Press Releases
01/02/2019
Gov.-Elect Lamont Nominates Beth Bye to Lead the Office of Early Childhood
(NEW HAVEN, CT) – Governor-elect Ned Lamont today announced that he is nominating State Senator Beth Bye to lead the Office of Early Childhood. The office was created in 2013 to coordinate and improve the various early childhood programs in the state to create a cohesive high-quality early childhood system. Bye will complete her current term as a state senator, but will resign her member-elect status and will not be sworn in to a new term in the Connecticut State Senate.
“Beth Bye has devoted her entire professional career to helping to build a more progressive and equitable early childhood system in which all children, regardless of their parent’s socioeconomic status, can grow, learn and develop,” said Lamont. “It’s clear that the formative early childhood years are key to providing children a solid educational base and platform, and I know Beth is the best person to take helm of this critical agency.”
“I am grateful to begin this next chapter in my career, leading an agency I helped to spearhead and create,” said Bye. “Connecticut’s children- all of them- represent the future of our state, and deserve to have the tools and support necessary to develop, grow and thrive. I’m looking forward to working collaboratively with the early childhood community and the K-12 system to assure the readiness of both young children and the schools that serve them alike.”
Bye is currently the Executive Director of Auerfarm in Bloomfield, a community farm that hosts 15,000 student trips annually and partners with Wintonbury Early Childhood Magnet School. Prior to that, Bye led Great by 8, a community partnership to develop a program that supports optimal health and educational outcomes for children ages birth to eight. Bye also served as the Early Childhood Director at the Capitol Region Education Council (CREC), where she supervised the birth to three program for CREC, and also helped to open two early childhood magnet schools. Earlier in her career, Bye was the Director at both the Trinity College Community Child Center and the University of St. Joseph School for Young Children, which was named a State of Connecticut model pre-school.
Bye also serves as a state senator, representing Bloomfield, Burlington, Farmington and West Hartford. In the legislature, Bye has been an advocate for education, early childhood education, economic development and environmental issues.
Bye will begin serving as the Commissioner-designate in late January. Her nomination will be sent to the General Assembly for its advice and consent.
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