Pre-K EITC donation

Thank you Northwest Bank for your $3,500 PreK EITC donation! We look forward to our continued partnership to support our community efforts to help children experience success in school, and life. Early Connections’ PreK EITC donations support Erie’s Future Fund, a community initiative administered by Early Connections to serve qualifying children to attend one of over 40 high-quality preschools throughout Erie County. Pictured from left to right are Scholarship Director Kimberly Beers, Erie’s Future Fund; Executive Director Michelle Harkins, Early Connections; Senior Vice President, Erie Commercial Market Executive Anita Kuchcinski, Northwest Bank; and VP of Employee and Grant Management Casey Foust, Early Connections.

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Our Harbor Homes staff and children are so excited to have their new washer and dryer in place! A special ‘Thank you!’ to the Erie Housing Authority for installing the necessary hook-ups, vents, etc that we needed to make this possible.

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We are very thankful for Second Harvest Food Bank for the Thanksgiving meals, and their amazing volunteers from Erie Insurance for delivering the Second Harvest meals to serve our food pantry!

Early Connections pre-apprenticeship sponsor designation marks promising future for early childhood education training

People from various Early Childhood Education support programs visited Corry’s ECE classroom this week to deliver new textbooks and supplies to the program.

The conventional path to getting a job is nonexistent. Some people believe education should be four years in a university, while others believe a degree is obsolete or think trade school is a better route for any needed higher education.

At the age of 18 or even 16, it can be a daunting decision to make. What was once very cut and dry is now becoming fluid, though. For Corry Area School District, students in the school’s Career and Technical Education Center’s (CTEC) Early Childhood Education (ECE) classroom are able to gain enough experience to receive certification upon graduation to enter a variety of childcare jobs. 

At CTEC, students are able to take a three-year Pennsylvania Department of Education-approved program of study for early childhood education. From grades 10 to 12, students get hands-on experiences with young children in a laboratory per-school setting.

Read the full article in the Corry Journal