Mapping Collier County: An Early Learning Systems Landscape Analysis
A REPORT FOR FUTURE READY COLLIER
Lastinger Center for Learning UNIVERSITY of FLORIDA
Underwritten by:
Created by: University of Florida Lastinger Center for Learning and The Anita Zucker Center for Excellence in Early Childhood Studies Proudly Commissioned and Underwritten by:
Founders of the Naples Winter Wine Festival
Suggested Citation for this report: Rodgers, M.K. & Poekert, P. (2019). Mapping Collier County: An Early Learning Systems Landscape Analysis. Gainesville, FL: University of Florida. Contents
Introduction...... 1 Building Lasting Partnerships...... 4 Why a Landscape Analysis?...... 4 Executive Summary ...... 6 Phase 1 Findings: Previous inputs and research...... 7 Phase 2 Findings: Current data gathering and stakeholder input ...... 7 Phase 3 Findings: Case study analysis to determine common levers of change ...... 8 Background...... 9 Glossary...... 11 Methodology and Limitations...... 13 Data Collection ...... 13 Data Analysis...... 14 Limitations...... 15 Phase 1: Key Findings from Previous Work and Inputs (2013-2017)...... 16 Phase 2: Key Findings from Current Data Gathering and Stakeholder Input (2017-2018)...... 19 Geographic Data Mapping (2018)...... 19 Key Perceptions from Early Learning and Community Stakeholders (2018)...... 26 Phase 3: Case Study Analysis to Determine Common Levers of Change...... 30 Sustainable funding for early learning quality improvement: Miami’s Children’s Trust Thrive by 5 Quality Improvement System (2018)...... 30 Parent Partnership, Engagement and Leadership: Boston’s Thrive in 5 Initiative (2008) ...... 34 Alignment of systems’ objectives, activities, resources, outcomes and measures: Kent County’s Great Start Collaborative Strategic Plan for Early Childhood (2015-2018)...... 37 Discussion...... 41 Investigation and Analysis: Current Findings...... 42 Recommendations...... 44 Example Strategies of Implementation...... 47 Implementation Timeline and Structure...... 49 Connections and Conclusions...... 51 Resources ...... 52 References ...... 53 Appendix A: Map 1...... 55 Appendix B: Map 2...... 56 Appendix C: Map 3...... 57 Appendix D: Map 4...... 58 Appendix E: Map 5 ...... 59 Appendix F: Map 6 ...... 60 Appendix G: Map 7...... 61 Appendix H: Geographic “hot spots” from Analysis ...... 62 Appendix I: CCPS Kindergarten Focus Group Protocol ...... 65 Appendix J: Future Ready Collier Network Structure Chart ...... 66 Introduction
Coordinated, community-based early childhood systems connect many types of services, supports, and opportunities for young children and their families, often from the prenatal period through third grade. When these systems function well, they can enhance the effectiveness of programs and services in the community, while ensuring better experiences for children and families, and improving outcomes such as school readiness and optimal child development (Center for the Study of Social Policy, 2017). However, coordination, coherence, and documentation of indicators, outcomes, and impact of systems-level activities is an ongoing challenge for communities investing in this powerful work to align resources, connect systems and build infrastructure.
Since 2015, this community-based network has been facilitated by Champions For Learning (CFL), the education foundation for Collier County, with a longstanding role as a convener and leader in community engagement. The network partners have intentionally participated in Future Ready Collier (FRC), a network of more than 60 organizations, businesses, schools and community members that have vowed to engage in this collective challenge, and are working to ensure every child in Collier County, Florida, is ready for Kindergarten and beyond (Future Ready Collier, 2018). The network has been examining how to best support families with young children to improve early childhood outcomes. CFL has engaged partner organizations and stakeholders to align towards common goals, use continuous communication and reflection, create shared measurement metrics and indicators, and support mutually reinforcing activities to ensure the following early learning priorities are met for Collier County’s children:
Engage families with tools and resources to support the early development of their children
Improve the quality of existing early childhood education providers
Increase the number of high quality early childhood education spots available to low-income families
Identify and/or develop appropriate data indicators for early learning goals and priorities.
A strategic decision was made to invest in a planning process and landscape analysis to deepen understanding and build capacity for a systems framework to better leverage resources to support children (0-5 years old) to be Kindergarten-ready and successful in school and beyond, or “future ready.” This process has been generously funded by the Naples Children & Education Foundation.
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 1 Collier County Efforts Related to Early Learning
2005 The Naples Children & Education Foundation (NCEF) in partnership with the UF Lastinger Center, conducts a study on the needs and well-being of children in Collier County (Pemberton et al., 2005) and brings beneficiary organizations together to work collaboratively around strategic initiatives.
2010 NCEF trustees requested a follow-up study that updated, identified, and quantified the current conditions and needs of children in Collier County. This additional study, completed by the UF Lastinger Center in cooperation with NCEF, used the same metrics to describe and evaluate children’s service delivery systems, provided the most current data available on child wellbeing that could be shared with community leaders, reported on the community impact of NCEF strategic initiatives, and identified additional strategies and opportunities to improve the healthy development of all children in Collier County.
2015 The ongoing informal conversations between the Community Foundation of Collier County, Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce, and Champions For Learning, became more formal and add Collier County Public Schools (CCPS), Naples Children & Education Foundation, and United Way of Collier County. These partners secured funding for capacity to collaboratively develop collective goals for Collier County in alignment with the regional FutureMakers Coalition.
2016 More than 35 organizations convened monthly for a year to engage in deep discussions about the shared goals and strategies that will move community results in Collier County, and decide to call this network Future Ready Collier.
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 2 2017 Four priority strategies for the Early Learning goal were determined, with priority teams designated to focus on these efforts.
Hurricane Irma made landfall in Collier County, and post-storm, groups quickly reconvened to re-prioritize and stay on track.
The Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation funded and conducted a county-wide community assessment and report.
The Naples Children & Education Foundation commissioned Civitas Strategies to conduct a final updated Study of Child Well-being in Collier County to comprehensively describe the most current conditions and needs of children using relevant data and child metrics. NCEF also wanted to identify opportunities to improve the physical, emotional, and educational lives of the county’s neediest children and adolescents, so this effort included an examination of the services and systems trying to meet the needs of Collier County’s children in poverty.
2018 Future Ready Collier partners increase to more than 60, aligning with and contributing to priority strategies.
NCEF commissions UF Lastinger Center to examine early learning systems and structures based on previous research and metrics, and create a landscape analysis report to guide the construction of a Collier County Early Learning Framework that provides alignment and building of systems and capacity-building for high quality early learning in Collier County.
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 3 Building Lasting Partnerships Building on this extensive and innovative work from Future Ready Collier, the UF Lastinger Center (Lastinger) and UF Anita Zucker Center for Excellence in Early Childhood Studies (AZCEECS) have joined this partnership with the Collier County community. While the Lastinger Center has been embedded in successful PK-12 research and improvement work in Collier County for several years, Lastinger also brings significant expertise and success in improving the quality of early learning systems. Beginning with a statewide study of the quality of professional development available to early childhood education providers, the Lastinger Center first outlined the requirements and specification for a high-quality system that could effectively provide support to infant/toddler and preschool teachers and later raised the philanthropic capital to build and public investment to implement that system. Lastinger’s Early Learning Florida professional development system includes blended, competency-based professional development opportunities for teachers and directors, a rigorous early childhood coaching certification, communities of practice facilitator training, and systems-level consultation to embed and leverage this work. This innovative professional development system is now being offered statewide to School Readiness- subsidized early learning providers through support from Florida’s Office of Early Learning.
The UF Anita Zucker Center promotes and supports interdisciplinary research, teaching, model demonstration and outreach activities that encompass early development and learning. Specific to Collier County, the AZCEECS applied theIndex of Child Care Access (Knopf, Sherlock, Maldonado-Molina, Et al., 2018) using state child care administrative data to understand the patterns of subsidy use (i.e. location, provider type, and quality) among families using Florida School Readiness vouchers (child care subsidy) in select early learning coalitions in Florida. Applying the Index of Child Care Access to identify patterns of child care selection practices among subsidy recipients within Collier County, as well as examination of the available infrastructure of quality child care services, enabled geographically specific understanding of the extent to which families enroll in developmentally beneficial early care and education services when those services were reasonably available. Both UF centers were eager to become partners in this ongoing initiative with the hopes of improving the lives and learning of children and families in Collier County.
Why a Landscape Analysis? When deciding to tackle these complex issues, FRC partners chose a three-pronged approach to inform their decision making and next steps: (1) examination of previous work, indicators and inputs to understand strengths and gaps in current community and educational systems; (2) a substantial data gathering and analysis based on current educational structures, mapping of children’s Kindergarten readiness assessments, stakeholder input and system capacity within early learning and care, K-3 schooling, and community services and supports; and (3) an investigation of state and national examples of similar early learning systems and structures to provide meaningful comparison and potential strategies for implementation and improvement.
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 4 This comprehensive landscape analysis examines this work to understand the systems terrain, map the current landscape of Collier early learning and schooling through several data pathways, and examine designs of similar systems to provide direction for informed decision-making. This report is intended as a starting point to mobilize action and: • Help inform data-driven decisions to grow and improve the services and resources available to support the full range of developmental outcomes for children; • Identify ways for early learning and district leaders to understand the characteristics of incoming kindergartners to help create new and individualized approaches to teaching and learning; • Create a baseline of information on which to develop an organizational structure for leveraging resources, developing aligned goals, program strategies and actionable implementation steps for this continuing mission; and • Identify the elements of an early learning framework that brings forward priority opportunities and goals to support increased Kindergarten Readiness over time.
The ultimate purpose of engaging in this landscape analysis is to tell the story of how (and how well) this community is serving young children and their families; drive community and school-level action that draws on collective will to understand community assets and identify gaps in services and supports; and identify opportunities and promote cross-sector collaboration to leverage and maximize resources available to support the development and achievement of young children.
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 5 Executive Summary
Since 2015, Future Ready Collier, a network of more than 60 partners facilitated by Champions For Learning has intentionally planned and executed collective impact strategies and examined how to best support families with young children to improve early childhood outcomes (Future Ready Collier, 2017). In order to understand the current landscape of early learning systems and support services in Collier County, Florida, the Naples Children & Education Foundation has underwritten a planning process as part of the Future Ready Collier network, and has partnered with the UF Lastinger Center for Learning and the UF Anita Zucker Center for Excellence in Early Childhood Studies to complete a systems-wide early learning landscape analysis. This work builds on the past research that NCEF has underwritten, including the studies of Child Well-Being in Collier County (Pemberton, Dow & Luallen, 2005; Pemberton, Dow & Foege, 2010; Romano & King, 2017).
This process occurred from August- December, 2018, and required UF researchers and FRC leaders to engage and listen to stakeholders to ascertain needs for Collier’s most vulnerable populations and programs; examine Collier County Kindergarten readiness data from 2017 to illuminate areas of academic performance combined with demographic and geographic data sets; and synthesize other existing supplementary data sources to create a comprehensive picture and answer the question, What do Collier families and their young children need to be future ready?
As the Future Ready Collier network has been working toward common goals of Kindergarten readiness and career readiness, the leadership role of Collier County Public Schools in this collaboration has been fundamental to its success by providing data and a system with which to interact and engage regarding student performance. The goal of this landscape analysis was to accurately understand all systems and structures related to early learning and Kindergarten readiness, and was accomplished with a three-phased approach of research design: (1) a review of previous research, indicators and inputs to understand strengths and gaps in these systems; (2) a new data gathering and analysis investigating educational structures, the geographic mapping of children’s Kindergarten readiness assessments, stakeholder input and system capacity within early learning, K-3 schooling, and community services and supports; and (3) a targeted search and review of state and national examples of similar early learning system processes to provide potential strategies, research, and levers for improvement. From these combined analyses and findings,three specific areas of needed systems creation, change and alignment emerged:
High quality care and Supported families Community and learning for all children healthcare investment and assistance
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 6 Phase 1 Findings: Previous inputs and research The following findings were constructed through review and analysis of supplementary data sources from previous research, practice, and Collier County community engagement from 2005- 2017:
There is inconsistency throughout Collier County in awareness, capacity, and access to quality early education and care options.
Residents struggle with income disparity, high cost of living, and high cost of quality child care in Collier County.
There are gaps in family mental health care and child developmental screening access and services.
