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This month's newsletter highlights progress
on "The Big Lift." At the February 25, 2014 meeting of the County Board of Supervisors, Supervisor Carole Groom, Erica Wood of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Peninsula Partnership Leadership Council Preschool Committee Chairs Michael Garb
and Jeanie McLoughlin and I updated the Supervisors on progress toward the Big Lift's strategic goal of increasing the number of students reading proficiently by the end of
third grade. Quality preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds is an important component for making this happen. Investment in early education is rising to the top of the agenda at the national, state and local levels, and we are proud that San Mateo County is moving forward with
a countywide collective impact partnership to address the needs of our community.
Read on to learn more!
Anne Campbell, San Mateo County Superintendent of Schools
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An enthusiastic room full of supporters gathered at the February 25, 2014, San Mateo County Board of Supervisors meeting where Supervisor Carole Groom, San Mateo County Superintendent of Schools Anne Campbell, and Vice President, Community Leadership and Grantmaking at Silicon Valley Community Foundation, (SVCF) Erica Wood, representing local government, education and the philanthropic community, reported on The Big Lift's progress. The report to the Supervisors focused on a proposed plan for bringing quality preschool to 3- and 4-year-olds in San Mateo County. The preschool plan is an important component of the Big Lift's goal to raise the percentage of students reading at grade level by third grade from 58 to 80 percent by 2020.
For the past six months, Preschool Committee leaders Michael Garb, retired CEO of StarVista, and Jeanie McLoughlin, Director of Early Learning Support Services for SMCOE, have facilitated regular meetings with over 40 top practitioners and experts in early learning from organizations throughout San Mateo County. Drawing on nationally acknowledged best practices, the longitudinal outcomes of Preschool for All in Redwood City and San Francisco, and studies from Stanford University, the group concluded that investment in early education reduces a county's need for social services down the line.
At a similar meeting last June, members of the PPLC introduced "The Big Lift." The purpose of that first event was to gather the county's leadership together to provide information and to seek their input and commitment. The whole room stood up to express its support for the Big Lift and half of the people in the room volunteered to be strategic advisors. Subsequently, the County Board of Supervisors requested that the PPLC develop a strategic plan for providing quality preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds across the county and devise a fundraising plan to locate funds to match a $10 million allocation from Measure A.
At the February Board of Supervisors meeting, Anne Campbell and Erica Wood presented a status report on "The Big Lift." Michael Garb and Jeanie McLoughlin presented the preschool plan, sharing their passion for the project and their appreciation for the enthusiasm and dedication of countless volunteers and endless hours committed to creating the plan and its scheduled roll out. The Supervisors enthusiastically voiced their support of the preschool proposal and encouraged the PPLC to move forward.
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The Peninsula Partnership Leadership Council - Embracing a new paradigm of Collective Impact
The Peninsula Partnership Leadership Council (PPLC), a public-private task force, has a rich history of over ten years of collaboration and has grown to include more than 90 member organizations. PPLC members have enthusiastically rallied around the idea that substantially greater progress can be made in solving problems if nonprofits, governments, businesses and the public are brought together around a common agenda.
Known as "Collective Impact," such collaboration represents a significant shift from the social sector's current paradigm of "isolated impact," a model where siloed groups, often with shared goals, intervene as individual organizations. The PPLC has made sure that as many institutions as possible are "at the table" in developing the community will needed to move the Big Lift forward.The outcome of dozens of PPLC initiated meetings, led by Jane Gardner and Joe Rodriguez of Harbour Strategic Consulting, is the shared collection and analysis of data that has informed the development of a common agenda and shared vision for change.
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Anna Koch, Sharon Dolan, Brook Costell, Chris Beth, Shelly Masur, Rachel Del Monte, Gina Quiney and Nazaneen Khalinaji-Otto are pictured at a county-wide convening of summer providers at the end of October, 2013. For the first-time ever, all major county summer program providers came together to talk about how they can improve the access of their summer programs for underserved kids.
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We need a systems response to a systems problem
San Mateo County is one of the most affluent counties in the country and yet 42 percent of county third-graders--approximately 3,000 children--are not reading proficiently. This statistic rises to 60 percent among Latino, African American, and Pacific Islander populations.
Studies done by the Annie E. Casey Foundation found that students who don't read proficiently by third grade are four times more likely to leave high school without a diploma than proficient readers. Children who are proficient readers by the end of third grade are more likely to graduate from high school and to be economically successful in adulthood.
Currently, only half of San Mateo County families can afford preschool. There are no pre-k spaces for over 3,000 county kids who are eligible for subsidized preschool. What has been called an achievement gap is perhaps more fairly described as an opportunity gap. While families with resources can pay for quality preschool, families without resources can't. The opportunity gap starts before kindergarten, shows up in lack of third-grade reading proficiency, and persists through high school.
