Lynn businesses collaborate to help city land grant

LYNN – Public, private and non-profit sectors are joining forces in the hopes of landing a $700,000 early education grant for the city and to prove to the state that they can work together.”We started following this in February,” said Norm Cole, director of development and planning for the Lynn Housing Authority and Neighborhood Development. “Then a number of agencies reached out to us to see if we could all tap into this.”Lynn is one of 20 communities across the commonwealth eligible for funding under the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s Working Cities Challenge, an initiative aimed at the state’s smaller cities. The goal of the program is to push collaboration within the smaller cities and to support projects that improve the lives of low-income people in those cities.Cole is the driving force behind the One Lynn Early Education Initiative, which is the city’s bid for a piece of the challenge pie. LHAND is working with the One Lynn Advisory Board, which comprises Centerboard, Eastern Bank, General Electric, City Hall, the school department, various churches, Latino businesses, the Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce, the Lynn Non-Profit Business Association, North Shore Community College and The Daily Item. There are more than a dozen non-profits also involved.”It’s schools and community groups, the Gregg House, Lynn Community Health Center, everybody is sitting at the table for this,” said Lynn Public Schools Superintendent Catherine Latham.The level of collaboration in a city that has a history of working well together is what Cole believes will set them apart when it comes to deciding who gets funding.”Historically, this is a really great city for that,” he said.The project is also ambitious. Latham said the focus is on early child education simply because it’s so important and a lack of it can affect every aspect of adult life.According to the overview, 60 percent of the city’s children entering kindergarten score low or below average or well below average on assessment tests that include letter naming fluency and first sound fluency. Fifty-three percent are not enrolled in preschool programs and generally do not have the skills needed to enter kindergarten.The initiative focuses on eight key strategies that include expanding the role of One Lynn Advisory Board for future interagency planning and collaborating, educating the public on the need for early education, establish and train a network of Parent Leaders, target low-income families with young children and advocate for systemic change.Cole said they had an initial meeting on the proposal in April, talked to officials at the Federal Reserve Bank in June and met weekly with key partners, through July until the proposal was submitted.Cole said he expects the city will find out in January if they will get the funding but he believes by virtue of the collaborative process, the city has already benefitted.”In the scheme of things, this will stretch to other things,” he said. “I’ve already seen it.”Cole said he believes there are systemic problems in the city that One Lynn could tackle successfully. He also hopes the collaborative effort will open doors to other funding sources.The plan is to keep building on the momentum of the collaborative effort and institute pieces of the proposal even if the funding falls through.”It’s been great and we have very experienced people that work well together,” he said.