Early Childhood Development

School Readiness:
Helping the Iowa Community School District and Area Communities, Organizations and Agencies Get Children Ready for School
and Schools Ready for Children Early Childhood Task Force
Iowa Community School District
October, 2004

Overview of Early Childhood Studies
Analysis of Early Childhood Data
Student Readiness
Recommendations
Appendices / References

Introduction

The Iowa Community School District board of directors established the Early Childhood Task Force in February 2004. An integral component of its Removing Barriers to Learning Initiative, it recognized that early childhood development is a primary factor impacting children's success in school.  It identified the mission of the task force as follows:

Coordinate and promote community-wide involvement in enhancing the development of young children in the Iowa Community School District with the goal of all children starting school ready to learn. Specifically targeting children in the birth to five year age range, the focus of the task force will be to:

  1. identify and analyze existing data,
  2. map current resources
  3. identify gaps in services and areas of need
  4. develop appropriate outcomes
  5. plan appropriate action steps to address identified gaps and needs

What happens to young children before they reach kindergarten has a significant impact on how they learn and their abilities, interests, knowledge and dispositions.  The foundation for an achievement gap develops before some young children enter kindergarten resulting in being "left behind" before they ever enter the kindergarten classroom.  There are many local agencies working to together to support young children and families but there efforts are fragmented and resources are not available to reach all children and families who could benefit from additional support and information.  The system is confusing to families as well.

This report contains the recommendations of the Iowa Community School District Early Childhood Task Force.  A major point emphasized repeatedly by the members of the task force is that policy makers and researchers know what are effective policies and strategies for a comprehensive early childhood education system and what are the consequences for not developing such a system. The next step is to prioritize needs, make a commitment to restructure early childhood education in Iowa, implement programs, and develop a financial plan to invest in research based practices.

The task force recommends that this report can be used in the following ways:

  1. Disseminate to community agencies as a foundation for ongoing discussions about an area wide strategic plan to support early childhood education, including developing community wide priorities and strategies.

  2. Utilize to sensitize the community about the issues and needs of young children.

  3. Use to establish district priorities and research based strategies upon which to develop community partnerships in early childhood education.

  4. Reference as a local response to the Governor's Iowa Learns Council and the UEN's and Child and Family Policy Center's recommendations when advocating for legislative and policy changes.

  5. Establish long term priorities and strategies as structural changes occur and funding increases for early childhood education.

Early Childhood Task Force Membership

The district wishes to thank the following persons for their contributions to the work of the task force.

  1. Phyllis Tucker, Chairperson, Preschool Teacher and ICCSD Preschool Coordinator, Iowa Community School District and Johnson County Empowerment Board
  2. Jim Behle, Associate Superintendent, ICCSD
  3. Laurie Nash, Early Childhood Specialist, Johnson County Empowerment Board Empowerment
  4. Alice Atkinson, Associate Professor in Curriculum and Instruction and Program Coordinator for the Early Childhood Program, University of Iowa
  5. Bill Landers, Early Childhood Consultant, Grant Wood AEA
  6. Lynette Jacoby, Program Coordinator, United Action for Youth
  7. Sue Freeman, Program Director, Johnson County Neighborhood Center
  8. Chuck Peters, President and Chief Operating Officer, The Gazette
  9. Jill Dodds, Chairperson HACCPN, Child Care Provider
  10. Molly Marti, Parent
  11. Ginny Wildman, Regional Facilitator, Grant Wood AEA

Early Childhood Task Force Experts and Presenters

  1. Ralph Wilmoth, Director, Johnson County Public Health
  2. Kathy Robinson-Kramer, Child Care Licensing Consultant, Johnson County Department of Human Services
  3. Ann Fevold, Social Worker, Johnson County Department of Human Services
  4. Susan Gray, Associate Director, 4 C's (Community Coordinated Child Care)
  5. Chris Atchison, Associate Dean for Public Health, University of Iowa

Executive Summary

The recommendations of the Iowa Community School District Early Childhood Task Force reflect local community needs. The recommendations are supported by Governor Vilsack's Iowa Learns Council, the Urban Education Network, Child and Family Policy Center, and National Education Goals. (See Appendix A)  Research on early childhood development and learning, local data and first-hand information from local agency representatives was studied.

There is a correlation between poverty, school readiness and later school achievement. The Abecedarian study provides scientific evidence that early childhood education significantly improves the scholastic success and educational attainments of poor children even into early adulthood.  The findings of the High/Scope Perry Preschool Study indicated that adults born in poverty who participated in a high-quality, active learning preschool program have had half as many criminal arrests, significantly higher monthly earnings and higher percentage of home ownership, and greater commitment to marriage. While 85% of a child's core brain structure is formed by age three, less than 4% of public investments on education and development have occurred by that time. 

