Transcript Maine and New England’s First Comprehensive, High-quality Early Childhood Learning Center

Maine and New England’s First Comprehensive,
High-quality Early Childhood Learning Center
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Doris
Buffett’s
Sunshine
Lady
Foundation
contributed $3 million to Maine as seed money to
inspire a Maine “anchor donor.”
The Sunshine Lady Foundation partners with other
philanthropists involved with Educare centers
nationally to support the Bounce Learning Network,
which provides an additional $1 million to new
Educare centers once agreements are signed.
Educare Maine will now join the Bounce Learning
Network.
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To measurably increase the schoolreadiness of children served and
significantly reduce unnecessary
special education costs.
A Place…
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…where 160 to 200 mostly low-income,
high-stressed children from before they
are born to age 5 are served, during this
most critical brain development stage;
…where the children will find a warm,
caring and developmentally appropriate
environment that fosters learning.
The Local Partnership to
Implement
Educare Maine’s First
Center
353
26
Fairfield
Desired Capacity All Programs
188
5
Current Openings All Programs
270
12
Winslow
49
Desired Capacity Centers
0
878
120
Waterville
Current Openings Centers
195
15
0
200
400
600
800
1000
Note: Effective August 1st, 2008 providers will be required to count their own children
ages 6 weeks – 5 years in their numbers. This may reduce current available slots.
Data Provided by Child Care Options Resource Development Center
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Only 17.5% of infants/toddlers and 59% of all
preschool children in the greater Waterville
area who qualify for subsidized care receive
service.
94% of the Early/Head Start Grantee (KVCAP)
2007/08 clientele had household incomes at
or below federal poverty level (FPL); the
remaining 6% were below 135% of the FPL.
Age of child/ren in need of care
(Rates include more than one child served in some families)
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92.4%
88.1%
79.4%
65.9%
0-18 months
18 months to age 3
3-5
Concerned about Quality
(The survey included 424 respondents from twenty (20) small, medium and
large employers in the greater Waterville Area.)
AND
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Waterville Public Schools Reports: Only 25% (32
children of the 128) kindergarteners have the
opportunity to attend quality care and education
preschool programming.
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64% of the 625 students enrolled at GJMS receive free or reduced
lunch.
67% of the kindergarten students come from low income families.
48% of 128 students recently screened for kindergarten scored
below the norms that lead to successful transition into public
school.
45% of the class was at risk of reading failure.
Language skills for all populations have decreased by 22% over the
past 3 years.
The 2007/08 Maine Education Assessments in Grade 3 revealed
that 48% of all students (60% of students from low income
families) did not meet reading standards and 34% of all students
(45% of students from low income families) did not meet math
standards.
Approx.
40,000 sq. ft state-of-the-art, “green”
facility located next to George Mitchell
Elementary School
Five
Acres (DEP approved)
Facility
will be designed by national architect
firm experienced in early childhood facilities
and space development with a local Maine
contractor
Estimated
cost of facility is $8-$10 million
Educare Site Location
George J. Mitchell School Land
A Partnership…
…between the school district, Head Start,
community-based agencies, and private
philanthropy
…bound by contract committing to joint
governance and long-term support
…with
a
vision
to
better
prepare
disadvantaged children to succeed in school
and in life.
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Provides $2 million challenge to Maine’s private
sector for a $4 million match
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Helps in the capital campaign to build the
Center
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Encourages the private sector to invest in the
Educare project
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Shares governance with other partners
Waterville Public School
provides operating dollars and support with
existing education dollars, shares governance
Head Start/KVCAP
Provides Head Start/Early Head Start slots to
Educare and applies for new slots if available;
works to implement the core quality
components of the Educare model and shares
governance
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Partners will form a separate non-profit LLC
for fiscal and facilities management and
program oversight
Strengthen
Community/School
Fiscal
partnership and planning through Educare
Board and Advisory Committee
Establish committees to provide leadership
in finance, marketing/collaboration, and
staffing/quality standards
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Monitoring program implementation and financial status;
Review and oversee evaluation/outcome/accountability for
reporting; assisting in securing resources;
Reviewing staff, parent and community recommendations;
Garnering community input and broad parent/community
participation and voice;
Reviewing policies and procedures;
Developing strategic planning and position statements;
Providing State of Maine with feedback/information to inform
State policy;
Attending community forums upon request; and
Establish function/impasse procedures with the WPS and
KVCAP boards and staff;
Hire staff and manage human resources;
Mentor new and emerging Educare partnerships statewide.