Phase 2 Findings: Current data gathering and stakeholder input The following findings were constructed in a substantial data gathering and analysis based on: current educational structures in Collier County; geographic mapping of 2017-2018 Collier Kindergarten Readiness assessment data overlapping student demographic data; stakeholder input and recommendations; and systems capacity for PreK- 5 school and supports. Geographic “hot spots” were determined in which specific high-density areas were identified as high-need, low-income, linguistically diverse, and containing limited early learning resources (high-quality learning centers and family child care homes):
There is a wide range in kindergarten readiness across the vast geography and diffuse demographics of Collier County. On one hand, there are a few pockets of excellence where high percentages of young children are kindergarten ready in geographic “hot spots,” signifying that these small but distinct areas potentially provide supports for non-English speaking and low-socio economic families through supplemental learning and family service programs.
On the other hand, overall trends show children not being kindergarten ready in geographic areas where parents seem to have little understanding of or access to resources, and encounter barriers related to communication, access, and eligibility for programs.
Stakeholder feedback suggested that most parents need as much help and support as their children to overcome barriers, and this inclusive support should align social services with intentionality to better support positive outcomes for children and families in tandem.
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 7 Phase 3 Findings: Case study analysis to determine common levers of change After a comprehensive review of similar early learning systems, both nationally and within Florida, that have engaged in early learning collective impact and change initiatives towards these same goals, the following critical levers for successful systems change and capacity building were identified:
Sustainable funding for targeted early learning quality improvement;
Parent partnership, engagement, and leadership;
Alignment of systems’ objectives, activities, resources, outcomes and measures.
Recommendations: Based on these findings and through continued conversations and planning, Future Ready Collier and its community partners must continue to engage in further exploration through community needs assessments, research and capacity building efforts to design and build systems where interconnections are essential for optimal results for children and families. The following recommendations for continued efforts towards this initiative were determined based on this comprehensive early learning landscape analysis:
1. Create an Early Learning Backbone Role/Organization that will be responsible for efforts specific to early learning collective impact coordination, communication, and data integration. 2. Engage in early learning systems strategic planning to develop collective capacity; align goals, objectives, inputs, metrics, outcomes and improvements; and identify and procure sustainable funding sources. 3. Engage in ongoing, continuous research to further inform data-driven decision making around early learning systems’ needs, stakeholder priorities, and community investments. 4. Build on community impact goals that reflect collective impact efforts by creating a strategic plan for future efforts and improvements.
Parent Cafes have already started to take place throughout Collier County and show early success by impacting more than 300 parents.
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 8 Background
As stated in Future Ready Collier’s 2018 Report to the Community, approximately one- half of children are not developmentally or academically ready for Kindergarten in Collier County. There are significant gaps for children ages birth to three years old, particularly in early literacy, and fewer than one-fourth of low income children are enrolling in any formal child care program (p. 6). In order to examine these community and academic systems to determine the connection of resources needed for Collier’s children, it is critical to create a shared vision of child success with realistic touch points. Within this shared vision, a conscious choice of the centrality of a young child is imperative to construct environments where children grow, develop and learn. This vision must portray young children as capable and full of potential; as persons with complex identities, grounded in individual strengths and capacities, possessing unique social, linguistic, and cultural heritage. This vision also maintains that children are rooted in and take nourishment from a rich, supportive foundation comprised of responsive relationships with their families, teachers and caregivers, their communities and surrounding environments. With this strength-based vision of how our children should develop, grow, and learn, we present a snapshot of child well-being metrics from Collier County.
Snapshot of Collier County Early Learning Metrics
2017 Florida iReady Diagnostic of Developmental Kindergarten Readiness Reading on Kindergarten Screening Referrals, Screener (FLKRS) Entry, 2017 2017 48.9% 28% on 461 referrals ready for level at to Early Steps, Kindergarten Kindergarten 229 eligible entry for services
Source: Future Ready Collier Report to the Community, 2018
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 9 Comparisons of Metrics from Child Well-Being
Child Metrics 2005 2010 2017 Children in Poverty* 15% of children live 14% children live 23% children live at or below poverty at or below poverty at or below poverty level (100% poverty level (100% poverty level (100% poverty level level) level)
41% of children 35.2% of children 47% of children live in low income live in low income live in low income households (200% households (200% households (200% poverty level) poverty level) poverty level) Early Learning** 51% of children 40% of children 22% of children needing subsidized needing subsidized needing subsidized learning did not learning did not learning did not receive it receive it receive it Socio-Economic 48% of children are 58% of children are 62% of children are Status*** eligible for Free and eligible for Free and eligible for Free and Reduced Lunch (FRL) Reduced Lunch (FRL) Reduced Lunch (FRL) Schooling: 24% of children 29.3% of children 51% of children Kindergarten are considered are considered are considered Ready**** “not ready” for “not ready” for “not ready” for Kindergarten Kindergarten Kindergarten
*Statistics retrieved from NCEF Child Well-Being Studies (Pemberton et al., 2005; Pemberton et al., 2010; Romano & King, 2017) ** Statistics retrieved from NCEF Child Well-Being Studies and ELC SWFL current statistics (2017). ***Statistics retrieved from NCEF Child Well-Being Studies ****Statistics retrieved from NCEF Child Well-Being Studies (2005, 2010) and FDOE current statistics (2017). The Kindergarten Readiness test was new for 2017.
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 10 Glossary
Due to the reference of several contextual terms in this report, the following is a glossary to provide common language for readers to interpret findings:
Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS®): An observation-based program assessment instrument and associated system of learning, measuring and improving that measures teacher-child interactions. CLASS® is a registered trademark of Teachstone Training LLC.
Early Learning Coalitions (ELCs): In accordance with Florida Statute 411.01 and HB1 that establishes Florida’s Office of Early Learning, ELCs are non-profit organizations that establish programs and policies to prepare Florida’s children from birth through Pre- Kindergarten for success in school. There are 30 ELCs that serve all 67 counties in Florida and oversee implementation of the school readiness program (child care subsidies for low- income working families), the voluntary Pre-Kindergarten program (VPK), and other early childhood supports and services. Collier County is served by the Early Learning Coalition of Southwest Florida (SWFL).
Florida’s Early Learning Performance Funding Project (ELPFP): In 2014, the Florida Legislature approved a special pilot project to see whether specific training approaches improve how well children do in school readiness programs. The Florida Legislature has approved the project each year since then. This project gives eligible, selected child care providers and their instructors an opportunity to earn additional compensation for improving school readiness program outcomes. To be eligible to participate, at least 20 percent of a provider’s enrollment must be children in the School Readiness Program (http://www.floridaearlylearning.com/statewide-initiatives/early-learning-performance- funding-project).
Florida Kindergarten Readiness Screener (FLKRS): Section 1002.69, Florida Statutes (F.S.), requires the Florida Department of Education to adopt a statewide Kindergarten screening instrument that assesses the readiness of each student for Kindergarten based on the performance standards adopted by the department under section 1002.67(1), F.S., for the Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten Education Program (VPK). The screening instrument, known as the Florida Kindergarten Readiness Screener (FLKRS), must be administered to all public school Kindergarten students within the first 30 days of each school year. Nonpublic schools may administer FLKRS to each Kindergarten student who was previously enrolled in VPK. The results of this screening provide valuable information about a child’s readiness for school, help teachers develop lesson plans to meet each child’s individual needs, and offer useful information to parents.
Florida’s School Readiness Program (SR): The School Readiness Program offers financial assistance to low-income families for early child education and care so families can become financially self-sufficient and their young children can be successful in school in the future. Services vary based on individual need and range from extended day to
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 11 extended year and school age care in some instances. The program takes into account a child’s physical, social, emotional and intellectual development; involves parents as their child’s first teacher; prepares children to be ready for school; and gives parents information about child development and other topics of interest. School readiness programs provide developmental screenings for children and referrals to health and educational specialists, and work in cooperation with other programs for young children such as Head Start, Early Head Start and the VPK program (www.floridaearlylearning.com).
Florida’s Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten Program (VPK): Florida was one of the first states in the country to offer free Pre-Kindergarten for all 4-year-olds regardless of family income. The Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten Education Program -- or VPK -- prepares early learners for success in Kindergarten and beyond. VPK helps build a strong foundation for school using educational material corresponding to various stages in a child’s development. To be eligible, children must live in Florida and be 4 years old on or before Sept. 1 of the current school year (http://www.floridaearlylearning.com/vpk/floridas-vpk-program).
School Readiness Program Assessments House Bill 1091: During the 2018 legislative session, the Florida Legislature passed a bill (HB 1091) that increases quality and accountability in the School Readiness Program. The Office of Early Learning will lead the implementation of this legislation in partnership with local early learning coalitions. This legislation will ensure that School Readiness providers are adhering to best practices in early education and child development, while providing opportunities for additional funding.
Qualifying providers may receive a payment differential based on their Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS®) scores up to 15% for each care level and unit of care based on their School Readiness reimbursement. In addition, providers implementing an approved child assessment may be eligible for a payment differential up to 5 percent. The total available payment differential for both CLASS® scores and implementation of child assessments will not exceed 15 percent. (http://www.floridaearlylearning.com/Content/Uploads/floridaearlylearning.com/files/ SR%20Programmatic%20Changes_ADA.pdf).
STAR Early Literacy Assessment: STAR is the leading computer-based diagnostic assessment of early literacy skills developed for Pre-K–3 students, and the chosen assessment for Florida’s Kindergarten Readiness Screener (FLKRS). STAR Early Literacy tracks development in three domains and ten sub-domains. Domains are: Word Facility and Skills, Comprehension Strategies and Constructing Meaning, and Numbers and Operations. STAR is a registered trademark product of Renaissance Learning (https://doc.renlearn.com/KMNet/R0054872491706A8.pdf).
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 12 Methodology and Limitations
Understanding the methodology of this landscape analysis is critical for accurately interpreting the results and themes shared and cited. Because many students experience a gap when they enter Kindergarten that is reflective of the needs of their community environments, this landscape analysis focused on Kindergarten readiness in Collier County, and was guided by five key research questions: • Which children in the community are meeting the Kindergarten readiness standard? Which are not? • What are the demographic characteristics of children by Kindergarten readiness? • What are the perceptions of stakeholders about children’s and families’ growth, needs and barriers for early childhood success? • What do we know about programs and services that Collier families are using to promote child development, learning and wellness? • Where are the gaps in these early learning systems?
Data Collection Data sources containing both quantitative and qualitative data sets were collected according to the three phases of examination for this analysis: (1) previous FRC and community work and inputs from 2013-2017, (2) 2017-2018 Kindergartners’ Readiness (FLKRS) scores and mapping (CCPS) and stakeholder perceptions from 2017-2018, and (3) state and national case study examples. These data sets were comprised of the following (links to reports are available in Resource section): 1. Community/FRC previous work and inputs (2013-2017) • Early Childhood Education Cost Study Report, Florida Southwestern State College (2017) • Richard M. Schulze Foundation Collier Community Needs and Assets Assessment Report, Q-Q Consultants (2017) • Collier County Early Childhood Data Indicators, Moore Strategic Consulting (2014- 2015, 2015-2016, 2016-2017) • Developmental Screenings in Collier County, Moore Strategic Consulting, (2015). • FRC Community Roundtables summaries and reflections (2017) 2. 2017-2018 Kindergarten Readiness Mapping Data and Stakeholder Perceptions (2018) • AZCEECS Index of Child Care Access among five Early Learning Coalitions in Florida, Collier County (2018) • AZCEECS K-Readiness hybrid maps for Collier County (2018) • CCPS 2017-2018 K-readiness data by demographics/school zones (2018)
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 13 • FRC Early Learning Work Group, Strategic Partners Work Group, and Planning Group for Early Learning Framework meeting agendas, summary notes, and reflections (August- December, 2018) • Parent Café survey and reflection data (Fall, 2018) • Report to the Community, Future Ready Collier (2018) • UF-FRC Collier Early Learning provider survey (December, 2018) • CCPS Kindergarten teacher focus group (November, 2018) • FRC Community Roundtables summaries and reflections (2018) 3. Case Study Examples • Thrive in 5, Boston, MA • Great Start Collaborative, Kent County, MI • Thrive by 5, Miami-Dade, FL
Data Analysis Primary and supplementary data sources were examined with a mixed-method framework using triangulation analysis (Cresswell, 2003; Flick, 2009). In an effort to fully explore the relationships and phenomenon under study in this analysis, a triangulation method of research was used by combining quantitative and qualitative methods in order to compensate for the weaknesses and blind spots of both research methods for each data source.
Data source 1 and 3: Supplementary data sources from previous work and case study reports were analyzed using thematic content analysis (Krippendorf, 2004) in which documents were read, assessed, and analyzed by researchers through systematic coding and categorizing to ascertain trends, patterns, commonalities, and outliers based on the five research questions. Once these items were identified, overall memos of findings for these reports and data sets were created to be used in final triangulation analysis.
