Have you ever wondered how the Partnership determines what programs to fund, how children are selected for Early Head Start, or what to look for in a high quality early childhood classroom? The March 27th Early Childhood Bus Tour answered these questions and more for a diverse group of community and business leaders as well as elected officials.

The tour began at the Partnership offices, where attendees were briefed about the tour and expectations were set while enjoying healthy breads baked on-site in the Child Care Services Association kitchen. This kitchen provides nutritious food options for child care centers throughout Durham.

The group then set out for their first stop at Welcome Baby. Director Melva Henry gave a tour of their facility while speaking to their giving closet, car seat and crib programs, and parenting classes, which receive funding from the Partnership. The Partnership supports these evidence-based programs because equipping parents with skills like positive discipline helps them create a loving and playful environment that ultimately prepares their children for success in school. 

For our next stop we visited Little People Day Care, an Early Head Start site. Durham EHS provides child development and family services to families with children birth to 3 years of age. Children with disabilities and risk factors such as teen parents are prioritized for these services. After learning about EHS, our group was able to tour this five star center and its beautiful outdoor learning environment, recently completed in collaboration with N.C. State’s Natural Learning Initiative.

The final stop was at Christian Prep Academy, a long time NC Pre-K provider that was recently able to start services for additional children following the governor’s expansion of Pre-K. Director Pam Nichols talked to the group about the importance of play and how they should see signs of literacy and math in every area of their five star NC Pre-K classrooms. The classes sang songs which incorporated the alphabet, helping the children to build their literacy skills without even being aware of it.

This tour provided participants with the opportunity to see Durham’s early childhood system at work, and receive answers to many of their questions about the Partnership’s role in it. The Partnership would like to thank all of the agencies involved and their staff for welcoming our group and putting on informative presentations. We look forward to continuing to educate our community with future tours!

There is still time to support Durham's Partnership for Children in the Great Human Race. The race is an annual 5K walk/run held by the Volunteer Center of Durham that allows nonprofits to fundraise for their cause. The Partnership hopes to raise $1,000 for the race this Saturday, March 24th. The race will begin at 8:30am at Northgate Mall.

You can support Durham's youngest children by registering to walk/run with the Partnership team, or donating to our fundraising page. With the donations received through the Great Human Race, the Partnership will purchase resources that foster healthy and active learning environments for young children. These resources will be distributed throughout child care centers and pre-kindergarten classes in Durham, promoting physical health and nutrition as part of healthy development.

Just five dollars can provide a jump rope or a hula hoop. Ten dollars can purchase an athletic ball or bicycle helmet. Twenty dollars can get a set of garden tools. One hundred dollars will provide a tricycle.

Click here to check out our online fundraising page or donate now.

If you wish to join us on race day, or have any questions, contact Jameka at (919) 403-6960 ext 214 or jameka@dpfc.net.

The Partnership and Durham Public Schools hosted more than 30 pre-k and kindergarten teachers at Saturday's Teachers Talk Forum that was organized through the collaborative Transition to Kindergarten Initiative.

Teachers talk events help to 1) strengthen the role of early childhood educators in crafting successful transition activities for children and their families, and 2) support kindergarten educators as they learn and adopt ways to effectively communicate with families about the importance of kindergarten.

With so many committed educators gathered together in one space, a passion for helping our youngest learners succeed bred vibrant discussion around what children need to be ready for success in kindergarten. Here is a list of priority needs developed by the teachers:

1. Social Skills
2. Confident Parents
3. Self help skills
4. Family involvement
5. Exposure to books
6. Life experiences (exposure to diverse objects, people, places)

It is no surprise that social skills were named as the top need for children entering kindergarten, followed by self help skills. Together, teachers discussed in depth the need for parents to support and foster social skills that include sharing, conflict resolution, and taking turns. Children's independence was a hot topic as well. Kindergartners need to arrive at school equipped with self help skills such as putting on jackets, shoes, etc.

Another critical point of discussion: What challenges do children and families face when transitioning to kindergarten? Teachers highlighted the following frequent struggles:

1. Schedules, getting into routines
2. Class ratio
3. Structure and rules in the kindergarten classroom
4. Socioeconomic issues and differences with families
5. Expectations (of both teachers and parents)
6. Change and fear of the unknown
7. Who is there to help me? - Support for parents

Brining pre-k educators and kindergarten teachers together to discuss these critical elements of transition helps to smooth some of the challenges that young students and their families face, while enhancing transition strategies. Future Teachers Talk events will center on discussion and training for teachers about how the pre-k early learning standards and the K-12 standards can and do align.

