more thanever

2015 IMPACT REPORT

ONE CHILDHOOD, ONE CHANCE

High-quality early learning is needed more than everTHE NEED IS GREAT. THE TIME IS NOW.

The earliest years of childhood go by quickly, but their impact lasts forever. As much as 85 percent of critical human brain development occurs in a child’s first three years. Young children flourish when they are exposed to language, books, diverse experiences and developmentally appropriate learning. Most children living in poverty miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Thousands of our region’s economically disadvantaged children attend daycare that is little more than babysitting for 10 to 12 hours a day. While well-meaning, these centers are not always safe, and learning often comes from television and worksheets. If this is all young at-risk children are exposed to in their first three to five years, they arrive at school already behind.

With childhood poverty in North Texas expected to double in the next 25 years, our community must step up now. We must teach early and teach well to give all children a strong start. Educational First Steps is a nonprofit, privately funded organization that shows caregivers of at-risk children how to create high-quality early learning environments from birth onward. In our 25th anniversary year we are expanding to meet the growing challenges of educating young children in poverty. It’s needed more than ever.

“HIGH SCHOOL IS TOO LATE.

MIDDLE SCHOOL IS TOO

LATE. EVEN KINDERGARTEN

IS TOO LATE.”

DR. TIMOTHY BRAY Center for Urban Policy ResearchUniversity of Texas at Dallas

ONE CHILDHOOD, ONE CHANCE

Educational First Steps approachPROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

PROGRAM QUALITY

PROGRAM SUSTAINABILITY

INVOLVING FAMILIES

Teaching and mentoring caregivers to master age-appropriate teaching practices

Guiding centers to attaining and maintaining national accreditation

Providing resources to promote high enrollment and economic stability in high-quality centers

Building an understanding of the benefits of early learning through education and enrichment activities

Ages 0-3Peak development for:

Creating neural pathways

Developing language skills

Gaining sensory information

Building cognitive skills

“Educational First Steps’ affiliation has… a persistent, positive and significant effect infrequently found in similar intervention programs.” DR. RICHARD SCOTCH University of Texas at Dallas

DALLAS

CROWLEY

IRVING

ARLINGTON

KENNEDALE

FORT WORTH

BENBROOK

MESQUITE

BALCH SPRINGS

RICHARDSONCARROLLTON

GRAPEVINE

DENTON-

GARLAND

OAK CLIFF

DUNCANVILLE

MCKINNEY-

LANCASTER

Projected accreditation by 2016

Centers working to achieve accreditation

Accredited partners

Victor Bell, director of Poppa’s Place, was chosen as a National Accreditation Commission (NAC) Director of the Year finalist out of 1,500 early learning program directors across the country. Miriama High of Duncanville Learning Center was also recognized as our Dave Munson Teacher of the Year.

RECOGNIZING EXCELLENCE IN DUNCANVILLE

Educational First Steps Day of Service mobilized hundreds of volunteers to complete classroom and playground improvement projects at partner centers across North Texas. For example, volunteers enhanced the learning environments at four Arlington centers by creating hanging gardens of fresh herbs and flowers.

PLANTING SEEDS OF GROWTH IN ARLINGTON AND BEYONDLena Pope Early Learning Center joins 28 other partner centers in North Texas’ western cities. Three have earned national accreditation.

EXPANSION IN FORT WORTH AND MID-CITIES

Our new headquarters provides early learning professionals with technology-driven training, hands-on practice and a place for community dialogue. Resources are available to partner centers, school districts and other nonprofits.

A NEW HUB FOR EARLY LEARNING PROFESSIONALS

We work with parents and families to turn everyday opportunitiesinto brain-building opportunities using with the mobile-learning app Vroom and our Lazos y Abrazos Spanish-language program.

FURTHERING FAMILY ENGAGEMENT IN WEST AND SOUTH DALLAS

CLEBURNE -

Our partner centers of quality not only provide rich early childhood environments, but become anchors in high-need neighborhoods. We go where the need is greatest, and we collaborate with others focused on making positive change in these communities.

Anchoring neighborhoods in excellence Meeting

the needs of children more than everREACHING MORE CHILDREN. IN MORE PLACES. FASTER.

