Annemarie Harris's Blog

In Detroit: Kindergarten = Crowd Control

Annemarie — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 21:01:47 EST

My son, Tommy, is 5 and in kindergarten at Monteith School in the Grosse Pointe School District. This week, I learned that the School Board approved all day kindergarten for all students, beginning in 2010-2011. That's a good thing - studies show that all day kindergarten improves academic outcomes for students beyond kindergarten. Grosse Pointe Schools isn't perfect, but it does provide a quality learning experience for children. Tommy is in a class with 22 other children. His teacher, Mrs. DiVirgil has an aide, Mrs. Farnsworth, who supports the classroom throughout most of the day. The children follow high curriculum standards (Tommy can count to 100 by 2!), time for play, specials (library, art, gym, music) and access to high quality learning materials.

Contrast that with the Detroit Public Schools. In the same week that I learned about GPS, I also heard from several DPS kindergarten teachers about the status of kindergarten in Detroit:

"I have 30 students in my classroom"
"We have no aides/staff support"
"Children are coming to class without the knowledge how to hold a pencil or a book"
"Parents are uninvolved"
"I had a student show up one day, then not show up again until 60+ days later"
"One child the other day hit another child in the head with a chair"
"I can tell the difference between a child that went to preschool and a child that didn't"
"All we can do is crowd control, forget about actually supporting children's learning"

My purpose in sharing is not to say that DPS is awful, Detroit parents are bad, or that Detroit is bad. Grosse Pointe and Detroit share a common boundary, but they might as well be on different planets. What also struck me is that for those of us on the mission of improving educational outcomes for chlidren, we must understand the reality. We must also shift our priorities. Early childhood education is the foundation. We are wasting time and money on high school graduation if we are ignoring the learning environment that our young children are in. I applaud the focus on improving reading outcomes, but volunteers reading to students a couple of hours a week will not have a long term impact, so long as we have ill prepared teachers, overcrowded classrooms and low quality environments. We invest significant financial and management resources to address graduation rates. Kindergarten and early education need the same sort of substantive solutions. It's the only way to achieve what we all want - children to become successful adults contributing to a vibrant and healthy society.

Michigan Realized $1 BILLION in Savings Through Early Childhood Education

Annemarie — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 11:49:50 EST

Investments in school readiness over the past 25 years helped Michigan realize cost savings and revenue of $1.15 billion, according to the Wilder Research Study, "Cost savings analysis of school readiness in Michigan," commissioned by Early Childhood Investment Corporation.

Where did we see those savings? In K-12 Education ($221 million), Reduced Govt Spending and Increased Tax Revenues ($594 million), and Reduced Social Costs to Public ($347 million).

An estimated 80,000 adults, ages 18-29, are in the labor force today are high school graduates who likely would have dropped out of school if not for Michigan's investment in early childhood education. The estimated economic impact is $1.3 billion annually, including the $584 million in reduced govt spending and increased tax revenues and $700 million in additional wages they have generated.

Let's continue to realize costs savings and increased revenue in Michigan. We must maintain and increase public and private investments in early childhood programs that work - including preschool (Head Start and Great Start Readiness Programs) and child care quality improvement initiatives, like QRIS and United Way's Early Learning Communities program.

Panera Bread Promotes Early Childhood Education in Metro Detroit

Annemarie — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 08:40:24 EST

Panera Bread is supporting United Way for Southeastern Michigan's Early Learning Communities program by hosting FREE Family Fun Days on the second Saturday of each month during the school year.

From 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. on select dates, children will participate in educational crafts and reading activities. While the children play, parents will have the opportunity to learn about the Early Learning Communities program and how to best prepare children for school. The events are open to all ages.

The Early Learning Communities is a network of neighborhood-based hubs providing free training and resources to parents and caregivers of children aged birth to five. Research shows that the first three years of life are critical to a child’s ultimate success in school and in life, making it an important time to intervene to guarantee long-term achievement. The Early Learning Communities was started to ensure that all children enter kindergarten ready to succeed.

United Way for Southeastern Michigan is Panera Bread’s Operation Dough-Nation® partner in metro Detroit. For all donations made to Panera’s Community Breadbox, located near the registers, Panera matches a portion back to UWSEM.

