Project Overview www.chemungschoolreadiness.org In Chemung County - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Project Overview www.chemungschoolreadiness.org

In Chemung County • Too many local Kindergartners start school without the skills they need for further learning – SRP’s 2007 Baseline evaluation determined that 57% of Kindergartners were not ready – Not a coincidence… in 2011 when these children were tested in 4 th grade 53% did not meet proficiency standards in English Language Arts. • As a community, we can and must abate this trend – With a solid foundation of early learning experiences, many more children can be successful learners by the time they start school 2

A One-of-a-Kind Initiative • Chemung County is first in NY to support a cohesive system of this magnitude – Services and activities are based on proven models from around the country. – SRP partners devised a comprehensive approach to measuring readiness based on 8 domains. – Commitment to independent evaluation • Independent evaluator from Columbia University provided baseline evaluation • Independent evaluator from SUNY Albany assessed effectiveness and impact 3

What was the goal? All SRP activities work together to cut the number of unprepared kindergartners in half • More of Chemung County’s children will start school with a solid foundation for successful learning • We will better prepare our children to be valuable citizens of our county – Studies show that children with constructive early experiences are less likely to become dependent on welfare, become parents during their teen years or to commit crime. 4

Integration Is Key To Success Four pillars provide the integrated structure of SRP – Nurse Home Visiting – Early Care & Education (includes HeadStart and UPK) – Parent Learning – Targeted physical and behavioral health initiatives 5

SRP Partners • CIDS • Chemung County Child Care Council • EOP/HeadStart • Southern Tier Pediatrics • Cornell University • Parent Child Resource Center • Family Reading Partnership • Elmira Psychiatric Center • Elmira City School District • Elmira Heights Central School District • Horseheads Central School District • Chemung County Department of Human Services • Community Volunteers • St. Joseph’s Hospital • Arnot Ogden Medical Center 6

Benefits All Chemung County Children • The SRP benefits ALL children – The program is available across the county • Elmira • Elmira Heights • Horseheads • All outlying towns and villages – Program is designed to benefit all parents with one or more children age birth through 5 • Every income level • Every parent age group • Every educational background 7

Local funding was crucial • We started with the Community Foundation and Chemung County • New York State COPS Funding was accessed from 2007-2009 before the state ended this program • SRP adjusted – and continued • The Community Foundation has invested $1.13 million to date in this project. 8

Where Are We Now? Preliminary Results from SUNY Albany: – 68.6% of Chemung County’s 2011 -12 Kindergartners arrived READY This means we have cut the number of unprepared Kindergartens by 42%. – Every district benefited • Elmira City from 44.7% to 67.5% • Horseheads from 52.5% to 71.9% • Elmira Heights from 50% to 60.7% 9

Other Key Findings – 80.4% of youth who participated in a Pre-K program were ready for Kindergarten. – The greatest gains were observed among children whose mothers had a high school education or less. Readiness levels rose from 39% to 75%. – The group considered NOT READY in 2007 accounted for 14.8% of the population. In 2011, this number dropped to 5.8% – The group considered COMPLETELY READY in 2007 accounted for 14.1% of the population in 2007. In 2011, this number rose to 28.3%. 10