INTRODUCTORY COMMENTS FOR
PRE-KINDERGARTEN EDUCATION STUDY COMMITTEE
Steve Dale, DCF Commissioner
July 19, 2006
INTRODUCTION TO DOE/DCF PRESENTATION
Addressing issues related to early care and education must be an integrated activity. Although this committee’s title is focused on “education”, both Richard and I want to urge you to keep the broad and integrated view. Young children do not lead their lives in segmented ways. Care, education, socialization, and every other ingredient of child development are integrated and best occur in single environments where trusted, skilled adults can create activities and opportunities for children to grow and develop optimally.
So we will be presenting together in a blended fashion.
I am taking the lead since I am here in the flesh. Richard will take the lead the next time he is here.
Our plan is for me to share some introductory thoughts to be followed by some introductory thoughts from Richard.
We then propose to go through each of the questions outlined in the legislation and to provide you with answers where we have the information and to present you with our plan for developing answers to those questions where we do not have the information. DCF will present first in each segment. DOE will then share their information and ideas. Our suggestion is to take questions and suggestions from the committee relative to each section as we go. Our goal is to make sure we are clear what the committee wants and needs in order to do its work.
Following a run through of the questions, we would be glad to entertain general questions and recommendations on other data that the committee needs.
INTRODUCTORY COMMENTS
There are four major points I would like to make as the committee begins its work. I will mention them, and then elaborate briefly on each.
1. The issue of early childhood care and education is incredibly important. It needs to be a priority for all of us. The Governor is committed to making progress in this area.
2. Our work in the early childhood arena needs to be guided by a set of principles. If we can agree on the principles, we can agree on the strategies.
3. I would again make the case that early education must be an integrated part of overall early childhood health, care,
and education.
4. We have a challenging task in re-looking at the funding mechanisms for early education. I propose that we focus on what we want for outcomes for pre-school children, what strategies will get us there, and what mix of funding will best support this effort. Our goal should be to find a consensus path which moves us forward in a methodical way toward the goals we all desire.
#1 The importance of early childhood health, care, and education.
Many of you have been exposed to the research on the brain development of young children. It is compelling. We must take this very seriously and act on it.
The week after I started work as Commissioner last October, an attorney from St. Johnsbury, who is also a very strong child advocate, gave me a book and told me that it should be required reading for someone in this positions. It is entitled Ghosts from the Nursery. It sat on my bedside table for 8 months. The biggest challenge for this job is that there seems to be little time to think, to read, to reflect. But I took a vacation the week before the 4tthof July and it rained like I have never seen it rain before. And I read the book.
In essence, it gathers much of the research around various issues that affect child development . It makes the case that the development of the brain occurs largely between conception and 3 years old. It highlights the fact that we have a tendency as a society to view young children as blank slates, and then to respond in a major way when problems begin to show up. There are a number of stories about young children who became violent teens and adults—and it makes a clear case that the roots of that violence were developed in those very early years.
We at the Department for Children and Families will be strongly considering the lessons of that book as we take a close look at ourselves over the next year. Those lessons need to inform our collective work in this committee, as well.
The Governor is very aware of the importance of this issue and is committed to making progress in this whole area.
#2 Our work in the early childhood arena needs to be guided by a set of principles. If we can agree on the principles, we can agree on the strategies.
I would propose the following as part of a starting list. These are my ideas. I understand that there may well be other perspectives. I would recommend that we spend time early on discussing these kinds of principles, as agreement on results and principles can provide the basis for moving ahead.
I would propose the following:
· The first five years of a child’s life are the most important developmentally.
· The family plays the most important role in the life of a young child. Families have primary responsibility for caring for their child and assuring the child receives appropriate care, health, and education.
· The broader community has a vested interest in assuring that all children receive the care and support needed to support their growth and development. Failure to meet the needs of all children creates great societal inequities and results in massive interventions and expenditures later on.
· Child growth and development occurs in integrated environments. It is not appropriate to segment services and supports.
· Early care and education must be provided in locations that are convenient to families, and in settings which minimize transitions for children.
· When ever possible and appropriate services should be provided through quality private providers.
Some of these suggestions may be controversial. I put them out there as examples of the issues that need to be discussed.
#3 I would again contend that early education must be an integrated part of overall early childhood health, care, and education.
Building Bright Futures is continuing to move forward. Through an Executive Order signed in June, the Governor has created the next structural generation called the Building Bright Futures Council. The new group will be meeting before the end of August and will be bringing additional focus to this discussion. I would recommend that this group connect with that group to gather their perspectives and to vet our recommendations.
#4 We have a challenging task in re-looking at the funding mechanisms for early education. I propose that we focus on what we want for outcomes for pre-school children, what strategies will get us there, and what mix of funding will best support this effort. Our goal should be to find a consensus path which moves us forward in a methodical way toward the goals we all desire.
It is important that we not limit the current discussion by the content of past debates. This can’t be about the current system vs. no system. It can’t be about adding two more years of public schooling. It must be about a fresh look at what we want for outcome, what strategies will best get us there, and the most appropriate mix of funding to get us there.
There are some challenges with the current public school funding arrangement. Although a number of children have benefited greatly from particular programs in particular locations, there is really not a systemic approach.
In June, Kim Keiser, Bonnie McCardell, AHS Secretary Cindy LaWare, and I did a several hour tour in Central Vermont to get focused on the issues in early care and education.. We visited four licensed child care centers, one public school operated pre-school program, and one registered home. All were in the same supervisory union. However, they were located in four different towns or school districts.
We were struck with two things—
One was the dramatic variation in quality. Some were stimulating, caring, high energy, high interaction environments—you could feel it when you walked in and as we interacted with children and staff. Some were very marginal, with much less activity and much less stimulation and personal connection.
The other was the dramatic variation in the use of public school pre-K funding.
· In one instance, the provider explained that she was not very financially savvy. She simply received checks from involved school districts and gave rebates to the parents from those school districts, dividing the ADM money equally among parents.
· Two provided a “subsidized rate” for those families whose towns had ADM arrangements. I would guess that half of the amount received went to rate-reduction and the other half into improving overall quality of the program (licensed teacher, additional dollars for salaries, etc.).
· One program was provided by the school—limited to 10 hours per week. It was quite structured. It seemed like a good program, but felt far less stimulating than the high quality care and education programs we saw. Our big question was where the children went for the remainder of their days.
· In at least one program, kids left the private center and were bussed to the public school for the 10 hours of pre-school, creating unnecessary transitions for these young children.
· And the most troubling was a situation where the school had committed in June to subsidize slots for families at a particular center. That district also operated its own pre-school for 10 hours per week. On September 1, the district program was under-enrolled, so the school reneged on its commitment to subsidize the private setting, and said the family had to use the public pre-school. This created a huge dilemma for all involved. In the end, the provider agreed to allow the children to be served full time without the school’s subsidy, but they lost money and were very upset about it.
These were only five programs out of over 130 statewide. My only other personal experience came from my time as the director of the Baird Center in Burlington. Baird was one of the early recipients of ADM. At our center, all of the funds went to pay for quality—certified teacher, higher salaries, and improved benefits.
Many children and families benefit from the current system. However, the current unplanned system is probably not the best overall approach to assuring reasonable access to high quality early care and education.
COMMENTS BY RICHARD CATE.
REVIEW OF EACH QUESTION POSED IN S 314.