Data source 2: Quantitative methods were used to analyze CCPS 2017-2018 de-identified student data measurements pertaining to Kindergarten readiness, student demographics, student race/ethnicity, and socio-economic status, and create geographic maps displaying this information in visual form. Once de-identified analysis ready datasets were shared by Collier County Public Schools (CCPS) with the research team, the data were processed using ArcMap geographic information system to create maps displaying Kindergarten Readiness performance and pertinent demographic characteristics (e.g. race/ethnicity, child’s home language, eligibility for free/reduced price lunch). These maps were used by the FRC work teams to identify areas of success as well as opportunities to intervene.
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 14 Surveys were analyzed using UF Qualtrics® and Survey Monkey® software. Responses to questions were synthesized, and descriptive statistics (frequency of choice for each response category and the associated percentage) and the associated visualization were produced for each survey question. Content analysis was performed on open-ended survey questions. Because the response rate to the UF-FRC Early Learning Provider survey was below 50% due to timing of the survey release in late December, these descriptive statistics were not incorporated in this analysis. However, open-ended questions from the survey were analyzed with qualitative data sets.
For qualitative data (stakeholder group meetings, focus groups, roundtable reflections), analysis occurred in two phases using an inductive interpretive analysis approach (Hatch, 2007; Miles, Huberman and Saldaña, 2013). After all qualitative data were compiled, notes and transcripts from interviews and meetings were analyzed individually for initial common themes and descriptions according to research questions to determine patterns related to objectives. The Early Learning Planning Process Team then convened to discuss and debate initial thoughts and reflections on these data and reach consensus on understandings present, and then used a design-based approach to refine objectives and continue data collection. Once all data collection and initial analyses were completed, phase two of analysis consisted of UF researchers creating condensed codes according to research questions, and then discussing these codes to further reduce data to salient themes and findings.
Triangulation Analysis Once all data sources were analyzed and findings were created, UF researchers then created a comprehensive analysis of the entire data set as well as researcher memos in order to determine findings, implications and recommendations for the creation of an FRC Early Learning Framework. Preliminary results of these recommendations were presented to the FRC Planning Team for review, feedback and member-checking. A final review of these findings from the FRC Early Learning Planning Group and Strategic Partner Group yielded consensus in findings across informants and sources, and this triangulation and saturation of analysis from stakeholders promoted trustworthiness and rigor in this research.
Limitations Although the findings and recommendations reported in this study are fully supported by the available data, this study does have limitations. UF researchers were not tasked with developing instruments and generating original survey data from Collier residents or service providers in the county. Although researchers strived to use the most current data available about needs, some state and county data sets are not adjusted frequently, and agency data may be based on unverifiable assumptions or poor market analysis or survey results. In addition, several previous reports were synthesized to create findings, and these reports also depended on secondary data for analysis. Detailed client data from Collier social service providers were also not readily available to use for triangulation with anecdotal data. An additional limitation stems from the self-reporting of information from all participants. There was no externally reliable data to compare these statistics with parent stakeholder perspectives.
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 15 Phase 1: Key Findings from Previous Work and Inputs (2013-2017)
The findings below were constructed via review and analysis of several supplementary data sources from research, practice and community engagement in Collier County from 2013- 2017. This information was synthesized to inform final analysis for the FRC Early Learning Framework, and also to share publicly so that fellow stakeholders may also benefit from the insights gained.
After reviewing the body of data from previous work and inputs, a distinct set of themes emerged that were both prominently identified by stakeholders and also relevant to informing future considerations for collective impact and engagement. These themes are presented with corresponding evidence, and will be reintroduced in the final discussion of this report.
Theme 1: There is inconsistency throughout Collier County in awareness, capacity, and access to quality early education and care options
Collier residents in many areas of the county cited a lack of affordable child care and preschool options, indicating that the quality options are out of their budget (Q-Q Consultants, 2017). In addition, Immokalee residents were concerned with the lack of capacity in quality preschool and afterschool programs. Many believe that early education programs such as voluntary pre-Kindergarten (VPK) have long waiting lists, and subsequent care for full days is unaffordable. These concerns find substantiation in the FRC Early Childhood Indicators that were compiled from 2014-2016. For example, when investigating early learning provider capacity, several high need, low socio-economic areas did not have providers that were both subsidized (receiving state or federal funding sources to alleviate parent costs) and accredited, which is often a symbol of provider quality (Office of Early Learning, 2017). Fa 201 ar Learning r i er Ca a it 100 in es a ter are 9 1 0 0 0 2 2 2 2 1 1 20 1 0 0 ast a es a es an r en ate a ee C ier 112 11 11 1 2 si i e re ite si i e an re ite Figure 1: 2016 Provider Capacity for Collier County (Moore Strategic Consulting, 2016). Data source: Early Learning Coalition of Southwest Florida 2016.
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 16 In addition, an alarming trend of decreasing numbers of both VPK providers and School Readiness providers substantiates parents’ fears of accessibility and cost. From 2014 to 2016, VPK providers decreased by 7 (12%) and School Readiness providers decreased by 15 (14%) (Early Learning Coalition of SouthWest Florida, 2016).
Theme 2: Residents struggle with income disparity, high cost of living, and high cost of quality child care in Collier County.
As stated in several reports, there is a large income gap between the richest and poorest residents of Collier County. According to the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation Community Needs Assessment Report (2017), large segments of the population earn six figures (28%), while a considerable percentage of families live below the federal poverty level (between 17- 22%). In addition, the cost of living in Collier County is high for many residents, with the minimum sustainable living wage for a family of 4 to be approximately $66,127, which is higher than the average household income for the bottom 99% (Q-Q Consultants, 2017). Thus, a large percentage of families have difficulty meeting basic needs.
According to the Early Childhood Education Cost Study (Florida Southwestern State College, 2017), the cost of quality child care in Collier County, while slightly below average for southwestern Florida, at $12,035 per child in centers, and approximately $15,750 for family child care homes, provides tremendous burdens on parents to bridge the funding gap for quality care. According the ECECS report, there is an annual gap of $8,337 per student between existing funding and necessary costs at centers, and a gap of $12,867 per student between existing funding and necessary costs at home-based providers. The researchers explain this disparity: “It is not surprising that the cost of preparing all three- and four-year olds for Kindergarten in high quality preschools is relatively high… it is left to the providers and families to cover the identified gap between existing funding and the cost of providing high quality preschool. The identified gap may however, be too high a burden for low and middle-income families to cover” (p. vi). Thus, many families are forced to seek child care from unlicensed or “family, friend or neighbor” providers. The cost “cliff” of child care is also a major concern for Collier residents according to the RMSFF Community Needs Assessment: 81% of parents surveyed do not believe there are affordable child care options, and over half of parents surveyed stated there is not enough access to quality child care programs.
Theme 3: There are gaps in family mental health care and child developmental screening access and services.
According to the latest research, in the United States, the majority of children with mental health and developmental problems go untreated, and the gap between need and service use is assumed to be wider in rural than in urban areas, particularly for children with more severe needs (Lenardson et al., 2010). Lower income and more limited economic
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 17 opportunities may further hamper the ability of rural families to care for children with mental health issues.
This situation rings true in Collier County as well, with past studies conducted through funding from NCEF by the UF Lastinger Center (Pemberton et al., 2005, 2010) and Civitas Strategies (Romano & King, 2017) that have identified mental health as a key initiative. Most recently, according to the RMSFF Report (2017), Collier residents worried about the lack of mental health care availability and access for both adults and children. When discussing this issue, community stakeholders voiced that income determined both the access and quality of care one receives, and there were concerns stated regarding discrimination community members experienced within the healthcare system. According to the RMSFF Report (2017), and other data sources, “undocumented workers in agricultural areas are particularly concerned about access to services given the current political climate surrounding immigration” (p.10).
In addition to gaps in family mental health care, there is a tremendous gap in access and follow through for developmental screenings for children in Collier County (Moore Strategic Consulting, 2016), which mirrors the national trend. By current estimates, approximately 11% to 20% of children in the United States have a behavioral or emotional disorder at any given time, with estimated prevalence rates similar for 2- to 5-year-old children (Wietzman, 2018). Developmental and behavioral health disorders are now the top five chronic pediatric conditions causing functional impairment. Economic disadvantage is among the most potent risks for behavioral and emotional problems due to increased exposure to environmental, familial, and psychosocial risks (Evans & Kim, 2010).
According to Florida Department of Education data (2017), there are approximately 17,000 0-4 year old children annually in Collier County, and approximately 51% of Kindergarteners in Collier County are not ready for school in at least one domain (2017 FLKRS). In addition, approximately 40% of 3rd and 5th grade students are not proficient in at least one assessed subject (FDOE, 2017). Based on these data and current national percentages of screening referrals (Wietzman, 2018), as many as 5000 children ages 0-4 in Collier County are at risk for developmental and behavioral problems in any given year, but less than 12% are being referred (2015).
Based on these community assessments and other reports pertaining to our research questions, this analysis of previous work and inputs portrays an urgent, and building need for comprehensive investigation, strategies, and action, involving people from all sectors of Collier County, to advance the needs of families with children at risk of school failure, and close the Kindergarten achievement gap by taking all these variables into consideration.
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 18 Phase 2: Key Findings from Current Data Gathering and Stakeholder Input (2017-2018)
Based on data and findings from previous work and inputs, the FRC Strategic Partners and Early Learning Planning Group embarked on an intense examination of the current landscape of Kindergarten readiness in Collier County based on student data from the 2017-2018 school year. In partnership with Collier County Public Schools (CCPS), de- identified data from several diagnostics of student performance, as well as demographic information were analyzed by CCPS and UF researchers, and were then mapped geographically to present visual representations for group investigation during planning meetings in the fall of 2018. This examination happened in two cycles with these groups, and findings are presented in chronological order as groups probed these data, reflected, and refined their perspectives of Kindergarten readiness for Collier children as well as factors contributing to geographic hot spots which include “pockets of excellence” and areas showing gaps in support. In addition, several questions and items of importance grew from these examinations for further investigation, which will be presented in the Implications and Recommendations section of this report. All full scale FRC data maps are located in the Appendix section of this report. Geographic Data Mapping (2018) Cycle 1: October, 2018
Map 1: Modified AZCEECS Index of Child Care Access (2018), Collier County (2018)* *Larger versions of Maps 1-7 can be accessed at the UF Lastinger Center Website for further viewing, http://www.lastinger.center.ufl.edu
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 19 % %
CCPS-2017 K Readiness% % % % % Yes Eden Park ES Highlands ES % % % No % % % %% %%%%% % % % %%%%%%%%%%%%% %%%% Lake Trafford ES %%%¹º%%%E %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% %%% E % %%%%% % ¹º % %%%%%%%% %%%%%%%% %%%% Elementary %%% %% E%%% %%%%% %%%% %%% % ¹º%%%%%%%%%% %E%%%%%%% %%%%%%%%%%%%% %¹º%%% %%% % % %% %%%%%%%%%% % %%% % %%% % %%%%%%%%% % %%%%%%C % ¹ºE %%%%¹º%%%% % Intermediate Centers %%%%%%%%%%%%%% ¹ºE%%% % % % %%%%%%% %%%% %% E %% %%% %%% ¹º % ¹ºC Charter Pinecrest ES %
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%% %% Everglades City School % %
% % %% % % % %% %%%%%% % % % %% % % % % % % % % %E%C% % % %%¹º¹º %% %%%% %%%% % % % TommieC Barfield ES %%%% ¹º % % % % %% % % % %
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% 0 1 2 4 Miles Sources: Esri, HERE, DeLorme, USGS, Intermap, INCREMENT P, NRCan, Esri Japan, METI, Esri China (Hong Kong), Esri Korea, Esri (Thailand), MapmyIndia, NGCC, ² © OpenStreetMap contributors, and the GIS User Community Map 2: CCPS map with child clusters of Kindergarten ready/not ready by color dots (2017-8)*
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 CCPS-2017 K Readiness 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 ¹ºE Elementary
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ¹ºE Intermediate Centers 0
C ¹º 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Charter 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Collier County School District Boundary 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 0 0 0 0
Elementary Attendance Zone ¹ºE EPE
LTE ¹ºE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 27 78 105 51 2 0 0 1 E 0 ¹º Percent Kindergarten Ready 0 HLE
0 0 80.00% - 100.00% 00 0 ¹ºC 1 0 0 0 0 22 91 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 E 0 ¹º 60.00% - 80.00% PCR
0 0 0 0 0 14 3 33 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ¹ºE 0 0 0 0 0 VOE 40.00% - 60.00% 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 20.00% - 40.00% 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10.34% - 20.00% 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% 0
0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 3 0 0 0 0 0 Total Tested by Geographic Area 0
0 0 0 0 Total Tested by Geographic Area 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 ¹ºE EES
0 0 0 0 7 5 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 2 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 1 0 0 6 8 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 0 0 1 0 5 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ¹ºE 0 0 0 0 10 6 6 0 0 0 0 0 VME 5 6 0 0 0 0 3 6 3 20 1 0 34 0 0 0 ¹ºE CES
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 5 2 3 0 0 0 0 3 19 3 0 0 1 0 0 12 20 2 4 6 14 3 0
E ¹º ¹ºC NPE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 2 10 10 0 0 0 0 ¹ºE 8 8 2 LOE 1 0 32 0 16 22 27 6 14 59 11 0 1 ¹ºE SPE 0 0 0 0 E 0 0 0 0 ¹º 0 0 0 0 PME 1 4 4 2 0 0 0 2 3 1 4 0 5 5 1 2 5 5 6 32 19 0 0
¹ºE VES 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 8 5 2 3 5 5 7 9 8 6 7 4 0 0 0 1 17 36 14 5 3
¹ºE 0 BCE
2 5 5 4 5 6 5 6 1 4 0 37 1 0 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ¹ºE 2 7 6 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 OES
¹ºE SGE ¹ºE 8 3 13 PLE 27 8 0 11 32 16 15 33 6 52 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
GGE 9 4 4 E 130 0 80 ¹º 0 0 0 5 17 21 0 1 4 0 0 0 2 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ¹ºE GGE (I)
¹ºE PES GTE ¹ºE 44 5 0 43 3 1 0 0 1 5 0 0 0 4 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ¹ºE ¹ºC GTE (I)
¹ºE ¹ºE MDE LPE ¹ºC 24 41 1 0 1 0 19 1 42 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 7 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
¹ºC
39 0 0 0 12 30 25 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ¹ºE 0 0 0 0 0 0 CPE
E ¹º 0 0 0 0 2 29 16 2 6 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 SLE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 26 19 1 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
¹ºE AVE LES ¹ºE 0 0 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 9 2 26 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 112 0 0 5 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
¹ºE PSE
0 0 30 8 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 ¹ºE 0 0 0 0 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 29 1 0 0 0 0 MES 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0
0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0
0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
0
0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 C 0 0 0 0 0 E ¹º 0 0 0 0 ¹º 0 0 TBE
C 6 1¹º 1 22 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 0
0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Map 3: CCPS map with percentage of 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 students that are Kindergarten ready by 0 ECS 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 4 Miles 0 0 0 0 1 ² 0 0 square mile (2017-8)* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 Sources: E0sri, HERE, D0eLorme, USGS, Intermap, INCREMENT P, NRCan, Esri Japan, METI, Esri China (Hong Ko0ng), Esri Korea, Esr0i (Thailand), MapmyI0ndia, NGCC, © Open0StreetMap contribut0ors, and the GIS U0ser Community *Larger versions of Maps 1-7 can be accessed at the UF Lastinger Center Website for further viewing, http://www.lastinger.center.ufl.edu
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 20 Three data maps were presented in the October, 2018 meeting of the FRC Early Learning Planning Process Group, and provided the following visualized statistics: areas of Florida School Readiness subsidy eligible population density (heat clusters), policy matrix (colored shading), and early learning provider organizations (Map 1); areas where clusters of children in Collier County were deemed “ready” (orange dots) or “not ready” (blue dots) for Kindergarten by 2017-18 FLKRS data (Map 2); and geographic representations of percentage of children within a square mile radius that are “ready” versus “not ready” based on 2017-18 FLKRS data (Map 3).
