Liberty Bank Foundation Boosts Middletown Family Engagement Liaisons

MIDDLETOWN, CT — The Middletown public school system has received a $7,500 grant from the Liberty Bank Foundation to support the district's Family Engagement Liaisons.

The grant is designed to provide professional development opportunities for the liaisons to "increase their capacity in research-supported best practices for cultivating family, school, and community partnerships and strategies for reducing student chronic absenteeism."

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Alberto Vázquez Matos was thankful.

"We are incredibly grateful to Liberty Bank Team for this generous grant," Matos said. " Dr. Alberto Vazquez Matos, Superintendent of Middletown Public Schools. "Strong family-school partnerships are crucial for student success. This funding will allow our Family Engagement Liaisons to deepen their knowledge around fostering meaningful connections between homes, schools, and the wider Middletown community."

Added Liberty Bank President and CEO David Glidden, "Our corporate brand to 'Be Community Kind' is more than just words. It's a standard we strive to achieve everyday through volunteerism and investment in rewarding programs and causes. "The critical role of Family Engagement Liaisons and our support of the job they do in Middletown perfectly aligns with our mission to improve the lives of our customers, teammates and communities for generations to come. It's an investment clearly worth making."

The $7,500 grant from the Liberty Bank Foundation represents a contribution to the school system's larger strategic efforts to increase family, school and community partnerships across the district.

The school system also recently become a Learner Engagement and Attendance Program District through the Connecticut State Department of Education and is participating in Capitol Region Education Council's federally funded CT Family-School Partnerships program.

"The Family Engagement Liaisons play a vital role in the district by supporting open communication, volunteering opportunities, and collaborative partnerships to enable all families to better support their children's academic learning. With enhanced professional development made possible by the Liberty Bank Foundation grant, the FELs will be even better equipped to implement best practices from leading research," Matos said.