Born Learning: Tools to Advance Early Childhood Campaigns

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Born Learning Tools to Advance Early Childhood
Campaigns
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Why is United Way Involved In Early Learning?

• United Way of America is transforming itself
• from fundraiser to community leader
• focused on galvanizing communities to change
  lives
• bringing unique strengths to the table
• leadership collaboration
• business relationships
• community need insight
• funding

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United Ways Have Long Been Engaged

• 80 United Ways support early learning
• funding agencies serving children
• advocating for early learning policy
• leading early learning community impact
  initiatives
• United Ways Success By 6
• 350 local state public-private-nonprofit
  partnerships working to boost school readiness
• Americas largest network of early learning
  coalitions
• 17 years of local innovation that works

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Its All About Economic Opportunity

• Early learning is one of United Way of Americas
  top 3
• strategic initiatives
• because we know its essential to break the
  cycle
• of poverty to build a foundation of success.
• UWA wants to renorm thinking around early
  learning

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The Unacceptable Gap

• Half of Americas kindergarteners are coming to
  school behind
• The most vulnerable children are at least 1-2
  years behind
• By the age of 5, many children in high-risk
  environments are already developmentally behind
• This gap only grows over time -- undermining
  school readiness and success in life.
• -- Dr. Craig Ramey, Center for
  Health Education, Georgetown University

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Parents Caregivers Need Help Information

• Parents caregivers dramatically undervalue
  their role in school readiness -- 1 in 3
  incorrectly believe their loving interaction has
  little impact on their childs learning capacity.
  
• (2000 study done by Civitas, Zero To Three
  BRIO)
• Caregivers know the early years matter, but dont
  know exactly what to do to promote early learning
  and dont think they have time to do what it
  takes.
• (Ad Council UWA public opinion research, 2004)

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The UWA Response

• Thats why United Way is investing in a public
• engagement campaign to give parents, caregivers
• communities tools to support school readiness
• Goal is to help parents, caregivers communities
  
• create early learning opportunities for young
  children

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Q. What Is Born Learning?

• One strategy to reach family, friends neighbor
  caregivers
• Unique national-to-local effort national
  visibility (44 million worth in 1st year)
  designed for local adaptation
• Free community engagement toolbox available to
  any state or local early learning coalition
• 500 online tools, tips templates to support
  public awareness, caregiver education community
  action
• A. All of the above

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Born Learning Headlines

• News Flash 1 Born Learning leverages new
  research saying that relationships are the engine
  of a childs development not flash cards or
  fancy toys
• News Flash 2 It gives any early learning
  coalition pre-packaged, research-based tools to
  support community change
• You dont have to be a United Way
• News Flash 3 Its a free, multi-media toolkit
  thats continually updated to help you engage
  your community

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Built on Partnership

• United Way of America
• Civitas
• Families and Work Institute
• The Ad Council
• 375 local state Born Learning campaigns
• Strong partnerships corporate support
• Publix and Nationwide illustrate corporate
  involvement
• Dolly Partons Imagination Library and First Book
  
• Association of Childrens Museums
• American Academy of Pediatrics
• National League of Cities
• Birth to Five Policy Alliance

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The Message Framework Everyday Moments

• Telling stressed, overwhelmed parents,
  grandparents caregivers that early learning
  isnt hard or expensiveits nurturing
  relationships that matter
• Communicating that children are active
  participants in their own learningliterally born
  learning and heres how you can support
  learning
• Targeting adults impacting children in the early
  years
• Helping adults create environments to support a
  childs social, emotional, cognitive development
  at home, in child care in the community

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• Awareness, education community action

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Awareness Opportunities

• PR tools online to help you generate headlines
• Media relations tips event ideas, messaging,
  swiss cheese press releases editorial
  columns, parent column with tips
• Two rounds of Ad Council PSAs to 24,000 media
  outlets
• TV, radio, print, billboard, Web ads (localizable
  by United Ways)
• Top 10 Ad Council performer
• Exceeding Ad Council average of 30 million in
  donated media per year
• 1 billion impression so far from all campaign
  components
• 226 million impressions for women 18 (double Ad
  Council average)
• 1.4 million people taking action by visiting
  campaign Web site each year
• 122,000 Web visitors per month seeking more info

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Education Parent/Caregiver Outreach
Opportunities

• Continually updated product line of
  research-based material
• Downloadable localizable to promote you,
  partners sponsors
• Its reaching people
• More than 1.2 million parents reached (reported
  by less than half the United Way Born Learning
  campaigns)
• Estimate of 10 million educational materials
  disseminated
• Helps you maximize with strategic distribution
  tips tools
• Ideas strategies to reach targets, especially
  vulnerable populations
• Mostly written for 3rd-grade reading level
• Virtually all in Spanish (along with Spanish PSAs
  Web site)
• Only cost is printing

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Community Action Opportunities

