American Forum Op-Ed

Mississippi is a state that has historically faced severe economic challenges, as well as high rates of poverty, dropouts, and illiteracy. Efforts though to bring community partners together have gained traction to create a system of quality education for young children.

Community, state and national leaders saw the need for action to improve the state’s ability to compete economically, to enhance the quality of life for its children and families, and to increase opportunities for all Mississippi children to achieve success. With the support of business, philanthropic, community and education leaders, many child care programs and preschools are receiving help to increase quality early childhood education.

Mississippi has adopted a quality rating system to promote quality improvements and business leaders have backed an early childhood education demonstration model that aims to improve the quality and delivery of services to children in early learning settings. At the same time, coalitions and calls for early education innovation and investments that will benefit young children across the state continue to grow.
Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids (SPARK) Mississippi has helped to lay a foundation from which an early learning system in Mississippi can evolve. This system includes multiple strategies and service components that ensure children’s health care needs are addressed, parents are supported in their efforts to provide nurturing and stable home environments, and that early care and education settings provide high-quality learning experiences while working with schools to develop effective transition plans.

Starting their work in five locations, mainly in the Mississippi Delta, SPARK staff worked with cohorts of three-year-olds in each community to provide them and their families with the supports and services needed to ensure their seamless transition into school and academic success through the third grade. By providing transition strategies, intense intervention, and scaling the SPARK work, we were able to make a difference in the early childhood education community in our selected sites; Most of which have evolved into model programs that can be replicated statewide using existing governmental resources.

Intervention strategies include: professional development and technical assistance for early learning center staff; resource fairs and cultural awareness activities for children and families; home visitation and the coordination of transition activities between early learning settings and public schools. In a recent evaluation, SPARK children, with all of these interventions, out-performed students in a comparable school district who did not have access to these interventions on a statewide achievement test.

A key component that has led to the success of SPARK Mississippi is the formation of Local Children’s Partnerships. These partnerships are made up of community members representing early education, local school districts, business leaders, parents, health providers, SPARK staff and other stakeholders who realize that the success of their community and ultimately the state rests upon meaningful investments in its children. These stakeholders work together to act on issues of quality, transition and alignment of the early education community.

The next phase of work plans to take the lessons learned from the first six years of the initiative and expand the model into additional communities throughout the state. We want to ensure that the investments made will continue to build support for early childhood care and education and influence early childhood policy and practice across the state.

To help share the lessons learned through SPARK’s early learning initiatives, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation partnered with IDEO, a renowned design and innovation consulting firm, to help communities improve their learning systems. Instead of relying on outside experts — the usual method for reforming schools — these communities are looking inward, tapping parents, teachers, business and faith leaders, and even students to help generate solutions that work for them.
The best programs, we continue to learn, link parents, teachers, and students and create strong connections between classrooms and communities, building an educational continuum.

Communities, school districts, and policymakers are creating new ways to teach and nurture children from age 3 through third grade. National leaders are taking notice and, more important, taking steps to replicate successful programs across the map. President Obama is asking states and communities with innovative ideas to help reshape American education. To propel these innovative ideas, two new federal funds for innovation will provide a total of $5 billion to inspire communities to shake up the education landscape.

Through the President’s initiative we have the chance to further revolutionize learning and set Mississippi’s children on a path to long-term success despite the current economic crisis.

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Collins is the executive director of SPARK-MS, an initiative of the Children’s Defense Fund – Southern Regional Office. Taylor is vice president for programs at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
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Copyright (C) 2010 by the Mississippi Forum 2/10

AMERICAN FORUM

By Pat Wheatley and Anthony Berkley

Communities, school districts, and policymakers are creating new ways to teach and nurture children from birth through third grade. National and state leaders are taking notice, and more importantly taking steps to replicate successful programs across the map.

The time is right, too. President Obama is asking states and communities with innovative ideas to help reshape American education. To propel these innovative ideas, two new federal funds for innovation will provide a total of $5 billion to inspire communities to shake up the education landscape.

While all levels of education need shaking up, it is important that we start with early learning to get our kids on the right track as soon as possible.

Young children learn more, do better in school and, ultimately, in the world of work when they move seamlessly from home to child care to preschool to the early grades. Unfortunately, far too few children experience such seamlessness, thanks to a poorly implemented educational system that moves them from one place and grade to the next with no sense of continuity.

