Miami-Dade County, Florida's largest county with 2.4 million people and larger than 16 states, is the home of what is increasingly seen as a national model for a community-wide high-quality "school readiness" initiative. Miami-Dade is statistically the most diverse area in the United States (60% Hispanic, 22% black or African American, 18% non-Hispanic white, and more than half of its residents born in another country). For all its pockets of wealth, Miami-Dade also has a significantly higher than national average of underskilled, undereducated and impoverished. In January 1999, a community-wide effort was launched on behalf of all children in their early childhood years..

 

The key convenor was David Lawrence Jr., the president of The Early Childhood Initiative Foundation, who also has been a leader in The Children's Trust, the Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade/Monroe, the Florida Partnership for School Readiness and a member of the governor's Children and Youth Cabinet. He is also "University Scholar for Early Childhood Development and Readiness" at the University of Florida. The Early Childhood Initiative Foundation was inspired and founded by a generous and public-spirited Miami couple -- Dr. Jane and Jerry Katcher -- who believed that the early childhood years are especially critical to the future of children and the community. The Katchers furnish the foundation’s core staff funding, and then the foundation raises the dollars for all its projects.

 

Major partnerships include United Way, the Healthy Start Coalition (focused on infant and maternal health), The Children's Trust, the Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade/Monroe and the Miami-Dade Family Learning Partnership.

 

 We seek to build a movement that embraces all children, all families. This is not about "other people's" children, but rather "everyone's child." We move on many fronts, including these:

 

 

 Teach More/Love More is, among other things, a public awareness campaign sponsored by The Early Childhood Initiative Foundation and United Way Success By 6. The campaign not only alerts parents to the stark consequences of failing to prepare our children -- all our children -- for school and success in life, but also offers solutions for overcoming the challenges that all parents face.

 

In 2001, we launched a major, years-long campaign for public awareness on this topic. That campaign's first target is parents and caregivers who can call -- in English, Spanish or Creole -- any hour of the day or night for information that ranges from: "My child has been crying for hours; what should I do?" to "How do I find really good child care that I can afford?

 

We have built partnerships with 13 birthing hospitals, 19 birthing centers and 39 community libraries. Today every new mother in our community receives the preview issue of an 11-times-a-year parent skill-building newsletter…information about how to connect the child to health insurance…a high-quality baby book accompanied by a message about the importance of reading to the children from the earliest months…a temporary library card that can be turned in for a permanent card and a round-trip bus pass to the nearest library. Everything is free and in English, Spanish and Creole. (Tens of thousands of parents have signed up for the parent skill-building newsletter.)

 

We have published a Children's Resource Guide, which goes in our new-parent hospital packets. We also oversaw the production of an hour-long television show on early childhood challenges, produced by The Early Childhood Initiative Foundation and WLRN-TV. The show focuses on South Florida families with on-camera expertise by Dr. Roni Leiderman of the Family Center at Nova Southeastern University and famed baby doctor T. Berry Brazelton.

 

In 2005, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), The Early Childhood Initiative Foundation and the Miami-Dade Family Learning Partnership launched a major early childhood education book and curriculum on diversity called "All Kinds of...Todo Tipo De...Tout Kalite...." The book is given free to every new parent in the community via all birthing hospitals and birthing centers. It's designed as a baby's first book, encouraging parents to read with their children from the earliest months; it also helps families learn to recognize and respect the differences and similarities that human beings have in common.

 

"All Kinds Of..." is published in English, Spanish and Haitian-Creole; this board book was created for parents and caregivers to use with their young children to help them (1) take the first steps in early literacy, and (2) develop comfort with diversity. A trilingual companion activity guide -- All Kinds Of...Activity Guide/Curriculum Framework, Todo Tipo de...Guia de Actividades, Tout Kalite...Liv egzesis edikatif/Chapant yon kourikoulom -– appears on both ADL’s website (www.adl.org) and the Teach More/Love More website, accessible via www.teachmorelovemore.org.. It features a shared reading activity and follow-up activities to support young children's exploration of the world around us.

 

 

Ready Schools Miami is a nationally important collaboration creating a continuum of learning and children’s well-being from birth through elementary school in Miami-Dade. Key partners include The Early Childhood Initiative Foundation, the University of Florida’s Lastinger Center for Learning, Miami-Dade Public Schools, The Children’s Trust, the Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade/Monroe, United Way, Head Start, the University of Miami and Florida International University. The key funder of Ready Schools Miami is the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

 

Genuine, high-quality and systemic change means not only children, parents and communities fully ready to help all children succeed in school and in life, but also “ready schools.” This project works (a) to improve quality at all levels, (b) builds collaborative relationships with the early care and education community and public schools, (c) works to align curriculum and professional development from before birth through elementary school, and (d) engages parents in their children’s education.

