6/3/2013 The Prom ise of Early experiences during Early Childhood - PDF document

6/3/2013 The Prom ise of Early experiences during Early Childhood critical periods of Education: development build the foundation for later Preventing Health and learning and health. Learning Disparities Portia Kennel Senior Vice President, Ounce of Prevention Fund June 4, 2013 19 th National Health Equity Research Webcast University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill www.minority.unc.edu/ institute/ 2013/ The achievement gap starts well The State of Minority Children’s Health before Kindergarten Disparities in early vocabulary development • Low-income children have higher rates of mortality and disability and are more likely to be in fair or poor health. Professional 1 2 0 0 Cumulative Vocabulary (Words) Parents • Black and Latino children are more likely to be in poor health than White children. W orking Class 6 0 0 Parents W elfare • Children who are poor, of color or uninsured are Parents more likely to lack access to appropriate health 2 0 0 care. 1 6 m os. 2 4 m os. 3 6 m os. Source: National Institute for Health Care Management, 2007 Child’s Age (Months) Source: Hart & Risley (1995) Early Childhood Education: Front Line for Preventing Learning & Health Disparities Adverse experiences and • Rich learning environments linked to positive health outcomes throughout life toxic stress in early childhood increase the • Comprehensive supports to families likelihood for health risks, from prenatal to age five stress-related disease and • Engage families in developing healthy learning disparities behaviors for them and their children throughout a child’s life and • Reduce stress-related roots of health into adulthood. disparities • Referrals and linkages to community resources for medical and dental homes, developmental screenings, well-child check ups and immunizations 1

6/3/2013 Educare Learning Network 1 3 Core Features of the Educare Model Vision Statement • Provide full-day, full-year services • Use data collection and analysis to drive quality and ensure The Educare Learning Network will student success demonstrate that research-based early • Maintain Small Class Size & High Staff/ Child Ratios • 3: 8 for 0-3 childhood education prevents the persistent • 3: 17 for 3-5 achievement gap for our nation’s most at-risk • Maintain High Staff Qualifications & Intensive Staff Development • Provide Continuity of Care to help children develop secure young children. The Network’s evidence, relationships practice expertise, and dynamic partnerships • On-site Family Support & Strong Parent Engagement • Implement Reflective Practice & Supervision will help ensure that all children and families, • Interdisciplinary Work especially those at greatest risk, will have • Language & Literacy • Social and Emotional Development access to effective early learning, and that the • Numeracy & Problem-Solving first five years will be an integral part of the • Integrating the Arts nation’s education system. • Start Early: Emphasize Prenatal Services Fram ew ork for the Core Features • Data Utilization • Embedded Professional Development • High Quality Teaching Practices • Intensive Family Engagement • Dosage: Duration and Intensity Educare Theory of Change Educare is… • Partnership • Place • Program • Platform for Change 2

6/3/2013 Educare Child Racial/ Ethnic Educare Parent Dem ographic Dem ographics ( 2 0 1 1 – 1 2 ) Characteristics ( 2 0 1 1 – 1 2 ) • Similar to Head Start nationally (using FACES data for comparison) • Primary caregiver: 92% Mom; 3% Dad; 3% Grandma • 20% of moms were teens when child was born • 48% are a single parent • 66% were born in the U.S. Educare Child Dem ographic Educare Parent Em ploym ent Characteristics ( 2 0 1 1 – 1 2 ) Status ( 2 0 1 1 – 1 2 ) • 47% girls, 53% boys • 97% of children were born in US • 11% have a special need as identified by an IEP/ IFSP • 78% reported to have very good or excellent health Educare Child Hom e Educare Parent Educational Language ( 2 0 1 1 – 1 2 ) Attainm ent ( 2 0 1 1 – 1 2 ) 3

