Early Childhood Education
Ensure sufficient early childhood development and education programs to meet the demand and align all efforts around a high-quality model that produces measurable child outcomes:
- Birth to 3 years of age:
- Scale-up and integrate, for the region’s most needy children and families, evidence-based early childhood programs for a continuum of care, including but not limited to, home visitation programs;
- Combine education/job training programs for adults with childcare and pre-school for kids (equal eligibility requirements, same site and hours availability, common transportation options, etc.);
- Increase state funding for childcare subsidies or pilot regional strategies to fund such services;
- Fund expanded college-training and professional development opportunities for early child care workers, building on Regional Early Childhood Coordinating Committee efforts.
- 3-4 years of age:
- Create universal Pre-K for children ages 3-4.
- 5+ years of age:
- Change Missouri compulsory school attendance age from 7 years old to 5 years old;
- Create an effective and efficient collaborative model between school district’s early childhood programs and community based programs.
Models: Parents As Teachers, Oklahoma Universal Pre-K; North Carolina work in licensing centers and professional support for providers through a regional system known as TEACH; Missouri Coordinating Board for Early Childhood Pre-K Panel
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Change your environment
Build trauma-informed communities and spaces.
Support great school climates
While policy changes are important to changing the landscapes of our schools, it is only effective when paired with culture changes. Engage with your child’s school to facilitate a great school climate and culture for all students, teachers and administrators. This can take the form of attending PTA meetings, starting discussion groups with other parents, or…