Camille CatlettFrank Porter Graham Child Development Institute

Chapel Hill, NC

The Real Early Learning ChallengeMeeting the Needs ofEach and Every Child

Public Policy ForumLeadership Connections National Leadership Conference

In Past Years the Forum Has Emphasized Many Dimensions of Quality

The Real Early Learning Challenge:

Meeting the Needs of All Children

The Real Early Learning Challenge:Meeting the Needs of Each & Every Child

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Illinois - At third grade 40% of students from

low-income families meet state standards

compared to 75% of their peers. By 11th grade

20% of low-income students meet high school

math standards compared to 65% of their

classmates.

Before entering kindergarten, the average cognitive scores of preschool-age children in the highest socio-economic group are 60% above the average scores of children in the lowest socioeconomic group.

Disparities in child outcomes between poor, at-risk, and more advantaged children are evident in cognitive, social, behavioral, and health outcomes as early as 9 months and grow larger by 24 months of age.

Nationally• 25% of black males repeated a grade in school, compared to 11%

of white males. Note that this does not include those who dropped out.

• 50% of black males grades 6 to 12 have been suspended, compared to 21% of white males. 17% of black males have been expelled, compared to 1% of white males.

Nearly seven out of every 1,000 pre-kindergarteners are expelled each year—an

estimated 5,117 preschoolers in all. The rate is 3.2 times higher

than the national expulsion rate for children in grades K-12.

Boys are expelled 4.5 times more than girls; and African-Americans are

twice as likely to be expelled as Latino and Caucasian kids and

more than five times as likely asAsian-American kids.

Dual language learners are heavily overrepresented among low-achieving students (within the bottom 5% – 25% of the achievement distribution) and severely underrepresented among high achievers (within the top 5% - 25% of the achievement distribution).

“Teachers try to do their best to treat everybody the same, although there is a certain difference in how much attention they give you, and, in a way, how much they care about you” . . . “Some teachers care a lot but others are like, typical ‘they’re not going anywhere, so let’s care about the ones that are going to make a difference in our future.’”

Children form academic trajectories early in their school careers that tend to be stable and difficult

to change over the course of their schooling

Children’s negative perceptions of competence and attitudes become stronger and harder to reverse as children progress through school

Illinois - Just over 50% of 3-5

year olds with identified

disabilities are served in

early childhood settings

Research suggests that both preservice and

inservice EC teacher preparation have failed to

prepare educators who can effectively teach

children for whom English is a new language

or second dialect, children of color, children of

diverse abilities, and children from

economically marginalized communities

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A recent study revealed that only 2 states include measures of cultural or linguistic competency of child care programs in their QRIS and these measures sometimes only apply to programs at the highest quality rating.

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I’m not telling you it’s going to be easy. I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it.

High-quality, culturally responsive early learning environments are critical to closing the achievement gap between children living in poverty, especially children of color, and their peers.

The Difference You Can Make

Quality inclusion can benefit children with and without disabilities, particularly in social competence with peers.

• Higher preschool performance and promotion to next grade

• More positive engagement with peers, adults, and learning

• Buffers negative impact of poverty on academic and behavioral outcomes

The Difference You Can Make Through Family Engagement

Culturally responsive interactions between personnel and youngchildren are more likely to support progress toward children’s mastery of language, literacy, science, and math skills

An effective teacher can have a stronger influence on student achievement than

poverty, language background, class size, and minority status

New NAEYC Standards for Professional Preparation Programs

Significant Changes in the 2009 StandardsThe language all children is revised to read each child or every child to strengthen the integration of inclusion and diversity as threads across all standards. In some cases, the phrase “each child” has been added to a key element of a standard.

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The BUILD Learning Table

7 statesMarch – August 2012

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A Framework for Intentionality

Ask yourself. . .

Do your efforts have an explicit and intentional emphasis on young children who are culturally diverse (includes racial, ethnic, socio-economic, and other aspects of diversity)? On young children who are dual language learners? On young children with disabilities and inclusion?

Do you have agreed upon definitions of key terms to use in your work (e.g., cultural competence, inclusion)?

Do you have guiding principles to underscore your shared commitment to families in all aspects of your work?

Have they been developed collaboratively with families?

Ask yourself. . .

Have you incorporated an explicit and intentional emphasis on authentically engaging families who are culturally and linguistically diverse? Are you also engaging families who have children with disabilities?

Is communication with family members shaping the quality of your work?

Are family members helping you to intentionally and effectively support practices that connect home cultures and experiences to their learning?

Ask yourself. . .

Are you intentionally and effectively supporting practices that connect children’s cultures and experiences to their learning?

Are you shaping teachers’ personal capacities and attitudes to support each child’s achievement?

Do program characteristics (e.g., teacher-child ratios, time for small groups or one-on-one interactions, materials in multiple languages) support individual children?

Do environments authentically reflect the children, families, and communities you serve?

Ask yourself. . .

Do early childhood professionals have a strong knowledge base about evidence-based practices for supporting young children who are culturally, linguistically, and ability diverse?

Have you identified specific competencies related to evidence-based practices for supporting young children who are culturally, linguistically, and ability diverse and their families?

Do you have explicit requirements for early childhood professionals in developing their capacity to support young children who are culturally, linguistically, and ability diverse?

Are you using intentional strategies to increase the diversity of the individuals who work with young children?

Lead others in making the shift from seeing children as at risk to seeing them as at potential

Lead others in the shift from seeing cultural and linguistic differences as challenges to seeing them as assets

Lead others in appreciating the influence of culture on every aspect of our work with young children and families

Lead others in working collaboratively to support the full participation of each and every child in quality inclusive settings

We planned this program with your child in mind. Let me tell you how!