Metro United Way Community Impact Education Agenda

Metro United Way CoMMUnity iMpaCtedUCation agenda 2011-2018

Presented to Metro United Way Board of Directors | February 24, 2011

CoMMUnity aspirations 2018

You are holding a copy of the Metro United Way Community Impact Education Agenda. This document spells out our aspirations, targets and strategies for engaging the community to improve kindergarten readiness and high school graduation rates.

While I applaud our Community Impact staff who crafted this agenda, I want you to know that this plan was developed with input from donors, education experts in the field, representatives from many of our local agencies and partners, cross-functional teams, volunteers, community impact cabinet volunteers and our Board of Directors. In other words, these strategies were developed as a true collaborative effort with our agencies and key constituents.

The needs expressed in these discussions have been expressed consistently over time. Whether in small groups or in large scale surveys, the community has told us that the issues they care the most about are: (1) support of basic needs, (2) the educational readiness of our children and (3) their success once in school.

Like any long range undertaking, this agenda will be refined and reshaped as we learn more about what works. The agenda clearly articulates what we aspire to accomplish and how we plan to get there.

I would also like to recognize our national partners who have helped to fund this work and make this plan possible. This includes the Forum for Youth Investment/ Ready by 21 and United Way Worldwide.

I welcome any comments or suggestions you may have. I also invite you to become a part of this effort by giving, advocating and volunteering. For more information, please visit us at metrounitedway.org or call 502-583-2821.

Sincerely,

Joe tolanPresident and CEOMetro United Way

table of Contents

CoMMUnity aspirations 6All Children Will enter KindergArten reAdy to leArn 7All youth Will Complete high SChool on time And prepAred for College, WorK And life 8WhAt do the StAtS tell uS? 9WhAt doeS metro united WAy promiSe? 11

oUr strategies 13prepAring Children for SChool reAdineSSStrAtegy #1 13StrAtegy #2 14prepAring youth for College WorK And life StrAtegy #1 15StrAtegy #2 16StrAtegy #3 18reSeArCh 19


introdUCtionMetro United Way has two long-term community aspirations. These represent our vision for the community we serve, and it is our goal that we achieve these community aspirations. That said, we do not intend or expect to do this alone. Therefore, Metro United Way will both work with and help to connect our agencies, community organizations, local government and the local business community in order to make these aspirations a reality. It is our commitment to this collaborative approach to making our community vision a reality that both determines and guides the strategies and tactics we implement.

it is our goal that we achieve these community aspirations.”

“


all Children Will enter Kindergartenready to learn

in the Metro United Way metropolitan community will annually enter kindergarten ready to learn by 2018. This means that each year, on average an additional 480 children will begin school prepared for success.

77% of children

target:

77%

Children reAdy for KindergArten by 2018Metro United Way’s role in fUlfilling this CoMMUnity aspiration

Metro United Way will have a focused approach to improve school readiness by:•Engaginginearlychildhoodcommunity

initiatives at a regional level, that both identify best practices as well as address areas of improvement.

•LeadingMUW-fundedchildcarecenterstobecome centers of choice.

•Educatingandengagingparentsinhowtobest support the developmental readiness of their children in order to prepare their children for kindergarten.

•Fundinginitiativesthatsupportreadinessfor kindergarten.

CoMMUnity aspiration #1:

Metro United Way Metropolitan Community


all yoUth Will CoMplete high sChool on tiMe prepared forCollege, WorK and life.

In the Metro United Way service area,

will graduate from high school on time by 2018. This means that on average each year an additional 178 of our youths will graduate high school ready for college, work and life.

target:

87% of students

87%

on-time high SChool grAduAtion rAte by 2018

Metro United Way’s role in fUlfilling this CoMMUnity aspiration

Metro United Way will implement a focused approach to prepare youth for college, work and life by:•Exercisingaleadershiproleincreatinga

college-going culture utilizing the cradle-to- career framework.

•IdentifyingspecificwaysMUWcansupporteach county in its educational goals.

