SOMERVILLE EARLY CHILDHOOD REPORT PROMOTES BOLD UNIVERSAL KINDERGARTEN READINESS STRATEGY

SOMERVILLE – A comprehensive

report commissioned by the schools, the City and the School Committee on

preparing children for kindergarten recommends that rather than pursuing solely

school-based universal preschool for 4-year-olds, that the community establish an

innovative early childhood system for pre-kindergarteners of all ages via a

provider network, which would include Somerville Public Schools, nonprofit and private

early childhood care providers and other local agencies working collaboratively

to support universal kindergarten readiness.

The report, presented to the

School Committee on Tuesday and titled SomerReady: Creating a Citywide, Universal

Kindergarten Readiness System, calls for coordination and collaboration

among the existing early education and care services in Somerville, including

the City, School Department, Head Start, non-profit providers, and private and

faith-based groups.

The report cites research

showing that providing children and families with education and support

beginning with pregnancy and continuing until kindergarten, rather than waiting

until the child is three or four years old, is critical to creating the

foundation for a child’s success in school. A strong early education and care

system is needed to deliver programs and services to all families and children.

Critical programs and services noted include:

• Home visits by health or child development
  
  specialists

• Parent education

• Early intervention and special education services

• Child care

• Pre-kindergarten

• Physical and mental health services

The report states that because

both public and private organizations in Somerville already offer these

programs and services, these existing resources should be coordinated and enhanced

for infants through 4-year-olds, rather than the City pursuing a solely

school-based universal preschool. It recommends instead that public, private

and nonprofit providers work collaboratively in an integrated system to provide

a set of streamlined, coordinated and comprehensive services to all families,

ensuring that each child and family receives education and support, all with

the same high standards. Joint professional development for all service

providers in the system and a more structured support system for early

childhood programs across the city is also recommended.

“This impressive study

recognizes the complexity of raising children who are ready to take full

advantage of all that our schools offer, especially for families who may experience

additional challenges,” said Somerville School Committee Chair Christine Rafal.

“The recommendations could be seen as a modern way to implement the traditional

wisdom that it really does take a village ('Ville-age) to raise a child to his

or her fullest potential.”

Recommendations for instituting

this integrated early childhood strategy include a new Director of Early

Education and Care, who would be responsible for coordinating these efforts. It

also includes creating a single point of entry into Somerville’s early education

and care system, with Somerville Public Schools’ Parent Information Center

(PIC) expanding to include early education and care information and referral. A

new website would also provide families with an overview of all the programs,

services and options available in the city.

The proposed plan would

transition from the current and somewhat separate public and private systems to

an integrated approach through which public and private services collaborate in

providing support for young families. The goal is to provide universal

kindergarten readiness for all Somerville children, and bring greater

continuity to those children’s experiences across the education and care

settings of their pre-kindergarten years while also offering flexibility and

choice to families to choose a provider setting that best suits their child.

“High-quality preschool

education has been shown to narrow the achievement gap by as much as half,

according to the National Education Policy Center, but it’s more than just

preschool that can make a difference. As we know in Somerville, it takes a

holistic approach, supporting our children not only academically, but in all

areas of their lives,” said Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone. “This should be a

fundamental right for every student, not a luxury, and this report makes

innovative recommendations on how to provide this to all of our children, from

diapers to day one of kindergarten, by utilizing both public and private

resources in a collaborative way that preserves flexibility for our families.”

The report is in response to a

2013 request from the Somerville School Committee and the Mayor’s Child and

Youth Study Team, which is a joint effort by the City and schools, to study

kindergarten readiness in Somerville. Initially focused on the future

possibilities within Somerville Public Schools’ SMILE preschool program, the

report’s authors found that focusing on the broader idea of universal

kindergarten readiness, instead of only universal preschool, would better serve

the diverse community in Somerville while capitalizing on the resources and

programs already available.  

“Our focus on universal

Kindergarten readiness based on research and best practices to maximize student

potential supports our community’s vision and desire to share best practices

and learn from one another, and develop an approach that works for our

community,” said Tony Pierantozzi, Superintendent of Schools. “Somerville is a

unique community that brings together a wide range of cultural experiences and

knowledge. We want to build on that collective wisdom.”

The report outlines how

Somerville is well poised to play a leadership role in the creation of a robust

and coordinated network of early education and care, with many of the necessary

elements already in place, recognizing that no one sector—public schools, the

City, private providers or other community agencies—can achieve universal

Kindergarten readiness alone.

“The report includes

recommendations for a bold commitment to early childhood education in Somerville,

a commitment that will advance our city’s role as a state and national leader

in support for early learning,” added Dr. Vince McKay, Assistant Superintendent

for Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment. “These steps represent good social

policy as well as good economic policy. One of the most compelling arguments

for investments in the early years is that they have been widely proven to

reduce later social and economic costs. This is the right thing to do, now, for

our children.”

Authors of the report include

Moncrieff Cochran, Professor Emeritus in Human Development at Cornell

University; Assistant Superintendent Dr. Vince McKay; Anna Doherty, Director of

SomerPromise; and Nomi Davidson, Director of the Somerville Family Learning

Collaborative. Dr. Cochran was brought in to lead the initial Kindergarten

readiness study in Somerville. In June 2008, Dr. Cochran completed a 35-year

career focused on early care and education, parent empowerment, and parenting

education at Cornell University. From 2008-2011, he was a Visiting Professor of

Child Development in the Eliot Pearson Department of Child Development at Tufts

University, where he assisted in the re-design of the Early Childhood Education

Program and established a collaboration with the City of Somerville. He has

served on the national Governing Boards of the Family Resource Coalition and

the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). From 2007

to 2009, he served as Senior Advisor to the NAEYC Office of Applied

Research. 

“If Somerville could implement

a Kindergarten readiness plan this comprehensive,” Dr. Cochran tells us, “the

City would become a leader not only in Massachusetts, but nationwide.”

The report was also informed by

broad community input and ongoing work by various early childhood groups,

including members of a citywide Advisory Group overseeing grant implementation

efforts of an Early Education and Care (EEC) Race to the Top Early Learning

Challenge Grant (ELCG) awarded last year to support initial alignment efforts

of early childhood services across the city.

“As a member of the Alignment

Grant Advisory Committee, it’s been exciting to collaborate with the schools,

city, and other community partners,” commented Allen Kesten, Special Projects

and Early Learning Mentor for the Community Action Agency of Somerville (CAAS)

Head Start. “We are all committed to improving and expanding programs and

services for young children and families, as well as enhancing professional

development. CAAS Head Start looks forward to new partnerships with the

Somerville Public Schools as we explore creative models of joint programming

between Head Start and SMILE, working toward Universal Kindergarten Readiness.”

“I have been working in the

community for almost 40 years, as director of the Open Center for Children,”

added Gale Morano. “The alignment grant has brought the community preschool

programs together with the public school teachers of the lower grades to share

training in the use of a comprehensive child assessment tool currently in place

in the preschool programs and soon to be implemented in the public kindergarten

classes. Both groups have visited each other’s classrooms, met and worked

together collaboratively and gained a new respect for and appreciation of the

work of community preschool and public school educators in the city. It has

been both exciting and gratifying to participate in this work.”

– END –

Contact:

Susana

Hernandez Morgan, 617-629-5221