Panera Family Fun Day dates and locations:

Feb. 13 | 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Panera location:

Rochester Hills, 2508 S. Adams Rd.

March 13 | 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Panera location:

Southgate, 13665 Eureka Rd.

April 10 | 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Panera locations:

Dearborn Heights, 26580 Ford Rd.

Sterling Heights, 36808 Van Dyke Ave.

Livonia, 37091 Six Mile Rd.

Farmington Hills, 37611 Twelve Mile Rd.

Allen Park, 3112 Fairlane Dr.

May 8 | 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Panera location:

Roseville, 31960 Gratiot Ave.

June 12 | 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Panera location:

Southfield, 23719 Greenfield Rd. (between 9½ Mile and Greenfield, located in a shopping plaza)

Sept. 11 | 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Panera locations:

Woodhaven, 23061 Allen Rd.

Troy, 823 East Big Beaver Rd. (located in the Troy Commons Plaza)

Oct. 9 | 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Panera location:

Livonia, 28551 Schoolcraft Rd.

Nov. 13 | 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Panera location:

Farmington Hills – KT Plaza, 34635 Grand River Ave.

Dec. 11 | 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Panera locations:

Orion, 4804 S. Baldwin Rd.

Canton, 41950 Ford Rd.

Who's caring for and educating Metro Detroit's children?

Annemarie — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 14:04:17 EST

In Michigan, 65,000 children in poverty are supported by the child care subsidy program. 65% of these children are being cared for by family, friends and neighbors. In Metro Detroit, we have about 15,000 FFN subsidy providers.

They (FFNs) have an important job - providing high quality early learning development opportunities for the children in their care, setting the foundation for success in both school and life. The problem is, most of them aren't aware of this most important role. They see themselves as helping out their daughter, friend or neighbor who's looking for or is working. In addition, they are at a significant disadvantage - in poverty, undereducated, in crisis - to focus on being a quality caregiver.

The only way to get to school readiness is to have caregivers that support a child's learning and development. Since 2008, United Way has been supporting caregivers through the Early Learning Communities program - a quality improvement initiative providing training, resources and support to all caregivers delivered by neighborhood-based hubs.

The state of Michigan has also entered the arena of quality improvement by requiring that all FFN subsidy providers receive mandated training. We are at the beginning of a cultural transformation - that training and continued learning are essential to be quality caregivers.

This morning, I attended an informational session hosted by one of our Hub Partners at a Detroit child care center. More than 100 FFN subsidy providers attended. Yes, they were there because DHS is requiring them to take training. Yes, many of them were frustrated and annoyed. But they showed up and they registerd for training. Not just the mandated training, but also the child development courses that ELC offers.

In Metro Detroit so far, 500-750 have signed up for training. We have a long way to go. But we're going to achieve our ultimate goal: improving the quality of early care and education that our most vulnerable children receive so that they have the proper foundation for school and life success.

Help Improve Access to Food for Young Children

Annemarie — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 12:13:45 EST

I just emailed Senators Stabenow and Levin asking them to improve the Child and Adult Care Food Program, which provides young children with access to nutritious meals. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced legislation that would improve young children's access to nutritious meals in child care centers, family child care homes, and Head Start and Early Head Start programs. With your help, we can gain support for the Access to Nutritious Meals for Young Children Act of 2009 (S. 2749). Please take action yourself and spread the word! For more information, check out National Women's Law Center.

How to Close the Achievement Gap for Hispanic Kids: Start Early

Annemarie — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 13:57:20 EDT

There's a great study that was released this week by the University of California, Berkley and covered by the New York Times, Hispanic Immigrants' Children Fall Behind Peer Early, Study Finds.

What researchers discovered is that while Hispanic children are born healthy and on par with other American children, by age 2 they fall behind - and stay behind academically. What makes this so? Poverty is, of course, a factor. Another is that Hispanic mothers tend to have less formal schooling.

In United Way's experience working with this targeted population, we would offer a couple of other reasons: 1) many Hispanic moms are very doting to their children and are quick to anticipate their children's needs before they are able to verbalize them; and 2) many tend to do everything for their children, hindering their problem solving opportunities, which are so important to brain development.