School readiness must occur in three areas: (1) readiness of the child; (2) the schools' readiness for children; and (3) family and community supports and services that contribute to children's readiness. There is a fragmentation of responsibilities in early childhood services. It prevents implementation of a comprehensive early childhood education system, limits the school district and community organizations to small steps and minimal impact, and inhibits families from accessing quality services.  A fundamental change in the deliver system, funding and organizational responsibility for early childhood programs in Iowa is necessary to significantly impact school readiness.

Early learning standards must be established for students who have yet to enter kindergarten. Quality preschool opportunities must be assured for 3-4 year olds.  Support programs must be provided for families with young children to enable parents to be their child's first and best teacher. Knowledge and skills for child care providers and early childhood teachers must be increased. A quality rating system for early childhood providers must be developed to inform parents.

A reorganization of responsibilities, coordination and accountability for early childhood is necessary in Iowa.  Until that time, district and community organizations must rely upon developing partnerships within existing funding levels.  These partnerships should be based upon expanding existing early childhood programs that are effective and sensitizing the community to the key findings and issues identified in this report.

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Analysis of Early Childhood Data

Key Findings in Education

  1. Of the 3.9 million children entering kindergarten, 2.2 million lagged behind in one area and 610,000 lagged behind in at least two areas.

  2. For kindergarteners lagging behind in three areas, 55% came from homes with incomes of less than $25,000 and 24% came from homes with incomes of $40,000 or higher.

  3. The Abecedarian study provides scientific evidence that early childhood education significantly improves the scholastic success and educational attainments of poor children even into early adulthood. Young adults in the program have consistently outperformed the control group on cognitive, math and reading achievement tests.  At age 21, they were more than twice as likely to go to a four year college as children in the control group.  More of these young adults were in jobs that required high skill levels and on the average had their first child later than their peers.

  4. Over 80% of the children who attended Iowa's Shared Vision preschool programs were rated at or above average in reading and writing at the end of kindergarten.  (Iowa Community School District offers two Shared Vision programs and four other programs are offered through community agencies)

  5. Three-year-old children that participated in the Early Head Start program performed significantly better in the areas of cognition, language, and social-emotional development than a control group.

  6. A North Carolina study found that preschoolers participating in a high quality child care program are ahead of their peers in language, literacy and math skills. The quality of the program made a difference over and above the effects of income, gender and ethnicity.

  7. Based upon national research conducted on Head Start programs, children attending Head Start showed significant expansion of their vocabularies and early writing skills.

  8. Children in Prekindergarten are 50% less likely to need special education services than children who had no Prekindergarten. They are 25% less likely to be held back by the end of the third grade.

  9. A systematic review of 17 studies led the Center for Disease Control to conclude that early childhood programs are effective in preparing children for school, reducing rates of teen pregnancy and delinquency, and increasing rates of employment.

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Key Findings in Health and Safety

  1. Research shows home visiting programs for women at-risk, beginning during pregnancy, resulted in less time using welfare, less child abuse/neglect, less maternal and juvenile arrests, and a longer time between subsequent pregnancies.
  2. In February 2002, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Task Force on Community Preventive Services concluded "there is strong evidence to recommend home visitation to reduce child maltreatment." The group based this recommendation on a review of 25 studies that found an overall 39 percent reduction of child maltreatment in high-risk families.
  3. Children who have health care coverage have an overall higher health status and have fewer sick days.

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Key Findings in Investment

  1. While 85% of a child's core brain structure is formed by age three, less than 4% of public investments in education and development have occurred by that time.

  2. The annual public investment for Iowa children from birth to age five is substantially lower than for ages 6-17 and for ages 18-23.
    1. Ages birth to 5 is $581
    2. Ages 6 to 17 is $5,886
    3. Ages 18 to 23 is $3,658
  3. Comprehensive, high quality investments in education and development in the early years have demonstrated high monetary returns-on-investment – both to government and society in reduced social costs and increased economic activity and to the individuals served in improved educational and economic status.

  4. There is strong public support and advocacy for expanding investments in early learning and closing the investment gap because there is evidence of need and the potential for societal gains from investments.  Eighty-seven percent of voters nationwide believe that government should spend more to fund early learning programs.

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Key Findings in Economics

  1. Families with young children are those who are most likely to struggle economically and are in the least position to be able to privately pay for additional educational and developmental services and supports.

  2. Iowa ranks 2nd in the nation in the percentage of families with preschool children in which all parents in the household are employed.

