In The News | Montville Board of Education candidates talk masks and transparency

Montville (The Day, October 21, 2021) — Candidates for the Board of Education answered questions on mask and vaccine mandates, school programs and issues of transparency with the public.

Democrat Tara Crossley, 40, is a real estate agent who lost when she ran for the board four years ago and wants to give it another go as a mother of two children in the school system. She said the school board already does a “pretty good job,” but believes there could be better advertising of board meetings to ensure more parents have an opportunity to provide input.

In regards to masks and vaccine mandates, Crossley said she is comfortable with whatever the government wants although she understands others may see it differently.

Running for a spot on the Board of Education for the first time, Democrat Timothy Shanahan, 58, has served on the town’s youth advisory board and volunteered at local fire departments for a long time. He is the treasurer of the Chesterfield Fire Co.

He said he would like to improve the yearly budget and see more transparency within the district, “making sure things aren’t swept under the rug.”

Currently filling a vacancy on the board, Republican Wills Pike, 63, also is running for Town Council.

Pike said he would push to upgrade the district’s computer and information technology systems, developing a plan to invest half a million dollars to make sure students have adequate resources.

Pike said the schools should continue to follow state mandates on masks or else face liability should there be any consequences of not doing so.

The current chairman of the board, Democrat Sandra Berardy, 79, is a retired advanced practice nurse and had two kids who grew up and were educated in Montville. She said she is interested in the continution of safety programs and the introduction of new programs that improve technology and internet broadband.

Berardy said she does not think the board has issues of transparency with the public, adding that the members are at the meetings to take public comments into discussion.

Newcomer Tina Grove, 66, a Republican, is a former Navy official and professor at Goodwin University in East Hartford. Grove said in July she hopes to use her background and doctorate in education to keep Montville at “the forefront of education.”

Democrat Grace Carlos, 21, graduated Montville High School in 2018. She is studying political science at Three Rivers Community College, has interned in the lieutenant governor’s office and hosts a podcast with the town’s youth services in which she interviews local and state leaders on youth-related topics.

Carlos said she is “excited” about the start of state-required Black and Latino studies at the high school and added that there is always room for improvement when it comes to transparency.

“I feel working on new ways to share information in timely and effective manner will strengthen the communication and relationship our board has with our community,” she said.

Democrat John Desjardins, 54, has been on the Planning and Zoning Commission since 2008. He said it was a good start but he wants to be more active in the community. Havine spent 26 years in the military, he said he has a “holistic” philosophy in regards to education and feels strongly that students should have a well-rounded education.

Republican Florence Turner, 50, could not be reached for this article. According to the Republican Town Committee website, she has resided in Montville for the past 36 years and has worked at the town’s transfer station for the past 19 years. She has a child and a grandchild in the school system.

She “believes that educating our children is an enormous responsibility and two-thirds of the town budget,” the site reads.

Running for Board of Assessment Appeals are Democrat Gary Murphy and Republican Richard Cenami. For the Zoning Board of Appeals, the candidates are John MacNeil, a Democrat and chairman of the board, and Republicans Alfred J. Mandler and Vincent Atwater-Young.

Mandler, who also is running for Town Council, said if elected to the ZBA, he would “make informed decisions based on what the town has and needs.”

Editor’s Note: John MacNeil, who is running for a position on the Zoning Board of Appeals, is not a newcomer. He is chairman of the board.

— By Johana Vazquez , Day Staff Writer

The original article can be found here: “Montville Board of Education candidates talk masks and transparency”

COVID relief funds now available to all TRCC students

We are happy to announce that our current students are eligible to receive COVID relief funds from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) that was authorized by the federal Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act. Our system office, CSCU, has allocated some of these funds directly for our students in two ways:

1. For all students enrolled in for-credit programs

CSCU plans on mailing (or direct-depositing) HEERF payments to all students enrolled in for-credit programs starting this week. Payments are expected to be between $400 and $800, with the higher payments going to students at the “double Pell” EFC level or below. CSCU is planning an additional round of payments like this in December as well. Additional information can be found at https://www.ct.edu/studentsupportprogram

2. For all students enrolled in a for-credit course or non-credit certificate/program

Starting today, October 18, all enrolled students can apply for “emergency grants” funded with HEERF student dollars. The deadline is Monday, November 15, 2021. CSCU has set up an on-line application form where students can attest that they have an extraordinary need, identify a category for that need, and provide a brief description. This can include debt that is the result of spending for college or the costs of attendance (like transportation, housing, food, child-care, etc.) since March 2020 when the pandemic began, or debt that would have been paid off since March 2000 if not for the pandemic.