• Online community engagement guide tools
• Details stats on early learning
• Links to latest expert research
• Outline of research basis strategy behind Born
  Learning
• Fact sheets with graphs research that make the
  case
• Communication tools to persuade business leaders
• Best practices from across the country proven
  to work

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Make The Case to BusinessCommunications Toolkit

• Designed for tested with
• business leaders
• Why Early Learning Matters
• Adaptable PowerPoint brochure
• Drop-in policy slides
• Champion Action Tips with specific asks
• User Guide offers best outreach strategies
• Flash Video for emailing
• Online Birth to Five Policy Alliance
• Resource Library best of show
• Center for Law Social Policy, Committee for
  Economic
• Development, Fight Crime Invest in Kids, National
  Center
• for Children in Poverty, National Conference of
  State Legislatures,
• National Governors Associations Center of Best
  Practices, National
• Scientific Council on the Developing Child, Ounce
  of Prevention
• Fund, Zero to Three

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Why Early Learning Matters brochure online,
adaptable free (you print)
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Seven Levels of Born Learning Engagement
LEVEL WHICH MEANS
PSA Placement Working with media to ensure local placement of PSAs
Public Relations Reaching out to reporters editors Getting media coverage of the issue
Localizing basic fulfillment Localizing material Sending material to callers upon request
Opportunity-based distribution Looking for opportunities to distribute material Not engaging in direct contact with parents or caregivers
Third-party distribution Asking trusted advisors to talk about the materials Asking advisors to help parents apply the concepts
Strategic intentional outreach Communicating campaign messages materials to target audiences where they live, play, work, shop, worship etc.
Using campaign as community change tool Strategic, proactive media material distribution activities focused on results Using campaign in integrated strategy to make community change, including public policy and system change
Awareness
Education
Action
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Whats Happening On the Ground?

• Generating new energy, partners focus on early
  learning
• Increasing parent outreach education
• Greenville home visitors using materials as
  parent coaching tools
• Brownsville incorporating into
  neighborhood-based meriendas
• Involving new community partners
• Topeka partnering with movie theaters
• Engaging hospitals, pediatricians state
  agencies
• Highland City, FL doctors offices are Born
  Learning kiosks
• Enlisting new champions
• Atlanta reaching out through pastors pulpits
• Generating new sponsors
• New attention by TV stations, major employers
• Enrolling the business community
• Employers turning break rooms into family support
  centers

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How Can Born Learning Support You?

• Has tools to support strategic goals of any
  coalition or organization focused on early
  learning
• Local United Ways can use Born Learning to help
• Raise awareness with or without a SB6
• Build knowledge of parenting child development
• Connect with business leaders around early
  learning
• Helps you engage your community in early learning
• Tools templates to boost visibility of issue
  can boost support
• Step-by-step community engagement tools on
  Campaign Central
• on www.BornLearning.org

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Driving to National Parent Behavior Outcomes

• All components of campaign PSAs, material, Web
  site
• drive toward national outcomes for parents
• Extending language literacy through talking,
  reading, telling stories, writing, singing
  rhyming with children
• Responsive care giving through responding
  sensitively to childrens needs, establishing
  routines, sharing love affection, talking
  lovingly with young children
• Reinforcing the valuable role of parents
  informal caregivers in supporting early learning
• Using everyday moments fun, loving interaction
  to reinforce learning

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Born Learning Evaluation

• Awareness tracking (Ad Council)
• perceived awareness and importance of the issue
• changes in attitudes and beliefs
• key changes in behavior that promote early
  learning
• Activity tracking by each campaign (calls in,
  materials out, people touched etc.)
• activity output tracking tools, white papers,
  models more available on Campaign Central
• Parent caregiver behavior
• 55 who saw ads are using everyday moments more
  to support learning

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• Parent caregiver
• material

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Born Learning Products

• A line of research-based, high-quality products
  for parents, grandparents caregivers support
  advertising and Web messages and offer specific
  support to caregivers on key topics.
• Created and market-tested with consumers by
  Civitas
• Content approved by national panel of early
  childhood experts

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Born Learning Product Overview

• Registered Born Learning campaigns get
  pre-designed toolbox of materials to localize,
  print and distribute
• Grocery list fridge pad with parent tips for
  in-store learning
• Language literacy activity card booklets
• Playbook brochure equates play with learning
• Kid Basics snapshot cards with action steps
• Your Child _at_ series on ages stages (birth5)
• Parent Tools offer interactive supports
• Poster spells out 5 keys to early learning, ties
  with parenting video series of stickers on
  each idea
• Parenting grandparenting videos Talaris
  interstitials

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Fridge Tip Pad

• Grocery store tip pad
• 15 parent tips for usein grocery store
• Magnetic pad
• English Spanish
• Localizable

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Recipes for Learning

• 60 different language
• literacy activity cards
• Bound as booklet
• Organized into activities for
• infants, toddlers and
• preschoolers
• English and Spanish
• Localizable

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More Recipes for Learning
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Playbook Brochure