  3. In Iowa, the average annual cost of child care for a 4-year old in a center is $6,198 where as the average annual cost of public college tuition is $2,998.

  4. Employers find that child care has a significant effect on their businesses.  Lack of affordable, quality child care may make it difficult to hire qualified employees.

  5. Center-based services for children with significant parent involvement through home visiting result in program graduates earning higher salaries because they complete more years of school.  Benefits to the public include increased tax revenues, lower rates of arrest, and savings on school remedial services. The cost of the program was about $7,000 per child, and the study found that participants generated an average return of $47,759 per participant.

  6. The findings of the High/Scope Perry Preschool Study indicated that adults born in poverty who participated in a high-quality, active learning preschool program have had half as many criminal arrests, significantly higher monthly earnings and higher percentage of home ownership, and greater commitment to marriage. Over participants' lifetimes, the public is receiving an estimated $7.16 for every dollar invested.

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Key Findings in Training

  1. Education levels for Iowa's child care workforce average between slightly more than a high school diploma to an Associate or two-year degree.

  2. Teachers in only 48% of center-based programs have a bachelor's degree.

  3. Research confirms that caregivers with higher education levels offer higher quality early education programs with more positive child outcomes. This is particularly true when caregiver education is in child development and early childhood education.

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Student Readiness: Key Ideas and Issues

The task force members identified the following key ideas and issues after reviewing professional articles, analyzing community and state-wide data and listening to community experts.

  1. Research shows the benefits of early childhood interventions for cognitive, socio-emotional and psychological needs of children; however, adequate funding is not available to implement services.
  1. Early childhood is recognized as an important stage of life in preparation for the future and as well as a period of life itself.
  1. There are achievement and service gaps based upon demographics such as poverty and ethnicity that contribute to students' readiness to learn when they enter kindergarten.
  1. Neighborhoods can be identified with higher needs for early childhood services.
  1. Challenging student behaviors are resulting in lost learning time in school and in an increase in the number of day care and preschool center child abuse reports.
  1. Early childhood service providers report an increased need for professional development training in social, emotional and behavioral needs of children.  Training is an ongoing need because of staff turnover in centers.
  1. There is a correlation between poverty, school readiness and later school achievement.
  1. There are adequate health care services available in the community.  The issue is the ability of all families to be able to access health services because of income, lack of insurance or immigration status.
  1. Language, income and immigration barriers exist for many Latino families.
  1. There is a fragmentation of responsibilities for early childhood services and programs due to an array of program opportunities from a variety of public, private and school providers, multiple categorical funding streams for programs, and a division of responsibilities among numerous early childhood service providers (public education, Department of Human Services, county and city supported providers, mental health, Department of Public Health, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Mercy Hospital, Grant Wood AEA, Empowerment).
  1. Services by private providers, public agencies and schools for children and families are not always integrated.
  1. There is no comprehensive strategy to identify families whose children do not receive center or home day care or preschool.
  1. There are families who advance in the workplace and who as a result exceed eligibility poverty levels for qualifying for supplemental funding to support quality child care.  Yet they are unable to afford quality child care with their current income.
  1. Because of rising child care costs, some families cannot afford continuity of a long term child care provider.
  1. There are families experiencing multiple stress factors such as lack of income, adequate child care, affordable health insurance and mental health needs.  They are more likely to be isolated and demonstrate higher risk of child abuse and neglect.  The children are more likely to come to school with social, emotional and psychological needs and not be ready to learn.
  1. Mental health insurance coverage is not always available to children who have been abused; e.g. services are available to parents for drug use, but not to their children who are victims of the abuse.
  1. There is a lack of services for children with behavior needs that go undiagnosed or treated.  There are few identified support persons to address young children's behavior needs in non public school day cares and preschools.  Access to professional support staff with expertise in social, emotional and behavior needs of children is limited for observing children, developing a positive behavior support plan, training staff and monitoring implementation.  As a result, some children come to school with significant behavior issues that are disruptive to the classroom.
  1. Staff qualifications and training are inadequate in some preschool and day care centers.
  1. Existing service programs for children are under funded.

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School Readiness: Recommendations

The ICCSD Early Childhood Task Force used the work of the National Education Goals Panel (NEGP) to frame its recommendations.  (See Appendix D)  The NEGP identified three components of school readiness: (1) readiness of the child; (2) the schools' readiness for children; and (3) family and community supports and services that contribute to children's readiness.  Its recommendations address these three components.