From the group’s collaborative examination and discussion, the following insights resulted from this initial analysis: • Looking broadly and overlapping the maps, all group participants noticed there are trends towards children not being kindergarten-ready in specific high density areas (Map 1), and these areas are also represented with the policy matrix as blue or green (Map 1), meaning parents have little understanding of resources or slots available for early learning and care. These areas are also identified as geographic hot spots, with high-need, low socio-economic zones from previous inputs. • Where there are high concentrations of children scoring low on FLKRS, there are not enough quality (accredited or School Readiness subsidy providers) early learning programs available (Map 1). • Instead of centralized areas of readiness around higher socio-economic areas (dark orange squares), as the group assumed there might be, there is inconsistency in kindergarten readiness throughout Collier, as evidenced by the patchwork of readiness colors (yellow, green and blue, Map 3), and by children clusters (Map 2). Based on this visualization, the group noted the importance and scale of the vast geography of Collier County as well as diffuse demographics, and also considered the kindergarten readiness assessment (FLKRS) and its validity, as well as specific indicators of school success not assessed (such as social emotional indicators) that might be important for future systems improvement.
From these discussions, the group agreed more data maps were needed to pinpoint these specific geographic hot spots that were highlighted and illuminate student demographic information and school information such as student’s language spoken at home, race/ ethnicity, and eligibility for free-and-reduced lunch (FRL), which is a common indicator of socio-economic need.
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 21 Cycle 2: November, 2018 This second phase of data analysis was more targeted to specific locations in Collier County as identified by the October analysis, and four data maps were created by AZCEECS researchers to highlight the following statistics provided by 2017-2018 FLKRS de-identified child data: Kindergarten readiness by quartile in square mile zones (Map 4); student demographic information, which includes eligibility for free-and-reduced lunch programs (Map 5), student race/ethnicity (Map 6), and student home language (Map 7). As previously shown on FRC maps, early learning program locations and categorizations were also transposed to these maps from the Index (2018), along with Kindergarten readiness percentage rates (as measured by FLKRS) and elementary school zones for geographic reference. These maps are presented below, and are located full scale in the Appendix section of this report.
Map 4: AZCEECS map Kindergarten readiness by quartile percentage per square mile/school zone.*
*Larger versions of Maps 1-7 can be accessed at the UF Lastinger Center Website for further viewing, http://www.lastinger.center.ufl.edu
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 22 Map 5: AZCEECS map Student FRL eligibility (eligible, not eligible, and did not apply) percentage by square mile/ school zone with Kindergarten readiness.*
Map 6: AZCEECS map, Student home language percentage by square mile/school zone with Kindergarten readiness.*
*Larger versions of Maps 1-7 can be accessed at the UF Lastinger Center Website for further viewing, http://www.lastinger.center.ufl.edu
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 23 Map 7: AZCEECS map Student race/ethnicity percentage by square mile/school zone with Kindergarten readiness.*
In order to target specific areas as requested by the FRC Early Learning Planning Process Group, UF researchers looked at the average Kindergarten readiness rate for 2017 (48%), and examined 2017 Kindergarten readiness assessment data (FLKRS) by elementary school, and then cross referenced these readiness rates with the following variables: • High child volume (over 100 students being assessed by FLKRS ) • Above average percentage of Kindergarten readiness score (above 50% average) • Below average percentage of Kindergarten readiness score (below 40% average) • Below average socio-economic percentage by school (as assessed from more than 50% eligibility for FRL) • Above average diversity in home language (above 50% non-English speaking homes).
This analysis yielded more specific geographic hot spots by school zone where both pockets of excellence of support for these populations are potentially occurring, and also where targeted supports are needed to improve Kindergarten readiness rates in these
*Larger versions of Maps 1-7 can be accessed at the UF Lastinger Center Website for further viewing, http://www.lastinger.center.ufl.edu
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 24 areas (see Appendix H). It is important to note that there are several variables that were not examined in this analysis that could inform this investigation, including additional 2017 school performance data, any assessment data from pre-K learning programs in these areas (VPK assessment or Teaching Strategies GOLD® observations), census data to inform population analysis, individual student data to pinpoint specific areas and improve data accuracy, and qualitative data from school staff, early learning programs, and families within these areas to determine why these outcomes are occurring.
These geographic locations were then divided into high and low performing subsets, and were presented as individual maps for analysis by the FRC Early Learning Work Group during the November meeting. From this second collaborative analysis, the following insights resulted: • Where there are high percentages of children considered kindergarten ready (FLKRS), such as the Eden Park Elementary zone area, there is not the trend of low performance based on low SES variables and language spoken at home (non-English), signifying that this area potentially provides supports for non-English speaking and low-socio economic families. • The Golden Gate City area surrounding the Mike Davis and Golden Gate Elementary zones trends with low kindergarten readiness performance, high FRL, diverse race/ ethnicity, and high percentage of non-English speaking families, and is consistent in all quadrants; however, a caveat is this area has quality early learning centers available, posing questions of availability and affordability of child care slots and communication to non-English speaking families.
A recurring theme within conversations of stakeholder groups is one that is often proposed as the silver bullet for early learning challenges: creating more child care slots, and providing more support services. However, a theme from these stakeholder conversations was focused not on the what, but the how of getting this accomplished, and which partners are most critical to this goal. Many early learning partners voiced their concern with providing more slots, but not mandating better quality in these programs. Suggestions to increase quality instead of quantity were advised, with stipulations of teacher professional development that provided skills towards dual language learners, social emotional foundational skills, trauma-informed care, and culturally responsive practices.
In addition, there is a need for more infant and toddler slots, which are the most expensive for providers to offer, and several stakeholders voiced that there needs to be more investigation of current provider capacity to this end. Finally, the requirements for both parents and early learning providers to receive state subsidies for child care were discussed, and information regarding barriers of state programs such as School Readiness (SR) and Head Start (HS) provided insights into why many families cannot qualify or do not apply for child care subsidies, and why providers do not offer them.
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 25 Based on these two cycles of data examination, the following findings were determined:
There is a wide range in kindergarten readiness across the vast geography and diffuse demographics of Collier County. On one hand, there are a few pockets of excellence where high percentages of young children are kindergarten ready in geographic “hot spots,” signifying that these small but distinct areas potentially provide supports for non-English speaking and low-socio economic families through supplemental learning and family service programs.
On the other hand, overall trends show children not being kindergarten ready in geographic areas where parents seem to have little understanding of or access to resources, and encounter barriers related to communication, access, and eligibility for programs.
Once these initial findings were determined from data mapping, the next step was to dig deeper into qualitative data to explore these findings, and understand these potential outcomes based on the voices of families and teachers within these areas.
Key Perceptions from Early Learning and Community Stakeholders (2018) Qualitative data related to the landscape analysis research questions were gathered from stakeholder groups in Collier County, which included FRC Early Learning Workgroup (meeting notes and agendas), FRC Community RoundTable meetings (table summaries and overall themes), FRC Strategic Partners Workgroup (meeting notes and agendas), Collier parents (parent café surveys and summaries), CCPS Kindergarten teachers (focus group transcript and notes), and a limited amount of Collier early learning providers (Collier provider survey open-ended questions). These data were continuously analyzed, synthesized, and incorporated into further investigation in order to gather information about specific themes and commonalities that were represented in all groups. Stakeholder findings and insights are presented in order of frequency of these topics discussed in conversations.
Stakeholder feedback suggested that parents need as much help and support as their children to overcome barriers, and this inclusive support should align social services with intentionality to better support positive outcomes for children and families in tandem.
Two specific insights were generated from this cumulative qualitative analysis that connect to the findings from data mapping: (1) health and education are linked intimately, and (2) parents in these hot spots especially, but in all of Collier County generally, needs as much support as their children.
Early learning is affected by so many variables outside of the classroom including the child’s home life, nutrition, and health. Although the integration of professional services is one critical aspect of early intervention, there is increasing evidence that family involvement in planning and implementation of such efforts can enhance long-term impact (Palfrey et al., 2005). As evidenced from every stakeholder group in this process, it became clear that
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 26 parents and children need tremendous support and services in Collier County, and there are multiple cultural barriers to this process. Stakeholder conversations and reflections discussed pediatric care, child developmental screenings, mental health services, and the many platforms and organizations that provide these services which often creates confusion for families. The familiar phrase of “It takes a village to raise a child” was referred to over and over, and suggestions for children’s educational programs always came back to more discussions about the limited awareness, support, and services for their parents. Specific suggestions of different screening procedures, providing before and after school care that is more affordable to take responsibility off of parents or older siblings, and language services to create communication pathways for all families were offered to create a wraparound support network for Collier families.
Multiple data inputs provided evidence of income disparities and low wages in Collier County, and this was voiced specifically from early learning program staff members and seasonal employees in Collier. Stakeholder groups identified opportunities for employers in Collier County to become more involved with innovative programs that alleviate these funding gaps, and absorb costs through retention strategies. Overall, stakeholders did note the importance of community support and funding for these programs, but the overwhelming consensus was that at this point in time, parents, teachers, and community leaders have clearly identified the important role for employers to play in the support of quality child care and educational support.