For 25 years, Educational First Steps has done the extraordinary: transforming daycare centers in low-income neighborhoods into nationally accredited early learning centers. By educating caregivers, who then become professional early learning teachers, we help create high-quality learning environments that can repair and prevent learning gaps typical of children in poverty. Studies show that quality early education sets these children on a path to lifelong success, paving the way for improved school readiness, sustained academic performance and higher graduation rates.

Now serving early learning centers in 17 school districts across North Texas, Educational First Steps is focused on neighborhoods with the greatest concentrations of poverty where quality centers are scarce or non-existent. And, we are helping centers achieve accredited quality faster than ever.

children in highest quality partner centers

today

by 2018

aspiring to

ONE CHILDHOOD, ONE CHANCE

“Every child must have a quality early childhood

education. Educational First Steps is a key

partner in our community’s effort to meet this

need. It’s a critical effort, and the future of

our children depends on it.”

PETE GEREN PresidentSid W. Richardson FoundationFort Worth

Supporting early learning professionals more than everQUALITY AND SUSTAINABILITY. HAND IN HAND.

Educational First Steps equips the people who care for children in poverty – in preschools, daycare centers and homes – with proven tools and techniques that transform caregiving into teaching.

We help educators master age-appropriate teaching techniques, providing a blend of training, hands-on demonstration and in-classroom mentoring. Educators learn nationally recognized early learning skills, leading to a Child Development Associate Certification. As a result, children are surrounded by what they need most: informed teachers to care for them in safe, developmentally-appropriate educational environments. We commit to our partner centers for the long-term, providing them with ongoing program support. As public Pre-K options become more widespread, we are focused on helping our centers expand their enrollment of children ages birth to age 3. By fortifying their business and marketing skills, these centers will remain long-term educational anchors in their neighborhoods for generations to come.

ONE CHILDHOOD, ONE CHANCE

“FINALLY THE CLIMATE IS RIGHT, HERE AND ACROSS THE NATION, TO PUT MAXIMUM

RESOURCES INTO TRANSFORMING

EARLY EDUCATION STANDARDS AND

PROFESSIONALIZING THE FIELD.”

SERENA SIMMONS CONNELLY Harold Simmons FoundationDallas

THE NEED Only 4% to 7% of Dallas and Tarrant County childcare centers are nationally accredited, mostly

in affluent neighborhoods

MAKING GAINS

94% of Educational First Steps-affiliated centers achieve

national accreditation

Teachers and directors receive 20,000

hours of mentoring and training reinforcing 227 standards

of early education excellence per year.

Average hours children are read to by an adult before age 5

25 Hours A typical child in poverty

1,000 Hours More affluent children

Connecting families to quality early learningmore than everOPENING THE DOOR TO QUALITY EXPERIENCES.

Ivy, a single mother, gets a new job at a retail store, earning $246 per week. The cost of full-time care for her girls is $280 weekly – more than she could possibly manage. She and others like her depend on Texas Child Care Assistance funds to make quality care for their children possible. But, they are often on a long wait list.

Educational First Steps partnered with Dallas Women’s Foundation to fill this gap by creating the Child Care Bridge Fund serving all of North Texas. This fund provides short-term scholarships to parents on the state subsidy wait list so they can connect immediately to high- quality care for their children and maintain regular employment or improve their own education.

We also engage parents as their children’s first teachers. Educational First Steps demonstrates the importance of parental involvement through a wide range of enrichment opportunities. These include programs like Wild About Reading in Fort Worth, which encourages regular family time with books, to horizon-expanding experiences with partners like the Amon Carter Museum, Dallas Arboretum, Dallas Zoo, Fort Worth Museum of Science & History and The Perot Museum.

ONE CHILDHOOD, ONE CHANCE

“Dallas Women’s Foundation

believes that investing in

Educational First Steps’ Bridge

Fund produces a triple bottom

line – for the working mom,

her children and the high-

quality child care provider.”

