2015 impact report - Educational First Steps

ONE CHILDHOOD, ONE CHANCE
more
than
ever
2015 IMPACT REPORT
ONE CHILDHOOD, ONE CHANCE
High-quality
early
learning
is needed
more
than ever
The need is great. The time is now.
The earliest years of childhood go by quickly, but their impact lasts forever. As
much as 85 percent of critical human brain development occurs in a child’s
first three years. Young children flourish when they are exposed to language,
books, diverse experiences and developmentally appropriate learning. Most
children living in poverty miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Thousands of our region’s economically disadvantaged children attend
daycare that is little more than babysitting for 10 to 12 hours a day. While wellmeaning, these centers are not always safe, and learning often comes from
television and worksheets. If this is all young at-risk children are exposed to in
their first three to five years, they arrive at school already behind.
With childhood poverty in North Texas expected to double in the next 25
years, our community must step up now. We must teach early and teach
well to give all children a strong start. Educational First Steps is a nonprofit,
privately funded organization that shows caregivers of at-risk children
how to create high-quality early learning environments from birth onward.
In our 25th anniversary year we are expanding to meet the growing
challenges of educating young children in poverty. It’s needed more than ever.
“Educational First
Educational First Steps approach
Professional
Development
Teaching and mentoring caregivers to master
age-appropriate teaching practices
Program
Quality
Guiding centers to attaining and maintaining
national accreditation
Program
Sustainability
Involving
Families
“High school
is too late.
Middle
school is too
late. Even
kindergarten
is too late.”
Dr. Timothy Bray
Center for Urban Policy Research
University of Texas at Dallas
Providing resources to promote high enrollment
and economic stability in high-quality centers
Building an understanding of the benefits of early
learning through education and enrichment activities
Ages 0-3
Peak development for:
Creating neural pathways
Developing language skills
Gaining sensory information
Building cognitive skills
Steps’ affiliation has…
a persistent, positive
and significant effect
infrequently found
in similar intervention
programs.”
Dr. Richard Scotch
University of Texas at Dallas
Anchoring neighborhoods
in excellence
Our partner centers of quality not only
GRAPEVINE
provide rich early childhood environments,
but become anchors in high-need
neighborhoods. We go where the need is greatest,
and we collaborate with others focused on
making positive change in these communities.
CARROLLTON
North Texas’ western cities. Three have earned national accreditation.
RICHARDSON
FURTHERING FAMILY ENGAGEMENT IN WEST AND SOUTH DALLAS
GARLAND
We work with parents and families to turn everyday opportunities
into brain-building opportunities using with the mobile-learning app
Vroom and our Lazos y Abrazos Spanish-language program.
A NEW HUB FOR EARLY LEARNING PROFESSIONALS
Our new headquarters provides early learning professionals with
technology-driven training, hands-on practice and a place for
community dialogue. Resources are available to partner centers,
school districts and other nonprofits.
IRVING
EXPANSION IN FORT WORTH AND MID-CITIES
Lena Pope Early Learning Center joins 28 other partner centers in
MCKINNEY-
DENTON-
For 25 years, Educational First Steps has done the extraordinary: transforming daycare
Educational First Steps Day of Service mobilized hundreds of volunteers to complete
centers in low-income neighborhoods into nationally accredited early learning centers.
DALLAS
For example, volunteers enhanced the learning environments at four Arlington centers
by creating hanging gardens of fresh herbs and flowers.
ARLINGTON
Meeting
the needs
of children
more
than ever
Reaching more children. In more places. Faster.
PLANTING SEEDS OF GROWTH IN ARLINGTON AND BEYOND
classroom and playground improvement projects at partner centers across North Texas.
FORT
WORTH
ONE CHILDHOOD, ONE CHANCE
OAK CLIFF
By educating caregivers, who then become professional early learning teachers, we help
create high-quality learning environments that can repair and prevent learning gaps
MESQUITE
BALCH
SPRINGS
typical of children in poverty. Studies show that quality early education sets these children
on a path to lifelong success, paving the way for improved school readiness, sustained
academic performance and higher graduation rates.