•LeadingMUW-fundedprovidersofout-of-school-time (OST) programs in developing a common vision and shared approach to prepare youth for college, work and life.

•EvaluatingOSTprogramsusingconsistentquality standards and indicators.

•Integratingdatasystemsthatallowbothin-school and out-of-school monitoring of key indicators for successful on-time graduation.

•MetroUnitedWay,MetroGovernmentandJefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) will form an OST Coordinating Council to oversee the development of a comprehensive OST youth development system in Jefferson County.

CoMMUnity aspiration #2:

Metro United Way Metropolitan Community


are not ready to succeed when they enter kindergarten.

In 2009 there were

in our MUW region. Based on the national average this would mean

will not be ready for success when they enter kindergarten.

14,608four-year-olds

Why do We have these CoMMUnity aspirations? What dothe stats tell Us?

We foCUs on Kindergarten readiness beCaUse:

• Therearenoconsistent,ongoingearlychildhooddevelopmental screenings of preschoolers completed county-wide in any of the seven counties in our metropolitan service area.

• Mostpeople,includingparentsandcaregivers,are unaware of what readiness for kindergarten means and how to be proactive in making sure their children are prepared.

• InKentuckyandIndiana,state-mandatedminimumstandards of compliance for child care centers exist. Quality rating systems exist to promote best practices in both states, but they are not required to be utilized by child care centers.

• MetroUnitedWaychildcareprovidersdonothavesufficient opportunity to share best practices or the concerns they face.

nationally, up to

of children46%

6,720 four-year-olds


Why do We have these CoMMUnity aspirations? What dothe stats tell Us?

We foCUs on preparing yoUth for College, WorK and life beCaUse:

• Nationally,atleast1in5studentsdropoutofschool.Inurbanareas,nearly50%ofstudentsdropout.

• TherehasnotbeenauniformcalculationofgraduationratesinKentuckyorIndiana,althoughIndianajustselectedasystemandKentuckyisclose to doing so. Until this point, each school system has reported its own graduation rate. The graduation rates in our regional community range from a low of 71%inJeffersonCountytoahighof95%inOldhamCounty. The regional graduation rate, accounting forpopulation,is77%.

• ResearchshowsthatqualityOSTprogramscontribute to improvement in key indicators of on-time graduation, such as attendance at school, engagement in learning, test scores and grades. These benefits increase with the duration and frequency of participation, and high-need youth show the greatest improvements.

• TheChildTrendsStudyofAugust2010,reportedthe Every Child Every Promise survey, found that teenagers who indicated they were involved in high-quality OST programs were more likely than their uninvolved peers to not engage in risky behavior (81%vs.66%)andweremorelikelytoreportdoingwellinschool(28%vs.10%).Similarly,theparentsof these young people were more likely to report that their children were more socially adept than their peers who did not participate in high-quality OST programs(26%vs.12%).

• Accordingtothe2006Fight Crime: Invest in Kids report, the rates of juvenile crime soar between 3:00 and6:00p.m.,thehourswhenschoolisoutbut parents are presumably not yet home from work. During these hours, children are also far more likely to be in a car accident, become the victim of a crime, or smoke, drink, and use alcohol or drugs than at any other time of the day or night.

• ThereiscurrentlynosystematicapproachtoOSTprogramming in Jefferson County.

graduation rates nationally:drop out of school

in Urban areas:

1out of 5

drop out of school1out of 2


What does Metro United Way proMise? What Will sUCCess Mean?

Kindergarten readiness

• Advocateforuniversalpre-kindergartenscreenings,universal pre-kindergarten and affordable child care.

• Utilizelocaldatatocreateabaselineforlong-termimprovement in performance measures.

Metro United Way proMises to:

• OrganizeandcoordinateeffortsforourcurrentMetro United Way supported child care professionals by sharing best practices and communicating lessons learned.

• Engage3,000parents/caregiversintheirchild’s developmental progress by helping them access appropriate services in their community.

sUCCess Means:

• Selectedpre-kindergartenreadinessinstrumentsareused uniformly across the community.