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Mike Roy, Waterville City Administrator – State and federal grants
for capital and land-use/development process
Martha Naber, Kennebec Valley Community College – Early
Childhood Faculty/Teaching Lab lead
Ray Nagel, Dick Farnsworth, Woodfords Family Services – Serving
children with Autism
Liz Keach, Project Peds/CDS – Provides funding/expertise for
special needs children
Tina Chapman, United Way of Mid-Maine – Community leadership
Kathleen Kenney, Waterville Public Library – Family Literacy Partner
Greater Waterville Communities for Children/Youth Coalition –
Partner for resource development and outreach
John Salvato, M.D. for Inside Out Playground – Providing expertise
on developmental play
A Program…
…for children to experience, learn and grow in a
nurturing, research-based educational environment
with highly-qualified staff
…preparing children to enter kindergarten engaged,
healthy, and socially and emotionally ready to
succeed
…where families are valued and given the
information and support they need to help their
children succeed in education and life.
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will serve as a state-of-the-art professional
development and resource center for child care
professionals across the state, as well as a teaching
lab for students seeking an early childhood degree
in Maine
supporting parents and caregivers are essential
partners in preparing children for school
will support parents and caregivers with education
and comprehensive supports to improve health,
self-sufficiency and long-term parent and child
well-being and success.
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Three supervisors with master's degrees;
Twelve lead teachers with bachelor's degrees
in early-childhood development;
Two-dozen assistant teachers with either
bachelor's or associate's degrees in the same
discipline;
2-3 Family Support Workers; and
Total of 54 employees
“Ingredients”
Core Feature 1: Use Research-Based Practices and
Strategies
Core Feature 2: Implement Reflective Supervision
and Practice
Core Feature 3: Maintain Small Class Size and High
Staff/Child Ratios
“Ingredients”
Core Feature 4: Maintain High Staff qualifications
and Provide Intensive Professional Development
Core Feature 5: Offer Family Support Services OnSite to Support Parents in Promoting Healthy Child
Development
Core Feature 6: Implement an Interdisciplinary
Approach
“Ingredients”
Core Feature 7: Emphasize Children’s Social-Emotional
Development
Core Feature 8: Provide an Enhanced Focus on Language
and Literacy
Core Feature 9: Integrate the Arts into the Early Childhood
Program
Core Feature 10: Emphasize Prenatal Services
…using existing resources creatively to better
serve families in need of multiple supports
that lead to self-sufficiency and family
strengthening
…for programming that come from existing
funding sources (local, state, and federal)
…reorganized and maximized to allow for
seamless services to children and their
families while ensuring critical transitions into
kindergarten
…NOT impacting local taxpayers
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Early/Head Start (state/federal)
Waterville Public School Title I Earmark (state/federal)
Maine Dept of Education’s Child Development Services funds
USDA Food (To off-set staff expense)
Medicaid
Maine Dept of Health and Human Services Childcare funds
Parent Co-Pay based on income levels
Private Pay
Space Rentals (Teaching Lab with KVCC)
Other: Grants through foundations and Development Block
Grants
◦ Revenue
$2,514,092
◦ Expenses
$2,827,436
◦ 6-10% Quality Gap
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$100,000-$250,000
◦ (Seeking Endowment to off-set Quality Gap)
an Opportunity
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to make significant impact on the lives of
the most vulnerable in our community;
to mentor other communities on advancing
quality, research-based early childhood
education through rigorous evaluation; and
to serve as a PLATFORM for policy change in
Maine and nationally.