1. Readiness of the child

  1. the child's physical well-being,  i.e. health and safety
  2. their social/emotional readiness
  3. their cognitive readiness with a learning focus on language and literacy development

2. Schools' readiness for children

  1. transitions into school at the kindergarten level
  2. appropriate curriculum to support early childhood standards and benchmarks
  3. professional understanding of children's varied developmental levels, cultural diversity, language barriers, and special needs
  4. outreach to families with young children

3. Family and community supports and services

  1. coordination of community agencies that work with young children and their families
  2. recommendations of policies and legislation to support the needs of young children and their families
  3. partnerships with agencies, private business and community service groups

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Readiness of the Child

In considering each child's readiness to learn, the Early Childhood Task Force identified the following goals, with recommendations:

  1. Every child (and their parents) will have access to at least minimal levels of needed health care starting with prenatal care.

    Health care and nutrition services are available in our community. However, access is limited to families who cannot afford or qualify for services.  Expand outreach efforts to families to bring uninsured children into available health insurance programs.

  2. Every child will enter school with confidence and the ability to work with others.

    Support is needed in preschool/child care programs to address specific social/emotional issues in order to begin to address specific behaviors prior to enrollment in kindergarten.  Through GWAEA and school district staff, expand the K-1 behavior intervention model into the preschool/child care centers.

    Additional training and professional development is needed for teachers, associates, child care providers and parents regarding children's social/emotional needs and behaviors. Providers in both childcare centers and in home-based childcare settings are requesting help and support. Support is also needed for parents in helping their children develop socially and emotionally.  In collaboration with other community agencies, increase professional development to teachers, associates and child care providers and outreach education to parents.

  3. Every child will enter school with skills in cognitive thinking, as well as language and emerging literacy development.

    To foster quality care for children and to provide stimulating environments for learning, we need to create and provide specialized training for preschool/child care programs needing support. The Department of Human Services, through their childcare licensing program, provides clear and specific guidelines for child development.  With the guidance of the childcare licensing consultant and in collaboration with other community organizations, provide training to child care centers and also to home-based child care providers. The focus should be on components that support cognitive development and school readiness. In addition, develop incentives for home-based childcare providers to become registered with the Department of Human Services.

    The current population of ELL (English Language Learners) children needs specialized support in language and cognitive development. Provide support to families of ELL children, aged 3-5, through the district's Family Resource Centers and the Empowerment's Family Support program and in coordination with our ELL teachers, to help children prepare for and transition into kindergarten. Provide language and literacy resources to parents about development of their children's language and learning.

    Increased supports are needed for child development and learning for children aged 3-5. Expand and create family programs modeled after the GWAEA Early Access program (for children 0-3 years) for service coordination to foster cognitive development.

    Consistent information regarding children's cognitive learning and overall development is important.  Use common assessments in childcare centers and in home-based child care settings to assess cognitive learning and development prior to entering kindergarten.

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Schools' Readiness for Children

In considering the schools' readiness for children, the Early Childhood Task Force identified the following goals, with recommendations:

  1. Schools will ease the transition between home and school

    Identification of opportunities and strategies to support the transition of children with behavioral and literacy needs into kindergarten is needed to help all children entering kindergarten.  Develop a transition program between preschools, childcare centers, home-based childcare programs and the schools. Include conferences and sharing of information between childcare providers and kindergarten teachers. Provide screening tools that can be used by childcare providers and shared with kindergarten teachers upon entrance to kindergarten.

  2. Schools will provide developmentally appropriate curriculum for all Pre-kindergarten children in their programs.

    Inclusion of an early childhood element in ICCSD curriculum reviews is needed. Include an early childhood representative on appropriate ICCSD curriculum reviews.

    Early learning standards are necessary in order to identify the knowledge, skills, motivation and attitudes needed by five-year-olds for success in kindergarten. The Iowa Department of Education has released the Iowa

    Early Learning Standards. Compare the ICCSD Early Childhood Content Standards and Benchmarks to the new state Early Learning Standards and make recommendations for any changes to the district's standards and benchmarks.

    Children's abilities to interact with others, understand the feelings of other people and express their own feelings positively is essential to be successful at school. Consider the implementation of the Second Steps (violence prevention) curriculum in the district's early childhood programs-preschools and ECSE- and at the K-1 levels.

  3. Schools will provide staff development for all staff, professional and auxiliary, to promote a better understanding of the needs of young children today.

    In our changing times, we need to provide professional development to address specific cultural gaps of young children, such as language barriers, behavior needs, families in crisis (e.g. homeless children), and others. Provide professional development related to needs of individual children, including the effects of poverty, race and disability, social emotional development and language development.

  4. Schools will support the needs of families of young children.
  1. All children should have access to high quality and developmentally appropriate preschool programs. Provide more preschools, locating them in the geographical areas of greatest need.