6/3/2013 Serious Life Events & Risk School Readiness: Early Entry Matters Factors ( 2 0 1 1 – 1 2 ) Educare children emerge prepared for Kindergarten • Substantial change in income – 38.6% English (n= 749) Dual Language Learners (n= 387) • Major change in living conditions – 31.9% 1 0 5 National Mean • Change in primary caregiver’s work – 29.1% = 1 0 0 1 0 0 • Separate from partner – 22.5% 9 5 • Family member incarcerated – 15.3% • Death of someone important in child’s life – 13.5% 9 0 98.5 98.1 • Family member had serious illness – 12.5% 94.8 96.8 94.7 95.2 8 5 93.6 • Family member victim of violent crime – 6.3% 91.3 88.5 87.8 8 0 • Child was witness to domestic violence – 5.1% • Lived with someone with alcohol/ drug problem – 4.9% 7 5 All Age 1 Age 2 Age 3 Age 4 • Parent screen positive for depression – 18% English Bracken scores of kindergarten-bound children, • Sometimes or often worry about food running out – 39% by age of entry into Educare (all sites), 2007-11 How Educare Schools Long-term Health Outcom es Prom ote Health & Learning of Early Childhood I ntervention • Head Start Standards – Partnerships with community health providers – Medical home Abecedarian Study – Developmental screenings – Immunizations – Well-Child check ups – Better health outcomes – Connections to WI C/ SNAP supports in adulthood – Access to and provide child & family mental health services – Healthier lifestyle – Screening, access and referral for disability services behaviors in adulthood • Health clinics at Educare Schools in Arizona, Kansas City and Milwaukee • Parent classes on nutrition, healthy cooking and exercise • Parent-child activities focused on health & nutrition Educare: Dem onstrating Call to Action Results • High quality early childhood programs can prevent learning disparities and promote better health outcomes in adulthood • School Readiness • Start early with prenatal care for mothers and high quality programs for • Language/ Vocabulary children beginning at birth • Social and Emotional Skills • Invest in innovative health and nutrition services for early childhood programs • Classroom Quality • Build and maintain community partnerships that support children’s health and learning • Increase coordination between early childhood and health care systems 4

6/3/2013 Data Utilization • Research-based strategies pkennel@educarenetwork.org • Data driven practices • Network level • School level • Individual children and families www.ounceofprevention.org www.educareschools.org Maintain Small Class Size & High Staff/ Child Ratios • Infant-toddler rooms -- 3 adults : 8 children • Preschool rooms -- 3 adults : 17 children Educare 1 3 Core Features Maintain High Staff Qualifications & Full Day, Full Year Intensive Staff Development • In each classroom: • Birth to Five--Start Early • Teacher • Assistant Teacher • Teacher Aide • Dosage/ Sustaining Gains • Family Support Supervisor & Family • Meet the needs of families who Support Specialists are working or in school • All staff have individual professional • Typical hours of operation: development plans & is a priority for the program 7am-6pm • Variety of partnerships to enhance • Importance of Early Entry PD offerings 5

6/3/2013 Provide Continuity of Care to Help Children Develop Interdisciplinary Work Secure Relationships • Seeing the child in the context of family through a collaborative process Children remain with same teaching team: • Strategies for staff to understand the importance of multiple perspectives • From entry until transition to 3-5 & from 3-5 until kindergarten • An interdisciplinary team conducts Family/ Child Reviews (FCRs) regularly • Same Age or Mixed Age in order to discuss & understand each child in context of family & community • Primary Caregiving • Use of specialized, integrated consultants On-site Family Support & Strong Language & Literacy Parent Engagement • Focus on oral language Family support staff have a development specific & intentional role in supporting 3 overarching principles: • Focus on children as readers and authors 1. The parent-child relationship • Print-rich environment 2. The parent’s role in their child’s development, health, & learning • Intentional use of the 3. The parent’s role in their focused teaching cycle child’s school experiences Reflective Practice & Social and Emotional Supervision Development • Reflective Practice as an organizational model • Focus on Relationships • Social, Emotional and Executive Function skills taught • Program design & management support the integration of reflective practice & • Supporting Transitions into, supervision throughout Educare within, and out of Educare • Proactive and positive child • Supervisors have no more than 6 supervisees guidance • Integration of Mental Health • Regular Individual and Group Reflective Consultation Supervision 6