Celebratory event at City Hall offers opportunity for city’s youngest residents to learn about and participate in civic engagement

On Wednesday, April 13, 2016, young children from around the city and their teachers and families will be gathering at Somerville’s City Hall, joining local dignitaries and early education leaders from around the state to celebrate the Week of the Young Child. The special event will provide Somerville’s youngest residents the opportunity to sing, tour various city hall offices to learn about city management, participate in a civic engagement activity, and be part of a proclamation reading by Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone.

This year Mayor Curtatone posed a question to Somerville children: Who are the helpers in our community and what makes them special?  Children in local childcare programs and public schools responded by studying helpers they know in their community. Some of the children’s work will be on display at City Hall and other children are continuing to investigate this question with their teachers in their classrooms throughout the year.

“Children are citizens too, and engaging with City Hall not only makes children visible to the community, but helps children experience civic engagement from an early age,” stated Somerville Public Schools Early Education Director, Lisa Kuh. “This celebration is also a way to celebrate the achievements of the children and teachers in our city. We are lucky to have a strong early childhood workforce and leadership that is working to create and sustain a high quality system of education and care for all our children.”

Wednesday’s event at City Hall begins at 10:00 a.m. with a proclamation reading by Mayor Curtatone, advocating for children, families and teachers. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) designated a week in April, this year April 10-16, as the Week of the Young Child to focus public attention on the needs of young children and their families. Communities all around the country will be celebrating young children throughout the week with a variety of special events.

A social story written by the Somerville Family Learning Collaborative, Somerville: Working Together for a Wonderful City, along with an accompanying lesson plan, was made available to early childhood classrooms in the City to assist in helping students learn about the work that goes on in City Hall as they prepare for their tour of city hall offices. Students will have an opportunity to vote as part of their educational tour that morning.

Students from Somerville High School’s Early Childhood Career and Technical Education program will also share some of their work from a study they conducted of the UNICEF Rights of the Child movement. Singing and art will also be part of the day’s celebration with songs led by parent liaison Maura Mendoza, and Marina Seevak of The Beautiful Stuff Project guiding students in the creation of tiny art projects that will become part of a larger art installation at City Hall.

This event is hosted by the Somerville Public Schools (SPS), SomerPromise, and the Somerville Family Learning Collaborative (SFLC). For more information about early education in Somerville, visit the Somerville Early Education (SEE) blog at http://somervilleearlyeducation.blogspot.com/.

~Somerville Public Schools