Communities large and small – urban and rural – are hard at work to change that. Promising early learning initiatives, supported through a W.K. Kellogg Foundation-sponsored project called SPARK, Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids, are helping communities to smooth those crucial transitions from home, child care, and pre-school to elementary school. SPARK efforts bring together schools, early care and education providers, families and community partners to make sure that children are ready for school and that schools are ready for them.

California communities are embracing these principles and innovative practices to improve student and school readiness to build the foundation for long-term student success. New ideas are the order of the day, especially in California communities already reeling from a state budget crisis that only deepened as the national economy nose-dived. In one community – Santa Barbara – a collaborative that involves First 5 Santa Barbara County, the Carpinteria Unified School District, public and private service providers, philanthropic and community organizations, is working to ensure coordinated services for families and children beginning at the earliest ages. The focus for services is clear: enhancing school readiness and success in the early grades and beyond, improving child and family health, and strengthening the capacity of vulnerable families to thrive.

Efforts are underway to share the lessons learned through SPARK and other early learning initiatives. Governors’ forums help spread good ideas and practices, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation partnership with IDEO, a renowned design and innovation consulting firm, assists communities in improving their learning systems. Instead of relying on outside experts — the usual method for reforming schools — these communities are looking inward, tapping parents, teachers and even students to help generate solutions that work for them.

The best programs, we continue to learn, link parents, teachers, and students and create strong connections between classrooms and communities, building an educational continuum.

We have the chance, thanks to these dynamics, to revolutionize learning and set our children on a path to long-term success.

Communities like Santa Barbara are already creating new pathways and connections that support early learning and success in school. Such groundbreaking strategies can help shape federal and state policies. In turn, federal and state governments must allow communities the flexibility to implement policies that help their children learn best.

Creating and championing innovative programs that communities throughout America can adapt — may well turn this time of economic crisis into one of meaningful and lasting education reform.

The best ideas for education, we’ve long known, bubble up from the community level. Thanks to the President’s $5 billion initiative, the stars seem aligned to give this type of bottom-up innovation serious consideration.
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Wheatley is executive director of First 5 Santa Barbara County. Berkley is deputy director for education and learning at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
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Copyright (C) 2010 by the American Forum. 1/10

American Forum

By Ken Smythe-Leistico and Anthony Berkley

The best ideas for education, we’ve long known, bubble up from the community level. Now the stars seem aligned to give this type of bottom-up innovation serious consideration.

The President is asking states and communities with innovative ideas to help reshape American education. To propel these innovative ideas, two new federal funds for innovation will provide a total of $5 billion, enough to launch what Education Secretary Arne Duncan has described as “education reform’s moon shot.” These funds aim to do nothing less than inspire communities to shake up the education landscape.

All levels of education, we believe, need shaking up, but none more than the long-ignored area of early learning.

For years now, school systems have funneled energy and resources to remediation programs in often futile attempts to keep struggling, older children in school. But, they’ve prevented far too few teens from dropping out.

We, of course, must not ignore the serious needs of our older students. But, we still need to do much more to help children kick off their education the right way. We need to start much earlier, the younger the better, to give our younger students an extra boost from so that they never fall behind in the first place.

Young children learn more, do better in school and, ultimately, in the world of work when they move seamlessly from home to child care to preschool to the early grades. Unfortunately, far too few children experience such seamlessness, thanks to a herky-jerky educational system that moves them from one place and grade to the next with no sense of continuity.

Communities large and small are hard at work to change that — in places ranging from Miami and Atlanta to counties across Ohio and Pennsylvania. These communities have launched and expanded promising early learning initiatives through a project called SPARK, Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids. Sponsored by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, SPARK works to smooth those crucial transitions from home, child care and preschool to elementary school.

The goal: to make sure that children are ready for school and that schools are ready for them. Communities around the country are embracing these principles and innovative practices to improve student and school readiness and the opportunities for long-term student success. The University of Pittsburgh Office of Child Development, for several years has worked with local schools to develop model community teams and implement plans that result in positive school transitions for young children.

