Honoring efforts to improve early childhood education



High-quality early childhood education is crucial to student

achievement. That point was emphasized again at the recent

Week of the Young Child Recognition event in York.

By Christy Renjilian

April 14 was a big day for education in York County. Starting in the morning and lasting into the early afternoon, approximately 250 people attended the YorkCounts Education Summit. In the evening, 375 people attended the annual Week of the Young Child Recognition event for early childhood educators. The first event drew administrators, teachers, businesspeople and other community members interested in hearing about the current climate for public education. People attended the second event to celebrate the impact of high-quality early childhood on the children and families in York County.

This was the 40th annual Week of the Young Child, a national celebration sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the world’s largest early childhood education association, with nearly 100,000 members and a network of over 300 local, state and regional affiliates. Week of the Young Child focuses public attention on the needs of young children and their families and recognizes the early childhood education programs and services that meet those needs.

The annual recognition event is sponsored by Focus On Our Future, the early childhood education initiative of the United Way of York County, and the York Area Association for the Education of Young Children (YAAEYC). Nava Ghalili of Fox 43 News served as the master of ceremonies, and Kurt Kondrich was the keynote speaker. Mr. Kondrich is a retired police officer who now serves as the Chair of the Governor’s Advisory Council for Early Intervention. He is a passionate advocate for the importance of high quality early childhood education and early intervention programs. He is also a father of a child with Downs Syndrome who is reading on grade level and an active participant in her second grade class. So he knows first hand how quality programs support children and families.

This year, parents nominated approximately 100 early childhood educators for the Outstanding Provider Award, recognizing the teachers’ hard work and dedication to their children.

The event also celebrated the home-based and center-based programs that voluntarily participate in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s quality-improvement program, Keystone STARS. Approximately 130 York County providers are participating in this program. In the past five years the number of STAR 3 has increased from none to 13, and STAR 4, the highest level, has increased from 13 to 22. We also recognized York County’s Pre-K Counts, Head Start, and Early Head Start programs and those programs that have achieved national accreditation, the highest level of quality. York County has 13 accredited centers and 12 accredited home-based providers.

A Children’s Champion Award is presented to an individual in the community who does not work in the early childhood education field but is a strong advocate and partner in supporting families and young children. This year’s award was presented to George Eckenrode, chief executive officer of Family-Child Resources, for his efforts to support the mental health needs of young children and their families.

The event does more than celebrate accomplishments of early childhood educators and the programs they serve. It recognizes the importance of their work on the future educational success of the children, which, in turn, will improve the economic viability of York County. It also affirms the connections and the commitments the early childhood education community has with each other. Home-based and center-based programs and Head Start, EvenStart, Early Head Start, preschool and Pre-K Counts all work together to provide a variety of services to meet the needs of children and families. They share their knowledge and skills with each other working collaboratively on curriculum, professional development and classroom management issues. The early childhood education community, along with its partners Martin Library, public schools, early intervention, Lincoln Intermediate Unit #12 and community-based organizations, learned a long time ago that by working together, in partnership with families, they can improve quality and keep costs down.

Speakers at the YorkCounts education summit talked about the importance of school districts and the community working together, to provide joint professional development opportunities, share community resources and engage parents. One effective model of this is the early childhood education community in York County. Over the past 16 years, Focus On Our Future, YAAEYC and the early childhood education providers in York County have shown us that by working together collegially we can ensure a more successful future.

Christy Renjilian is the director of Focus on our Future for the United Way of York County. She has a Masters degree in Social Policy Analysis from the University of Chicago. Christy has more than 20 years of experience administering early childhood education programs and has been with the United Way of York County for more than five years. She lives in Springettsbury Township with her husband and two children. Christy can be reached at renjilianc@unitedway-york.org or 717-771-3808.

Avoid early ed cuts at school budget time



Photo by Anissa Thompson

Pre-schoolers who participate in quality

early childhood programs nearly

always start kindergarten prepared

for school. Studies show that such

programs also help at-risk students

start school even with their peers and

avoid an array of later problems such as

school failure, remediation and truancy.

 By Christy Renjilian

There’s a lot of talk right now about education. What to do about unbalanced school district budgets, falling test scores and failing schools. The talk centers on education from kindergarten through 12th grade. But what happens to a child before they enter kindergarten? The best way to make certain no child gets left behind is to ensure an even start for all. That’s where high-quality early childhood education comes in.

York County has 13 National Association for the Education of Young Children accredited centers. The centers must meet more than 425 standards, conduct family surveys and self assessments, and have an on-site review. Nationally, only 7 percent of all child care programs are NAEYC accredited; in York County 14 percent are. Other high quality early childhood education programs include the Keystone STAR 3 or STAR 4 providers, Pre-K Counts grantees, EvenStart, Head Start and Early Head Start. So there are quality programs available, there just aren’t enough of them. Only 18 percent of York County children under age 5 have access to high-quality early childhood education programs.

This past year, 97 percent of the pre-kindergarten children enrolled in the seven NAEYC accredited programs administered by United Way of York County’s partner agencies met developmental goals and were on track for success in life. These benchmarks are set by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and measured through a standardized tool. Pennsylvania is one of a handful of states that have aligned their learning standards from infancy through high school. Each age and grade has specific standards in language, science, math, and so on. The goals in each subject area build on one another. The standards serve as a guide for the school districts to ensure success not only on standardized tests but on “life’s tests” of post-secondary education and success in the workplace.

