Driving the standard of excellence for equity through early childhood education
Early in my career, I worked as an educator -- I have been a classroom teacher, a principal, a superintendent, the director of community youth programs, and I have helped develop alternative schools for at-risk students. I still follow data trends in education, and I feel proud when I see that after more than two years of pivots and disruptions, student headcounts at many schools are rebounding to where they were before the pandemic. To me, this indicates children are learning and getting opportunities to build and achieve their dreams.
Most of the higher enrollments, however, are in junior/middle and senior high schools. In the shadows of these rising numbers are thousands of younger kids who are eligible for early childhood education -- especially Early Head Start, Head Start, and pre-kindergarten -- but they are not enrolled, according to?this article?by?Matt Dulin?at Rice University's?Kinder Institute for Urban Research. These little ones are missing their opportunity to get a good start to their schooling.
We should all be very concerned. In my opinion, this is a potential pandemic of lost learning.
Extensive research conducted by Kinder Institute, as well as studies by the?Houston Education Research Consortium?and by school districts in?Houston?and across the country, have repeatedly shown that early childhood learning does more than prepare students for kindergarten and first grade. Children who participate in structured learning before entering kindergarten develop literacy, language, and math skills faster than non-participating children. The pre-k gains are significantly greater than those of non-pre-k children, and the benefits remain evident into the elementary grades, according to the studies. In addition to influencing higher rates of graduation and college attendance, the data also suggest learning at a very early age is critical for closing the persistent academic disparities among diverse student groups.
Early childhood education is more than daycare -- much more.
At BakerRipley, we continuously assess current and emerging challenges in the Houston region's vulnerable low-income communities. This informs how we target and scale our resources to foster learning and development while also helping children and families address various aspects of their lives that can impact progress. We believe our holistic approach is the key to narrowing disparities and driving equity in education.
In?BakerRipley Early Head Start/Head Start, our highly trained and certified EHS/HS staff continuously assess and monitor low-income families' needs. This informs how we coordinate learning resources as well community partner referrals for access to services in health and wellness, nutrition, job training, disability support, community engagement, and much more. We can actually count unborn and newborn babies among our littlest learners because of these resources our agency and its partners offer to new and expectant mothers.
Our EHS is for children ranging from six weeks to 3 years old, and our HS classrooms are for children between ages 4 and 5. Children's experiences in these federally funded programs not only focus on cognitive development but also social and emotional readiness for success in their journeys through kindergarten, first grade, and beyond.
At our BakerRipley Community School District (formerly known as the Promise Community Charter Schools), we understand that students often come to classrooms with challenges that impact their ability to learn, explore, and develop to their greatest potential. With strong commitment and dedication to serving entire families, we work collaboratively to deliver a great academic program that is also supplemented by numerous services tailored to meet students' needs at no additional charge, including nourishing meals, health care, tutoring, mental health counseling, and much more.
To diminish the impacts of COVID learning loss, our campuses have added multi-tiered resources for academic remediation and enrichment. We have also extended afterschool and weekend tutorial services and employed additional personnel who work as interventionists providing one-on-one and small group support for students in reading and math skills.
Parental involvement and community partnerships also are important elements of our high-performance standards for EHS/HS and the community schools. Parents and/or guardians have opportunities to strengthen their roles as advocates for their children by participating in our policy council and governing board, which often involves interacting with BakerRipley board members. In recent years, our partnerships with organizations such as the school districts in?Houston?and suburban Stafford, the virtual-learning resource provider?Fueling Brains, and the?Edison Innovation Foundation?helped expand our programs to additional locations, including a new early education center at an affordable housing complex in Missouri City, a Houston suburb.
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Under the leadership of EHS/HS Senior Director?Dr. Cimberli Darrough?and Community School District Superintendent?Dr. Sylvia Thomas, our BakerRipley educators and staff inspire thoughts and model actions for thousands of little boys and girls. The impressions made on these very young children will enable them to open doors and create pathways of opportunities and success for themselves. These are great responsibilities to make a difference in who these children will be in the future and how they will shape that future.
Learning does not happen in isolation. As the old proverb says, "It takes an entire village to raise a child." We must continue to work together as a village of families and leaders in business, government, education, and community service to amplify the importance of early childhood education, encourage enrollment, and ensure all the resources necessary for our children's holistic success are in place.
Quality education has the power to break barriers, bridge gaps, and close the digital divide. Let us dream with eyes wide open to replace fear of the unknown with ideas for amazing possibilities so that our children can dream big and turn those dreams into outstanding realities.
Failure is not an option. Beyond report card grades, standardized test scores, or aspirations to go to college, I strongly believe early childhood education programs are fundamental elements in our capacity to make enduring positive impacts on the economy, workforce development, socioeconomic mobility, and social equity in Houston and across the entire nation.
Feel free to like, share, and comment on my article.
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We are proud of BakerRipley teacher Deborah Bonner-Brown, winner of the Elsie Samuels Early Childhood Educator Excellence Award from the?Collaborative for Children.
Links to BakerRipley resources