The Latest from Salem: May 10, 2019

by Rafael Otto | May 10, 2019 | Podcast, Oregon Policy, Policy Trends

Dana Hepper, director of policy and advocacy at Children’s Institute, and James Barta, strategic director at Children First for Oregon, provide a timely policy update on the current legislative session.

Key takeaways:

The Senate vote on HB 3427, which has passed the House and allocates $2 billion to education, continues to be delayed.
Approximately $400 million in this package is dedicated to early childhood.
Oregon Business and Industry is neutral on the bill.
Many Republican senators are pushing for further negotiations.
If the bill secures 18 votes in the Senate it will become law; it’s likely it will then be referred to voters.
Your voice matters! Use the link below to contact your senator.

Visit our policy page for more information about our full policy agenda.

Tell your senator to vote YES on the Student Success Act!

A Trip Down Memory Lane at Orchards Head Start

by Rafael Otto | Apr 18, 2019 | Podcast, Educators and Workforce, Preschool

Bob Harding and Teri Seaton are two people who might not seem like they have much in common. Bob works as a bank executive and, with his wife Shannon, is raising three young kids on a 5-acre hobby farm in Stafford, Oregon just east of Tualatin. They have 30 chickens, 3 goats, a cat, and a dog.

Teri Seaton lives in North Portland with her husband, Greg Stevens. Not a single chicken, goat, dog or cat can be found in her house. But though she has no children of her own, she does spend a lot of time with them. Teri, you see, is a Head Start preschool teacher. And Bob, you might be surprised to learn…was once a Head Start student.

Head Start is a federal program that serves low income children and families. Both Oregon and Washington offer the program, but neither state receives enough funding to serve all children and families who are income eligible, so they supplement the federal program with state dollars.

Child advocates, education, and political leaders have called for increasing access to early learning and early childhood programs. That’s alongside a growing body of research on the long-term benefits of early care and education programs in general. With that backdrop in mind, we wanted to hear directly from those who have benefited from the program and those who work directly with children and families every day.

Take A Peek Inside Orchards Head Start

Two Generations of Impact: A Mother’s View on Head Start

I had been separated from your dad and he was nowhere to be seen for about six months when my in-laws came from Florida to help us move somewhere near enough so that he could visit if he chose to.

Philip was going into third grade, Ana into second, and Maria into Kindergarten. You, just turning four, were going to stay home with me for another year.

Since your dad had not been giving us any money, we qualified for free lunches and I was asked if I wanted to register you for Head Start, a program I had never heard of and which turned out to be the greatest break in our lives.

I can’t describe the joy I felt that you were in this blessed program. That fall, I was able to go door-to-door selling Avon three days a week and volunteered at Head Start two days. They appreciated my help and as I had gone to Catholic School, I could teach the kids how to use a knife and a fork, and also some good manners.

Thanks to Head Start you started on your upward trajectory which has taken you far: successful as a family man, a friend, and a professional.

– Vera Harding, in an email to Bob Harding

A Peek Inside Orchards Head Start

by Helen Shum | Apr 18, 2019 | Educators and Workforce, Preschool, Teacher Voice

Ask 3-year-old Gianna what her favorite thing about school is and she answers with her entire body. She springs up out of her chair—cheese sandwich still in hand—and punctuates her answer with two raised arms.

“Play!” she shouts.

What’s your second favorite?

“Clean up!” she answers with the same infectious enthusiasm.

She offers a third favorite without prompting. “Running away from monsters and big marshmallows!”

This is Gianna’s first year at Orchard’s Head Start and she is clearly having a blast.

A boy named Cooper is crisscrossing the room with a serious look on his face. He carries an old school telephone message notepad in hand—the kind with the bright pink pages and the heading, “While you were out.” Cooper scribbles purposefully on the page, tears it off and delivers the bad news:

“You got a ticket,” he says with stern authority. “For being loud!”

Gianna notices and does her best to catch Cooper’s attention as he makes his way towards her part of the room.

“I want a ticket!” she implores. “I’m being loud!”

Cooper issues two tickets to the grown up sitting beside her, ignoring Gianna’s voluntary confession. Unfazed, Gianna looks to the accused and offers to autograph the ticket. “I know how to write my name,” she says proudly.

At lunch time, the children pour their own milk and show off cucumber sandwiches they have created out of the simple ingredients laid out family-style at their tables. Afterwards, they put away their own dishes.

A little girl reminds her tablemates, “If you’re done, then you have to wait.”

Those who have never stepped into a Head Start or preschool classroom might be surprised to know that nearly all of the activities Gianna, Cooper, and their classmates enjoy at Head Start are part of an intentionally planned, high-quality, early learning experience.

Photos From the Orchards Head Start Classroom

As Teri Seaton, a Head Start teacher with Educational Opportunities for Children based in Vancouver, explained, today’s early educators are expected to have knowledge and understanding of early brain development, to work with children who may need accommodations due to disabilities, and to address the impacts of ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) among other challenging family and home environments.

“People too often associate early learning with babysitting and it’s so much more than that,” said Seaton. “It’s something that takes professional development, education, good training and intention, and planning to do well. That’s a piece that gets lost sometimes.”

At Orchards, the children have great freedom to engage in self-directed learning. They are offered many opportunities to be self-sufficient and are supported in acquiring the social and emotional skills that will help them be successful in kindergarten and beyond. Alongside early literacy and numeracy skills, children in high-quality early learning settings are also developing fine and gross motor skills, practicing patience and turn-taking, and building positive relationships with teachers and peers.

As Gianna demonstrates with her energetic endorsement of both “play” and “clean up” there is very little distinction between work and play. The children of Orchards know how to integrate both and the result is a learning environment that is a joy to witness and be a part of.

Many thanks to the students, parents, and dedicated staff at Orchards Head Start and Educational Opportunities for Children and Families in Vancouver, Washington for inviting us to be a part of their day.

Policy Update with Dana Hepper and James Barta

by Rafael Otto | Apr 16, 2019 | Podcast, Oregon Policy, Policy Trends

Dana Hepper, director of policy and advocacy at Children’s Institute, and James Barta, strategic director at Children First for Oregon, provide a timely policy update on the current legislative session. They discuss draft legislation that includes a $400 million investment in early childhood, the recent work of the Early Childhood Coalition, the power of voter voice, and more.

Visit our policy page for more information about our full policy agenda for 2019 and sign up to get involved in our advocacy efforts.

Take your voice to Salem! The next public hearing in the Joint Committee on Student Success is Thursday, April 18, 5:00 to 7:00 pm.

The True Cost of Early Childhood Programs with John Tapogna

by Rafael Otto | Mar 29, 2019 | Podcast, Oregon Policy, Policy Trends

John Tapogna, president of the Portland-based economic consulting firm, ECONorthwest, recently completed a cost analysis of early childhood programs in Oregon. His work reviewed enrollment numbers, program eligibility, and cost per child spending for a suite of early childhood programs for children birth to age 5. These include publicly funded preschool, child care subsidy programs, home visiting, parent support groups, and special education services, among others. The recommended spending increases for early childhood totals about $1 billion per year. Tapogna recommends increased per child spending for almost every program as well as expanding these programs to provide rich early learning opportunities for children who are eligible. Tapogna views early childhood investments for low-income families as an imperative for the state. He also describes how funding a range of programs and services is really in service of creating a functioning early childhood system in Oregon.

Note: This analysis represents estimated costs of expanding access to existing eligible populations and improving quality. It is based on baseline enrollments and costs circa 2017 and draws on a wide range of state and national data sources. The initial analysis was completed in the fall of 2018 with some updates made in March 2019.

Download a copy of the slides