• Acommonprocessforassessingqualityofchildcare centers is used consistently by MUW-funded agencies.

• Parentsareactivelyengagedinsupportingthedevelopmental readiness of their children and have access to the resources necessary for ensuring that they arrive at kindergarten ready to learn.

• BestpracticesaresharedandadoptedbyMUW-funded child care centers in order to become centers of choice for the community.


What does Metro United Way proMise? What Will sUCCess Mean?

preparing youth for College, Work and life

Metro United Way proMises to:

• Participateinregionalcommunityeffortstocreatea college-going culture from cradle to career for our children and youth.

• Developandimplementindividualizedapproaches and interventions aligned with our regional community’seducationneeds.Wewillleadeffortstocoordinate an OST system in Jefferson County.

• LeadandcoordinatetheeffortsforourcurrentMUW-funded OST programs.

• Usecommonqualitystandardsandindicatorstoevaluate the effectiveness of OST programs.

• Coordinateanintegrateddatasystemtomonitorkeyindicators for successful on-time graduation and the early identification of potential drop-outs in need of targeted interventions.

sUCCess Means:

• MetroUnitedWayissupportingtheeducationgoalsinMUW’sseven-countyservicearea.

• OSTprogramprovidersinJeffersonCountyforma common vision and shared approach to increase JeffersonCounty’shighschoolgraduationrates.

• MUW-fundedOSTagencieshaveacommonvisionand shared approach to prepare youth for college, work and life.

• MUW-fundedOSTagenciesuseacommonqualityassessment process to identify strengths as well as improvement opportunities.

• Acomprehensivedatasystem(KidTrax)isintegratedwithinourcommunity’sOSTprogramsandmonitorskey indicators for successful on-time graduation as well as identifying students who may become potential drop-outs and need targeted interventions.

oUr strategies

preparing Children for sChool sUCCess

strategy #1 regional focus:

taCtiCs:

• Advocatingforpublicpoliciesthatsupportkindergarten readiness primarily through our efforts withKentuckyYouthAdvocatesandUnitedWay ofKentucky.

• ImplementingtheuseofAgesandStagesQuestionnaires (ASQ) and related resources in specific sections of the Regional community who wish to partner with MUW to identify kindergarten readiness as the part of the education pipeline on which they wish to focus.

• Engagingtrustedneighborhoodleadersinhigh-needneighborhoods in order to give parents and caregivers the support they need to become more invested in theirchildren’sdevelopmentalprogressthroughtheASQ and related materials.

• Fundinitiativesthatsupportkindergartenreadiness.

deliverables:

• MUWwillidentify350advocatesandeducatethemon public policy efforts supporting early childhood and ways to take action.

• TheAgesandStagesQuestionnaireisadoptedandimplementedbystatewidepartnersinKentucky.

• Threehigh-needneighborhoodsinourRegionalcommunity receive targeted supports (i.e. trusted neighborhood leader approach) to help parents and caregivers prepare children for kindergarten based on the numbers of preschoolers in those neighborhoods.

• Thestateofearlychildhoodreadinessiscollectedand reported through the collection and analysis of multiple data sources.

sUCCesses in year one:

• Acommonschoolreadinessdefinitionisadoptedandrecognizedstatewide(Kentucky).

• 3,000parentsandcaregiversintheRegionalcommunity utilize resources to prepare children for kindergarten.

• Residentsofthreetargetedneighborhoodsutilize selected developmental readiness tools in their community.

Mobilize the metropolitan community in support of kindergarten readiness.

oUr strategies

strategy # 2MUW funded agencies:

Collaboratively identify quality standards and achieve consistent high-quality early child care and education in all Metro United Way funded child care centers.

taCtiCs:

• WorkwithallMUW-fundedchildcarecenterstocreate a shared vision as well as shared goals and metrics so that their participating children will be prepared to succeed by kindergarten.

• Expandthefamilycoachingandteachertrainingmodel identified as best practices through the “Bridges to Tomorrow” project if funding is available.

