Coquille School District Tim Sweeney is the guest for this edition of the Early Link podcast. Sweeney tells the story of the high school junior who led him to start early learning in his district and the increasing demand for high-quality early education on Oregon’s south coast.
Segment Highlights
0:33 Information about the Coquille School District
2:07 Details about the town of Coquille, a city of about 3,000 people
2:59 New developments for the town and community
3:44 The focus on early learning stems from child care needs for working families
4:43 Family demand for early learning exceeds expectations
5:23 A student story from 2013 serves as the impetus for early learning efforts in the district
6:53 “I was not willing to sacrifice the 17-year-old’s future for the four-year-old’s future, so the district had to do something to help both of them.”
7:48 The development of the Lincoln School of Early Learning
8:44 Key partners: a forward thinking school board, principals, and teachers
10:12 Increasing demands from the community and creative solutions to expand slots
11:50 Time to build an additional wing for the school
12:47 The need for key partners to create a magical place
14:39 Connecting the early years to the early grades and working with more advanced first graders
15:30 The learning gap is closing before it begins; IEPs have dropped by nearly 50 percent since 2010
16:37 Opportunities for high school students to earn college credit
18:44 The need for changes in how superintendents are prepared for the job
