Title: Educare of Maine Maine and New England
1Educare of MaineMaine and New Englands First
Comprehensive, High-quality Early Childhood
Learning Center
2Unique State and Local Opportunity
- 3 M - Doris Buffetts Sunshine Lady Foundation
as seed money to inspire a Maine anchor donor - 1 M Bounce Learning Network The Sunshine Lady
Foundation partners with Buffett Early Childhood,
Kaiser Foundation, Kellogg and others involved
with Educare centers nationally to support new
Educare Centers when construction begins - 2 M Bill and Joan Alfond as Maine Anchor donor
- 2 M Governors allocation from Federal
Recovery Act - Various foundation and private donor contributions
3A National Network
Completed
- COMPLETED CENTERS
- Chicago
- Omaha
- Milwaukee
- Tulsa
- Denver
- Miami
4Important Connections are Made Prior to
School-Entry
90 of brain growth occurs before kindergarten
Newborn brain size compared to that of a
6-year-old brain
Newborn neural networks compared to networks of a
6-year-old
Source Paul Lombroso, Development of the
cerebral cortex. VI. Growth Factors I. Journal
of the American Academy of child and Adolescent
Psychiatry 37(6) 674-675, 1998.
5Educare and the Four Ps
- Educare is a PLACE
- Educare is a PROGRAM
- Educare is a PARTNERSHIP
- Educare is a PLATFORM for CHANGE
6 Educare Maines Goal
- To measurably increase the school-readiness of
children served and significantly reduce
unnecessary special education costs.
7Educare Central Maine
- The Local Partnership to Implement
- Educare Maines First Center
8Capacity and Vacancy Information
Note Effective August 1st, 2008 providers will
be required to count their own children ages 6
weeks 5 years in their numbers. This may
reduce current available slots.
Data Provided by Child Care Options Resource
Development Center
9 Employee Childcare Survey
2006/2007
- Age of child/ren in need of care
- (Rates include more than one child served in some
families) - 92.4 0-18 months
- 88.1 18 months to age 3
- 79.4 3-5
- 65.9 Concerned about Quality
- (The survey included 424 respondents from twenty
(20) small, medium and large employers in the
greater Waterville Area.) - AND
- Waterville Public Schools Reports Only 25 (32
children of the 128) kindergarteners have the
opportunity to attend quality care and education
preschool programming.
10 Low-Income Childcare Status
- Only 17.5 of infants/toddlers and 59 of all
preschool children in the greater Waterville area
who qualify for subsidized care receive service.
- 94 of the Early/Head Start Grantee (KVCAP)
2007/08 clientele had household incomes at or
below federal poverty level (FPL) the remaining
6 were below 135 of the FPL.
11Waterville Public Schools Special Education Costs
- 2008/2009 special education budget is 3,407,559
out of the total 20,042,000 district budget. - WPS spends 32 of its budget on 18 of its
students. - Of the 335 special education students 67 are
from low-income families. - Not including the non-special education students,
who are low-functioning entering the K-12 system,
Educares annual savings could be as high as
1,515,628.
12George Mitchell Elementary School School-Readiness
- 64 of the 625 students enrolled at GJMS receive
free or reduced lunch. - 67 of the kindergarten students come from low
income families. - 48 of 128 students recently screened for
kindergarten scored below the norms that lead to
successful transition into public school. - 45 of the class was at risk of reading failure.
- Language skills for all populations have
decreased by 22 over the past 3 years. - The 2007/08 Maine Education Assessments in Grade
3 revealed that 48 of all students (60 of
students from low income families) did not meet
reading standards and 34 of all students (45 of
students from low income families) did not meet
math standards.
13Educare is.
- A Place
- where 185 to 200 mostly low-income (Head Start
eligible) children from before they are born to
age 5 are served, during this most critical brain
development stage - where the children will find a warm, caring and
developmentally-appropriate environment that
fosters learning
14The Place
- A 35,477 sq. ft state-of-the-art, green
facility connected to George Mitchell Elementary
School - Facility designed by RDG Planning Design,
national architect firm experienced in early
childhood facilities and space development - Contractor is Ledgewood Construction, Portland,
ME - Estimated cost of facility is 8.5 million
15Design Influence
16Design Influence
- It suggested to me that there was something to
be seen if one had eyes. It made me a believer
of me more than before. I believed that the
woods were not tenantless, but choke full of
honest spirits as good as myself any day, -not an
empty chamber, in which chemistry was left to
work alone, but an inhabited house, -and for a
few moments I enjoyed fellowship with them. Your
so-called wise man goes trying to persuade
himself that here is no entity there but himself
and his traps, but it is a great deal easier to
believe the truth. - Henry David Thoreau
- The Maine Woods
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18Floor Plan
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20Educare is
- A Partnership
- between the school district, Head Start, and
Bill/Joan Alfond Foundation that has formed a 501
(c) (3) entity Educare Central Maine - bound by contract committing to joint governance
and long-term support - with a vision to better prepare disadvantaged
children to succeed in school and in life.
21 The Partnership Anchor philanthropists
- Bill and Joan Alfond Foundation and Buffet Early
Childhood - Buffet provided initial 3 million and Alfonds 2
million challenge to Maines private sector for a
4 million match - Leads the capital campaign to build the Center
- Engages the private sector to invest in the
Educare project and quality ECH overall - Helps ensure its success over time
- Shares governance with other partners.
