Yale Designates Bridgeport Magnet School as a National Demonstration Site for the School of The 21st Century

Yale will hold a ceremony to recognize the Six-to-Six Interdistrict Magnet School in Bridgeport, Conn. as a National Demonstration Site for the School of the 21st Century on Thursday, October 28, 1999 at 1 p.m.

Six-to-Six is one of 10 schools selected as a 21st Century (21C) National Demonstration site from a field of more than 600 schools nationwide. The designation is based on the school’s commitment to early childhood care and education, parent involvement, before- and after-school programs, health education and services, and other family support programs. As a demonstration site, Six-to-Six serves as an example for educators, policymakers and others interested in seeing high quality 21C programs in action.

Edward Zigler, Sterling Professor of psychology at Yale is a principal architect of the federal Head Start program and founder of the 21C initiative. He will be on hand at the awards ceremony to personally congratulate the school.

“Six-to-Six and all the 21C demonstration sites deserve praise, not only from their communities for their efforts to meet the needs of children and families, but also from the nation, as they serve as examples of what truly comprehensive and family-friendly schools should be,” said Zigler.

In addition to implementing 21C, Six-to-Six has adopted the School Development Program (SDP) model for school management, developed by James Comer, M.D. of the Yale Child Study Center. The combined 21C/SDP initiative is known as CoZi-signifying the first two letters of the founders’ names.

Six-to-Six is one of a dozen schools nationwide implementing the CoZi model. Edward Joyner, executive director of SDP, also present at the awards ceremony said, “From the moment the doors opened six years ago, Six-to-Six has committed itself to combining these two school reform models to create a school that truly works for children, staff and families.”

Over 600 schools in 20 states have implemented 21C, which is also known as Family Resource Centers in some communities. 21C transforms schools into year-round, multi-service centers operating from early morning to early evening, offering services such as:

* all-day, year-round preschool
* before-, after-school and vacation care for school-age children
* information and referral services for families
* guidance and support for new parents
* networks and training for community child care providers
* health education and services.

Research on 21C shows that the initiative has benefits for children, families and schools, improving academic outcomes, decreasing parental stress, and improving school and community relationships.

“The School of the 21C model has helped us provide a program that truly meets the needs of our diverse student body and their families,” said Six-to-Six Principal Leslie Alexander. “We especially value Yale’s emphasis on quality.”

As an interdistrict magnet school aimed at reducing racial isolation, Six-to Six draws its 311-member student body from Monroe, Trumbull, Fairfield, Stratford and Bridgeport through a lottery system. Six-to-Six is expanding to serve middle school students starting in the fall of 2000.

The Oct. 28 ceremony will take place at 601 Pearl Harbor Street in Bridgeport. The schedule of events includes a 1 p.m. tour of the school, followed by an award ceremony at 2:15 and a community conversation about public education with Professors Zigler and Joyner.

For more information, please contact Jennifer Heath at (203) 432-9943, or Leslie Alexander at Six-to-Six (203) 330-6775.