    Every parent is a child's first teacher. Establish additional family resource centers in the schools with an emphasis on outreach to families with young children, aged 3-5 years, to decrease stress in the family environment, increase stability of learning for the child and promote social, emotional, and language development. Develop common indicators of success for program services by the Family Resource Centers in early childhood education and literacy.

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Family and Community Supports and Services

In considering family and community supports and services the Early Childhood Task Force identified the following goals, with recommendations:

  1. The community will coordinate family supports and services to provide effective assistance to families within our community.

    Continued and increased collaboration is needed among agencies and groups that provide services and support for families and young children. Create a single point of entry into services in order to provide families with a centralized and effective way to access needed services.

    Families must gather their own information about available services, locate the needed services and go from one agency to another to receive the services. In addition, they are often asked to provide duplicate information and documents at each service provider. Coordination of agencies such as GWAEA, Department of Human Services, 4 C's (Community Coordinated Child Care), the Iowa Community School District, and medical and dental providers would more effectively assist and serve families in need.  Develop community capacity for an integrated early childhood delivery system within the Iowa Community School District facilitated through Johnson County Empowerment.

  2. The community will disseminate information regarding early childhood issues, e.g. quality preschool programming, quality child care, the development of young children, and the needs of families with young children.

    Increased dissemination of knowledge and information to the general public about children, families and programs is needed. Utilize cable channels, media and website coverage, news stories, brochures and information packets to expand community awareness of child care and family needs for children aged 0-5 years. Programs, such as "Learning at Lunch," could be provided for employees at their workplace to provide parent information and support, developmental understanding of children birth through 5 years, and information about quality child care. Collaborate with existing community awareness activities.

    Children should receive the nutrition, physical activity, and health care they need to arrive at school with healthy minds and bodies and to maintain mental alertness.  To this end, the number of low-birth weight babies should be significantly reduced through enhanced prenatal care.  Develop strategies and expand funding for easy access to early (prenatal/newborn) parent education and support activities for parents.

    There are families experiencing adult mental health issues.  Such families are more likely to be isolated and demonstrate higher risk of child abuse and neglect.  The children are more likely to come to school with social, emotional and psychological needs and not be ready to learn. Services to adults with mental health concerns should include specific parenting components.

  3. The community will support legislation to provide financial support for families, childcare programs, and service agencies and organizations.

    The evidence shows that early childhood education is effective in children's readiness to learn. Local communities must be supported by an ambitious state level initiative.  Urge the Iowa legislature and governor to create public policy to develop a comprehensive, state funded early childhood program, birth to age 5. Policy can be based upon the work of the Iowa Learns Council, Empowerment, the Urban Education Network and Child and Family Policy Center.

    Increased funding must be provided to support research based and comprehensive early childhood education programs. Review the recommendations of the UEN and Child and Family Policy Center for financing a comprehensive early childhood system and determine those that are worthy of district and community support.

    The state reimbursement rates to childcare providers are less than the corresponding tuition rates. As a result, childcare providers refuse care and programming for children supported by these programs because they lose much needed income. Increase state subsidy amounts (child care assistance) to match current tuition fee rates in order to increase the availability of quality childcare for low income families.

    Families find themselves ineligible for childcare assistance as they begin to work themselves above poverty levels. Yet, they are unable to pay the cost of the child care without the assistance.  Increase income qualifying guideline levels for families in order to support continuation of childcare for a defined period of time for families whose income is increasing but not sufficient enough to maintain quality child care without the state assistance.

    Communities must begin to initiate new or augment existing school readiness efforts.  Decision makers and community leaders must partner with funders to combine knowledge of community's needs, priorities and resources. Collaborate to write grants and seek funding sources to finance the early childhood task force's recommendations.

  4. The community will encourage partnerships that promote quality in early childhood.

    Johnson County Empowerment's vision is "Every child, beginning at birth, will be healthy and successful." Work with Empowerment to develop a community comprehensive strategic plan on early childhood education on which to build partnerships and establish priorities using the task forces' report. Continue partnerships with Johnson County Empowerment to seek additional funding opportunities to support the needs of young children.

    Day care providers are important partners that can intervene to support healthy child development and families. Collaborate with HACCPN (Hawkeye Area Child Care Providers' Network) and 4 C's to provide information to families and daycare providers about the developmental levels and needs of young children as they enter kindergarten.

    United Way is investigating the possibility of sponsoring an early childhood initiative. Inquiry into the Street address United Way "Success by Six Initiative," with the possibility of co-sponsoring the initiative in partnership with the Street address United Way.

