Transcript Keynote address for postingx

The Real Early Learning Challenge
Meeting the Needs of
Each and Every Child
Public Policy Forum
Leadership Connections National Leadership Conference
Camille Catlett
Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute
Chapel Hill, NC
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
All
Each &
Every
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 preschoolage children in the highest socioeconomic 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 as
Asian-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 35 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
)
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.
All
Each &
Every
I’m not telling
you it’s going to
be easy. I’m
telling you it’s
going to be
worth it.
The Difference You Can Make
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.
Quality inclusion can benefit
children with and without
disabilities, particularly in
social competence with peers.
The Difference You Can Make Through
Family Engagement
• 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
Culturally responsive interactions
between personnel and young
children 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
Significant Changes in the 2009 Standards
The 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.
The BUILD
Learning
Table
7 states
March –
August
2012
)
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 oneon-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!