• Implementqualityratingsystemsand/or environmental rating scales by contracting with certified experts to identify strengths and address quality improvement opportunities in these early childhood education programs.

deliverables:

• MUW-fundedchildcarecentershaveasharedvision, as well as shared goals and metrics, and use a consistent screening tool in support of preparing all children for kindergarten.

• Profiledataandbaselinereadinessdataonallchildren in MUW-funded child care centers is compiled.

• Familycoachingand/orthe“BridgestoTomorrow”teacher training model is expanded to at least three additional agencies dependent on funding.

• Qualityratingsystemsand/orenvironmentalrating scales are used to identify strengths and address quality improvement opportunities in our early childhood education programs.

• WithMUWassistance,childcarecenterswilldevelopaction plans for addressing quality improvement opportunities.

• EachMUW-fundedchildcarecenterwillengageinone activity or event that promotes a “college-going culture” (e.g. posters in halls that say “College Class of 2019,” etc.).


• Vision,goalsandmetricsarecreatedforMUW-funded child care centers.

• MUW-fundedchildcarecenterbaselinedatais collected, analyzed and used to support improvements.

• AllMUW-fundedchildcarecentersimplementacommon quality rating system and/or environmental rating scale.

• Fundingofchildcarecenterswillincorporatedatafrom the quality assessments and progress on related action plans beginning in summer 2012.


oUr strategies

preparing yoUth forCollege, WorK and life

strategy # 1regional focus:

Utilize the cradle-to-career framework to mobilize the community in addressing educational attainment priorities.

taCtiCs:

• IdentifyMUW’sroleinhelpingeachcountyinourservice area attain their educational priorities.

• Provideleadershipandsupportto“55,000Degrees”in creating a college-going culture throughout the Regional community.

• Advocateforpublicpoliciesthatsupporton-timehighschoolgraduationinpartnershipwithKentuckyYouthAdvocatesandUnitedWayofKentucky.

• Fundinitiativesforchildrenandyouththatsupporttheir readiness for college, work and life.

deliverables:

• Toolsandresourcesaredevelopedoridentifiedincollaboration with community partners on ways to encourage a college-going culture.

• MUWwillannuallyidentify350advocatesandeducate them about public policy efforts supporting youth graduating high school on time prepared for college, work and life and how to take action.


• 350advocatesunderstandMUW’seducationpublicpolicy priorities and know how to support them by contacting legislators, writing letters to the editor, holding conversations with friends, etc.

• Eachofthesevencountiesinourmetropolitanservice area has a specific plan supporting their education attainment goals that identifies the role of MUW in helping them attain those goals.

oUr strategies

strategy #2Jefferson Countyfocus:

Lead the Jefferson County community in developing a comprehensive plan for the Out-of-School Time (OST) youth development system

taCtiCs:

• LeadtheOSTCoordinatingCouncilmembers(JCPS,MetroGovernmentandMetroUnitedWay)indeveloping a comprehensive plan for OST programs.

• ThroughtheCoordinatingCouncil,adoptandsupportthe implementation of quality standards across all OST programs in our regional community.

• ThroughtheCoordinatingCouncil,promotethedevelopment and implementation of high-quality training and professional growth opportunities for youth development staff.

• ThroughtheCoordinatingCouncil,supportthecreation and use of directory of services that connect youth and parents to programs that help youth attain their education goals.

• ThroughtheCoordinatingCouncilandtheKidTraxProject Manager, ensure the expansion and use of theKidTraxdatasystemthatconnectsJCPSandOSTprogram providers. (This system has been available but not functioning to its fullest potential.)

• ThroughtheCoordinatingCouncilandtheKidTraxProject Manager, ensure the collection and analysis ofKidTraxdataonkeyindicatorsforsuccessfulhigh school graduation and the early identification of potential drop-outs.

deliverables:

• MemorandumsofagreementfortheOSTCoordinatingCouncilmembers(MUW,MetroGovernment,andJCPS) are complete.

• AnOSTsystemimplementationplantodevelopthiscoordinated approach to OST programming is complete.