 

In children’s early years, Ready Schools works with Quality Counts, a voluntary program providing professional development support to hundreds of child care sites. In Head Start, all 85 centers in Miami-Dade County are participating. In the public school system, all 230 elementary schools are participating in Ready Schools Miami.

 

Among the nationally pioneering components of Ready Schools is a job-embedded master’s provided by the University of Florida’s Lastinger Center for Learning. This is available to teachers in elementary schools as well as early care and education practitioners in the Quality Counts programs. The master’s is a 2 ½-year program provided by a blend of online teaching and professors in residence. Full tuition is paid for by Ready Schools. Teachers who enter the program must commit to five years within the Miami-Dade system, with teachers agreeing to stay within their schools unless the school district needs them in another challenging school. Participants, working with colleagues in their own schools, have the fullest opportunity to discuss how to resolve learning challenges and apply “best practices.” In a profession with such significant turnover – that is, half of all teachers gone from the profession within five years – this approach retains first-rate teachers and gives them the tools and the aspirations to continue making a difference in students’ lives. Currently 100 teachers are enrolled in the program.

 

 

The Children’s Trust, a dedicated source of revenue to improve the lives of children and families, was approved by Miami-Dade voters in 2002 by a 2-1 margin -- and then reauthorized by an overwhelming 85.4 percent favorable margin in the summer of 2008. Miami-Dade is one of eight Florida counties with such a funding source.

 

The Children's Trust board is an independent and diverse group of 33 members from the public and private sector. That board decides how The Trust will invest at least $100 million a year from property taxes on behalf of our children. The cost to the owner of a median-assessed-value home is a little more than a dollar a week.

 

The Children's Trust invests in high-quality programs and initiatives for children in health, development and safety, and seeks to increase parental and community responsibility for children. The Trust targets early intervention and prevention services for our most vulnerable children, families and neighborhoods and also pushes for increased availability of needed services for all children and families. That includes millions in incentives for higher-quality child care through the five-star quality rating and improvement system called Quality Counts.

 

About a third of The Trust’s overall budget has been committed to funding after-school and summer programs for more than 40,000 children. Among those are programs for children with special needs. These programs provide a secure, nurturing, engaging and supervised environment for children with a                      variety of academic, athletic, cultural and social activities. Additionally, The Trust invests heavily in early intervention and prevention services to promote positive child and youth development and teach parenting skills. These programs help reduce illiteracy, delinquency, drug abuse, teen pregnancy, child abuse, injury and neglect.

 

The Children’s Trust’s 211 helpline provides free information and referral services for parents, caregivers and youth 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in English, Spanish and Creole. The 211 helpline counselors offer information and referral services about programs countywide, as well as crisis intervention. Recognizing that tens of thousands of Miami-Dade children lack access to quality health care, The Trust developed a major initiative called HealthConnect, a national model providing health teams to more than 130 Miami-Dade public schools (the fourth largest school system in the country). A nurse or nurse practitioner, a social worker and a “health tech” are shared by every two schools. These health teams conduct health and wellness screenings, address immediate health needs, help manage chronic diseases, and address social-emotional-behavioral-developmental issues. In addition, HealthConnect makes family coaches available for free, home visits for all first-time and teen mothers. This initiative also includes a network of health navigators dedicated to helping the uninsured and under-insured access affordable and reliable medical insurance options or health care.

For more information about The Children’s Trust and its funded programs, go to www.thechildrenstrust.org or call 305- 571-5700.

 

 

In 1999, the Legislature passed the School Readiness Act, consolidating the state’s early childhood education and child care programs into a more integrated program of school readiness services. That means school readiness programs would be administered by school readiness coalitions (now known as Early Learning Coalitions) at the county or multi-county level. The Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade/Monroe, one of 31 such coalitions in Florida, is overseen by the state’s Office of Early Learning, a department of the Agency for Workforce Innovation.

 

The Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade/Monroe plans and coordinates school readiness services throughout Miami-Dade and Monroe. The coalition seeks to improve the quality of services administered by early education and child care providers that care for children under age 5. The coalition also raises awareness of the importance of quality early education and directs resources to income-eligible parents.

 

Florida’s coalitions also are responsible for the voluntary universal prekindergarten program. That program, passed by Florida voters in 2002 with enabling legislation signed by Gov. Jeb Bush in 2005, is designed to help all 4 year olds prepare for kindergarten and build the foundation for future educational success. The program allows parents to enroll eligible children in a free, pre-K program at a public or private qualified provider in their community. There are 141,000 Florida 4 year olds in the program. The coalition is in charge of The Children’s Trust-funded child care quality-improvement system called Quality Counts, which is now in 400+ child care centers, family care homes, Head Start centers and public elementary schools. By improving quality in early care and education, better outcomes are achieved for children. This multi-faceted program works with teaching staff, center directors and parents. Other partners of Quality Counts include The Early Childhood Initiative Foundation and United Way.

