NEW HAVEN, Conn. — New Haven students are just two weeks away from the start of school. On Thursday, thousands gathered at Bowen Field for the annual Sam Tilery Back To School Rally”, where 4,000 backpacks were given to families, along with school supplies.
The families lined up outside of the field, got “passports”, and then were instructed to visit a handful of community vendors lined along the track before heading over to the backpack station.
“I get what I get and I don’t get upset,” said 8-year-old Jayceon Myers after he received a gray backpack with “cool pockets.”
Myers gave a thumbs up with an excited look on his face, saying this event gets him ready for the school year.
“Because I get to see all my friends and then I get to finally talk to them for so long,” Myers said.
And though the rally is filled with lots of fun, it’s not *just about that. First-time New Haven Superintendent, Dr. Madeline Negron, said it’s all about engaging with the families.
“I need every student there on day one. They have got to be there, we cannot afford to lose an hour of instruction,” Dr. Negron said.
As Dr. Negron heads into her first year as superintendent for New Haven Public Schools, she wants to cut down on chronic absenteeism, which is when students miss ten percent of their classes. The district saw high rates of the problem during the pandemic but was able to cut down on the percentage of chronically absent students by the end of last year, to 37%.
“I want to set a goal of reducing that to around 25%,” Dr. Negron said.
That’s on top of another main goal, to increase literacy rates.
“It’s gotta be all hands on deck, where everyone in our community is making sure our kids can read and read well,” said New Haven Mayor, Justin Elicker.
Which is exactly what this event is meant to do.
“It’s hard, this helps out a lot. It really helps out a lot,” said Courteney Griffiths, a New Haven Public Schools mom of four. “This takes a big chunk off of what I have to do for the school year so I’m really, I’m really grateful for it.”
On top of a performance by the school’s marching band, the 60 vendors lined along the track were there to connect families to resources including the health department, New Haven Reads, CHET (College Savings Program), and more.
Julia LeBlanc is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jleblanc@fox61.com Follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
---
Have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at newstips@fox61.com
----
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.