Lt. Gov. Wyman Tours Norwalk

I welcomed Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman to Norwalk, and joined her on a tour of three city locations.

We first stopped at the Marvin Elementary School to visit the students and staff of the Brighter Futures program, a partnership between the Norwalk Children’s Foundation, Norwalk Public Schools and the City of Norwalk. Brighter Futures provides families with a summer pre-kindergarten experience to provide children and their parents with the tools to succeed in school. Many of the program’s students have not had any other pre-school experience, or are English Language Learners.

Early childhood is a critical time for intellectual and social development, and programs like Brighter Futures provide children who might not otherwise have the opportunity with an experience that makes the most of this formative period. Governor Malloy recently created the Office of Early Childhood to better coordinate state child care programs and help more Connecticut youngsters to have this kind of opportunity.

“Early childhood education programs like Brighter Futures are critical to Connecticut’s future,” Lt. Gov. Wyman said. “Exposing children to letters, numbers and shapes at an early age helps them develop the reading and math skills they will need for the rest of their lives.”

Last month Governor Dannel P. Malloy consolidated state child care programs under a new Office of Early Childhood that will provide a comprehensive, collaborative system for delivering improved programs and services to children ages zero to five and their parents.

The next stop was Nik’s Place on Gregory Boulevard, where both officials sampled the establishment’s famous food and stopped to chat with town residents out for lunch.

The tour concluded at the headquarters of Akademos, Inc., an online book seller that will soon be hiring seven additional employees with the help of the state’s Small Business Express Program.

“Helping innovative companies like Akademos hire new people is exactly the kind of support small businesses need to grow and boost our economy,” Lt. Gov. Wyman said. “Their mission to provide more affordable textbooks to students is both good business and a good way to help lower the cost of a quality education.”

We are very proud to have an innovative company like Akademos in Norwalk that works to make educational materials more affordable for others. The Small Business Express Program is a great example of government and the private sector working well together, and it is always good to see new jobs coming to Norwalk.

Akademos, an online retailer, offers services to students and faculty at hundreds of educational institutions across the country. The state will provide a $100,000 grant and 10-year $300,000 loan at two percent interest to support the company’s Norwalk expansion and its plans to build new software services that lower the costs of textbooks and other educational materials.

“We are delighted that the state has recognized Akademos’ role in lowering textbook costs for college and high school students in the state, and has chosen to support us. This will enable our company to increase our staff and build new services for the schools we serve,” said John Squires, CEO of Akademos.