DAYTON, Ohio (June 1, 2009)—Ninety percent of a child’s brain development takes place before entering school. “That is why quality early education and care is so important,” insisted Sallie Westheimer, 4C for Children executive director, at a luncheon at the Dayton Racquet Club May 19. The goal of this “friend-raising” event was to acquaint community leaders with 4C’s work to help parents find quality early childhood education and care and to assist child care centers and family child care providers in raising the quality of care they offer.
Jenni Roer, executive director of the Dayton-based Tait Foundation and one of five hostesses for the luncheon, praised the work of 4C since it entered the Dayton community three years ago. 4C for Children became the state-designated child care resource and referral agency for the 10 counties of the Miami Valley in July 2006. 4C has been providing these same services in the Greater Cincinnati area since 1972.
“But there is still much work to be done,” Roer insisted. Other luncheon hostesses were Susan Gruenberg, Marcia Shaw, Kelly Uhl and Joyce Young.
How do we know if we are making progress in preparing children for kindergarten, asked Montgomery County Commissioner Dan Foley. “What are the metrics?”
Sallie Westheimer explained that the only tool for measuring progress at this time is the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment – Literacy (KRA-L) that helps teachers identify early reading skills. The KRA-L is required of all children entering kindergarten in public schools.
And these metrics are not good for Montgomery County, which, reported Roer, “has the lowest KRA-L scores of any urban county in the State of Ohio.” This means, she continued, “that 63 percent of the county’s children require intervention upon entering kindergarten—as do 80 percent of the children entering Dayton Public Schools.”
Such statistics are one reason that the Tait Foundation has worked closely with the Montgomery County Family and Children First Council to establish ReadySetSoar, an initiative that is working to improve the quality of early care and education for all children in Montgomery County by providing incentives and assistance to early education programs to achieve state quality ratings.
Jennifer Sammons, child care supervisor at the YWCA Dayton Child Care, spoke to the more than 30 community leaders about the important role 4C staff, funded by a grant from ReadySetSoar, played in helping her program achieve a star rating through Ohio’s Step Up To Quality. Her program was the first program participating in ReadySetSoar to become state quality rated—and they are now preparing to apply for a two-star rating this fall.
Since the office opened in 2006, 4C specialists have helped more than 50 early childhood programs in the Miami Valley exceed minimum licensing standards and achieve state quality ratings (one to three stars) through Ohio’s Step Up To Quality initiative.
“Ensuring that child care settings offer quality learning environments is a matter of great public importance,” says Tammy Vaughn, director of 4C for Children’s Miami Valley services. 4C’s mission, she explains, “is to ensure that every child has a positive experience and a foundation for success in school and life.”
In addition to its work with child care providers, 4C assists over 8,000 families of all incomes levels each year in finding and choosing quality child care. Free child care referrals are available by calling the 4C Dayton office on 1320 E. Fifth Street at 937-220-9660.
4C for Children has been a pioneering leader, resource and advocate for high-quality early childhood education and care since 1972. Last year, the agency, through its services to parents and child care providers, positively impacted more than 123,000 children in the 23 counties it serves in Southwest Ohio, Northern Kentucky, and the Miami Valley.
For more information about 4C for Children, visit www.4cforchildren.org.
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