 

For more information about The Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade/Monroe, call 305-646-7220 or visit www.elcmdm.org  

 

National pilot study will help children who might have learning disabilities: 

 In this country -- and community – at least 12 percent of all children fit in the broad category of “special needs.” Perhaps a fourth of those might have “learning disabilities,” defined as neurological disorders that affect the brain’s ability to receive process, store and respond to information. In the phrasing of the National Center for Learning Disabilities, the term covers a group of disorders and describes the seemingly unexplained difficulty a person of at least average intelligence has in acquiring basic academic skills. Such skills are essential for success at school and work, and for coping with life in general.  

 

Most children with “learning disabilities” are identified at age 8 or 9. Imagine if we could identify children who may be at risk for having learning disabilities much earlier, say at age 4. Imagine how much further ahead they might be at age 8 or 9 if we provide them the support they need before they enter kindergarten and for several years before they reach age 8 or 9. Imagine how much more chance they might have to succeed in school and in life. 

 

Toward that end, The Early Childhood Initiative Foundation participated in a grant from the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation in Connecticut and conducted a pilot study led by the nationally-recognized Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute of the University of North Carolina. Called Recognition and Response, the approach focuses on the early identification of children with learning disabilities as well as high quality instruction and targeted interventions matched to the learning needs of children ages 3 to 5 years. 

 

The Tremaine grant enhanced the award-winning work in this area of our partner, the Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade/Monroe. The coalition’s NEED project (Natural Environment Educational Development) was the springboard for the work that led up to receiving this invitation to participate in the Tremaine Foundation-funded Frank Porter Graham pilot study. The study focused on 25 classrooms in 12 child care centers. Intense professional development was provided by faculty from Frank Porter Graham monthly. Children were pre- and post-screened for developmental skills and abilities to determine those at risk for learning disabilities as well as for vision and hearing. The pilot provided intervention strategies for working with children and for engaging parents and families. 

 

We  know that all children learn differently. The Tremaine Foundation grant and the participation in the Frank Porter Graham study provided special help for children who struggle to learn, or who may be at risk for learning disabilities.

 

 

A key collaborator in this community-wide collaboration for high-quality early development, care and education is United Way of Miami-Dade. At the core of these efforts is the Center for Excellence in Early Education, which opened in 2006 at United Way headquarters at 3250 SW Third Ave. in Miami. This $30 million project, all raised privately, serves as a national "best practice" resource center for educators, child care professionals and parents -- all committed to the highest standards of early education.

 

The first floor of the center houses a demonstration school for 130 children ages 6 weeks to 5 years old. The second floor, a resource and training center, offers innovative outreach, research, education and training programs for parents, teachers, local businesses, child care providers, researchers and others in the community dedicated to advancing high-quality early childhood education. That means: 

 

For more information, contact Gladys Montes, the director of the Center for Excellence in Early Education, at 305-631-7632, or montesg@unitedwaymiami.org, or visit http://unitedwaycenterforexcellence.org/.

 

 

The Miami-Dade Family Learning Partnership, a 501(c)(3) organization established in 2002, is dedicated to  families and children. The Family Learning Partnership, collaborating with community agencies and institutions to improve child and family well-being, focuses on early literacy and parent skill-building. The Partnership, a literacy coalition leader for Miami-Dade County, has served 40,000 children and their families.  Services are provided via pediatric clinics, schools, child care centers, libraries, homeless shelters and community-based agencies. The Miami-Dade Family Learning Partnership’s successful projects include Reach Out and Read Miami, which was selected in 2007 by The Children’s Trust to receive the Excellence Award in early childhood programming. 

Some Family Learning Partnership projects:

After several months of preliminary work, in May 1999, 177 citizens gathered for 2 ½ days to draft a strategic plan. They included the mayor, the school superintendent, the school board chair, the county's chief health officer, the state attorney, the chief juvenile judge, the United Way president, as well as pre-school teachers, leaders from the faith and business community, and many more.

 

Our guiding principles: 

 

At the Mayor's Children's Summit was held in September 1999. 4,500 people voted on which parts of the strategic plan to tackle first. Four major task forces were announced to carry out those priorities: (1) Early Development and Education, (2) Child Health and Well-Being, (3) Parent and Family Skills and Information, and (4) Prevention and Intervention of Abuse, Neglect and Violence. Task force work preceded the major public awareness campaign targeted to parents that was caregivers and launched in 2001. Miami-Dade County, Florida's largest county with 2.4 million people and larger than 16 states, is the home of what is increasingly becoming known as a national model for a community-wide high-quality "school readiness" initiative. Miami-Dade is statistically the most diverse area in the United States (60% Hispanic, 22% black or African American, 18% non-Hispanic white, and more than half of its residents born in another country). For all its pockets of wealth, Miami-Dade also has a significantly higher than national average of underskilled, undereducated and impoverished. In January 1999, a community-wide effort was launched on behalf of all children in this community from before birth through age 5.