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All children in Hays & Caldwell are kindergarten ready

Percent of Central Texas children deemed ready for kindergarten

Current Value

50%

2019

Definition

Line Bar

Story Behind the Curve

What factors are contributing to age-appropriate functioning?

  • High quality Pre-K experience
    • Full-day (SMCISD)
  • Teacher education and training
    • Curriculum
    • Level of parent education
  • Parent training and engagement
    • Parental support in child development activities
  • Early child care providers
  • Natural and built environments provide lots of opportunity of physical activity/development
  • Neighborhood are safe places for kids to play
  • Strong families and extended families

What factors are restricting age-appropriate functioning?

  • Lack of access to high quality, culturally responsive early care though pre-k
  • Latchkey children
    • Single head of household families
  • Lack of support in maternal leave 
  • High teen pregnancy rate 
  • Living wage jobs unavailable without college degree
  • Healthy foods
  • Access to high quality, culturally responsive health care
  • Incongruence in standard in what makes a student kinder ready
  • Uneven quality in early learning environments 
  • Lack of affordable child care 
  • Latino families
    • High value on informal care
    • Lack of quality services for dual language

Partners

  • State Federal City Leadership -  Champion funding, set ordinance and award permits, tax breaks, etc.
  • Childcare providers - Educate children, parents support staff development 
  • Healthcare providers - identify resources, modeling practices, provide health services
  • Parents / Families - Advocate for children, serve as first teachers
  • ISD's - PK/Student Health Advisory Council
  • Business Community  - Living wage, maternity leave, supporting future workforce
  • Informal Care (CCL Licensing) - Provide care, support to stay informal but improve quality
  • Informal Neighborhood Leaders - Support and outreach

What Works

Evidence-based practices

  • Provide access to quality early childhood learning through formal programs and interventions
    • Federally funded Pre-K (full day and low ratio)
    • Early Head Start, Head Start, Texas Home Visiting program (Parents as Teachers)
    • Equip formal childcare providers with quality curriculum
  • School-based healthcare clinics 

Promising practices

  • Engage informal care providers to strengthen the quality of care while respecting their autonomy
    • All our Kin (CT)
    • Equip informal childcare providers with quality curriculum
  • Foster 2 generation approach
    • decrease teenage preg rate 
  • Family Engagement (Parents, caregivers, grandparents, foster parents, etc.)
  • Engaging caregivers thru Parent Learning Exchange 
  • Employer based childcare facility
    • (Fathers, grandparents, foster parents, 
    • Practice non-judgement approaches in collaboration

Low cost/No cost solutions

  • Develop a shared understanding for School Readiness across Hays County
    • Why school readiness is important
    • What school readiness means or includes

Off the Wall ideas

  • Use lottery $ to fund pre-k 
  • Universal Early Childcare and education 
  • Free college and undergraduate education 
  • Extended family medical leave 

Strategy #1

Prioritized Strategy: Provide access to quality early learning opportunities through formal programs and interventions

Action Steps:

1. Apply to become a Start Smart Texas community. 

2. Expand high quality child care by applying for Regional Early Childhood Education Support Specialists (RECESS) Grant

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Strategy #2

Prioritized Strategy: Engage informal care providers to strengthen the quality of care while respecting their autonomy

Action Steps:

1. Support intensive home visiting programs to support kith & kin care providers. 

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Strategy #3

Prioritized Strategy: Develop a shared understanding, across Hays County, about what School Readiness means and what it includes

Action Steps:

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Strategy #4

Prioritized Strategy:

Action Steps:

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Scorecard Container Measure Action Actual Value Target Value Tag S A m/d/yy m/d/yyyy