An initiative of the CharlottesvilleAlbemarle Partnership for Children

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An initiative of the Charlottesville/Albemarle
Partnership for Children
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Why Invest in Early Childhood?

• In Virginia, over 20 of children arrive at
  kindergarten not ready (up to 1 in 3 in some
  cities) Virginia Department of Education
• A child that enters kindergarten behind often
  remains behind throughout school.

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Investing in Early Childhood

• Studies show costs of children not ready for
  school include
• More kids repeating grades
• Increased special education needs
• Higher teen pregnancy rates
• Decreased graduation rates
• Lower employment rates
• In 2005/06, 9,000 Virginia children (K-3)
  repeated a grade, costing 7,654 per child and
  70 million statewide.

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Local Needs in Charlottesville/Albemarle

• Nearly 64 of children under 5 years have parents
  that work outside the home.
• 4,425 young children need care.
• Limited number of local quality child care
  centers. Only four nationally accredited child
  care centers with limited access.

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Local Needs in Charlottesville/Albemarle

• 21 of children aged 0-6 in Charlottesville live
  in poverty.
• Over 3600 children in our area live below 200 of
  the federal poverty level.
• A five-year-old from a higher-income family
  enters school with a 20,000 word vocabulary,
  while a five-year-old from a low-income home has
  a 5,000 word vocabulary.

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Smart Beginnings Partnership

• 459,000 Virginia Early Childhood Foundation
• grant to improve early learning and care
• Promotes school readiness
• Through the Partnership for Children, a
  public/private collaboration of 15 local agencies
• Focuses on results and accountability
• Works on long-term sustainability

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Smart Beginnings Initiative Areas
Family EngagementSupports families to prepare
children for kindergarten Provider Educator
Engagement Enhances the quality of early care and
education Public Engagement Heightens community
commitment to school readiness
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Year 1 - Success

• Family Engagement
• Support of basic needs and parenting skills
• 82 families served

• Johnson
• Preschool
• Programs -
• Family
• Support
• Worker

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Year 1 - Success
Family Support for Latino parents
Spanish Moms Group (playgroup, English classes,
cultural exchange, education, parenting skills)
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Year 1 - Success

• Early developmental screenings
• 117 children screened, 20 referred

___3 years -uses four- to five-word
sentences ___2 years - points to objects
named ___18 months -plays pretend ("talks" on
toy phone)
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Year 1 - Success
Provider and Educator Engagement Promoting
the Seal of Quality Child Care
AlbemarleFamily magazine ad
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Year 1 - Success
Learning about quality child care
Salvation Army Child Care Center
Leadership Council Child Care Tours
Barrett Early Learning Center
UVA Malcolm Cole Child Care Center
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Year 1 - Success
Supporting Child Care Providers
Park Street Christian Preschool Director, Seal
of Quality Child Care Educator Incentive mini-gr
ant provides needed center materials Sand/water
exploratory table
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Year 1 - Success
1,070 children served 100 increase in
provider participation
Barrett Early Learning Center
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Year 1 - Success
Public Engagement Public preschools
collaborate to reach parents
Smart Beginnings Expo Fun, Family Event Public
preschool registration, quality child care and
family literacy events during Virginia Festival
of the Book
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Year 1 - Success
Message to employees Learning
readiness is one of the key elements to Education
Excellence.  We know that when kids come to
school unprepared to learn, they immediately get
behind, and by third grade we can already
estimate the drop out rate.  . State Farm is
hoping to change this.  Through a public-private
partnership called Smart Beginnings, we believe
we can increase children's readiness for success
in school  by enhancing  the resources and
training for families, educators and early care
providers.  parents need to not only expect
their children to be safe in day care, but they
need to be assured their children are also
receiving a quality educational experience that
will prepare them for kindergarten    Thanks for
helping make our communities and company
stronger by improving education for our
children. Peggy Echols, Vice President,
Operations State Farm Insurance Companies
Businesses support employee child care needs
Employee Perspectives Local Child Care and
Education Survey State Farm supports the
Charlottesville/Albemarle Smart Beginnings
initiative to increase school readiness and the
quality of early learning and education in our
community. To help improve the quality of child
care and education in our community, please share
your comments with us. We welcome all responses
whether or not youre a grandparent, parent or
caregiver. Early Learning/Child Care 1. To
what degree do you feel preschool and early
education is important to the future development
of children? ___ Very Important ___ Somewhat
Important ___ Not Important 2. If you have
children 0-5, what type/s of child care do you
use during work? ___Family member ____Child care
center ____Babysitter___(someones home)___ (in
my home) ___Public preschool (Head Start,
Charlottesville City Preschools or Albemarle
Bright Stars) 3. Do you use an after school
program? ______ Yes _____ No 4. How satisfied
are you with the child care option(s) available?
__Very satisfied ___Somewhat satisfied ___Very
dissatisfied 5. Did you have any problems
finding child care? __Very easy ___Easy ____Some
problems ____Very difficult 6. If yes, what is
the major problem you encountered? ___Cost ___No
openings___Limited hours ___Location
___Transportation___Low quality of care___ Other
7. To what degree do child care related issues
affect your work? ___No impact ___Small impact
____Significant impact 8. Do child care-related
issues affect your absenteeism at work? ____ Yes
___ No
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Year 1 - Success
Smart Beginnings engaging community leaders
Smart Beginnings panel Women United in
Philanthropy educational forum
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Year 1 - Success
Reaching parents where they live and work
Smart Beginnings Kiosks
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Year 1 - Success
Active play and early learning fun throughout
the community
Bilingual Activity Trail
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Smart Beginnings
create a smart beginning for all children