22Public Partners
- Waterville Public School Superintendent
provides existing and expanded Title I and USDA
federal operating dollars and support with
existing education dollars, shares governance - Eric Haley, Waterville Superintendent of School
- Head Start/KVCAP Provides Head Start/Early Head
Start slots to Educare and applies for new slots
if available works to implement the core quality
components of the Educare model and shares
governance - Kathy Colfer/Pat Kosma, KVCAP
23Educare Central Maine Governance
- Three lead Partners have formed a 501 (c) (3)
corporation to better manage private
contributions and ensure separation of resources - Nonprofit leadership will maximize organizational
expertise and reduce administrative overhead by
contributing to administrative duties such as
human resources and fiscal management - Strengthen Community/School Fiscal oversight and
planning through Educare Board and Advisory
Committee
24Governance Role
- Monitoring program implementation and financial
status - Review and oversee evaluation/outcome/accountabili
ty for reporting assisting in securing
resources - Reviewing staff, parent and community
recommendations - Garnering community input and broad
parent/community participation and voice - Reviewing policies and procedures
- Developing strategic planning and position
statements - Providing State of Maine with feedback/information
to inform State policy - Attending community forums upon request and
- Establish function/impasse procedures with the
WPS and KVCAP boards and staff - Hire staff and manage human resources
- Mentor new and emerging Educare partnerships
statewide.
25Educare Advisory CommitteeGreater Waterville
Alliance on Early Care and Learning
- Mike Roy, Waterville City Administrator State
and federal grants for capital and
land-use/development process - Martha Naber, Kennebec Valley Community College
Early Childhood Faculty/Teaching Lab lead - Ray Nagel, Dick Farnsworth, Woodfords Family
Services Serving children with Autism - Liz Keach, Project Peds/CDS Provides
funding/expertise for special needs children - Tina Chapman, United Way of Mid-Maine Community
leadership - Kathleen Kenney, Waterville Public Library
Family Literacy Partner - Lauren Sterling, Greater Waterville Communities
for Children/Youth Coalition Partner for
resource development and outreach - John Salvato, M.D. for Inside Out Playground
Providing expertise on developmental play, health
and prevention
26- Educare is
- A Program
- Master-level teachers supervise Bachelor-level
teachers in each classroom - Evidence-based teaching strategies within low
teacher to students ratios are employed to
support learning and development of the whole
child - Desired Outcome
- Children will enter Kindergarten meeting
school-readiness measures by providing the
highest, research-based quality development and
education to children most in need so that they
will be ready to take advantage of preschool and
formal educational and life opportunities
27- Program
- Three Family Support Workers triage with teachers
to engage parents in their childs learning as
well as support the broader needs of each family - Desired Outcome
- Family interactions and relationships between
parents and children will be strengthened by
helping parents learn how to support their
children's healthy development, and their own
educational, health, and workforce needs and
28- Program
- An on-site, state-of-the-art teaching lab with
faculty from Kennebec Valley Community College
and UMF will exists for students seeking an early
childhood degree in Maine as well as ongoing
training for childcare providers across the state
and region. - Desired Outcome
- The number of well-qualified early childhood
professionals will Increase and expand the
workforce to positively impact children and
families across the state.
29Operations Income Streams
- include funds for programming that come from
existing sources (local, state, and federal) - are reorganized and maximized to allow for
seamless services to children and their families
while ensuring critical transitions into
kindergarten - will NOT impacting local or state taxpayers
beyond current levels
30Revenue Streams
- Early/Head Start (state/federal)
- Waterville Public School Title I Earmark
(state/federal) - Maine Dept of Educations Child Development
Services - USDA Food (To off-set staff expense)
- Medicaid
- Maine Dept of Health and Human Services Childcare
funds - Parent Co-Pay based on income level
- Space Rentals (Teaching Lab with KVCC and other
community service partners) - Other Grants through foundations and Development
Block Grants - NOTE Will seek scholarships to support
over-income families that just miss Head Start
eligibility
31 Educare Central MaineDRAFT Budget to Serve
185-200 Children and their Families
- Revenue 3,106,700
- Expenses 3,226,000
- Quality Gap 25,000 to 130,000
- (As part of 11 M goal are raising Endowment to
off-set Quality Gap to cover any operation needs)
32Educare is
- an Opportunity
- to make significant impact on the lives of the
most vulnerable in our community - to mentor other communities on advancing
quality, research-based early childhood education
through rigorous evaluation - (Doris Buffett has promised 3 million more for
second center) - to serve as a PLATFORM for policy change in
Maine and nationally.
33 Ribbon-Cutting 2010 Plan
- Raised 80 of total construction costs by June
25, 2009 to ensure shovel-ready status and to
secure first match from Bill/Joan Alfond
foundation - Need to raise 1.5 million more to access
foundation final match of 1 million - Build an Early Childhood Endowment
- 2 million start-up endowment as back-up to
support the operations beyond year-one should any
quality gap exist
34Research and the Educare Model
34
Ounce of Prevention Fund www.ounceofprevention.org
May 2008
35Early Educare Successes
- Early evaluation of
- Educare
- programs provide inspiration for investment
36 Promising Early Returns Bracken
School Readiness Nearly 100 of
kindergarten-bound children leave Educare with
school readiness cluster scores that meet or
exceed expected levels, especially in the areas
of letters, colors, and numbers. Vocabulary
Preschool children begin the year with vocabulary
scores in the low-average range (45-49 score).
By the end of the year, on average, children have
vocabulary scores in the average range, with
kindergarten bound children achieving the highest
average mean score (95-98 score). Early
Literacy Kindergarten bound children leave
Educare with specific early literacy skills that
meet or exceed expected developmental ranges
(i.e., 69 - 94 depending on the skill),
including the more difficult skill areas
dependent on good auditory processing capacity of
letter sounds, beginning sounds and rhyme
awareness.
37Questions