Press Releases October 13, 2006
Yale-New Haven Hospital donates $65,000 to Lincoln-Bassett School
NEW HAVEN — Yale-New Haven Hospital (YNHH) presented a check for $65,000 to Lincoln-Bassett School in New Haven on Friday, October 13, to support an extended day program that will enhance language development in children.
The funding for the language and literacy model will provide a program coordinator, five certified teachers, 15 teaching assistants as well as professional development program materials including text, technology software, notebooks and general classroom supplies.
“We are pleased to be a part of the development of the children who live in our community,” said YNHH president and CEO Marna P. Borgstrom. “This important program will help provide the support needed so those entrusted with teaching our children will have the necessary tools to help them not only succeed but excel and reach goals that may have been otherwise unattainable.”
This YNHH-funded program will allow students to create personal dictionaries and use new words in daily writing exercises, as well as have access to technology software that is designed to improve reading skills and vocabulary. In addition, day trips will be integrated into the program to include school visits to local areas of interest such as libraries, police and fire departments, museums and parks. Finally, it will establish workshops teaching parents how to read to their children, how to support with homework, and provide additional language experiences at home.
A recent Hart and Reisley research study in found that children from lower-income homes had less opportunity to read, listen to books and develop their language skills than children from higher income homes.
“We are extremely delighted to form this dynamic partnership with Yale-New Haven Hospital,” said Ramona J. Gatison, principal of Lincoln-Bassett School. “This grant will enhance our supportive language and literacy acceleration model and further strengthen our extended day academy.”
YNHH is a major supporter of initiatives and programs that impact economic development, education, housing, jobs, public health and other issues that affect people in the city of New Haven and the region. In addition the hospital has one of the most generous financial assistance programs in the nation, last year providing $87 million for the care of the poor and uninsured.
Lincoln-Bassett Community School is located at 130 Bassett Street, in the Newhallville section of New Haven, and houses students pre-K through eighth grade. Lincoln-Bassett was originally two schools, Abraham Lincoln School and Bassett Junior High School, which merged in 1966. The school’s motto is “Excellence without excuse-let it begin from within.