Now serving early learning centers in 17 school districts across North Texas, Educational
First Steps is focused on neighborhoods with the greatest concentrations of poverty
where quality centers are scarce or non-existent. And, we are helping centers achieve
BENBROOK
today
accredited quality faster than ever.
“Every child must have a quality early childhood
education. Educational First Steps is a key
KENNEDALE
RECOGNIZING EXCELLENCE IN DUNCANVILLE
Victor Bell, director of Poppa’s Place, was chosen
partner in our community’s effort to meet this
DUNCANVILLE
as a National Accreditation Commission (NAC)
Projected accreditation
by 2016
Director of the Year finalist out of 1,500 early
learning program directors across the country.
CROWLEY
CLEBURNE -
Miriama High of Duncanville Learning Center
was also recognized as our Dave Munson Teacher
of the Year.
LANCASTER
Centers working to
achieve accreditation
Accredited partners
need. It’s a critical effort, and the future of
our children depends on it.”
Pete Geren
President
Sid W. Richardson Foundation
Fort Worth
children in highest quality
partner centers
aspiring to
by 2018
THE NEED
ONE CHILDHOOD, ONE CHANCE
Supporting
early learning
professionals
more
than ever
Quality and sustainability. hand in hand.
Educational First Steps equips the people who care for children in poverty – in preschools,
daycare centers and homes – with proven tools and techniques that transform caregiving
into teaching.
We help educators master age-appropriate teaching techniques, providing a blend of training,
hands-on demonstration and in-classroom mentoring. Educators learn nationally
recognized early learning skills, leading to a Child Development Associate Certification. As
a result, children are surrounded by what they need most: informed teachers to care
for them in safe, developmentally-appropriate educational environments.
We commit to our partner centers for the long-term, providing them with ongoing program
support. As public Pre-K options become more widespread, we are focused on helping
our centers expand their enrollment of children ages birth to age 3. By fortifying their
business and marketing skills, these centers will remain long-term educational anchors
in their neighborhoods for generations to come.
“Finally the
climate is right,
here and across
the nation, to
put maximum
resources into
transforming
early education
standards and
professionalizing
the field.”
Serena Simmons Connelly
Harold Simmons Foundation
Dallas
Only 4% to 7% of Dallas and
Teachers and directors receive
20,000
hours of mentoring and training
reinforcing 227 standards
of early education excellence per year.
MAKING
GAINS
Tarrant County childcare centers
94% of Educational First
are nationally accredited, mostly
Steps-affiliated centers achieve
in affluent neighborhoods
national accreditation
“My children are growing into
the best they can be, because
of their experiences at an
Educational First Steps partner
center. The quality of care
supports them to be on target
and ignites things within
them that I didn’t even see.”
La’Kitsha Lee
Mother of James (3 months) and Jaya Lee (3 years)
Educational First Steps
“provides
at-risk children
with hands-on opportunities
to experience the diversity
of life. I love seeing the
children explore the
wonders of nature for the
first time, connecting
with their environment
and their parents.
”
ONE CHILDHOOD, ONE CHANCE
Connecting
families to
quality early
learning
more
than ever
Opening the door to quality experiences.
Ivy, a single mother, gets a new job at a retail store, earning $246 per week. The cost of
full-time care for her girls is $280 weekly – more than she could possibly manage. She and
Adrian Cotton
Program Specialist
Dallas Arboretum
others
like her depend on Texas Child Care Assistance funds to make quality care for
their children possible. But, they are often on a long wait list.
Educational First Steps partnered with Dallas Women’s Foundation to fill this gap by creating
the Child Care Bridge Fund serving all of North Texas. This fund provides short-term
scholarships to parents on the state subsidy wait list so they can connect immediately to highquality care for their children and maintain regular employment or improve their own education.
