The Vision:

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The Vision

• Make high-quality, early childhood programs
  available on a voluntary basis for all families
  with children under five
• Make sure the services are a part of a
  comprehensive system which is evaluated to ensure
  children have access to high-quality environments
  from birth to the day they start school

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Goals

• Our goals for the next two years are to
• Increase the number of children who have the
  opportunity to participate in early childhood
  programs
• Improve quality and hold programs accountable to
  make sure every dollar is being maximized to
  provide the greatest impact

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The ArgumentEarly education changes lives

• Children receiving high quality early education
  are
• 55 less likely to need special education
• 31 more likely to graduate high school
• 72 less likely to be arrested for drugs
• 20 more likely to be employed
• 26 less likely to be on welfare

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The Challenge

• Early childhood advocates and business leaders
  recognize early learning as a critical priority,
  however Kansas voters do not - yet.
• Early learning community must work to get the
  most advantageous, comprehensive birth-to-five
  policy, but be mindful of the current views of
  voters and legislators.

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Why is early investment more effective?

• Brain Development
• Ninety percent of children's brain development
  occurs before age five, but kindergarten starts
  after a child turns five. By making early
  childhood education available to all children, we
  take advantage of a crucial period in their
  development
• Improve K-12
• Studies show that high-quality early childhood
  programs are the BEST way to support improved
  academic outcomes in K 12 education. Children
  who attend early childhood programs are far more
  likely to enter kindergarten ready to learn, read
  at grade level by third grade, and graduate from
  high school and even college
• Return on Investment
• Decades of research proves that for every 1
  invested in early childhood programs, the state
  saves 7.

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Brain Development

• Synapse Development
• Synapses
• 50 trillion at birth
• 1000 trillion at 1 year
• Pruned in adolescence
• 500 trillion at 20 years
• Synapses are created at an astonishing speed in
  the first three years of life.
• Until they are about 10 years old, childrens
  brains have twice as many synapses as adults
  brains.

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Perry Preschool Program Educational effects by
treatment group
Source James J. Heckman, University of Chicago
citing Barnett (2004). Notes High achievement
defined as performance at or above the 10th
percentile on the California Achievement Test
(1970)?
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Perry Preschool Program Arrests by treatment
group
Perry Preschool Program Arrests per person before
age 40, by treatment group
Source James J. Heckman, University of Chicago
citing Perry Preschool Program. Juvenile arrests
are defined as arrests prior to age 19.
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Current ContextLegislative Victories

• Passed in 2006
• 2 million to establish Pre-K Pilots in six
  counties
• 1.8 million to expand Kansas Early Head Start
• 1.5 million 4 year old at-risk expanded funding
• 400,000 in expanded funding for infants and
  toddlers
• Passed in 2007
• 3.6 million 4 year old at-risk expanded funding
• 3 million for expanded Pre-K Pilots around the
  state
• 1.6 million for expanded Early Head Start
• 500,000 in expanded funding for child care
  quality initiatives
• 250,000 in expanded funding for Parents as
  Teachers

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Current Context2008 Legislative Victory

• Passed in 2008
• 11.1 million investment in Kansas Early
  Learning Block Grant
• Will help fund both public and private programs
  that meet rigorous quality standards
• Administered by the Childrens Cabinet through
  an RFP process
• 2.3 million in newborn screening
• 1 million in additional funding for tiny k
• 2.79 million to expand 4 yr old at-risk
• Overall Increase in the percentage of the
  Childrens Initiative Fund supporting early
  learning programs such as Kansas Early Head
  Start, Parents as Teachers, Tiny K, Kansas
  Preschool Program, Kansas Quality Rating System.

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Current ContextWhat Do We Want in 2009?

• Strengthen the states commitment to early
  childhood education by increasing investment of
  the Childrens Initiative Fund into the Early
  Childhood Block Grant and maintaining the current
  level of child care subsidy.
• Streamline the states two preschool programs
  Pre-K Pilot and Four-Year-Old-At-Risk into one
  seamless program that builds upon the best
  elements of each.
• Provide families and students with access to high
  quality programs through community partnerships,
  including school districts, Head Start, and child
  care providers.
• Exceed nationally recognized quality standards
• Hold programs accountable through the use of
  annual quality reviews and an independent
  evaluation to make sure that every dollar spent
  is well spent
• Focus on our most vulnerable children first

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Moving ForwardBuilding on Success
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Building the KansasEarly Childhood System
Remember the Three Ps are like hands on a clock
Policy
Plan
Politics
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Building the KansasEarly Childhood System
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What you must do

• Dramatically change the conversation regarding
  early learning
• Create a broad base of support
• Create urgency in lawmakers through grassroots
  and grasstops lobbying
• Continue education efforts (vs. Coalition
  influence efforts) for a long time otherwise
  potential for work to be undone
• Mobilize boards, partners
• Encourage business and civic leaders to join the
  Coalition
• Presentations to key community partners to engage
  them in Coalition (materials provided by
  Coalition)
• Establish an identity for the Coalition outside
  of other state childrens organizations
• Coordinate efforts across the continuum of early
  childhood services 0-5
• Coordinate message based on solid public opinion
  research
• Finalize policy and legislative recommendations
  for 09
• Use 2009 to generate momentum keep legislative
  recommendations modest, secure wins, and reach
  out for statewide input and national support to
  craft longer term policy
• Make an early childhood ask of the new Governor
  (petition, letter writing campaign)

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The vision cannot happen without your energy and
support www.KansasSchoolReadiness.org