Legislature(2011 - 2012)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/30/2011 08:00 AM Senate EDUCATION
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation: Current Early Childhood Programs in Alaska | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 6 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
March 30, 2011
8:03 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Kevin Meyer, Co-Chair
Senator Joe Thomas, Co-Chair
Senator Bettye Davis, Vice Chair
Senator Hollis French
Senator Gary Stevens
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
OTHER LEGISLATORS PRESENT
Senator Cathy Giessel
Representative Tuck
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION: CURRENT EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAMS IN ALASKA
- HEARD
SENATE BILL NO. 6
"An Act relating to providing a prekindergarten program within a
school district; and providing for an effective date."
- SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
BETH SNYDER, Early Childhood Teacher Specialist
Anchorage School District (ASD)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Spoke on behalf of ASD's prekindergarten
program.
MARK LACKEY, Executive Director
CCS Early Learning
Head Start
Palmer, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave a presentation on Head Start's role in
early childhood education in Alaska.
ABBE HENSLEY, Executive Director
Best Beginnings
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave a presentation on Best Beginning's role
in early childhood education in Alaska.
KRISTEN RAMSTAD, Director
Parents as Teachers (PAT)
Rural Alaska Community Action Program Incorporated (RurAL CAP)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave a presentation on Parents as Teachers'
role in early childhood education in Alaska.
ACTION NARRATIVE
8:03:06 AM
CO-CHAIR KEVIN MEYER called the Senate Education Standing
Committee meeting to order at 8:03 a.m. Present at the call to
order were Senators Davis, French, Stevens, Co-Chair Thomas and
Co-Chair Meyer. [Due to technical difficulties the meeting was
not recorded from 8:03 a.m. to 8:06 a.m.]
^Presentation: Current Early Childhood Programs in Alaska
Presentation: Current Early Childhood Programs in Alaska
8:06:49 AM
CO-CHAIR MEYER announced that the order of business would be to
hear a presentation from various groups involved with current
early childhood programs in Alaska.
8:08:45 AM
BETH SNYDER, Early Childhood Teacher Specialist, Anchorage
School District (ASD), said that districts throughout Alaska
have had a successful history of providing services for children
3 to 5 years of age identified with early childhood
developmental delays. She explained that prior to the 2009/2010
school year ASD had some prekindergarten programs funded by
federal grants under Title I and migrant education. Through
Alaska Pilot Pre-K (AP3) grant award process, along with two-
year Title I stimulus funding (ARRA) ASD was able to add five
additional classrooms for a total of 10 prekindergarten
classrooms. She explained that during the past two years, with
the collaboration of Kids Corp Incorporated (KCI), ASD has,
through a variety a funding sources, been able to provide
services for more than 176 young children and their families
annually at 11 school sites.
She noted that all of ASD's preschool programs serve specific
populations based on funding sources. The AP3 collaboration
sites require families to meet Head Start economic guidelines
and prioritize children experiencing homelessness or who have
been involved in the Alaska Child Protection Services.
She added that Title I funded programs reach out to families
residing within school district neighborhoods that are most at-
risk, with two slots in the Title I classrooms reserved for
families experiencing homelessness.
8:11:56 AM
MS. SNYDER noted that ASD's preschools have 16 children per
classroom and the sites provide breakfast and lunch. Schools are
staffed by a full-time certified teacher and a part-time
teaching assistant. Additionally, AP3 collaboration sites have
an additional specialist who coordinates the comprehensive
services program component. She stressed the importance of
partnering with parents as a key to the overall success of the
prekindergarten program.
She noted that Ready Kindergarten is offered three times
annually at the AP3 sites. This program is sponsored by the
National Reading Foundation and focuses on social and emotional
development, language, and math skills.
The research based curriculums currently implemented at all of
the schools sites were carefully considered. These curriculums
use the Alaska Early Learning Guidelines for the prekindergarten
standards. Multiple assessment tools are utilized throughout the
school year, with ongoing data collection used to assist
teachers with planning, monitor student growth, and for overall
program accountability. ASD is also in the process of developing
identifiers for students who have attended these prekindergarten
programs in order to gather longitudinal data.
MS. SNYDER explained that the initial data from ASD's
prekindergarten program is promising: students are better
prepared for success in kindergarten and are confident learners.