Average hours children are read to by an adult before age 5
25 Hours
A typical child in poverty
1,000 Hours
More affluent children
“Dallas Women’s Foundation
believes that investing in
Educational First Steps’ Bridge
Fund produces a triple bottom
line – for the working mom,
We also engage parents as their children’s first teachers. Educational First Steps demonstrates
her children and the high-
the importance of parental involvement through a wide range of enrichment opportunities.
quality child care provider.”
These include programs like Wild About Reading in Fort Worth, which encourages regular
family time with books, to horizon-expanding experiences with partners like the Amon
Carter Museum, Dallas Arboretum, Dallas Zoo, Fort Worth Museum of Science & History
and The Perot Museum.
Roslyn Dawson Thompson
President & CEO
Dallas Women’s Foundation
ONE CHILDHOOD, ONE CHANCE
Achieving quality, faster than ever
3-YEAR
The next
generation
needs your
support
more
than ever
program to national quality
accreditation and highest
Texas Rising Star ratings
94% of
partner centers achieve
national quality accreditation
DENTON
Aspiring to Reach More
Children in Poverty
Children in nationally
accredited early learning
centers by 2018
COLLIN
Aggressively scaling programs
working in
442+ classrooms
TARRANT
Our community’s future is the next generation.
DALLAS
JOHNSON
The repetitive, crushing cycle of poverty often begins with missed opportunities in the
Components of creating quality
Total Program Expenditures
$2,042,405
early childhood years. Educational First Steps is committed to creating systemic solutions
2%
to this early education gap that have positive implications for generations to come.
With childhood poverty expected to double in the next 25 years, the time to act is now.
Improving Enrollment has Impact
Educational First Steps needs your support to strategically respond and grow. For those of
us who care about tomorrow, it’s a smart investment.
We help the community meet the critical growing need for high quality early childhood
education by:
Expanding our set of early education solutions to effectively and efficiently
disrupt the cycle of poverty in the lives of young children and families.
Securing the long-term viability of high-quality providers by helping them
establish best business and marketing practices that engage families and
increase enrollment.
Scaling our capacity to bring more classrooms in at-risk neighborhoods
across North Texas to high-quality standards.
Accelerating program growth by collaborating with partners across North
Texas to reach new communities and place more children in positive early
learning environments faster.
For every
1 SPENT
Placing more students in high-quality learning
environments results in a positive economic
impact for our low-income partner centers.
12.90
2014-2015 Pilot
125 children placed
$700,000 impact
$
on high-quality
preschool, there
is an estimated
$
PUBLIC BENEFIT
High/Scope Perry Preschool
Study through Age 40 (2005)
2015-16 PROJECTED
300 children placed
$1.8 million impact
Audited financials will be available at www.educationalfirststeps.org on November 1, 2015.
12%
12%
14%
60%
Educator Mentoring
Professional Development
Enrollment Initiatives
Materials and Enrichment Activities
Home-Based Training
1990
2015
Board of Directors
Kathryn Lake, Chair
Margaret Spellings, Immediate
Past Chair
ONE CHILDHOOD, ONE CHANCE
Barbara McDermott, Vice Chair
Robert L. Appel, Treasurer
Carolyn Westberry, Secretary
Beth Gold, Development
Committee Chair
2815 Gaston Avenue
Dallas, TX 75226
(214) 824-7940
2100 Circle Drive
Suite 300
Fort Worth, TX 76119
(817) 535-0044
educationalfirststeps.org
Lydia B. Addy
Peggy Allison
Susan Baldwin
Ken Barth
Molly Cowan
Kristi Francis
Martha Fry, Fort Worth
Elizabeth Hogg Garza, Fort Worth
Rachel Goldberger
Paige Harwell
Leslie Kennedy
Suzanne Keohane
Brett Kirstein
Jessa McIntosh
Jennifer Mosle
Brandon Ratzlaff
Georgia Scaife
John Selzer
Nancy Skochdopole
Jane Tabor
Michele Valdez
Carolyn Westberry
J. Giffen Weinmann, Jr.
Founding and
Life Members
Sandra Estess
Barbara Garton
David Munson
Joyce Wright
Linus Wright
Executive Director
John R. Breitfeller