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Waterville Public Schools will provide staffing for
child nutrition/meals at no cost and existing Title I
support;
KVCAP will provide staff support for disabilities,
education, health/nutrition, and family/parent
support at no cost;
Woodfords will provide a one-on-one aid for
children with Autism;
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Kennebec Valley Community College and the
Resource Development Center will provide
professional development onsite training at no
cost;
Greater Waterville’s C4CY Coalition will provide
resource development support through grantwriting and outreach;
The City to be a statewide leader in economic
development by supporting Educare partnership
to reduce taxpayer costs towards special
education
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Secure $2-$4 million to match Alfond
contribution
◦ (depending on grants and final building costs)
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Build an Early Childhood Endowment:
◦ endowment to support the first Educare center’s
“quality gap”
◦ Support other unmet early childhood systems
needs that emerge from the Children’s Growth
Council and Business Round Table’s
recommendations to include replicating Educare
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Ounce of Prevention Fund www.ounceofprevention.org May 2008
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Children
from
low-income,
multi-stressed
environments start school far behind their more
advantaged peers.
They are…
◦Typically between 15 -18 points behind their peers in early
reading and math skills, specifically less likely to know their
letters, numbers, and other pre-academic concepts
◦More likely to have smaller vocabularies
◦More likely to have social-emotional difficulties
Ounce of Prevention Fund www.ounceofprevention.org May 2008
90% of brain growth occurs before kindergarten
Newborn brain size compared
to that of a 6-year-old brain
Newborn neural networks
compared to networks of a
6-year-old
Source: Paul Lombroso, “Development of the cerebral cortex. VI. Growth Factors I.” Journal of the American Academy of child and
Adolescent Psychiatry 37(6): 674-675, 1998.
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Striking Differences in Early
Language Experience
Scientific evidence confirms that how much parents and caregivers talk to
their children is critically important to language development. Children
who hear fewer words in the first three years of life have dramatically
smaller vocabularies than children who have richer early language
experiences.
11 Million:
6 Million:
3 Million:
Number of words a
high-income child
hears in a year
Number of words a
working-class child
hears in a year
Number of words a
very low-income
child hears in a year
From “Meaningful Differences”; Hart & Risley
Ounce of Prevention Fund www.ounceofprevention.org May 2008
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When low-income children begin
kindergarten, they are already far behind
Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K)
SES Differences: Effect sizes (compared to middle class)
Standard Deviation Units (SD)
1
0.8
0.7
0.69
0.6
0.4
0.27
0.25
0.2
0
-0.2
-0.4
-0.6
-0.22
-0.55
-0.17
Low SES
Low Middle SES
High Middle SES
High SES
-0.47
-0.8
-1
Math Skills at K entry
Reading Skills at K
entry
Focus on the 0 line running across the middle of the box. If a child lands above that line, her math and reading skills are average or higher. If she is
below, she is average or below. This illustrates the achievement gap: Those on top of the line - the green and grey - are higher income; those
below the line are lower income. And the poorer a child is, the further she is from average math and reading skills. The richer she is, the higher
above average she is. There’s the gap – at kindergarten entry.
Ounce of Prevention Fund www.ounceofprevention.org May 2008
37
Disparities in Exposure to Words
• Professional
class parents
directed
more than 3
times as
many words
per hour to
their children
than did very
low income
parents
Words per hour to the child (ages 10-36 months)
2500
Professional
2000
1500
Working class
1000
Very Low
Income
500
0
From “Meaningful Differences”; Hart & Risley
Ounce of Prevention Fund www.ounceofprevention.org May 2008
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The Good News: The Predictive
Power of Early Language Experience
% of variance accounted for
70
60
50
SES
40
30
Language
Experience
through age 3
20
10
0
PPVT-Gr 3
TOLD-Gr. 3
“Meaningful Differences,” Hart & Risley
This study demonstrated that the quantity and quality of a child’s early language experiences (from age 10 months to 3
years) actually are more predictive of his or her language-related achievement through 3rd grade than is their parent’s
socioeconomic status.
Ounce of Prevention Fund www.ounceofprevention.org May 2008
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Children are best able to succeed in kindergarten and
elementary school if they enter school with socialemotional-behavioral competence:
◦ Able to attach to others
 To relate to, trust and join their attention with adults and
peers
◦ Able to self-regulate
 To manage and regulate negative emotions in appropriate
ways
◦ Able to take the initiative in their environments
 Perceiving of themselves as competent learners
Ounce of Prevention Fund www.ounceofprevention.org May 2008
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Healthy
social-emotional development often
makes the difference between a child who is able
to make significant academic progress in grades
K-3, and a child who continues to struggle.
◦Kindergarten teachers point to social-emotional
competence as being the most important part of
school readiness and the number one reason for
recommending kindergarten grade retention.