The Transition to Kindergarten Initiative is supported through funding from the Morgan Creek Foundation and the Wells Fargo Foundation.

On Tuesday, March 6th, the Partnership will be offering a Lunch and Learn training through the Faith Initiative focusing on “The Serious Business of Play—Getting Children Ready for Success in School.”

The event is free and open to the public and will be held from 11:30 am to 1 pm at Covenant Presbyterian Church, Fellowship Hall (2620 Weaver Street, Durham). 

Entering kindergarten is one of the most important educational steps in a child’s life. How we help families get ready for this big step can make all the difference to their children’s success and engagement with learning in the years beyond kindergarten. A panel of experts will share simple, low-cost, and effective ways parents and congregations can help children develop their intellectual, social and emotional skills needed to enter school.

Presenters include:
Miriam Brodersen is a licensed clinical social worker with Healthy Families Durham, a program of the Center for Child and Family Health in Durham. She specializes in Child-Parent Psychotherapy. Fluent in Spanish, Miriam has extensive experience working with Latino immigrant families.

Helen Tharrington is a preschool teacher with 15 years of experience in the faith-based environment and has been a teacher of students with learning differences for 10 years.

Pat Harris is a Program Coordinator with Durham’s Partnership for Children. She is experienced in parent education programming and coordinates the Partnership’s Transition to Kindergarten initiative in collaboration with Durham Public Schools.

Please RSVP to Winnie Morgan at (919) 732-1524 or winniewmorgan@juno.com.

The Faith Initiative is a collaborative initiative between Durham’s Partnership for Children and End Poverty Durham that recognizes the role that the faith community plays in providing support to families and children.  Click here to read more about this initiative.

The Partnership, in collaboration with Durham Public Schools, is offering competitive mini-grants to support planning and implementing transition activities targeted to families with children who will be heading to kindergarten. The goal of these grants is to foster collaboration between elementary school and early childhood educators around transition to kindergarten.
 
Sample transition activities might include:

• Summer Transition Camp
• Spring/Summer Open Houses
• Creating introductions for rising kindergartners
• Build “going to kindergarten” into the pre-school curriculum
• Kindergarten Classroom Visits
• Registration Events
• Child Care/Pre-k Visits

 
The application process for these mini-grants is underway and applications must be received by Wednesday, March 19th at 5 pm.  Eligible applicants include kindergarten teachers, elementary school principals, PTAs, and child care teachers and directors. Click here to download the Transition Mini-Grant now.
 
For questions, please contact Pat Harris at 919-403-6960, Extension 224 or email pat@dpfc.net. To learn more about our Transition to Kindergarten Initiative, click here.

 
Durham’s Partnership for Children received funding from Wells Fargo and Morgan Creek Foundation to support rising kindergartners across Durham County through Transition Mini-Grants and additional Transition to Kindergarten activities.

Does your child qualify for NC Pre-K?

Your child might qualify to participate in 2012-2013 Durham County NC Pre-K if:
• Your child is not currently enrolled in a preschool program
• Your child turns 4 years by Aug. 31, 2012
• Your child has health concerns or special needs
• Your family qualifies for financial assistance
• English is your child's second language

How to Apply
Beginning January 30, 2012, you may call 919-403-6950 ext. 6820 to set an appointment time between February 6 and April 6, 2012. 
You may also visit one of the following Durham County Head Start offices beginning February 6, 2012, where a family counselor will assist parents in filling out the application.
• 215 Seminary St. (across from McDonald’s and the YMCA)
• 1313 Halley St. (Lyon Park)
• 908 Liberty St.  (Leathers Meacham)

Click here to download the NC Pre-K flyer for more information. [En Español]

For more information about financial assistance for child care, contact Child Care Services Association at 919-403-6950 or contact Durham County Social Services at 919-560-8360.

Durham County’s NC Pre-K program is working to provide high-quality early educational experiences for 4-year-olds who are not attending preschool for various reasons. The program is community-based, voluntary, and designed to prepare 4-year-olds for kindergarten. The NC Pre-K program operates in private class rooms, Durham Public Schools, and Head Start.

The Durham County Universal Pre-K Application project is supported in part with funding from Duke’s Doing Good in the Neighborhood giving campaign. This process ensures that at-risk four-year-olds are matched to proper pre-kindergarten education services.