    Early childhood studies find that well-focused investments in early childhood development yield high public as well as private returns including returns in economic development.  Develop partnerships with the business community to encourage support of early childhood by sponsoring child care slots for their employees, giving employees flexibility in work hours to allow parents time with their children at school or funding endowments for preschool slots.

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Summary of Recommendations

  1. Expand outreach efforts to families to bring uninsured children into available health insurance programs.

  2. Through GWAEA and school district staff, expand the K-1 behavior intervention model into the preschool/child care centers.

  3. In collaboration with other community agencies, increase professional development to teachers, associates and child care providers and outreach education to parents.

  4. With the guidance of the childcare licensing consultant and in collaboration with other community organizations, provide training to child care centers and also to home-based child care providers. The focus should be on components that support cognitive development and school readiness. In addition, develop incentives for home-based childcare providers to become registered with the Department of Human Services.

  5. Provide support to families of ELL children, aged 3-5, through the district's  Family Resource Centers and the Empowerment's Family Support program and in coordination with our ELL teachers, to help children prepare for and transition into kindergarten.  Provide language and literacy resources to parents about development of their children's language and learning.

  6. Expand and create family programs modeled after the GWAEA Early Access program (for children 0-3 years) for service coordination to foster cognitive development.

  7. Use common assessments in childcare centers and in home-based child care settings to assess cognitive learning and development prior to entering kindergarten.

  8. Develop a transition program between preschools, childcare centers, home-based childcare programs and the schools. Include conferences and sharing of information between childcare providers and kindergarten teachers. Provide screening tools that can be used by childcare providers and shared with kindergarten teachers upon entrance to kindergarten.

  9. Include an early childhood representative on appropriate ICCSD curriculum reviews.

  10. Compare the ICCSD Early Childhood Content Standards and Benchmarks to the new state Early Learning Standards and make recommendations for any changes to the district's standards and benchmarks.

  11. Consider the implementation of the Second Steps (violence prevention) curriculum in the district's early childhood programs-preschools and ECSE- and at the K-1 levels.

  12. Provide professional development related to needs of individual children, including the effects of poverty, race and disability, social emotional development and language development.

  13. Provide more preschools, locating them in the geographical areas of greatest need.

  14. Establish additional family resource centers in the schools with an emphasis on outreach to families with young children, aged 3-5 years, to decrease stress in the family environment, increase stability of learning for the child and promote social, emotional and language development. Develop common indicators of success for program services by the Family Resource Centers in early childhood education and literacy.

  15. Create a single point of entry into services in order to provide families with a centralized and effective way to access needed services.

  16. Develop community capacity for an integrated early childhood delivery system within the Iowa Community School District facilitated through Johnson County Empowerment.

  17. Utilize cable channels, media and website coverage, news stories, brochures and information packets to expand community awareness of child care and family needs for children aged 0-5 years. Programs, such as "Learning at Lunch," could be provided for employees at their workplace to provide parent information and support, developmental understanding of children birth through 5 years, and information about quality child care.  Collaborate with existing community awareness activities.

  18. Develop strategies and expand funding for easy access to early (prenatal/newborn) parent education and support activities for parents.

  19. Services to adults with mental health concerns should include specific parenting components.

  20. Urge the Iowa legislature and governor to create public policy to develop a comprehensive, state funded early childhood program, birth to age 5.  Policy can be based upon the work of the Iowa Learns Council, Empowerment, the Urban Education Network and the Child and Family Policy Center.

  21. Review the recommendations of the UEN and Child and Family Policy Center for financing a comprehensive early childhood system and determine those that are worthy of district and community support.

  22. Increase state subsidy amounts (child care assistance) to match current tuition fee rates in order to increase the availability of quality childcare for low income families.

  23. Increase income qualifying guideline levels for families in order to support continuation of childcare for a defined period of time for families whose income is increasing but not sufficient enough to maintain quality child care without the state assistance.

  24. Collaborate to write grants and seek funding sources to finance the early childhood task force's recommendations.

  25. Work with Empowerment to develop a community comprehensive strategic plan on early childhood education on which to build partnerships and establish priorities using the task forces' report. Continue partnerships with Johnson County Empowerment to seek additional funding opportunities to support the needs of young children.

  26. Collaborate with HACCPN (Hawkeye Area Child Care Providers' Network) and 4 C's to provide information to families and daycare providers about the developmental levels and needs of young children as they enter kindergarten.

  27. Inquiry into the Street address United Way "Success by Six Initiative," with the possibility of co-sponsoring the initiative in partnership with the Street address United Way.

  28. Develop partnerships with the business community to encourage support of early childhood by sponsoring child care slots for their employees, giving employees flexibility in work hours to allow parents time with their children at school or funding endowments for preschool slots.