• QualitystandardsandindicatorsforOSTprogramsare adopted and in use in the ongoing evaluation of all OST programs.

• Professionaldevelopmentopportunitiesareexpandedfor OST staff.

• AnonlinedirectoryofOSTprogramsisavailabletoparents, caregivers and youth.

• AKidTraxProjectManagerishiredusingReadyBy21grant funds.


oUr strategies


• TheOSTCoordinatingCounciloverseestheimplementation of the OST system plan.

• JeffersonCountyOSTagenciesadoptacommonsetof quality standards and indicators and become aware that the results of quality assessments supporting these standards will become part of fundingdecisionsbyMUW,MetroGovernment and JCPS.

• Anewposition,KidTraxProjectManager,fundedbya Ready By 21 grant to the city of Louisville, is filled andappropriatetargetsforKidTraximplementationare established by the Coordinating Council.

strategy #2Jefferson Countyfocus:

Lead the Jefferson County community in developing a comprehensive plan for the Out-of-School Time (OST) youth development system


oUr strategies

strategy #3MUW agency focus:

Lead Metro United Way agencies providing OST programs in working together to improve quality so that participating youth are prepared for college, work and life.

taCtiCs:

• ConveneallMUW-fundedOSTprogramdirectorsto develop a shared vision, goals and metrics for all youth participating in OST programs so that they graduate high school ready for college, work and life.

• UtilizeacommonOSTprogramqualityassessment process to identify best practices and quality improvement opportunities.

• CollectandanalyzedataonMUW’sfundedOSTprograms in order to coordinate action on key indicators supporting on-time high school graduation.

deliverables:

• BaselineOSTdataiscollectedandanalyzedtodevelop the metrics for OST program performance.

• MUW-fundedOSTprovidershaveacommonvisionand shared approach supporting high school graduation and readiness for college, work and life.

• AcommonprocessforassessingOSTprogramquality is identified and used by all MUW-funded OST programs.


• Vision,goalsandmetricsarecreatedforMUW-funded OST providers.

• AnOSTqualityassessmentprocessinvolvingcommon standards and indicators is complete, and agencies are preparing to be evaluated using this tool in 2012.

• OSTbaselinedataiscollected,analyzedandusedtosupport improvements in OST programs.


researCh


ingredients for Quality Child Careingredients for QUality Child Care

ByMarlysAnnBoschee,Ed.D.GeralynM.Jacobs,Ed.D.fortheNationalNetworkforChildCarehttp://www.nncc.org/choose.quality.care/ingredients.html

stUdy sees gains in good Child Care

By Shirley S. Wang for the Wall Street Journalhttp://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703950804575242711624011240.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsTop

researCh on QUality Child Care for infants and toddlers

From the Florida State University Center for Prevention and Intervention Policyhttp://www.cpeip.fsu.edu/resourceFiles/resourceFile_81.pdf

the silent epideMiC: perspeCtives froM high sChool dropoUts

ByJohnM.Bridgeland,JohnJ.DiIulio,Jr.,andKarenBurkeMorison. A report by Civic Enterprises in association with Peter D. Hart Research Associates for the Bill & Melinda GatesFoundationhttp://www.civicenterprises.net/pdfs/thesilentepidemic3-06.pdf

hoW oUt-of-sChool tiMe prograM QUality is related to adolesCent oUtCoMes

ByKristenAndersonMoore,Ph.D.andKatherineHamilton,M.A. for Child Trendshttp://www.childtrends.org/Files//Child_Trends-2010_08_02_RB_OSTProgramQuality.pdf

MaKing the Case: a 2009 faCt sheet on Children and yoUth in oUt-of-sChool tiMe

FromtheNationalInstituteforOut-of-SchoolTimeattheWellesley Centers for Women at Wellesley Collegehttp://www.niost.org/pdf/factsheet2009.pdf


Metro United Way334 East BroadwayLouisvilleKY40202(502)583-2821metrounitedway.org

For more information contact Melody Buhl, Administrative Assistant EducationalInitiatives(502)292-6200

Metro United Way Community Impact Education Agenda

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