Educare Arizona’s impact will extend beyond the four walls of the center. Across the Bounce Learning Network, Educare centers are participating in significant policy change efforts to increase the levels of private and public investment in the first five years, and encouraging government to look at early childhood funding in new and innovative ways.
Educare Arizona will be a place to take legislators, business leaders, philanthropists and other policymakers to see for themselves what high quality care can do for the most at-risk children and their families. And it will serve as a community of learning, where future teachers and health care providers will learn from the very best in the field and where current practitioners can continue to hone their skills.
To support Educare’s high-quality, comprehensive services, multiple funding streams will be braided together in innovative ways. This public-private partnership will include state and local education funding, federal Head Start and Early Head Start funds, child care reimbursements, parent co-payments, and support from individual donors, foundations and corporations. One of Educare’s many purposes is to draw attention to the possibilities of leveraging existing funding in more effective ways.
Ultimately, Educare Arizona’s goal is to produce a dramatically new standard of effectiveness for children living in and near poverty which delivers long-term gains. The research proves that such gains are not only possible, they are within our reach.
Educare Arizona will be a place to take legislators, business leaders, philanthropists and other policymakers to see for themselves what high quality care can do for the most at-risk children and their families. And it will serve as a community of learning, where future teachers and health care providers will learn from the very best in the field and where current practitioners can continue to hone their skills.
To support Educare’s high-quality, comprehensive services, multiple funding streams will be braided together in innovative ways. This public-private partnership will include state and local education funding, federal Head Start and Early Head Start funds, child care reimbursements, parent co-payments, and support from individual donors, foundations and corporations. One of Educare’s many purposes is to draw attention to the possibilities of leveraging existing funding in more effective ways.
Ultimately, Educare Arizona’s goal is to produce a dramatically new standard of effectiveness for children living in and near poverty which delivers long-term gains. The research proves that such gains are not only possible, they are within our reach.
Educare centers have played an important role in fueling policy change for young, at-risk children, and we intend to use Educare Arizona in this same way.
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Nebraska: Educare of Omaha was part of a coalition which convinced the State of Nebraska to dramatically increase its investments in early learning programs, including amending the State Constitution to declare that learning begins at birth and the creation of a new $60 million public/private endowment funding birth-to-three services for at-risk children in Nebraska. The grants that are made out of this new endowment require programs to operate at Educare-level standards.
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Illinois: Since opening in 2000, Educare of Chicago has served as a showroom for quality in Illinois, which in recent years has increased early childhood investments by over $318 million and is progressing toward full funding of preschool services, including high-quality programs for at-risk infants and toddlers. Then Governor Rod Blagojevich cited his visit to Educare as the catalyst for his efforts to fight for this increased funding.
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Oklahoma: Educare of Tulsa has demonstrated the importance of early childhood education for the state’s youngest citizens and helped inspire a new $25 million pilot program to promote the school readiness of at-risk children, from birth to three, across the state.
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Kansas: The State of Kansas recently established an $11 million early childhood block grant, with a set-aside for infants and toddlers. The Governor’s strong support of this new investment and model was boosted by discussions with public and private sector leaders at Educare of Omaha in neighboring Nebraska.