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Priority Recommendations

The Early Childhood Task Force proposes selecting from the following recommendations as possible next steps and priorities that do not require substantial investments.

Readiness of the child

  1. Through GWAEA and school district staff, expand the K-1 behavior intervention model into the preschool/child care centers.

  2. Provide support to families of ELL children, aged 3-5, through the district's  Family Resource Centers and the Empowerment's Family Support program and in coordination with our ELL teachers, to help children prepare for and transition into kindergarten. Provide language and literacy resources to parents about development of their children's language and learning.

  3. Use common assessments in childcare centers and in home-based child care settings to assess cognitive learning and develop prior to entering kindergarten.

Readiness of the Schools

  1. Develop a transition program between preschools, childcare centers, home-based childcare programs and the schools. Include conferences and sharing of information between childcare providers and kindergarten teachers. Provide screening tools that can be used by childcare providers and shared with kindergarten teachers upon entrance to kindergarten.
  2. Include an early childhood representative in ICCSD curriculum reviews.

  3. Compare the ICCSD Early Childhood Content Standards and Benchmarks to the new state Early Learning Standards and make recommendations for any changes to the district's standards and benchmarks.

  4. Develop common indicators of success for program services by the Family Resource Centers in early childhood education and literacy.

Family and Community Supports

  1. Utilize cable channels, media and website coverage, news stories, brochures and information packets to expand community awareness of child care and family needs for children aged 0-5 years. Programs, such as "Learning at Lunch," could be provided for employees at their workplace to provide parent information and support, developmental understanding of children birth through 5 years, and information about quality child care.  Collaborate with existing community awareness activities.

  2. Collaborate with HACCPN (Hawkeye Area Child Care Providers' Network) and 4 C's to provide information to families and daycare providers about the developmental levels and needs of young children as they enter kindergarten.

  3. Work with Empowerment to develop a community comprehensive strategic plan on early childhood education on which to build partnerships and establish priorities using the task forces' report. Continue partnership with Johnson County Empowerment to seek additional funding opportunities to support the needs of young children.

  4. Inquiry into the Street address United Way "Success by Six Initiative," with the possibility of co-sponsoring the initiative in partnership with the Street address United Way.

  5. Urge the Iowa legislature and governor to create public policy to develop a comprehensive, state funded early childhood program, birth to age 5.  Policy can be based upon the work of the Iowa Learns Council, Empowerment, the Urban Education Network and the Child and Family Policy Center.

  6. Review the recommendations of the UEN and Child and Family Policy Center for financing a comprehensive early childhood system and determine those that are worthy of district and community support.

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Appendix A

Major Initiatives Supporting the Recommendations of the Iowa Community School District Early Childhood Task Force

Iowa Learns Council

  1. Adopt Early Learning Standards to provide guidance on the breadth and depth of learning for students who have yet to enter kindergarten.

  2. Move aggressively to expand quality preschool opportunities for all students and assure universal access to high quality preschool programs for 3-4 year olds.

  3. Provide support programs for families with young children to enable parents to be their child's first and best teacher.

  4. Provide training opportunities focused on increasing knowledge and skills for child care providers and early childhood teachers through increased state and local incentives and investments.

  5. Establish a Quality Rating System for early childhood providers that will inform parents and employers of early childhood environments that are of the highest quality.

  6. Create mechanisms for leaders at all levels of education to assure that students and their families can negotiate the transitions between levels smoothly by aligning expectations, curriculum, and skill development.

Urban Education Network and Child and Family Policy Center

  1. Strengthening parenting
  2. Accessing health care and promoting good nutrition and exercise
  3. Accessing early intervention services to meet children's special needs
  4. Providing quality early care and education
  5. Providing enriched and universal pre-school
  6. Developing safe and supportive communities

National Education Goals established by the President and 50 state Governors in 1990

By the year 2000, all children in country-region America will start school ready to learn.

  1. All children will have access to high-quality and developmentally appropriate preschool programs that help prepare children for school.

  2. Every parent in the country-region United States will be a child's first teacher and devote time each day to helping such parent's preschool child to learn.  Parents will have access to training and support parents need.

  3. Children will receive the nutrition, physical activity experiences, and health care needed to arrive at school with healthy minds and bodies and to maintain the mental alertness necessary to be prepared to learn. The number of low-birth weight babies will be significantly reduced through enhanced prenatal health systems.

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Appendix B

Down Payment:

Financing a Comprehensive Early Childhood System

Developed by the Child and Family Policy Center for the Urban Education Network

If Iowa is to develop an early learning system, there will need to be substantial additional public investments, at least in the $220 million to $400 million range annually, with a large share of that devoted to improving child care quality while retaining family affordability (the reason for the need for a public investment). Family strengthening and support services for vulnerable families, expanded early access and intervention programs for children with or at risk of developmental delays, broadened health and nutrition services that provide more comprehensive primary and preventive services and enriched preschool also are required.