ROSLYN DAWSON THOMPSON President & CEODallas Women’s Foundation

“Educational First Steps provides at-risk children with hands-on opportunities to experience the diversity of life. I love seeing the children explore the wonders of nature for the first time, connecting with their environment and their parents.”ADRIAN COTTON Program SpecialistDallas Arboretum

“MY CHILDREN ARE GROWING INTO THE BEST THEY CAN BE, BECAUSE

OF THEIR EXPERIENCES AT AN EDUCATIONAL FIRST STEPS PARTNER

CENTER. THE QUALITY OF CARE SUPPORTS THEM TO BE ON TARGET

AND IGNITES THINGS WITHIN THEM THAT I DIDN’T EVEN SEE.”

LA’KITSHA LEE Mother of James (3 months) and Jaya Lee (3 years)

The next generation needs your support more than ever OUR COMMUNITY’S FUTURE IS THE NEXT GENERATION.

The repetitive, crushing cycle of poverty often begins with missed opportunities in the early childhood years. Educational First Steps is committed to creating systemic solutions to this early education gap that have positive implications for generations to come.

With childhood poverty expected to double in the next 25 years, the time to act is now. Educational First Steps needs your support to strategically respond and grow. For those of us who care about tomorrow, it’s a smart investment.

We help the community meet the critical growing need for high quality early childhood education by:

Expanding our set of early education solutions to effectively and efficiently disrupt the cycle of poverty in the lives of young children and families.

Securing the long-term viability of high-quality providers by helping them establish best business and marketing practices that engage families and increase enrollment.

Scaling our capacity to bring more classrooms in at-risk neighborhoods across North Texas to high-quality standards.

Accelerating program growth by collaborating with partners across North Texas to reach new communities and place more children in positive early learning environments faster.

ONE CHILDHOOD, ONE CHANCE

Audited financials will be available at www.educationalfirststeps.org on November 1, 2015.

FOR EVERY $1 SPENT

ON HIGH-QUALITY PRESCHOOL, THERE

IS AN ESTIMATED $12.90

PUBLIC BENEFIT

HIGH/SCOPE PERRY PRESCHOOL STUDY THROUGH AGE 40 (2005)

DENTON COLLIN

DALLASTARRANT

JOHNSON

AGGRESSIVELY SCALING PROGRAMS

working in 442+ classrooms

ACHIEVING QUALITY, FASTER THAN EVER

3-YEAR program to national quality accreditation and highest Texas Rising Star ratings

94% of partner centers achieve national quality accreditation

IMPROVING ENROLLMENT HAS IMPACT

Placing more students in high-quality learning environments results in a positive economic

impact for our low-income partner centers. 2014-2015 PILOT 125 children placed

$700,000 impact2015-16 PROJECTED

300 children placed $1.8 million impact

2%

14%

12%

12%

60%

COMPONENTS OF CREATING QUALITY

Total Program Expenditures $2,042,405

Educator MentoringProfessional Development Enrollment InitiativesMaterials and Enrichment ActivitiesHome-Based Training

ASPIRING TO REACH MORE CHILDREN IN POVERTY

Children in nationally accredited early learning

centers by 2018

educationalfirststeps.org

2815 Gaston AvenueDallas, TX 75226(214) 824-7940

2100 Circle DriveSuite 300Fort Worth, TX 76119(817) 535-0044

1990 2015

ONE CHILDHOOD, ONE CHANCE

Board of DirectorsKathryn Lake, Chair Margaret Spellings, Immediate Past ChairBarbara McDermott, Vice ChairRobert L. Appel, TreasurerCarolyn Westberry, SecretaryBeth Gold, Development Committee ChairLydia B. Addy

Peggy Allison

Susan Baldwin

Ken Barth

Molly Cowan

Kristi Francis

Martha Fry, Fort WorthElizabeth Hogg Garza, Fort Worth

Rachel Goldberger

Paige Harwell

Leslie Kennedy

Suzanne Keohane

Brett Kirstein

Jessa McIntosh

Jennifer Mosle

Brandon Ratzlaff

Georgia Scaife

John Selzer

Nancy Skochdopole

Jane Tabor

Michele Valdez

Carolyn Westberry

J. Giffen Weinmann, Jr.

Founding and Life MembersSandra Estess

Barbara Garton

David Munson

Joyce Wright

Linus Wright

Executive DirectorJohn R. Breitfeller