When planning teams and stakeholder groups discussed why families were struggling with the expectations and resources needed to improve Kindergarten readiness, several members discussed the fact that a communication gap from schools to families creates confusion and often discrepant information that can be remedied with better and more inclusive communication. Specific examples of this were provided by the CCPS Kindergarten Teacher Focus Group (see spotlight section below), as well as reflections from community facilitators of FRC Parent Cafés in the fall of 2018. When asked what specific barriers parents were facing and reported during café conversations, the overwhelming response was “language and communication with teachers and schools.” One Parent Café facilitator discussed specifically the challenges that parents face when helping their children be prepared for formal schooling:
There is a general misunderstanding of how subjects are supposed to be taught when children are small, and to what depth they are taught in school, and how to help their children at home. There were also many conversations with how to help children when language barriers create hardships for parents (Parent Café Feedback Form, November, 2018).
In addition, as evidenced by the CCPS Kindergarten Teacher Focus Group responses, many parents who are challenged with language and socio-economic barriers tend to stay away from their children’s schools because of work constraints, time and transportation challenges which makes communication and outreach to families that much more difficult for school administrators and teachers.
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 27 SPOTLIGHT: CCPS Kindergarten Teacher Focus Group
In November, 2018, UF researchers met with eight Kindergarten teachers from five elementary schools that were identified as high needs areas from previous analysis within the CCPS school district to discuss their current reality as teachers to incoming Kindergarten students, and determine what specific issues they were facing, what suggestions they had to alleviate these common concerns, what successes they could share, and what specific supports teachers needed to support and improve Kindergarten readiness in their students. Their answers are summarized here, and we thank them and CCPS for their participation in this process (Teacher focus group protocol is located in Appendix J.)
What do teachers need in Collier County to be prepared for today’s incoming Kindergarten students? All teachers requested the need for trauma-informed care professional development, as well as foundational child development knowledge. Many teachers spoke of multiple languages being spoken in their classrooms, and the need for translation was critical for both student and parent success. In addition, teachers requested that there needs to be ways for parents to connect outside of school such as at early learning or Kindergarten school fairs to allow parents more accessibility to critical information they need during times and at locations they can be available.
What is the biggest challenge when assessing incoming Kindergarten students? Teachers all mentioned two challenges: (1) they have no access to any early learning assessments previous to Kindergarten enrollment to determine student performance levels, and (2) the Florida Kindergarten Readiness Screener (FLKRS) test is computer based, and the majority of children struggle with this medium of assessment as well as the timing. Teachers voiced needing a better assessment that also incorporates social emotional and foundational skills to assess children and understand developmental milestones.
What are the biggest challenges Collier parents face, and what strategies would help them most? Teachers all voiced that the biggest challenges to engage parents are accessibility, time, and language barriers. They also unanimously voiced that parents are WILLING to contribute to their children’s learning, but often don’t have access or awareness of programs or supports. Many teachers spoke of parents who are undocumented immigrants, and don’t have state ID nor realize they can use any form of picture ID, such as an employment verification, to enter the school per CCPS security procedures. This common theme was woven in all aspects of teachers’ jobs, from having parents participate in school activities, to contributing to fears of parents and students being deported by just coming to school. Teachers felt this was a clear opportunity for effective and inclusive communication strategies to support families.
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 28 Teachers had several useful suggestions to help parents become partners in their children’s education including: • Creating visual learning sessions for parents to show hands-on activities, and pictures of school supply item for parents to understand without language barriers. • Sharing messages to parents in their native language and communicating with students in their native language to help them better understand objectives and needs for learning. • Fill social emotional needs of families: have books and bagels, math and muffins, and other programs using food as an incentive for parent and student attendance. • Offer English classes to benefit parents and create outreach programs that promote parent partnership and leadership within schools. • Change the Kindergarten registration process to be more conducive to family needs, timing and locations, and provide tours of classrooms to meet teachers and understand learning expectations. • Tap into the potential of retirees as school volunteers and allow them to tour schools to illustrate there is a massive need for culturally responsive support.
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 29 Phase 3: Case Study Analysis to Determine Common Levers of Change
After determining specific findings from previous inputs as well as Collier mapping data and stakeholder perspectives, researchers determined three specific areas of interest in which to dig deeper into state and national systems for examples and innovative practices: sustainable funding for targeting early learning quality improvement; parent partnershio, engagement, leadership; and alignment of systems’ objectives, activities, resources, outcomes and measures. In order to understand the strengths and gaps of systems, structures, and drivers of change in Collier County, it was crucial to explore commonalities and challenges in other early childhood learning systems both in Florida, and nationally that have tackled these complex issues and produced measurable positive results. Three case studies are presented highlighting early childhood systems from Miami, Florida; Boston, Massachusetts; and Grand Rapids, Michigan. Case study structures provide background information of these efforts, highlight the what (strategies and tactics), the how (structures and implementation), and the what we can learn (lessons learned and metrics for success) to provide possible examples, ideas and direction for FRC’s next steps.
Sustainable funding for early learning quality improvement: Miami’s Children’s Trust Thrive by 5 Quality Improvement System (2018) In 2002, recognizing that the needs of children in Miami-Dade County far exceeded the resources and support systems available, a cadre of committed individuals led by retired Miami Herald publisher David Lawrence Jr. led the charge with an initiative funded through the creation of a special taxing district using a Florida statute, and voters approved the creation of what is now The Children’s Trust (www.childrenstrust.org). This property tax assessment produces around $100 million every year towards strategic financial investments to incentivize programs to improve and sustain the delivery of high-quality early learning services (The Children’s Trust, 2018; Merzer, 2010).
What They Did: Initial Strategies for Quality Counts QIS System, 2007-2017 In 2007, The Children’s Trust started Quality Counts, an innovative early learning quality improvement system.
From 2007-2017, The Children’s Trust established criteria for structural and process quality for early learning providers: • To promote structural quality, and based on Florida law, accreditation is recognized formally through Florida’s Gold Seal Quality Care Program. School Readiness providers that are Gold Seal accredited receive up to a 20% cost differential to offset the cost of providing care in accordance with these increased standards. The Children’s Trust has supported Gold Seal Accreditation and made significant investments in supporting child care providers in becoming Gold Seal Accredited. • To promote process quality, it is well documented in research that the number one predictor of positive child outcomes is the interactions between a teacher and the child (Pianta et al., 2011). The CLASS® assessment tool has been implemented
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 30 in Florida as a measure of teacher and classroom quality in statewide initiatives (ELPFP). The tool is a nationally valid and reliable tool that measures the quality of interactions between a teacher and child and is a strong measure of program quality, and was adopted by the Children’s Trust as an effective measure of teacher and program quality.
Through an intensive review of data and evaluations from 2007-2017 of Quality Counts implementation, findings showed that: • Programs need tremendous financial assistance to afford the high cost of quality care (Thrive by 5, 2018). Specifically in Miami-Dade County there are complexities related to the child care market. The child care capacity, i.e., the number of providers, exceeds the demand for services, or the number of children to be served. That has resulted in an overly competitive market. This is particularly problematic in high poverty, high risk neighborhoods. Thus, to attract families, child care providers lower their payments rates to levels well below what is sufficient for providing basic care much less quality early learning programs. Adding to the challenge of low payment rates, many providers are below capacity, meaning they are serving fewer children than needed to generate sufficient funding to meet quality standards (Florida Children’s Council, 2018). • In addition, low school-readiness payments, under enrollment due to oversaturated markets, and parents not demanding or understanding higher-quality programs act as major barriers (The Children’s Trust, 2018).
The Children’s Trust established a contract with the Early Learning Coalition of Miami- Dade/Monroe to provide funding to: • Better customize and address the financial challenges of child care providers in high- poverty/high-need zip codes resulting in higher quality programming for children. • Address the achievement and maintenance of quality standards made available through a payment differential and/or contracted slots (guaranteed enrollment).
What They Are Doing Now: Structures and Implementation of Thrive by 5, Miami, 2018 From these previous implementation strategies and evaluation of systems, the Children’s Trust has created an innovative model to “level the playing field” for access of high- quality infant and toddler care in low income neighborhoods, and provide comprehensive opportunities to improve and sustain high-quality learning programs (The Children’s Trust, 2018). This revised quality improvement system (QIS) called Thrive by 5, is modeled after Florida’s Office of Early Learning state quality improvement initiative, the Early Learning Performance Funding Project (ELPFP). This model was designed to impact the quality of early learning in Miami-Dade in a number of ways: 1. Children at greatest risk of school failure in high poverty zip codes will have access to quality early learning experiences that prepare them for early grade success; 2. Child care providers in high poverty/high need areas will have financial supports and incentives to increase quality; 3. The Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade/Monroe will be able to provide payment
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 31 differentials and/or contracted slots to improve the access to quality for families in high need communities; and 4. The Children’s Trust will model how variances in identifying and addressing the financial challenges of providers can be used to improve quality, increase access for infants and toddlers, and positively impact the child care market.
This model uses the following criteria for participation: • Eligible providers would be required to have a CLASS® score that meets a minimum threshold of quality and provide infant and toddler care. • Eligible providers must serve 30 percent or more young children (under age 6) receiving a school-readiness subsidy • Eligible providers must be located in a low-income neighborhood.
Beyond these requirements, Thrive by 5 Miami gives priority to child care providers based on the following considerations previously embedded within the QIS system: • Gold Seal Accredited- Gold Seal accreditation is not only important to ensure structural quality is maintained, but also because child care programs receive a 20% payment differential for each school readiness child that helps offset provider costs. • Child Care Food Program- participation in the Child Care Food Program not only provides nutritious meals and snacks for children, but it also allows for another revenue stream that helps to balance expenses. • Limited Staff Turnover- Since process quality and teacher-child interactions is the biggest predictor of child outcomes it is important that continuity of care is maintained as well.
Once eligible providers are admitted into the Thrive by 5 program, child care payment differential and/or value of the contracted slots are established based on the level of quality, as measured by the CLASS® tool. Tiered high-quality payment differentials on all children (ages birth through 5) attending the program (from 3-15%) are provided so programs are incentivized to reach higher levels of quality and higher differentials.
As further incentives to encourage provider participation and quality, providers have access to supports available through the Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade/Monroe focused on continuous quality improvement such as: • Children’s Trust Child Scholarships: these are awarded to parents who do not qualify for a School Readiness subsidy but still cannot afford the high cost of quality care. Trust scholarships will cover families with incomes up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level. • Early Learning Career Center and Teacher Scholarships: directors and teachers will have access to career advising services and scholarships aimed at furthering their education and professional development. Scholarships can be used for child care credentials, document translation, and professional development opportunities.
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 32 • WAGE$ Salary Supplements: Eligible teachers have access to semi-annual wage supplements (Child Care WAGE$ FLORIDA Project), intended to increase the education of the early childhood workforce and reduce staff turnover, ranging from $200 to $3000 depending upon level of education qualifications. • On-site Technical Assistance/Coaching: Eligible programs will receive on-demand TA/coaching aimed at helping teachers implement through various educational and professional development opportunities with one-on-one support provided by the ELC of Miami-Dade/Monroe. • Professional Development: The ELC’s Professional Development Institute offers a wide array of trainings aimed at building teachers’ and directors’ knowledge of best practices and latest developments in early childhood education at no cost. • Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation: Teachers will be supported by mental health professionals to build capacity around fostering healthy social-emotional development, addressing challenging behaviors, and making a wide-range impact for all children.
What We Can Learn: Measurable Outcomes and Lessons Learned from Miami Because the implementation of Thrive by 5, Miami is currently underway (2018-2019), there is no evaluation data as of yet for this progressive improvement model. However, because this model is based upon the OEL’s Early Learning Performance Funding Project, which is in its last year of implementation, statewide quality outcomes from the ELPFP are relevant to determining the success and effectiveness of many of these implementation elements. Based on a cumulative evaluation of the ELPFP (Rodgers et al., 2016, 2017, 2018), the following positive outcomes are indicated regarding quality improvement:
Improvement in early learning program quality: Overall, there was a 79% improvement in program quality for providers engaging in ELPFP professional development opportunities for multiple years.*
Improvement in teacher knowledge and practice: On average, there is a 42% increase in teacher content knowledge, and a 39-point improvement over the previous year’s knowledge growth rate.*
Improvement in direct child outcomes: On average, there is a consistently higher average developmental growth rate (15-23%) for children in a classroom where the teacher is engaged in ELPFP professional development.*
*Program quality measured by pre/post CLASS® assessments from 2016-2018. *Teacher knowledge and practice measured by Early Learning Florida pre/post course assessments and participant surveys from 2016- 2018. *Child outcomes measured by Teaching Strategies GOLD® child observations from a sample of ELPFP providers for 2016-2018 versus control providers sample.