Ounce of Prevention Fund www.ounceofprevention.org May 2008
41
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Up to 50% of families living in poverty have children
with less than secure attachments (vs. 30% of all
families)
Stressors may lead to less secure attachments
Stress interferes with healthy child development in
all domains and thus, a child’s ability to learn
High quality child care is an effective intervention
for distressed and/or disorganized families
Ounce of Prevention Fund www.ounceofprevention.org May 2008
42
Syracuse Univ. Family
Development Research Program
•
•
•
Longitudinal study of full-time care,
beginning in infancy, which included
parent involvement & weekly home
visits
The curriculum was socially-focused;
not much emphasis on cognitive and
language development
Positive outcomes for social
functioning:
– Dramatic reduction in juvenile
offenses
– Improved family functioning through
the teen years
Lally, Ron. et al "The Syracuse University Family Development
Research Program: Long-Range Impact on an Early Intervention
with Low-Income Children and Their Families," in D. R. Powell
and I. E. Sigel, 1988.
Ounce of Prevention Fund www.ounceofprevention.org May 2008
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
17
Received
services
Control
group
1.5
% Reported
Delinquent by ages
13-16
Increased Special Education Costs in Maine $300
million annually
Increased Substance Abuse Costs in Maine
$800 million annually
Increased Domestic Violence Costs in Maine
$1.2 billion annually
Increased Criminal Justice System Costs in Maine
Keeping one teen out of prison saves $1.7-$2.3 million over a lifetime
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Two years of very highquality
preschool
and
weekly home visits for
disadvantaged children in
Michigan – mid 60’s
Children followed through
age 27
Benefits found:
◦ Higher
achievement
through
age
14
and
improved literacy at 19
◦ At 14, only 15% of program
group scored below the 10th
percentile in achievement
tests, compared to 49% of
control
◦ Less grade retention and
special education placement
80
71
70
60
54
50
40
29
30
20
7
10
0
HS or GED
Schweinhart, L.J., Montie, J., Xiang, Z., Barnett, W.S., Belfield, C.R. &
Nores, M. (2005) “Lifetime Effects: The High/Scope Perry Preschool
study through age 40.” http://www.highscope.org
Ounce of Prevention Fund www.ounceofprevention.org May 2008
Preschool
Control
Earn >
$2K/mo
Early evaluation of
Educare
programs provide
inspiration for investment
Vocabulary: Preschool children begin the year with vocabulary scores in
the low-average range. By the end of the year, on average, children have
vocabulary scores in the average range, with kindergarten bound children
achieving the highest average mean score.
2005-06
N=
Fall
2005
Spring
2006
2006-07
N=
Fall
2006
Spring
2007
Chicago (3-5)
105
83
93
63
91
94
Omaha (3-5)
129
86
93
126
85
94
Chicago
45
87
95
35
95
95
49
89
96
49
89
98
Kindergarten Bound
Children Only
Omaha
Kindergarten Bound
Children Only
Promising Early Returns: PALS
Early Literacy: Kindergarten bound children leave Educare with specific early
literacy skills that meet or exceed expected developmental ranges including the
more difficult skill areas dependent on good auditory processing capacity of
letter sounds, beginning sounds and rhyme awareness.
Individual Subtests
Spring 2006
% Within or Above
Expected Developmental Ranges
Spring 2007
% Within or Above
Expected Developmental Ranges
Spring
Chicago
N=37
Spring
Omaha
N=45
Spring
Chicago
N=35
Spring
Omaha
N=45
Name Writing
94%
80%
86%
85%
Upper Case Letters
81%
78%
77%
83%
Letter Sounds*
69%
53%
69%
70%
Beginning Sounds
84%
89%
86%
94%
Print/Word
75%
76%
86%
64%
Rhyme Awareness
88%
84%
86%
79%
Nursery Rhyme
Awareness
78%
71%
86%
74%
Promising Early Returns: Bracken
School Readiness: Nearly 100% of kindergarten-bound children leave
Educare with school readiness cluster scores that meet or exceed expected
levels, especially in the areas of letters, colors, and numbers.
N=
Chicago
Not administered
Omaha
37
Spring 2006
98
N=
Spring 2007
32
105
49
103