for our youngest citizens

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for our youngest citizens
for us all
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• Our community is home to about 16,000 citizens
  under age 6.

If they all held hands, they would literally
stretch from Lindale across the entire city of
Cedar Rapids to the Airport.
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• But over 3,000 of these young children will fall
  behind in their development before they enter
  school

... and theyll never fully catch up
...unless we take steps to reach them now.
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• Every year over 2,700 babies are born here.

They are
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our children...

• our grandchildren...

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our first responsibility...

• our youngest citizens...

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our future workforce
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The first five years of life can be giant steps
if children are offered a good start.
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Or the first years can be the beginning of a
life long struggle to catch up.
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The architecture of the human brain is
permanently shaped by a childs experiences
during the first five years of life.
In other words, the effects of the early
childhood years last a lifetime.
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Factors affecting local children families

• Today, parents have 33 fewer close friends to
  turn to for shared experience and support.

• Only 10 of child care and preschool services in
  our area are accredited by a national
  organization (confirming they meet high quality
  standards)

• 20 of 4th graders in our area are not proficient
  in reading or math.

• Nearly 725, over 25 of the babies born in Linn
  County each year are from homes at or below the
  poverty level.

• 3 year olds in language-rich environments
  typically know 1,100 words, compared to 525 words
  for children from environments with fewer
  resources. Without intervention, this language
  gap will produce low reading skills in school and
  life.

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During the first five years
90 of a childs brain development takes place
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During the first five years
Lifelong patterns of behavior are formed.
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During the first five years
A childs lifelong learning capacity is broadly
established.
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The choices and investments we make as a
community largely determine which children
succeed in life...
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and which children fall behind and never catch
up.
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We already know from decades of research how to
to promote healthy development during the early
years.
We just dont devote enough resources to doing
these things for all of our children.
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We spend the least amount of money on children
during the time their brains are growing the
most.Source The RAND Corporation
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So, about 1 in 4 children fall behind.
1 in 4
1 in 4
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five giant steps our community can take to
assure that our youngest citizens get a good
start in life
five giant steps
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Offer home visitation to interested families
Offer parenting groups throughout the community
Promote family friendly workplaces
Reach new parents early with friendly support
Use 21st Century technology to help families
connect with each other
Enrich family life and help parents promote
active learning at home.
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Mentoring to promote strong early childhood
practices.
Increased training opportunities for early
educators
Practical supports to keep the best and
brightest in the early childhood field.
Small grants for program improvements
Increase the quality of existing child care and
preschool programs through
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Especially children who would otherwise enter
kindergarten without any preschool experience.
Offer high quality early childhood education to
children who need it the most.
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• Establish an Early Learning Institute to offer
  hands-on caregiver training using model
  classrooms and state-of-the art resources.

• Build stronger ties with schools, the medical
  community and early childhood providers to create
  further effectiveness and efficiency.

• Become a strong partner in local economic
  development efforts to attract new business and
  young skilled workers to the area.

Enhance the way community organizations work
together on behalf of young children
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• Reach out to community leaders, civic groups,
  places of worship, parents, grandparents and the
  general public.

• Share Born Learning materials developed by
  Civitas and United Way of America, along with
  locally-developed multi-media materials.

Engage the broader community by providing
information on importance of the first five
years of life.
5
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(a quick recap)
Enrich family life promote active early
learning at home.
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Improve existing child care and preschool
services.
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Offer high quality early education to additional
children.
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Work together better as community organizations.
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Get everyone in the community involved.
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If our children dont receive a strong foundation
for life in the 21st century, then weve failed
in one of our most basic duties as community
stewards.
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five giant steps and related efforts can help our
community become one of the best places in the
country to raise children.
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Meaningful investments in early childhood will
create a magnet effect, keeping young families
here and attracting additional skilled young
workers to the area.
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Most all of, these efforts will contribute to
better K-12 outcomes and provide local
children with a stronger start in life.
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Are you ready to step up?
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for our youngest citizens
for us all
five giant steps is a Fifteen in 5 initiative
sponsored the Cedar Rapids Chamber of Commerce
and the Greater Cedar Rapids Community
Foundation. Additionally, five giant steps is
endorsed by the Linn County Community
Empowerment Board and Linn County ISU Extension.