How do we close the gap? By giving Hispanic families of young children, birth to age 5, the knowledge, resources and support they need to support their childrens' learning and development. United Way's Early Learning Communities program is run by community-based organizations and embedded in neighborhoods, making it accessible and culturally appropriate to parents and caregivers.

Our Hispanic participants have been very enthusiastic about all that they are learning and we're confident that we are closing the gap in linguistic and cognitive development for Hispanic children.

Michigan needs to get its priorities straight

Annemarie — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 21:18:17 EDT

Well said, Senator Martha Scott:

Solve Budget Without Hurting Children, Public Safety

Michigan is facing one of the most difficult budget crises our state has ever seen. There have been several proposals on how our state can solve this $2.8 billion shortfall, but no matter what, difficult cuts must be made. While Senate Democrats realize this, we also understand that with these devastating cuts, Michigan would not be able to successfully compete with other states in the region and our already-struggling families would continue to suffer. A budget that is only focused on slashing valuable programs will do more harm than good, and the Legislature should also be considering serious reforms.

Many of you have contacted me in the past month, asking me to support funding for Medicaid, education, the Healthy Michigan fund, natural resources, libraries, the Michigan Promise scholarship, early childhood education, foster care, public transit, school community health centers, mental health programs and roads. In fact, constituents who have contacted me asking that deep budget cuts be avoided have outpaced constituents who have contacted me asking that there be no tax increases this year by nearly five to one.

The Senate Democratic Caucus’ budget priorities focus on the things that will make our communities a safer place to live and make our state more attractive to new businesses. These include early childhood and public education programs; Promise scholarships that help our students afford higher education; local revenue sharing that provides police officers and fire fighters to watch over our loved ones; and health care programs that keep our citizens from needing more expensive care down the road.

The funds to restore these vital programs won’t appear out of nowhere. That’s why my colleagues and I have identified a number of reasonable funding sources that would allow us to restore these key investments. These include assessing just a 2 percent fee on physicians, as we do with other health care providers, to allow us to secure a 3-to-1 match from the federal government. This alone would provide more than $300 million dollars towards to offset painful cuts.

Another opportunity for reform is joining the majority of other states by decoupling from the federal government on estate taxes for estates more than $2 million. Asking multi-millionaires to pay their fair share could collect at least $130 million. Other reform ideas include reducing the more than $36 billion in tax expenditures the state hands out every year to avoid wiping out important services. We can also limit our tax loopholes, as Michigan currently gives millions of dollars in breaks to oil and gas companies, insurance companies, and others.

We can’t fix our budget through cuts or tax increases alone. Michigan needs to get its priorities straight and take these reforms into consideration to protect important programs. The safety and well-being of our communities and the future of our state will be in jeopardy if the Senate Republicans continue to ignore these ideas. My colleagues and I will continue to do whatever it takes to restore these priorities and protect Michigan’s future.

Dear Freep: Thank you!

Annemarie — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 11:26:42 EDT

Dear Editor: Kudos to the Free Press editorial board for finally saying what a lot of Michigan’s working parents already knew: That the state Senate’s budget plan “would have cut too deeply in core state services such as Medicaid and early childhood learning.” It’s nice to see early childhood get its due. Things like pre-K and child care subsidies (given to low-income working moms and dads) truly are core services, and the sorts of things we need to keep intact if Michigan is ever going to become an evolved, progressive state.

No, I'm not crazy, I like to talk to babies!

Annemarie — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:06:42 EDT

I was waiting in the checkout line at Meijer's on Sunday with my daughter, Abby. There was a woman in front of us busy buying her items. Her infant daughter was with her, hanging out in her car seat in the grocery cart.

Staring right at me, I couldn't help but start talking to her. I commented on all the groceries her mom had to buy, asked her whether she had any brothers or sisters, if she was enjoying the nice weather, and so on. She began waving her hands a little bit and I could see the corners of her mouth trying to move. She had so much she wanted to say!

Abby grabbed on to my arm, laughing nervously and lamented - "Mom!" I asked her, "Abby, are you embarrassed?" "Yes," she replied. I told her don't worry, I'm not crazy, I'm helping to foster this beautiful girl's brain development so that she enters kindergarten ready to learn!

Does Your Child Want to be a Reading Star?