The cost of the opportunity gap is high. However, there is another option: Invest in early childhood education now in order to avoid paying for special education programs, juvenile justice system intervention, and health and human services later on. The return on investment includes better educational outcomes for all and greater prosperity for the community at large.
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Fundamental ways The Big Lift will help preschools
Many assume it is the schools' fault that children are not reaching the benchmark goals. However, research shows that approximately 50 percent of children are not ready for kindergarten. They lack the critical academic, social and emotional skills needed to make a successful transition. Currently there is no comprehensive public educational system for children from birth to 4.
Designed as an inclusive process that engages current preschool
providers, The Big Lift over the past six months has worked with experts
in early learning to develop a strong planning process and preschool roll
out program. Drawing on established best practices, the task force has agreed to focus on 11 communities where help is needed most: Bayshore, Brisbane, Cabrillo, Jefferson Elementary, La Honda/ Pescadero, Pacifica, Ravenswood, Redwood City, San Bruno Park, San Mateo-Foster City and South San Francisco.
The Big Lift's goal is to unite preschools throughout San Mateo County behind a common framework to improve the quality of existing programs and to increase the number of spaces available to 3- and 4-year -olds. Direct financial support from Measure A and matching funds will support staffing, teacher planning and release time, learning materials and high-quality professional development for teachers.
To provide a healthy and appropriate learning environment, facilities will
be improved and enhanced, age-appropriate curriculum that supports literacy will be implemented, and early math instruction will be introduced. To increase access in the short term, new spaces will be added to current facilities. The long-term plan is to build new facilities.
Acknowledging that parents are a child's first and forever teacher, support will be provided that includes deeper family engagement, attention to dual language learners, health and nutrition and early screening, and connections to services for children determined to have special needs.
Offering a Big Lift to under-represented children in San Mateo County will help level the playing field so entering kindergarteners will be ready to learn. It's a Big Lift but San Mateo County is definitely up for the challenge!
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Community selection process for expanding preschool services The initial communities participating in the Big Lift will be selected through an objective process that will be led by Erica Wood, Vice President, Community Leadership and Grantmaking at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, (SVCF). Ms. Wood and her team are designing a selection process that will identify the school districts and communities that are most ready to begin rolling out Big Lift preschool slots. Communities will be asked to submit an application that details their willingness and resources to support early learning, including providing matching dollars or in-kind donations such as facilities or leveraged funds. Data collection will be critical to evaluate progress. Preschool programs will participate in a system that captures detailed implementation data and independent evaluation will look at short- and long-term measures of progress and impact. Of course, parent and community engagement will be critical to the success of The Big Lift initiative, and our collaborative will offer ways to leverage the skills and experiences of preschoolers' families and communities. |
Winning the hearts and minds of the public is key to systemic change
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We're changing the system in The Big Lift Way, where everyone:
has skin in the game
works together
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Erica Wood, Vice President, Community Leadership and Grantmaking at SVCF shared that "SVCF is more than a grant-making entity." The Foundation philosophy maintains that "winning the hearts and minds of the public is key to systemic change." Shining a bright light on early learning data and engaging the collective will across county entities sends a strong message to the public about the strength of the plan and its potential outcomes. As part of the leadership triumvirate that includes government, education and philanthropy, Wood's team is tasked with finding ways to leverage new revenue streams for the Big Lift initiative--in particular, resources to match the $10 million in Measure A funds allocated by the County.
Short-term fundraising has to date secured a $50,000 gift from SVCF that
is designed to leverage interest from other local and national foundations. The team is seeking in-kind funds from San Mateo County communities and leading businesses for facilities, technology and professional development. Long-term funding that could total $30-$40 million per year might include social impact bonds, state and federal preschool funds,
First 5 Bridges to Success, First 5 EQUIP, Race to The Top and AB 212 teacher training and retention funds.
Awareness of the importance of quality early care and education is as
high as it's ever been. States are increasingly focused on school readiness and smoothing children's transition into kindergarten. President Obama's State of the Union address made a case for efforts to expand pre-K access. There is hope that a national conversation will become a call to action. Thanks to the Big Lift, San Mateo County is well-positioned to join these efforts.
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Check Us Out on Facebook
The San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE) now has a page on Facebook. We'll be providing frequent upd ates on SMCOE events and education news of interest, adding groups of interest, and linking to other education organizations. Check us out and "like" us today on Facebook!
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About the San Mateo County Office of Education
The San Mateo County Office of Education provides a variety of instructional, business and consulting services to the County's 23 public school districts, charter schools, the Community College District and County Office of Education staff.
Believe in Tomorrow: Think Green Today
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