They also have helped to establish and sustain good relationships between parents, programs and schools. These kindergarten transition teams reflect and engage the community, including staff from the school, Head Start, child care, literacy programs and social services agencies, parents, clinicians, and clergy.

To help share the lessons learned through SPARK and other early learning initiatives, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation partnered with IDEO, a renowned design and innovation consulting firm, to help communities improve their learning systems. Instead of relying on outside experts — the usual method for reforming schools — these communities are looking inward, tapping parents, teachers, business and faith leaders, and even students to help generate solutions that work for them.

The best programs, we continue to learn, link parents, teachers, and students and create strong connections between classrooms and communities, building an educational continuum.

Communities, school districts, and policymakers are creating new ways to teach and nurture children from age 3 through third grade. National leaders are taking notice and, more important, taking steps to replicate successful programs across the map.

We have the chance, thanks to these dynamics, to revolutionize learning and set our children on a path to long-term success.

Communities are already creating new pathways that support early learning and success in school. Such groundbreaking strategies can help shape federal and state policies. In turn, federal and state governments must allow communities the flexibility to implement policies that help their children learn best.
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Smythe-Leistico is director of Pathways to School Success at the University of Pittsburgh Office of Child Development. Berkley is deputy director for education and learning at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
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Copyright (C) 2010 by the American Forum. 1/10

AMERICAN FORUM

By Laurie Potts and Anthony Berkley

All levels of education need shaking up, but none more than the long-ignored area of early learning.

Now the stars are aligning to give this type of bottom-up innovation serious consideration.

The President is asking states and communities with innovative ideas to help reshape American education. To propel these innovative ideas, two new federal funds for innovation will provide a total of $5 billion, enough to launch what Education Secretary Arne Duncan has described as “education reform’s moon shot.” These funds aim to do nothing less than inspire communities to shake up the education landscape.

We know that young children learn more, do better in school and, ultimately, in the world of work when they move seamlessly from home to child care to preschool to the early grades. Unfortunately, far too few children experience such seamlessness, thanks to a herky-jerky educational system that moves them from one place and grade to the next with no sense of continuity.

Communities large and small – rural and urban – are hard at work to change that. Promising early learning initiatives through a W.K. Kellogg Foundation-sponsored project called SPARK, Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids, are working to smooth those crucial transitions from home, child care and preschool to elementary school.

The goal: to make sure that children are ready for school and that schools are ready for them.

Communities around the country are embracing these principles and innovative practices to improve student and school readiness and the opportunities for long-term student success. In Coos County Oregon, Southwestern Oregon Community College and the Commission on Children and Families Early Childhood Committee have for many years built collaboration among programs and services for young children and their families within local communities. The partnership, working with and through the college’s Childhood Education & Family Studies program, community organizations, local schools, and Head Start/Early Head Start programs, serves to strengthen the links and alignment of early childhood programs and services with schools. Successful parenting education programs, a parent-child cooperative preschool, and ongoing teacher and early care provider training have their roots in partnership efforts.

Efforts are underway to share the lessons learned through SPARK and other early learning initiatives, including networking activities, Governor’s fora, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation partnership with IDEO, a renowned design and innovation consulting firm, to help communities improve their learning systems. Instead of relying on outside experts — the usual method for reforming schools — these communities are looking inward, tapping parents, teachers and even students to help generate solutions that work for them.

The best programs link parents, teachers, and students and create strong connections between classrooms and communities, building an educational continuum.

Communities, school districts, and policymakers are creating new ways to teach and nurture children from age 3 through third grade. National leaders are taking notice and, more important, taking steps to replicate successful programs across the map.

Communities such as Coos Bay are continuously searching for and creating new pathways that support early learning and success in school. Community forums and other strategies identify needs, strengths, and next steps that are then put into action. One undertaking has culminated in the development of a local community school where children participate in enrichment programs, parents can take parenting and early childhood education classes, and social service supports from community partners, are available, right at the school. Such groundbreaking strategies can help shape federal and state policies.

Oregon must work toward tapping into the $5 billion in federal funding to further innovate and expand existing early education programs. We cannot afford to miss out on this tremendous opportunity to better our communities through investing in our children’s futures.
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Potts is childhood education director at Southwestern Oregon Community College. Berkley is deputy director for education and learning at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
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Copyright (C) 2010 by the American Forum. 1/10