In this Issue

• Spotlight On: Quality Initiatives
• Forum Joins World of Social Networking
• 20 Years of Forum History
• T.E.A.C.H. / WAGE$ Evaluations
• After School Initiatives
• Welcome New Forum Members
• Forum Corner
• Early Learning Coalition Briefs
• State and National News
• Legislative Updates
• Calendar of Events

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This exciting initiative, which was organized by The Lawton Chiles Foundation and co-chaired by Sen. Mel Martinez, Sen. Bill Nelson, and former Sen. Bob Graham, mobilized Florida's high school and college students and harnessed their passion to improve the way Florida educates and cares for its children. After the conference, a highly motivated group of students led a yearlong effort to gather the signatures of one million Floridians on the "Pledge for Florida's Children." For more information about the program or to take the pledge, visit www.WorstToFirst.org.

Other speakers at the two-day event included Rhea Chiles, wife of late Gov. Lawton Chiles; John Kelly, strategic advisor for the Corporation for National and Community Service; David Lawrence Jr., former Miami Herald publisher and chairman of The Children's Trust; former State Representative Dick Batchelor, and former State Representative Loranne Ausley.

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The purpose of the offices is provide state level cluster training and grantee specific training and technical assistance that meets the needs of grantees and provides resources to support high quality care and school readiness for children.

Working closely with the Head Start State Collaboration Office, one of the major responsibilities of the State office is to promote and cultivate partnerships in order to leverage resources, increase enrollment opportunities, increase joint trainings across ECE in the state, and avoid duplication of efforts.

For more information about the Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Office, contact Pam Kautz at 727-483-0630.

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Yet afterschool programs are unable to offer as much help as children need because their budgets are down. Ninety percent of respondents say children in their communities need afterschool care and are unable to access it.

"Afterschool programs in Florida have been deeply affected by the economic downturn, as have the children and families they serve," said Bobbi Davis, an Afterschool Ambassador for the Afterschool Alliance and Resource Development Manager for the Children's Board of Hillsborough County. "Many programs are struggling to keep their doors open for children and families in their communities, and doing so with considerably less funding than in the past. Without adequate resources, they can't provide the benefits and supports students need."

Florida's findings are consistent with those in the national survey, which included 1,447 respondents representing 8,587 afterschool sites serving 1.2 million children. In Florida, 86 afterschool leaders responded to the web-based survey, conducted by the Afterschool Alliance in April and May. According to "Uncertain Times 2009: Recession Imperiling Afterschool Programs and the Children They Serve," nearly eight in ten Florida programs report a loss in funding due to the recession, and 88 percent expect the recession to impact their budget for the coming school year. Two in ten programs reported a significant loss of funds that will cause cutbacks or force one or more of their sites to close. In response to funding woes, they are being forced to add or increase fees, providing significant barriers to participation, afterschool program leaders said.

Summer programs are offered by 87 percent of respondents and 33 percent expect enrollment to be higher this summer, adding more strain to program budgets. Thirty-one percent of programs say they would need to at least double capacity to serve all the kids in their community who need afterschool.

"This new survey documents a world of hurt all across the country," said Afterschool Alliance Executive Director Jodi Grant. "We're not protecting our kids from the economic pain, or even maintaining the safety nets they count on. Afterschool programs serve a high need population; 65 percent of students who attend these programs in Florida qualify for free or reduced price lunches. When programs must charge or raise fees or reduce hours, more children will be unsupervised and at risk after the school day ends. It is alarming that nearly half the respondents in the state (46 percent) say their budgets are inadequate to meet the needs of students and families. We have to do better by our kids."

A "Roadmap to Afterschool for All" released by the Afterschool Alliance in April found that there are afterschool programs for children whose parents and guardians can afford to pay tuition and fees, but our afterschool system is leaving behind millions of low-income children whose parents cannot pay. This assessment found that the federal government covers only eleven percent of the cost of afterschool, even though 29 percent of children in programs qualify for federal assistance. It concludes that a federal investment of less than $18 billion would give 5.6 million low-income youth access to the academic support, supervision, mentoring and fitness opportunities, snacks, and other benefits.

Yet federal funds are lacking. Funding for 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC), the chief federal funding stream for afterschool programs, is stalled at $1.13 billion even though the No Child Left Behind Act authorized $2.5 billion. President Obama's FY2010 budget proposal would flat fund 21st CCLCs.

"Quality afterschool programs do incredible work keeping kids safe, inspiring them to learn and helping working families," Grant added. "These programs also provide students with healthy snacks, sometimes dinner and breakfast, and a range of social services that students and families urgently need. But afterschool programs cannot serve all the children who need them when they are badly underfunded. Even in these tough economic times when there's tremendous pressure for resources, we have to find a way to do better. Investing in afterschool programs pays off over time in healthier, more successful students and youth."

Methodology: Uncertain Times 2009 used web-based survey software. The Afterschool Alliance emailed a link to the survey to more than 10,000 contacts in April 2009. In Florida, 86 programs responded to the survey. Fifty percent are in urban communities, 14 percent are in rural communities, and 42 percent are in suburban communities. Recipients were encouraged to forward the survey to afterschool program staff, and programs were asked to be certain that only one person per program completed the survey, and to provide responses from a site-level coordinator when possible. 1,834 national responses were reviewed. 387 of them did not provide sufficient data to be included in the final analysis or were duplicates. Therefore, the final sample was 1,447 responses which represent approximately 8,587 afterschool sites serving more than 1.2 million children. (Many respondents are responsible for multiple sites.)

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Edward Melhuish and colleagues found that 10-year-olds who had attended high-quality preschool scored 27 percent higher in math skills and performed better in other subjects compared to their peers who had attended low-quality preschools. Earlier studies comparing the pre-schoolers to children who had attended no preschool produced similar findings.

Researchers determined that the benefits for children who attend a good preschool include improved mathematics, reading and social skills over several years. Melhuish, a professor of human development at Birkbeck, University of London, says he and his colleagues found that high-quality preschools offer learning opportunities over and above what most homes can provide. Children's ability to work independently improves significantly as a result of preschool, something he points out is a high predictor of future academic success.

"Providing pre-K for all children would mean higher test scores, less school failure and increased high school graduation and college attendance," said NIEER Co-Director Steve Barnett. Melhuish agrees, saying the boosts in children's cognitive, language and social development his research found means children will benefit more from their experiences when they start school and that is likely to result in better math scores.

The U.K. study had a relatively large sample of 3,000 children from 141 preschools. The sample was divided into high- and low-income groups to discern any differences between the two. The results were remarkably similar for both.

In addition to studying the effects of preschool, the research also evaluated the influence of home environments and the effectiveness of pre-K and primary school on children's development.

Melhuish showed that all three are critical to children's development and that preschool is an important element in maximizing children's development, regardless of family background.

"The U.K. study is one of the best examples of a large study showing that children across the economic spectrum benefit from high-quality preschool education," said Barnett. What's more, it isn't the only study to show such results.

Independent reviews of all the research on preschool education's effects find that they are long lasting. Scientific research that averaged across all the studies of preschool's effects in the United States since 1960 found substantial positive effects on achievement, special education, grade retention and social behavior at ages 10 and higher.

"The idea that preschool effects fade out by third grade originated with one flawed study in the early 1960s, and a small number of weak studies continue to be cited to support the idea," said Barnett. "Those opposed to public pre-K ignore the preponderance of evidence from more rigorous studies that refute their position."

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