Annemarie — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 12:41:37 EDT

PBS Between the Lions will be filming in Detroit on September 16 and 17. They are looking for children, ages three to seven, to be part of their program. Please share with teachers and parents -- we want to show off our region's literacy stars!

Music & Movement - Fun & Educational

Annemarie — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 11:11:55 EDT

When my daughter was one and a half years old, I signed us up for a music and movement class series being offered just down the street from our house. It sounded like fun and I was looking for something for us to do (and get us out of the house!).

What I didn't realize at the time, but have grown to understand, is that engaging Abby in music and movement at that age was getting her ready for kindergarten. Who knew that singing silly songs, marching in a circle and playing with musical instruments was developing her reading and math skills?

Yes, it's easier to access such resources and support in my community. But you might be surprised to learn that there are great organizations that are making this type of programming accessible to families and children in the City of Detroit.

Check out Living Artsand MSU Community Music School. Would you recommend others?

Janet has the most important job in the world

Annemarie — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 09:09:45 EDT

Janet, grandmother of Jordyn, age 5, and Evan, age 3, is an early childhood educator. No, she doesn't have a degree in it or teach in a classroom, but she's an educator just the same.

Janet is caring and educating her two grandchildren while her daughter is at work. Janet is the first to tell you she’s a fabulous caregiver – having successfully raised her daughter as well as a host of nieces and nephews. But when she began caring for her grandchildren a generation later, she thought maybe – just maybe – she could use a refresher. That’s when she found United Way’s Early Learning Community in Brightmoor. These communities provide free training and resources for individuals like relatives, neighbors, and childcare aides caring for young children.

Why target family, friend and neighbor caregivers? Because in Michigan, 85% of our low-income children are in their care. These early childhood educators are at the forefront of preparing our most vulnerable children for success in school and life. We are committed to helping them be the best caregivers and educators they can be.

Janet has taken advantage of many of the ELC offerings, including trainings. Her favorite activities are the playgroups. There, she can see her grandchildren come alive as they interact with other children.

It’s not just her grandchildren who reap the benefits, though. The Early Learning Community has given Janet a better outlook on caring and educating young children. As many mothers do, she often lost patience with her own children and struggled to understand their development. With the help of the Early Learning Community, she’s learned about all of a child’s developmental stages. She sees them go through each stage as they grow up so that she can help them reach their full potential.

Children Learn Through Play

Annemarie — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 10:59:12 EST

Today, the Detroit Free Press published an article on the importance of play for young children. What I've found is that parents and other adults have one of two reactions: 1) "But of course, let children be children!" or 2) "What? Children need to study, have structure, rules, etc." I submit that play falls in between these two beliefs. What might generally not be known is that play fosters learning. It also promotes confidence and social skills. All of these characteristics are required for children to be successful in school and in life.

At United Way, we are working to ensure that parents and caregivers of young children understand the importance of play and how to incorporate it into caregiving settings. Through the Early Learning Communities, we are providing training, networking and other support to providers -- both formal and informal -- caring and educating our most disadvantaged children. Training topics include: Partnerships with Children: Playing & Learning Together, Learning Through Play: The Active Learning Way, and Look What I Can Do: Understanding Preschool Development.

Through the Reading Village, we are working with parents to create learning rich home environments -- crucial to the early learning development of our young children. Linked to Reading Navigators, parents are given the knowledge and tools they need to read daily and foster everyday learning with their children.

As more parents, child care providers and teachers incorporate playing into their care and education settings, the children in our region will be well on their way to school and life success.

Michigan's (inept?) attempt to move to full day kindergarten

Annemarie — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:26:01 EDT

The State's budgetary attempt to move schools to offer full day kindergarten is getting some attention...

Early Childhood Education Mentioned During Friday's Presidential Debate!

Annemarie — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 16:50:53 EDT

Early Childhood Education got a shout out at last Friday's Presidential Debate! This was most impressive given the primary focus of the debate was on Foreign Policy. What's more, Senator Obama brought up Early Childhood Education as an example (and the only example) of what we need to increase domestic spending on -- not cut.

And if that wasn't exciting enough, David Broder of the Washington Post reiterated what Sen. Obama said in his Sunday column.