Early childhood education programs are incorporating these standards and the results of child assessments into their curriculum. Teachers are developing lesson plans based on what the state indicates a 3 year-old should know and be able to do. Those children who are having trouble with a particular skill, as identified by teacher observations and screenings, receive extra support. All of this is done in a developmentally appropriate child friendly setting. Young children do not learn through worksheets and memorization. Young children learn best through active experiences with peers, caring adults and the world around them.

And all this effort to improve the quality of early childhood education is paying off. Children, even those deemed at-risk of school failure, are meeting the Pennsylvania standards for a typical 4 year-old. As a result, York County school districts are revamping their kindergarten curricula because the children enrolled in high-quality early childhood education programs are entering school with more knowledge and better social skills. It’s a good problem to have: children who exceed your expectations.

So why should people concerned with their school district’s budget care about early childhood education? Because pre-K and other early childhood programs are outside of what districts are required to provide, under their mandates from the state. Which means budget cuts could reduce spending on early ed. And that’s a bad idea, because research by top economists and educators prove that for every $1 we spend on high-quality early childhood education, we can save $7 in costs associated with special education, remediation programs, school failure and dropouts.

Pay a dollar now to prevent problems or pay $7 later to fix problems. I know which one I would choose.

Christy Renjilian is the Director of Community Initiatives for the United Way of York County. She has a Masters degree in Social Policy Analysis from the University of Chicago. Christy has more than 20 years of experience administering early childhood education programs and has been with the United Way of York County for more than five years. Christy also drafted the 2009 Stay in School report on dropout prevention for the United Way of York County and YorkCounts. She lives in Springettsbury Township with her husband and two children. Christy can be reached at renjilianc@unitedway-york.org or 717-771-3808.

High-quality early childhood ed linked to future success

by Christy Renjilian
Director of Community Initiatives
United Way of York County

For 15 years, the United Way of York County has been committed to improving the quality of early childhood education in York County, through the work of Focus On Our Future. The initiative began as a collaboration with Penn State York, Child Care Consultants and the York County Community Foundation. Today, many more organizations, businesses and community leaders are involved in promoting high-quality early childhood education.

When we began our work, one York County child-care center was nationally accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Today, 13 providers carry that certification.

Child care allows parents to work and employs thousands of York County residents. More importantly, it is the foundation for future learning. We know that the best way to ensure that a child will succeed in school, graduate from high school and become a productive member of society is to start them out on the right path.

The research of Dr. James Heckman, Nobel Laureate economist from the University of Chicago, concluded that the greatest return on investment is from programs that are targeted to young children. The 40-year High Scope Preschool study found for every $1 invested in high-quality early childhood education we can save $7 on costs associated with special education, teen pregnancy, high school dropouts, juvenile delinquency, welfare dependency and prison.

Dr. Craig Ramey of Georgetown University found that for every 50 kindergarten children who experience difficulty in learning pre-reading skills, 44 of them will not be reading on grade level in third grade. School performance in third grade can predict, with 90 percent accuracy, which children will go on to drop out of school. Therefore, it is imperative that we ensure that every child enters kindergarten with the skills necessary to succeed.

Focus On Our Future has helped to improve the quality of early childhood education in York County. In 2010, 140 providers were enrolled in Keystone STARS, Pennsylvania’s voluntary quality-improvement program for child care providers. Additional programs funded by the state Office of Child Development and Early Learning include Pre-K Counts, a program targeted to at-risk 4-year-olds. In the 2009-2010 school year, more than 98 percent of the at-risk children enrolled in this program were developmentally on track for school. The program serves 250 children. Head Start is another high-quality program serving 643 at-risk children and their families throughout York County.

Focus On Our Future also supports professional development for early childhood educators. In 2010, nearly 250 early childhood educators were enrolled in higher-education programs, and Focus On Our Future provided approximately $45,000 in scholarships. Over the past 10 years, 50 early childhood educators have enrolled in the Masters program at Penn State York, and 85 percent of them are still working in the field, helping children and the next generation of child care professionals every day. We are committed to providing the same high level of professional development and training to early childhood educators as the public school teachers receive.

Focus On Our Future works to build collaborations between the early childhood education programs and the public schools. Last year, we partnered with Dover, Eastern, Red Lion, Spring Grove and York City school districts to provide the Ready Freddy kindergarten readiness program for 180 children and families. This free program paired early childhood educators and kindergarten teachers with incoming kindergarten children and their families to make certain they had the skills they need to be successful in school and life.

While the United Way of York County is proud of the accomplishments made by the early childhood education community, there is more work to be done. Only 18 percent of York County children under age 5 have access to high-quality early childhood education programs. Only 27 percent of families that qualify for subsidized child care receive it. We continue to work with community partners, such as the Lincoln Intermediate Unit #12, to provide additional support for children with developmental delays, severe behavior problems and disabilities.

Over the next several months, I will be blogging about the importance of high-quality early childhood education, why it matters for the economic health of York County and how you can help to ensure that every child starts school on track and ready to succeed in life. And I'd love to hear your thoughts on what more we could be doing to make that happen.

Christy Renjilian is the Director of Community Initiatives for the United Way of York County. She has a Masters degree in Social Policy Analysis from the University of Chicago. Christy has more than 20 years of experience administering early childhood education programs and has been with the United Way of York County for more than five years. Christy also drafted the 2009 Stay in School report on dropout prevention for the United Way of York County and YorkCounts. She lives in Springettsbury Township with her husband and two children. Christy can be reached at renjilianc@unitedway-york.org or 717-771-3808.