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 33 This case study provides a strong connection to Collier County with regard to establishing the role of publicly funded infrastructure, programming, and the possibility of exploring what those models look like for Collier stakeholders. While Collier County has a deficit of early learning programs, and Miami has a surplus, the quality and access challenges are the same: the cost of supporting high quality child care, the number of infant and toddler slots available to low-income families, and the challenges of retaining high quality teachers who desire career advancement and a decent wage. This initiative provides a useful framework to follow because of the combination of incentives and programs aimed at alleviating these challenges simultaneously.
To read more about the establishment of The Children’s Trust, read this case study: https://www.thechildrenstrust.org/sites/default/files/kcfinder/files/The_Chlidrens_Trust_ Case_Study_032409b.pdf
More information about Thrive by 5, Miami can be accessed at: https://www.thechildrenstrust.org/content/thrive-5-0
The Florida Early Learning Performance Funding Project Final Evaluation Reports (2015- 2016, 2016-2017, 2017-2018) can be accessed at: http://lastinger.center.ufl.edu
Parent Partnership, Engagement and Leadership: Boston’s Thrive in 5 Initiative (2008) In 2006, the Mayor’s Office of Boston and the United Way of Massachusetts Bay committed to closing the achievement gap in Boston Public Schools and issued a school readiness call to action. This citywide movement’s goal was “to ensure children from families of all races, ethnicities, incomes, abilities, and languages have the opportunities and support they need for success in school and beyond”(thrivein5boston.org). In 2007, Thrive in 5 (Ti5) was created, and the Action Planning Team (APT), consisting of cross-section professionals and a Parent Action Planning Team representing some of Boston’s most diverse neighborhoods met to create and start discussions for a plan of action for children starting from birth through preschool.
What They Did: Initial Strategies 1. The Ti5 Action Planning Team (APT) created shared ideals and beliefs about children, learning, and opportunities to guide their collaborative work, which included tenets such as: • That the future of Boston’s children should not depend on their zip code; • That all of the city’s children-particularly children from low-income families, children of color, and children with special learning needs- should have access to the same resources and opportunities that support their development; and • That early learning and school readiness is critical to ending the Kindergarten achievement gap and securing Boston’s future prosperity.
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 34 2. Building on these shared beliefs, through a yearlong data gathering process, the APT created a Roadmap for Readiness which highlighted three specific areas of effort: (1) family engagement and parent leadership; (2) quality early education; and (3) universal child development screening, and focused on a Readiness Equation:
Children Ready For Ready Ready Ready Ready Sustained Families Educators Systems City School Success
How They Did It: Structures and Implementation for Family Engagement and Parent Leadership In order to create parent partnership and leadership, the Thrive in 5 collective impact network of organizations launched the Boston Children Thrive (BCT) Initiative to “engage and empower parents as their children’s first teachers and as neighborhood change agents for school readiness”(p. 9, Thrive in 5). Through specific leadership pathways for parents, BCT created the following structures: 1. Established HUB agencies in six of the most high-needs Boston neighborhoods that were responsible for convening, organizing, and providing a backbone structure for local efforts to advance children’s development; 2. Hired, trained and supervised parent partners from diverse linguistic and racial backgrounds, to make connections between and among parents and community resources, determine appropriate programming, and support implementation; 3. Trained parent partners as child screening assessment coordinators to administer the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ), to families of young children that were not in early childhood settings to determine potential developmental supports and screenings needed; 4. Created the School Readiness Roundtable, a leadership board of partnering agencies, parent leaders and key stakeholders to meet regularly in each community and create and implement aligned support for neighborhood families and care givers; and 5. Built a BCT Membership Card System that tracked participating neighborhood families through card usage and provided calendars and communication about activities, events and programs. Families received incentives such as books and games for using the cards, and data collected help community organizations develop strategies to better engage families by connecting demographics, outcomes and participation.
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 35 What We Can Learn: Measurable Outcomes and Lessons Learned from Boston From external evaluations led by the University of Massachusetts Boston’s Center for Social Policy (2015), the following measurable outcomes were achieved with the BCT initiative: • BCT was successful at reaching the target population families more likely to be disconnected from services, reaching 24% of ALL children birth through five and their families across these six neighborhoods. Of all the families enrolled, 66% across the six sites live in poverty, the population most likely to be affected by the achievement gap. • BCT showed that the parent partner model is a key ingredient for encouraging parent participation, and the parent partner model builds a strong cadre of community leaders. • There is emerging evidence of social cohesion among enrolled families who participated in activities, and parents reported enhanced parenting skills and learning new ways to play with their children. • BCT partners demonstrated shifts in organizational practices, and BCT brought key new partners to the table. • The BCT membership card showed promise as an effective tool for engaging families, with families expressing “belonging” by possession and use of cards, and community HUBS receiving semiannual data reports which both informed their work and served as a fundraising tool.
However, several notable challenges were also encountered with BCT: • A significant number of families (over 54%) who enrolled as members,did not participate in additional activities beyond the initial engagement. This finding brought to light specific issues of implementation: In the initial years, all five sites used a point system to encourage participation. As parents presented their cards, points were recorded, but often, no incentives were rewarded. In 2015, only one site continued to use this method of incentivizing participation and “belonging”. • Funding cuts challenged BCT progress: there is “mounting erosion” of several core components of the initiative. For example, BCT sites have reported a decrease in the number of activities they are able to offer. An additional site (SELRCT) decided that it can no longer afford to continue participation in the membership card system. Parent partners, although continuing in the majority of sites, have reduced hours, and the small number of Ti5 staff was largely consumed by implementation of the project coupled with the continual need to fundraise. • Data for participation has discrepancies dues to lack of technology equipment and funding: Each site was issued only one card scanner, which proved to be insufficient for the task. Most sites resorted to collecting data manually on an Excel spreadsheet, incurring additional unreimbursed staffing costs.
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 36 Specific findings and recommendations that Thrive in 5 created based on their evaluation and lessons learned from this initiative directly relate to poignant challenges in Collier County: 1. An early childhood “intermediary” must play an essential role in coordination, communication, information-sharing and maintaining the collective action needed to achieve desired outcomes, and marshal sufficient, ongoing resources required for success. 2. Data will help make hard decisions, and measurable indicators must be clearly defined upfront to create infrastructure that allows the effective collection and use of data to track progress over time and align goals. 3. Ti5 was originally conceived as a public-private partnership. However, the majority of the overall Ti5 $1.5 million annual budget and 100% of the BCT budget was privately funded presenting overwhelming challenges to scalability. In order for these initiatives to be sustainable, the potential use federal funding, tax credit contributions, and funding from public tax bases are critical for scalability (Center for Social Policy, 2015).
The full report describing Boston’s Thrive in 5 journey can be accessed at: http://thrivein5boston.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/T5_Impact-Report_082516.pdf
Alignment of systems’ objectives, activities, resources, outcomes and measures: Kent County’s Great Start Collaborative Strategic Plan for Early Childhood (2015-2018) The Kent County Early Childhood Community Plan was created by the Great Start Collaborative (GSC) for Kent County, Michigan, which is comprised of parents of young children, members of faith and business communities, local philanthropic organizations, educators, and leaders of local public agencies that provide early childhood services to this community. Based on the 2013 Michigan Department of Education’s Office of Great Start guiding document Great Start, Great Investment, Great Future, this collective impact network previously created three successive strategic plans, each lasting three years, for early childhood success and have built off of nine years of data-driven decisions based on community needs assessments and stakeholder participation and support.
What They Did: Initial Strategies 1. GSC started with a set of early childhood components and outcomes against which all public investments will be assessed: • Children are born healthy • Children are healthy, thriving, and developmentally on track from birth to third grade • Children are developmentally ready to succeed in school at the time of school entry, and • Children are prepared to succeed in fourth grade and beyond by reading proficiency by the end of third grade.
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 37 2. GSC created a comprehensive Community Strengths and Needs Assessment and System Scan Survey that investigates and gathers the following community metrics and is analyzed, revised, and implemented every two years: • Supplementary community data including: number of children 0-5 living in poverty, number of families with all parents working, number of families eligible for free and reduced lunch (FRL), number of insured children 0-5. • Ready for School data including: total Special Education enrollment, total Early On Special ED enrollment, number of children 0-5 with special needs, number of children 0-5 enrolled in special education, number of children 0-5 not in formal preschool setting, and number of children 0-5 in free preschool. • School Success data including: cumulative graduation rates by school and geographic area, 4th grade reading scores, and 8th grade math scores. • Healthy Birth data including: number of infants born with birth defects, number of teens who gave birth, and demographic infant mortality rates. • Healthy Children data including: number of immunized toddlers, number of children tested for lead poisoning, number of families investigated for abuse/ neglect, and number of children in out-of-home care. • Family Survey data including: family demographic information (needs for transportation, phone usage, home ownership, racial/ethnic identification, and yearly household income), child services for which respondents most looked for (basic needs, child care services, behavioral and mental health services, physical health services, parenting and family services, other services), sources of information respondents most used to locate child services, reasons why respondents did not use child services, and explanations of difficulty locating child services. • Once identified gaps and needs in Kent County communities are identified through this process, a Community Plan is created that builds on originally identified priorities of Kindergarten readiness and critical links to third grade reading proficiency, but also addresses the many other systems needs that impact young children, such as health and human services, housing, basic needs, K-12 education, etc. This plan develops a common agenda and continuum of services in which parents play a vital role and are responsible partners. From this agenda, a formal work plan is developed to reflect these ideals and actions and identify strategies and tactics, additional metrics, resources, parties responsible, and timelines.
How They Did It: Structures and Implementation of Action Agenda As each iteration of the community strengths and needs assessment and systems scan survey are evaluated, improvements in specific identified actions are noted, and then next steps are established to identify strategies and align impacts, components, and systems. 1. For each goal created, GSC members identify the following: • Specific impacts on the overall child outcomes that all public work will be
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 38 assessed (i.e. Children are born healthy, Children are developmentally ready to succeed, etc.) • Components that are addressed within these systems (i.e. Pediatric and family health, child care and early learning, infrastructure support, etc.) • Systems that are targeted with this specific action (i.e. connections, components, mindsets, power, regulations, or resources). • Responsibilities of active partners (i.e. which stakeholder group will be responsible for achieving goal through strategies) • Target dates for implementation and practice • Resources needed to achieve goals through successful strategy implementation • Measures to evaluate if goal is obtained and which metrics are most critical 2. As work is identified in the Action Agenda, anamount of infrastructure funding is allocated through the annual Great Start budget to advance the work. Funding is secured through local, state and national foundations and funders in addition to state (First Steps) and federal funding.
What We Can Learn: Measurable Outcomes and Lessons Learned from Kent County According to a cumulative evaluation completed by Michigan State University (2012), the Great Start Initiative, the following key accomplishments were reported: • From 2010 to 2012, GSPCs made significantly more progress in building systems changes needed to ensure all children were ready for school, which included increased access to early childhood services, increased coordination and collaboration across agencies, and expanded array for childhood services. • GSCs also strengthened several levers for change, which include: Strong relational networks, interdependent organizations, readiness for change, parent leadership and voice, effective partnerships, shared goals, and active constituents. • From 2010 to 2012, the gap between older and newer collaboratives has significantly diminished.
The evaluation also highlighted specific areas of challenge that should be targeted for improvement: • Intentional Systems Action Change: there was a lack of active pursuit of system change efforts, such as shifting or adopting new policies, procedures or programs to reduce barriers and improve these systems. • Strong Relational Networks: The networks that exchange referrals, coordinate services and share resources was severely lacking, with messages not reaching families because of family and friend structures versus professional navigation and communication of the system.
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 39 From these findings, Great Start Collaborative created future recommendations for improvement, which include: • While creating parent leadership and voice through family and friend networks are critical to create active constituents, the balance of providing access and information about services through professional navigation and partnerships is needed to ensure families are finding, and using these services. Of these services, the most critical for families was rent/mortgage assistance and help paying for child care. The juxtaposition of the importance of these services and families’ inability to find and use them highlights the need and opportunity for more structured relational networking. • As evidenced in several areas of the evaluation, the need for development of sustainable funding for early childhood is critical. A considerable of amount of continued research is needed on service gaps and costs to fill these gaps, and this gap analysis will identify estimates of current need, system capacity, duplication of efforts, and assess alignment and system integration.