• 5-panel brochure helps make the most of a childs
  playtime
• Also available in Spanish and downloadable PDF
  format

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Kid Basics Card Ring

• 9 topical cards providing quick facts and
  recommended action stepsTopics well
  visits,connecting with kids, child care, sleep,
  play, dads, discipline, feeding, literacy
• Also available in Spanish in
• downloadable PDF format

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Your Child _at_ Series

• 10 covering ages stages (English Spanish)
• Birth
• 2 months
• 4-6 months
• 6-12 months
• 12-18 months
• 18-24 months
• 24-36 months
• 3 years
• 4 years
• 5 years
• Includes seal from American Academy of Pediatrics
• Low-literacy version available

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Parent Tools

• 12 guides for parents checklists, logs and
  ideas/activitiesTopics include child care,
  feeding, sleep, fathering, activities with
  grandparents, making reading fun understanding
  your childs feelingsAlso in Spanish

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Five Key Ideas Poster

• 11 x 17 poster highlighting key messages about
  creating a nurturing environment for a young
  child
• Ideal for child care centers
• Also available in
• low-literacy format
• 15 x 25 supersize
• Spanish
• Can be used together with 5 Key Ideas stickers
  Begin with Love video

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Parenting Grandparenting Videos

• Begin with Love Grandparenting DVD
• Two 30-minute videos aimed at new
• parents (narrated by Oprah)
• grandparents (narrated by Maya
• Angelou)
• Offers tips for connecting with young children
• Focused on responsive caregiving
• language literacy outcomes
• Packaging can be localized
• Begin With Love endorsed by American Academy of
  Pediatrics

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Talaris Interstitials

• 30 and 60 videos that model parent
• behavior provide action steps
• Topics storytelling, reading, print awareness
• 3 English / 1 Spanish
• Co-produced by Civitas
• Talaris Research Institute
• Ideal for doctors offices, parent resource
  centers etc
• (cannot be used on broadcast TV)
• Packaging can be localized

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Bits of Understanding

• Monthly email newsletter on topics of interest
• Parents, grandparents and caregivers can sign up
  at www.BornLearning.org

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Learning On The Go Tips

• On the Web
• at www.BornLearning.org
• And in downloadable PDF with
• Learning On The Go tips
• New online tips PDFs in 2007

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Maximizing Born Learning for Community Impact

• If your focus is on raising awareness
• TV, radio and billboard messages increase
  visibility and raise awareness about early
  learning
• If localized, PSAs raise visibility of your
  initiative as an early childhood leader
• With news coverage, speaking opportunities
  opinion leader outreach, key messages begin to
  reach business leaders and the people with
  authority to change systems and policies.

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Maximizing Born Learning for Community Impact

• If your focus is on parent education
• Parent tools - made available where families
  live, work, play, pray and shop - can increase
  understanding about how children learn and what
  adults can do to shape their learning
• PSA or parent education videos in clinic waiting
  rooms, faith communities, retail outlets, etc.
  help caregivers develop a deeper knowledge about
  what they can do to help their young children
  learn
• If parent tools are also integrated in parenting
  classes or home visits explained by trusted
  advisors (i.e. pediatricians and faith leaders),
  it drives parent/caregiver behaviors that support
  early learning.

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Maximizing Born Learning for Community Impact

• If your focus is on changing systems
• Integrate parent tools, Mind in the Making, and
  evaluation in local Head Start programs for
  parents
• Launch an Imagination Library project and send
  parent tools to all enrollees (along with list of
  parent training resources)
• Convince your states health department to
  include parent tools, Mind in the Making and
  evaluation in home visiting programs across the
  state
• Work with your local Association for Education of
  Young Children to train child care providers to
  promote early learning using the parent tools
• Establish a support group system for family,
  friend and neighbor caregivers that includes
  education and social engagement. Use the
  research and parent tools as conversation
  starters.

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Maximizing Born Learning for Community Impact

• If your focus is on public policy
• PSAs and research-based tools will elevate
  visibility of your initiative
• Media tools and templates will help expand your
  sphere of influence
• Community mobilization tools will help you garner
  needed allies from the non-profit and advocacy
  community as well as build grass-roots support
• Opinion leader tools will help you enlist
  business leaders as champions and advocates
• Research-based messages, tools,and templates will
  help you equip business leaders to influence
  policy makers

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How To Get it All? Available to any registered
Born Learning Campaign, along with 500
awareness, education engagement tips, tools and
templates on Campaign Central on
www.BornLearning.org
Any registered Born Learning campaign can get
strategy, ideas step-by-step help to engage
communities around early learning
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For more on Born Learning

• Check out parent tips at www.BornLearning.org
• Learn more about United Way Success By 6s
  support of early learning
• http//national.unitedway.org/sb6/
• Contact Rachel Perry
• Communications Director
• United Way Success By 6
• rachel.perry_at_uwa.unitedway.org
• [phone]

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• Thank
• You