$5 million has been allocated for this. A committee has been established to review the applications and payments will be made in December.

Additional information and links to the on-line application can be found at https://www.ct.edu/studentsupportprogram#grant. Again, the application deadline for these emergency funds is Monday, November, 15, 2021.

In The News | CT launches Amazon-connected partnership to provide technical skills training to 2,000+ residents

New Haven (Stamford Advocate, October 18, 2021) — A partnership between the state, its community college system and a subsidiary of e-commerce giant Amazon will establish non-credit certificate program classes offering training in a variety of computer and information technology skills, Gov. Ned Lamont said Monday.

Gov. Ned Lamont speaks at Gateway Community College in New Haven Monday about a new partnership the state has with Amazon Web Services to train new technology workers.
Luther Turmelle / Hearst Connecticut Media

Amazon Web Services, which provides on-demand cloud computing platforms to individuals, companies and governments, will provide the curriculum for the courses, which will be offered through Connecticut’s community college system. The courses will cost $795 and will be taken over a five- to seven-week period, according to state Chief Operating Officer Josh Geballe.

“We will help with the cost of the course for people who it is an issue for,” Geballe said. The partnership does not involve any money changing hands between the state and AWS, he said; the money a student pays for the course goes to the community college the individual attends.

Lamont announced the partnership during a press conference at Gateway Community College.

“We have tens of thousands of these jobs that are being advertised every year and now we want to match the training with the need,” he said.

The initial goal of the program is to train more than 2,000 Connecticut residents by 2024, said Terrence Cheng, president of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system, which oversees the state’s 12 community colleges. Cheng said 20 faculty members across the community college system are being trained to teach the classes.

“We have tens of thousands of these jobs that are being advertised every year and now we want to match the training with the need,” he said.

Geballe said more than 40,000 jobs were advertised last year alone that sought individuals with skills relate to cloud computing and information technology. The median salary for cloud computing jobs is $180,00, he said.

“These are great jobs,” Geballle said.

An inability to fill those positions can slow down a technology company’s productivity or force Connecticut-based companies to look to hire out-of-state residents with the necessary skills, he said.

“We want to keep those jobs here,” Geballle said. “Amazon is a leader in cloud computing. Here in Connecticut, we can choose to be stuck in the past or we can modernize the way the state operates.”

The CSCU has created a dedicated web page for interested students to get more information and sign up for the training. For more information, visit www.ct.edu/aws.

— By Luther Turmelle, Hearst Media Staff Writer

The original article can be found here: “CT launches Amazon-connected partnership to provide technical skills training to 2,000+ residents”

CSCC Offers FREE 24/7 Medical and Mental Telehealth Access for Students

As part of Connecticut State Community Colleges’s ongoing efforts to prioritize the health and well-being of the campus community, students now have free and immediate access to medical and mental health support through TimelyMD, the leading telehealth company specializing in higher education. Students can access it at timelycare.com/ctstate.

TimelyMD developed its proprietary TimelyCare technology to offer students a 24/7 extension of campus health and counseling center resources that is as easy and convenient as making a video or phone call. Through the TimelyCare app on their phone or other device, Connecticut State Community Colleges students can now select from a wide-ranging menu of virtual care options from licensed physicians and counselors in all 50 states – at no cost to them and without the hassle of traditional insurance – including:

On-demand medical care
Appointment-based medical care
On-demand mental health support (TalkNow)
Appointment-based mental health counseling
Health coaching

TimelyCare allows students to see the profiles, faces and specialty care details of a diverse range of licensed physicians and counselors available to them. They can choose to meet with a specific provider or select the first available. Typical consultations begin within 5-10 minutes – less than the amount of time it takes to walk across campus.

Demand for teletherapy visits skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to be high even as everyday activities resume. Mental health remains the top concern of college and university presidents, and more than 60 percent of students who have sought mental health support from TimelyMD said they would have done nothing if the service were not available to them.

“Similar to food delivery apps or contactless payment, students might not have tried telehealth before the pandemic, and now they can’t imagine life without its ease of use, convenience and immediacy,” said Luke Hejl, TimelyMD CEO and co-founder. “Studies have shown that one of the best ways to keep students engaged, enrolled and on track to graduation is to keep them physically and mentally healthy. Through TimelyCare, we are proud to deliver best-in-class virtual care to help Connecticut State Community Colleges students thrive.”