 

Check out the article printed in Tuesday's Herald-Sun from Partnership Program & Evaluation Director Kate Irish and Durham Public Schools Title I Coordinator Kate MacDonell. The article outlines why the transition into kindergarten is so critical and what informational opportunities are available to parents over the next few months to prepare families for that important transition.

Click here to read the article in full.

Meet Nicky.  Nicky is a panda bear – a fictional panda bear whose goal is to teach 4-year-olds about proper nutrition.

Nicky is the main character in a story developed by Julia Wacker, Docs For Tots Program Coordinator and Director of Community Outreach for the Healthy Lifestyles Program at Duke Children's Primary Care, and her team of pediatric residents that work together to influence the overall health of young children.

The story of Nicky the Panda Bear was introduced this year in NC Pre-Kindergarten classrooms as part of the Healthy Lifestyles Program, which was expanded to include nutrition and wellness instruction tailored for 4-year-olds. The program connects pediatric residents with preschoolers during 30-minute lessons twice monthly.

Through hearing Nicky’s story and participating in physical activity, the children learn nutrition and wellness basics within the pre-k environment.  The lesson is known as the “5-3-2-1-Almost None” Method.  Here are the basics:

Eat FIVE fruits and veggies a day!
Eat THREE structured meals per day, including breakfast.
Watch less than TWO hours of TV, games, and computer a day!
Be active at least ONE hour a day!
Almost NONE high-sugar juice and soda – drink water & milk every day.

Photo of pediatric residents Waitman Aumann and Samareh Hill with an NC Pre-K classroom at Primary Colors Early Learning Center on Dixon Road.

Preschool and kindergarten teachers were brought together during a Teachers Talk forum held in mid-October to discuss children’s school readiness. Organized periodically by Durham County’s Transition to Kindergarten Initiative, a collaborative effort between Durham’s Partnership for Children and Durham Public Schools, the event’s objectives were to encourage conversation around educators’ expectations for preparing children to enter kindergarten, the effectiveness of the current strategies, and possible improvements to the system. The forum, which receives support from the Morgan Creek Foundation, provides educators an opportunity to share ideas and is facilitated by DPS and Partnership staff. 

One of the highlights of the forum is to address the most prominent challenges and barriers to kindergarten readiness in Durham County. During small group facilitated discussions, suggestions were made that represent the personal experiences of Durham County educators and early child professionals. 

Some of the strategies that resulted from these discussions include:
- continued and increased collaboration between kindergarten and pre-k teachers
- improved communication to parents about kindergarten registration
- joint trainings for teachers on pre-k and kindergarten standards and curriculum
- creation of a pre-k/kindergarten educator list serve or blog to assist in direct and ongoing communication 

This platform for sharing information serves as a framework aimed at improving Durham’s school readiness programs for our community’s youngest learners. 

An early October feature in Time Magazine that reviews the Pew Charitable Trusts report, Transforming Public Education: Pathway to a Pre-K-12 Future, begins with the following words:

Take two kids, one from a low-income family, the other middle class. Let them run around and do little-kid things in their respective homes and then, at age 5, enroll them in kindergarten. Research shows that when the first day of school rolls around, the child from the low-income household will be as many as 1.5 years behind grade level in terms of language and prereading and premath skills. The middle-class kid will be as many as 1.5 years ahead. This means that, by the time these two 5-year-olds start school, the achievement gap between them is already as great as three years. (Rethinking Pre-K: 5 Ways to Fix Preschool, Kayla Webley)

If it is so blatantly obvious that children start kindergarten academically and socially behind their peers because of poor financial circumstances and lack of high-quality preschool, then why isn’t early childhood education guaranteed for all children? 

North Carolina has long been a champion of high-quality pre-kindergarten education funding.  Yet, the waitlists for these vital programs are long – and growing.  Every year advocates have to fight for continued funding to support these programs.

The problem, according to Michele Palermo, coordinator of early-childhood initiatives at the Rhode Island Department of Education, is that decision makers still aren’t completely convinced that high-quality pre-k is necessary for all students – only for some.

So what happens to those students who aren’t fortunate enough to receive that first, pre-kindergarten year of vital education and preparation?

In North Carolina, results from a Duke University study released earlier this year show that third-graders have higher standardized reading and math scores and lower special education placement rates in counties that had received more funding for Smart Start and More at Four when those children were younger.  The research concluded that positive impact was greater in counties that had received higher allocations for Smart Start and More at Four.

Research tells us that not investing in early education is the equivalent of not investing in entire counties, entire communities.