While full investments cannot be made overnight, it is possible to make a substantial down payment of the investments that will be needed, making use of existing systems for that purpose. A down payment on an early learning system logically would include:

  1. Expansion of Empowerment funding (to enable communities to build more comprehensive services and supports, particularly for evidenced-based family support, parent education and home visiting programs)

  2. Expansion of Shared Visions and other high quality preschool programs, to move the state in the direction of funding enriched preschool programs without fee at least to children at or below 140% of poverty

  3. Establishment of a quality rating system for subsidized child care to increase quality, coupled with expansion of funding generally to increase eligibility levels and maintain affordability and provide incentives for quality (through tiered reimbursement based upon quality ratings) and through professional development activities

  4. Expansion of early access through increased support, including efforts to broaden overall Medicaid funding for special education that provide incentives to area education agencies to do so

  5. Expansion of Medicaid funding support for primary and preventive health services for young children to include greater emphasis upon addressing developmental needs

Investments in these areas build upon an existing infrastructure and also cover the goals and strategies within the Early Childhood Iowa Results Areas.

The following are expansions in each of these areas that could be effectively deployed and would be of sufficient size to measure and track changes in school readiness on a community-wide and statewide basis. Included within these figures are the infrastructure costs associated with that system development and management.

  1. Empowerment funding - $25 million
  2. Shared Visions and other state funded preschool programs - $15 million
  3. Quality/affordable child care - $40 million
  4. Expanded early access - $5 million (+federal Medicaid match)
  5. Comprehensive health services - $5 million (+federal Medicaid match)

This represents a comprehensive overall investment of $90 million that can be effectively and efficiently deployed and helps insure that all aspects of the comprehensive early childhood system are developed.

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Appendix C

References

1. The National Education Goals Panel (1997).  Getting a good start in school. Washington, D.C.: National Education Goals Panel.

2. High/Scope Educational Research Foundation (2000). Significant benefits: the high/scope Perry preschool project (On-line). Available: http://www.highscope.org.

3. Child Trends Research Brief (2001). School readiness: helping communities get children ready for school and schools ready for children. Washington, D.C.: Child Trends.

4. Halle, T., Zaslow, M., Zaff, J., Calkins, J., &  Margie, N., (2000). Background for community-level work on school readiness: a review of definitions, assessments and investment strategies. Miami, Florida: John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

5. National Institute for Early Education Research (2003). The state of preschool: 2003 state of preschool yearbook. (On-line). Available: http://www.nieer.org.

6. Kagan, S.L. & Rigby, E. (2003). Policy Matters: Improving the readiness of children for school: Recommendations for state policy. Washington, D.C.: The Children's Project.

7. Child Trends Research Brief (2003). Attending kindergarten and already behind: A statistical portrait of vulnerable young children. Washington, D.C.: Child Trends.

8. Voices of American's Children and the Child and Family Policy Center (2004). Early learning left out: An examination of public investments in education and development by child age. Des Moines, IA: Child and Family Policy Center.

9. Heckman, James L., (2000). Invest in the very young. Chicago, Ill.: Ounce of Prevention Fund and the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy Studies.

10. Community Empowerment (2004). Supporting early childhood in Iowa: Information from the Iowa Empowerment Board, 2nd Edition. Des Moines, IA: Iowa Empowerment Board.

11. Center for Early Care and Education Report (2003). Early education reports: The evidence is in and the consensus is growing. Albany, NY: Center for Early Care and Education.

12. Masse, Leonard & Barnett, W. Steven (2004). A benefit-cost analysis of the Abecedarian early childhood intervention. New Brunswick, NJ: National Institute for Early Education.

13. Neuman, Susan B. (2003). From Rhetoric To Reality: The Case For High-Quality Compensatory Prekindergarten Programs. Phi Delta Kappan, December 2003, 286-291.

14. Iowa Child Care and Early Education Network (2004). Iowa early learning standards. Des Moines, IA: Iowa Child Care and Early Education Network.

15. Iowa Child Development Coordinating Council (2003). State funded shared vision programs: Annual Report to the Governor. Des Moines, IA: Iowa Child Development Coordinating Council.

16. United Way (2004). Success by 6 (On-line). Available: http://national.unitedway.org.

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Appendix D

School Readiness: Helping Communities Get Children Ready for School and Schools Ready for Children Research Brief By Child Trends Washington, D.C. October 2001

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