The full report describing Kent County’s Great Start Collaborative and Strategic Plan (2015- 2018) can be accessed at: https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/68151d_be762655938641dcbf1c6804418f934e.pdf
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 40 Discussion
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Figure 2. Categorization of Collier County Early Learning Landscape Analysis findings
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 41 Investigation and Analysis: Current Findings The findings and insights from the 2018 Collier County Early Learning Landscape Analysis can be broadly categorized into three areas: high quality care and learning for all children, pertaining to all aspects of children’s early learning experiences, grades K-3 education, and transitions; supported families, which pertains to parent and family challenges, needs and programs; and community and healthcare investment and assistance which pertains to community services, mental health and screening services, employer incentives and programs, and collective impact strategies. As represented in Figure 2, findings overlap in each category, such as findings pertaining to community resources impacting families, and all of these findings revolve around one focus: a child who is successful and future ready. This clearly illustrates the interconnection of these systems when thinking of building opportunities and strategies for improvement. From this analysis, a planning and implementation process was created which include suggestions for following an aligned, iterative process and broad strategies for further investigation, action and implementation. This process is presented in Figure 3 and discussed below .
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 42 Examples of Early Learning Teacher Navigation Portal using Parent Literacy Strategies Wage Incentive Program ECENA Program Co-create B-5 multilingual communications and Co-create B-5 multilingual awareness campaign Create partnership leadership, networks for families through cafes programs, training/membership first be child’s Increase parent engagement and education to (VROOM, UF online parenting tools teacher by providing programs) expand book distribution programs, Create early literacy Imagination Library plans, Dolly Parton’s Increase number and geographic access of high quality spots, access of high quality Increase number and geographic particularly in centers/ home based in geographic for infants hot spots for B-2 spots Increase number of subsidies high teacher quality through Early Learning and K-5 Improve quality job-embedded PD, financial supports and wage programs childcare gaps in servicesdependency for children in Fund system increase to healthcare providers leverage Engage and prenatal/well baby visits screenings/referrals, developmental service connections and data support.through help families concept to “navigator” Create family resource find and use resources/services employee innovate to for employers Create strategies families that benefit programs for business community Create synergistic strategies involvement Communication Goals: Early Learning/K-3 Goals: Early Learning/K-3 Community/Healthcare Goals: Parent Leadership and PartnershipParent Goals: Community Impact Goals Role/Organization Engage in Early Learning Engage in Early Learning Early Learning Backbone Backbone Early Learning Systems’ Strategic Planning Systems’ Strategic Create a Future Ready Collier Future Create a
State/local public sources Collier County Public Schools Private Foundations Community Organizations Supplementary community data Ready for School data School Success data Healthy Birth data Healthy Children data Systems Scan survey data.
Develop Public/Private Funding Sources for Early Learning: Create alignment of goals, objectives, activities, outcomes, metrics and improvement resources, plans for coherent implementation and action. Integrate existing community systems data into a into existing community systems data Integrate inform data-driven single-entry dashboard to decision making and coordinate future research efforts and implementation:
Comprehensive focus groups and provider and provider Comprehensive focus groups determine funding base and surveys to and knowledge budgeting gaps, child capacity of staff and Investigation of all B-5 assessments assessment K-readiness connections to GOLD) (Teaching Strategies Individual student data analysis for targeted hot spots support identify geographic to Analysis of district supplemental learning VPK, reading programs) (summer programs District-wide teacher/school surveys and determine PD to focus groups Community Employer survey determine to current structures for family-friendly wage support, and healthcare programs, triangulate data options and access to Healthcare Network Analyze data from understand and align with employer surveys to supports and Comprehensive parent focus groups determine servicesystems scan surveys to needs, communication gaps, barriers of and cultural access, successful programs, narratives Continued parent cafes with focused data gathering for parent leadership and partnership needs and capacity
Analysis Report Analysis 2018 Landscape Landscape 2018 Ongoing Research for Data- Driven for Data- Driven Ongoing Research Decision Making: ©UF Lastinger Center 2019 Figure 3: Planning and Implementation Process for Collier County Early Learning Framework 3: Planning and Implementation Process Figure 43 Recommendations
In order to fully understand these findings into action steps, the following recommendations are provided to help promote further discussion and planning with FRC network and organizational partners.
Recommendation One: Create an early learning backbone role/organization that will be responsible for efforts specific to early learning collective impact coordination, communication, and data integration. An entity must be developed (either existing or created) for backbone efforts specific to: early learning collective impact coordination; overall communication; data integration; creation of public awareness campaign; capacity to measure progress and enhance quality of care; and facilitate research, implementation and evaluation on effective strategies for continuous improvement.
Recommendation Two: Engage in early learning systems strategic planning to develop collective capacity; align goals, objectives, inputs, metrics, outcomes and improvements; and identify and procure sustainable funding sources. The past collective impact work, along with the new findings from this analysis leads to strategic planning for implementation and continuous learning and should include the following necessary components: • Identify and procure sustainable public/private funding sources in order to scale effective program strategies and continuously provide new innovations for improvement. • Create alignment of goals, objectives, activities, resources, outcomes, metrics and improvement plans for coherent implementation and action. • Integrate existing community systems data into a single-entry dashboard to inform data-driven decision making and coordinate future research efforts to include: supplementary community data, Ready for School data, School Success data, Healthy Birth data, Healthy Children data, and Systems Scan survey data to continuously inform implementation.
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 44 Recommendation Three: Engage in ongoing, continuous research to further inform data-driven decision making around early learning systems’ needs, stakeholder priorities, and community investments. Within the high quality care and learning category, several research needs are still critical to inform data-driven decision making. Examples of this deeper investigation could include: • Comprehensive early learning focus groups and provider surveys to determine funding base and budgeting gaps, child capacity and knowledge of staff • Investigation of all B-5 assessments and connections to K-readiness assessment (Teaching Strategies GOLD®) • Individual CCPS student data analysis for targeted support to analyze geographic hot spots and track progress of these students through Grade 3 and Grade 5 assessments. • Analysis of district supplemental learning programs (summer VPK, reading programs) to determine effectiveness and scale successful programs. • District-wide teacher/school surveys and focus groups to determine professional development needs and opportunities to support teacher capacity and efficacy.
Within the Collier County collective impact work, it was identified that employers and healthcare partners have the opportunity to lead in the community and become front line advocates in this work. Surveys and focus groups with business partners and healthcare providers could provide depth of understanding regarding incentives and family-friendly programs that are currently offered or could be created to help struggling Collier families. Another important need for continued investigation is to listen to and learn from the families of Collier County, specifically within identified targeted areas of need, and determine their perceptions of specific challenges of early learning and care, as well as support services. This will produce empowerment, buy-in and leadership within the Collier parent base. This momentum was started with Parent Cafés implementation during this year, which showed that Collier parents are interested, willing, and able to be active partners in this work. But without communicating directly with parents in a manner that is culturally responsive to understand their needs, the most important stakeholders in this work will be ignored.
Recommendation Four: Build on community impact goals that reflect collective impact efforts by creating a strategic plan for future efforts and improvements. A multitude of goals and objectives have been identified throughout this landscape analysis process from all stakeholder groups, and ideally should be the foundational blueprint for creation of the Collier Early Learning Framework. These community impact goals are provided as recommendations based on analysis from this work, but as more information and data is provided, should be amended and prioritized based upon highest need and possibility of implementation. These goals also represent the most valuable collaborative thinking from this collective process, and capture both the complexities and impact of work to inform ongoing development. However, these goals are vast, somewhat idealistic, and require constant reflection for success.
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 45 Some examples of community impact goals that could be implemented include: Communication Goals: • Co-create B-5 multilingual communications and awareness campaign with cross- sector collaboration.
Early Learning and K-3 Goals: • Increase number and geographic access of high quality spots, particularly for infants in centers/ home based in geographic hot spots • Increase number of subsidies for B-2 spots • Improve Early Learning and K-5 teacher quality through high quality job-embedded PD, financial supports and wage programs • Fund childcare gaps in services for children in dependency system • Support transition to Kindergarten in collaboration with K-12 system in geographic hot spots • Research validity of assessments and identify interventions
Community and Healthcare Goals: • Engage and leverage healthcare providers to increase developmental screenings/ referrals, prenatal/well baby visits through service connections and data support. • Create family resource “navigator” concept to help families find and use resources/ services • Create strategies for employers to innovate employee programs that benefit families • Create synergistic strategies for business community involvement
Parent Partnership and Leadership Goals: • Create partnership networks for families through leadership, training/membership programs, cafes • Increase parent engagement and education to be child’s first teacher by providing tools (Imagination Library, VROOM, UF parenting programs) • Create early literacy programs, expand book distribution plans, Dolly Parton Library • Create K-5 program for parents to be lead learners for their children with language support and wraparound services.
It should be noted here that systems-building and integration initiatives are complex and notoriously hard to measure. They involve multiple programs, players, features, and outcomes at multiple levels. They also involve numerous public or private funding streams administered through different agencies and decision-making structures. This requires
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 46 aligning goals and coordinating actions across programs with different political cultures. Deep-rooted problems such as gaps in services and outcomes based on race, income, culture, and language must be tackled head on. Without the alignment of these goals into rational strategies that can be measured by specific outcomes, work will continue to influence some, but not all stakeholders in this process.
Example Strategies of Implementation As community impact goals get transformed into implementation strategies, it is critical to not lose sight of the long term outcomes and impact needed for these specific areas. Three examples of possible impact strategies are described below to illustrate how these goals become actionable programs.
Early Learning Teacher Wage Incentive Program Early learning is a high demand industry that requires specialized knowledge, skills, and abilities to effectively support the development and learning of young children. Yet, as a lower wage industry, early childhood teachers typically require additional professional development supports to meet the goal of Florida’s School Readiness program, which is to provide children at greatest risk of school failure with early learning opportunities that prepare them for Kindergarten and early grade success.
With the passage of HB1091 in the 2018 legislative session, Florida’s School Readiness program now benefits from a statewide accountability structure that is designed to provide assurances that children at greatest risk of school failure are in enriching early learning programs that prepare them for Kindergarten and beyond.
This presents a timely and important opportunity to align professional development and compensation strategies in a way that: • strengthens knowledge and teaching practices • aligns to professional standards and core competencies • improves outcomes for children increasing Kindergarten readiness and early grade success • honors and respects that early learning programs are private businesses that need sustainable funding to increase and maintain quality
Increasing professional development offerings in alignment with wage incentives can build capacity of an effective early childhood workforce and create shorter-term compensation incentives for early childhood teachers seeking increased skills and specializations. Upon mastery and completion of targets and achievement of quality standards for a given program, longer-term sustainability can be supported through eligibility for contracted slots, or a specified agreement of guaranteed enrollment, that provides sufficient revenue for the owner/director to continue the compensation of effective early childhood teachers.
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 47 Parent Literacy Program Familial and community factors predispose certain children to be at risk for reading failure and identification for special education. In particular, limited early language and literacy experiences in the home are strongly correlated with language-based difficulties, reading difficulties, and school readiness deficits. Although school-based interventions provide some remediation to at-risk children, recent research suggests that early interventions provided before the school years can result in remarkable outcomes in cognitive, social and behavioral, and academic domains before they enter school. Specifically, early language and literacy interventions provided to parents and their children are a promising way impact child language development.
Early language and literacy interventions provided to parents and their children are a promising way impact child language development. UF’s Sound Beginnings is an early language and literacy initiative to provide support to parents in preparing their young children for school readiness. Sound Beginnings includes resources for parents to increase the quantity and quality of language interaction in the home. In conjunction with the Florida Grade Level Reading Campaign, parent tip sheets, videos, and text messaging will provide parents with specific strategies in evidence-based practices such as shared storybook reading, phonological awareness, and word play to increase vocabulary.
Navigation Portal using ECENA data (2019-2020) The Early Care and Education Needs Assessment (ECENA) portal was established in 2013 by the UF Family Data Center and the Lastinger Center through funding provided by the Florida Office of Early Learning to bring together statewide data reporting on 44 indicators of maternal and child health and well-being. This tool has evolved to better meet the information needs of state and local policymakers and stakeholders endeavoring to improve outcomes for young children and their families. In 2019-2020, this UF partnership will be working to increase the strength of the linkage between the data sources (FL Department of Health, FL Department of Children and Families, FL Department of Education, Early Head Start/Head Start, and FL Office of Early Learning) to result in service receipt profiles (what services children have received such Medicare, Head Start or VPK) that will lead to a more refined understanding of the services that children and families receive in the early childhood years and the differential outcomes that might be influenced by accumulated supports.
Historically the primary unit of analysis within the ECENA portal has been county or zip code, depending on the data source. In response for the need for more refined understanding of the influence of community characteristics, the primary unit of analysis will be at the child level, with aggregate analyses conducted at the elementary school attendance zone. Together, these refinements and enhancements will increase the capacity of locally focused collective impact organizations to make data-informed decisions. In addition, this portal will match service profiles with opportunities to identify differential outcomes for children who need the most support in learning and life.
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 48 Implementation Timeline and Structure As was evidenced throughout this landscape analysis process, there are several pieces of this puzzle that already exist, and previous work towards these collective goals show tremendous progress. While this planning process is suggested in a sequenced order of implementation, it is also important to realize that funding structures and partner priorities will impact this organization and specific components may become possible in alternate timelines. There are also two programs within the state of Florida’s early learning landscape that are noteworthy and may create opportunities for Collier County and influence this work:
Florida’s Preschool Development Grant (2019) Florida’s Office of Early Learning was recently awarded a federal preschool development grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Services for over $8 million dollars, and this one-year procurement will achieve the following goals to strengthen and align the state of Florida’s early learning systems and structures: • Improve Data-Driven System Coordination: Florida will build on the existing needs assessment data portal and Index to Child Care Access and develop enhanced tools that will provide interactive, vital information on capacity, affordability, quality, and financing for ECE. • Increase Family Access and Engagement: to better serve all families with ECE programs and services, particularly vulnerable and underserved populations, the cross-cutting concept throughout all priorities is to focus on families in their current situation. The goal is to create a system that encourages culturally sensitive, trauma-responsive family engagement. Florida will develop universal professional development (PD) training for all family and community referral specialists focused on enhanced referrals to connect families with services that best meet their needs. Florida will also will build out online resources including provider profiles with identified quality assets that will support increased consumer education on ECE programs, privatized access to child screening and assessment data that will provide important information on children’s development, and resources that support increased family engagement. • Create a high-quality comprehensive system of ECE: to honor and respect the diverse mixed-delivery system while also maximizing resources and leveraging funding, Florida will assess the current quality improvement efforts related to PD and coaching, develop standards of practice for each, and work to align and increase availability of current best practices statewide.
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 49 Florida’s Early Learning Performance Funding Project Cumulative Evaluation (2019) Building on the partnership with the Office of Early Learning and the Florida Legislature, the UF Lastinger Center will complete a cumulative evaluation report of the Early Learning Performance Funding Project to summarize findings to date, and provide research-based implications and recommendations for continued quality improvement strategies that can most meaningfully improve quality across the School Readiness system in Florida. With limited funding and significant needs, there is an opportunity to better understand the most effective way to invest in targeted professional development, coaching, and other supports to meaningfully impact program quality improvement and children’s learning, growth, and school readiness.
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 50 Connections and Conclusions
Systems initiatives that concentrate on connections focus on what makes a system a system—the integration, linkages, and alignment between its parts (Coffman, 2007). On the frontlines, those connections may include, for example, early learning programs across or within subsystems that share professional development, staffing, facilities, technology and communication, data collection, or funding. At the administrative level, such connections may include, for example, aligned eligibility requirements and enrollment processes for child care subsidies and services, streamlined reporting procedures, coordinated case management, and established protocols of understanding for referrals across subsystems. These kinds of connections ensure that, when necessary, beneficiary needs identified in one subsystem can be referred to and managed by another (Coffman, 2007). Better results for beneficiaries are expected when the system is connected. If many connections are expected across the system, then impacts can be expected across a wide array of domains.
These findings and recommendations are highly interconnected and reinforce each other in multiple ways. Progress on any of these areas makes progress on the others more likely. Families who engage as empowered leaders in their child’s education will also provide positive relationships for and with their children, and create responsive interactions with teachers, who will in turn ensure these families’ needs are met in a culturally competent and equitable fashion.
But the converse of this is also true. Significant challenges in any of these areas can lead to problems in others. Using these components as a compass to promote positive change and capacity building in all dimensions of early learning and service approaches provides the best chance to guide Collier County through this time of challenge and opportunity, and inform strategies, decisions, and implementation. This analysis offers a promising guide for generating new ideas about how to meet these objectives more effectively, and achieving significant improvements and innovations to benefit the learning and lives of children and their families in Collier County.
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 51 Resources
These organizational websites can provide more information regarding programs and components mentioned in this report:
Anita Zucker Center for Excellence in Early Childhood Studies Website and Information: https://ceecs.education.ufl.edu
Champions For Learning Website and Information: https://championsforlearning.org
Collier County Public Schools Website and Information: https://www.collierschools.com
Community Foundation of Collier County Website and Information: https://www.cfcollier.org
Early Learning Coalition of SouthWest Florida Website and Information: https://elcofswfl.org
Florida’s Office of Early Learning Website and Information: http://www.floridaearlylearning.com
Florida Philanthropic Network Website and Information: https://www.fpnetwork.org
Future Ready Collier Website and Information: https://futurereadycollier.org
Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce Website and Information: www.napleschamber.org
Naples Children & Education Foundation Website and Information: https://www.napleswinefestival.com
Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation Website and Information: https://www.schulzefamilyfoundation.org
UF Lastinger Center Website and Information: https://lastinger.center.ufl.edu
United Way of Collier County Website and Information: www.unitedwayofcolliercounty.org
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 52 Collier Landscape Report References
Center for the Study of Social Policy. (2017). Measuring the impact of early childhood systems: Learning lab report. Washington, DC: Center for the Study of Social Policy.
Coffman, J. (2007). A framework for evaluating systems initiatives. BUILD Initiative.
Cresswell, J. W. (2003). Research design. Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches, 67.
Evans, G. W., & Kim, P. (2010). Multiple risk exposure as a potential explanatory mechanism for the socioeconomic status–health gradient. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1186(1), 174-189.
Flick, U. (2009). An introduction to qualitative methods. California: Sage.
Florida Department of Education (2017). PK-12 public school data publications and reports. Accessed at http://www.fldoe.org/accountability/data-sys/edu-info-accountability- services/pk-12-public-school-data-pubs-reports/students.stml
Florida Office of Early Learning. (2017).Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten description. Accessed at http://www.floridaearlylearning.com/vpk
Florida SouthWestern State College. (2017). The cost for preparing students for Kindergarten in southwest Florida. Naples, FL: Augenblick, Palaich and Associates.
Future Ready Collier. (2017). Timeline. Accessed at https://futurereadycollier.org/ about/#timeline
Future Ready Collier. (2018) Report to the Community. Accessed at https:// futurereadycollier.org/resources/
Hart, B. & Risley, T. R. (1995). Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experiences of Young American Children. Brookes.
Hatch, J.A. (2002). Doing qualitative research in education settings. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.
Knopf, Sherlock, Maldonado-Molina, Et al., (2018). Application of the Index of Child Care Access among five Early Learning Coalitions in Florida. Tallahassee, FL: Florida Office of Early Learning.
Krippendorf, K. (2004). Content Analysis: An Introduction to Methodology, 2nd edn. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 53 Lenardson, J., 2010, Ziller, E., Lambert, D., Race, M., & Yousefian, A. (2010). Mental health problems have considerable impact on rural children and their families. Maine: Maine Rural Health Research Center.
Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldaña, J. (2013). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Moore Strategic Consulting. (2016). Collier County early childhood data indicators. Presentation to Future Ready Collier: Naples, Florida.
Moore Strategic Consulting. (2017) Developmental Screenings in Collier County, Florida. Unpublished white paper.
Palfrey, J., Hauser-Cram, P., Bronson, M., Warfield, M.E., Sirin, S., & Chan, E. (2005). The Brookline early education project: A 25-year follow-up study of a family-centered early health and development intervention. Pediatrics, 116(1), 144-152.
Pemberton, D., Dow, J., & Luallen, J.. (2005). A study of child well-being in Collier County. Gainesville, FL: UF Lastinger Center for Learning.
Pemberton, D., Dow, J., & Foege, T. (2010). Child well-being in Collier County: A 2010 update. Gainesville, FL: UF Lastinger Center for Learning.
Q-Q Research Consultants. (2017). Collier County: Community needs and asset assessment. Naples, FL: Richard M. Schulze Foundation.
Romano, G., & King, A. (2017). The state of child well-being in Collier, County, Florida: 2017. Boston: Civitas Strategies.
Weitzman, C. & Wegner, L. (2015). Promoting optimal development: Screening for emotional and behavioral problems. Pediatrics, 135(2), 384-395.
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E l e P N c 0 a 0 0 0 0 r 0 E C E ¹º ¹º ¹º 1 1 e ot 0 2 T P 0 0 0 CCPS-2 0 0 0 ©UF Lastinger Center 2019 Appendix C: Map 3* Map C: Appendix 57 *Larger versions of Maps 1-7 can be accessed at the UF Lastinger Center Website for further of Maps 1-7 can be accessed at the UF Lastinger Center Website versions viewing, http://www.lastinger.center.ufl.edu *Larger ©UF Lastinger Center 2019 Appendix D: Map 4* Map D: Appendix 58 *Larger versions of Maps 1-7 can be accessed at the UF Lastinger Center Website for further of Maps 1-7 can be accessed at the UF Lastinger Center Website versions viewing, http://www.lastinger.center.ufl.edu *Larger ©UF Lastinger Center 2019 Appendix E: Map 5* Map E: Appendix 59 *Larger versions of Maps 1-7 can be accessed at the UF Lastinger Center Website for further of Maps 1-7 can be accessed at the UF Lastinger Center Website versions viewing, http://www.lastinger.center.ufl.edu *Larger ©UF Lastinger Center 2019 Appendix F: Map 6* Map F: Appendix 60 *Larger versions of Maps 1-7 can be accessed at the UF Lastinger Center Website for further of Maps 1-7 can be accessed at the UF Lastinger Center Website versions viewing, http://www.lastinger.center.ufl.edu *Larger ©UF Lastinger Center 2019 Appendix G: Map 7* Map G: Appendix 61 Appendix H: Geographic “hot spots” from Analysis
Big Cyprus Elementary Zones
Calusa Park Elementary Zones
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 62 Eden Park Elementary Zones
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 63 Golden Glades Elementary Zones
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 64 Mike Davis Elementary Zones
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 65 Parkside Elementary Zones
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 66 Appendix I: CCPS Kindergarten Focus Group Protocol
1. As a Kindergarten teacher, what do you notice as the characteristics and/or experiences of students entering Kindergarten who ARE ready? Who AREN’T ready? (probe about academics, life skills, formal and informal learning experiences)
2. What are some of the struggles you experience with students who enter Kindergarten that aren’t ready? What are the strategies you use to handle this?
3. Tell us about the assessment process for children in your classroom, and how you identify specific skills and knowledge based on your perspective.
4. When you work with students and their families, what are the strengths that the families bring to their child’s success? How might we build on those as a community? As a school district?
5. What trends have you seen within the last 3-5 years regarding students in your school? Has anything changed over time?
6. Fill in the blank…..From your perspective, if every student entering Kindergarten could ______that would make the biggest difference for their readiness and potential for success in Kindergarten.
7. What other factors contribute to children’s success from your perspective?
8. What ideas or suggestions do you have to alleviate these challenges to help students and families?
9. What else would you like us to know?
©UF Lastinger Center 2019 67
Team Team Team based Learning based Learning -
Team term) (short College Retention
Naviance IntegrationNaviance Work College Access Team Access College Middle School Support
WORKGROUP
COLLEGE /CAREER READINESS READINESS /CAREER COLLEGE 19)
-
building strategies together.
—December 2018) Team Time Registration K - Team term) (short Program Provider Program Provider ings & Interventions ings & Interventions Early Learning TeamEarly Early Literacy Team Literacy Early On Family Engagement/ Family Developmental Screen- Developmental
Funding/Resources for Quality & Access Team & Access Quality
Planning Team for Early Learning Planning for Early Team framework (July
EARLY LEARNING WORKGROUP LEARNING EARLY
Work Groups and Priority Teams are composed of staff & volunteer leaders from organizations aligning workaligning & from organizations leaders & volunteer Teams composed of staff are Priority GroupsWork and Ensure all children are Kindergarten ready. are allEnsure children Goal:
Team
Future Ready CollierFuture (2018 Network Ensure all young people are career ready by graduating high school on track to obtain a degree or credential. degree a obtain track schoolon to high graduatingEnsure young all by are people ready career
Communications Communications
(4 meetings/year) Goal: Team Roundtables —December 2018) tions as needed) (3 meetings/year)
Parent Café Team •
• Fundraising & Fundraising & (3 meetings/year) Board outreachx/year board (2 chairand CEO presenta- update;
Capacity Strategy Team Strategy Capacity Community & Parent Engagement Engagement & Parent Community • Data & Data & (as needed)
Planning Team for Early Learning Learning Early for Team Planning framework (July
Measurement Team Measurement
STRATEGIC PARTNERS WORKGROUP PARTNERS STRATEGIC partnerbalances FRC and overall commitments expectations. Provides strategic guidance and engagement. Reviews budget and Reviews budget and engagement. Provides strategic guidance ©UF Lastinger Center 2019 Appendix J: Future Ready Collier Network Structure Chart Structure Network Collier Ready Future J: Appendix 68