She concluded her presentation with an example of one of the
many positive outcomes of Anchorage's AP3 program. She explained
that research has documented both the short and long term
benefits of high-quality prekindergarten for more than 50 years.
She said that she hopes the committee will consider not only
continuing the funding for the pilot prekindergarten program,
but also consider increasing the funding allocation.
8:18:49 AM
CO-CHAIR MEYER said SB 6 would give funding for children to have
access to prekindergarten schooling. He asked if ASD would have
the capacity to accommodate all of these children if the bill
were to pass.
MS. SNYDER replied that ASD has started to have these
discussions and would need to look into space issues within the
district. She reiterated that ASD is very excited about the
current results on prekindergarten and that it would benefit the
entire school system in Anchorage.
SENATOR FRENCH suggested that she think about a "phase in
approach" that would gradually bring in every child in Alaska
who wants to participate. He asked for confirmation that 176
children are currently taking advantage of the prekindergarten
program in Anchorage.
MS. SNYDER concurred.
SENATOR FRENCH asked how many children in Anchorage might attend
a prekindergarten program if it were made available.
MS. SNYDER replied that this question could be better addressed
by Head Start because of its community assessment process. She
noted that through this collaborative process ASD now
understands more about the demographics of Anchorage, who is
currently being served, and who is not.
SENATOR FRENCH asked for confirmation that the selection
criteria for the AP3 program were similar to Head Start in
regards to its focus group.
MS. SNYDER replied yes. She noted that ELL (English Language
Learners) students also had priority in selection.
8:22:49 AM
MARK LACKEY, Executive Director, CCS Early Learning, Head Start,
said he is speaking on behalf of all of Head Start in the state.
With regard to Senator French's question, Anchorage has an
estimated 874 Head Start eligible children in the municipality,
of which 630 of these children are currently being served. He
noted that these numbers are based on age and income level, it
does not take into account children with disabilities and
children who are over the income limit. He added that roughly
half of the eligible children in the Matanuska Susitna Valley
are being served.
SENATOR FRENCH asked what the income limit is for Head Start.
MR. LACKEY said page 2 of the Head Start document addresses the
income level [included in the document packet] and would be
discussed during his presentation.
He explained that, in his experience, there tends to be a lot of
confusion on the differences between the prekindergarten
programs available. Page 1 of the document summarizes what Head
Start does. He explained that the services provided by Head
Start are individualized for each child in an attempt to move
them forward. He noted that the other focus of Head Start's work
is family education and empowerment.
He added that the document lists some of the comprehensive
things that Head Start provides and the program's overall goals.
Page 2 addressed who is eligible to attend Head Start:
· Children who are at least three (3) years of age
by September 1 of the current year and are not
yet old enough for kindergarten, and
· Whose family income is at or below the Alaska
poverty income guidelines are eligible. Head
Start grantees can fill up to 10 percent (49
percent for programs operated by Alaska Native
Organizations) of their total enrollment with
children whose family income exceeds the Alaska
poverty income guidelines.
· Up to 35 percent of a program's total enrollment
may fall between 100 and 130 percent of poverty
if the program can demonstrate that the needs of
children and families under 100 percent are being
met.
· 10 percent of the total enrollment must be set
aside for children with diagnosed disabilities.
He continued that page 2 also included individuals who are
categorically eligible:
· Families who receive Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families (TANF)
· Homeless families
· Children who have a family member that is on
Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
· Children in foster care are categorically
eligible for Head Start, regardless of their
foster family's income
He noted that these are all federal requirements.
8:32:58 AM
MR. LACKEY said page 3 outlines what makes Head Start different
from other early childhood programs:
· Head Start is a comprehensive program that looks
at the entire child (Health, Nutrition, Mental
Health, Dental, etc) and also focuses on the
child's family.
· Governed by parents (Policy Council) and by the
community (Governing Body).
· In-kind and non-federal share contributions from
parents and community.
· Head Start has over 45 years of history and
continuous improvement behind it. The systems for
delivering services, governance, monitoring and
reporting are already in place.
· Professional development qualifications/mandates.
Page 4 summarized how Head Start fits into the overall work of
the state in early childhood education. He noted that Head Start
is the largest program and services 3,400 children in 100
communities throughout the state. Head Start also works with
Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) to create a
consistent system for data collection and analysis. It partners
with all other programs in the state that provide early
childhood education or family services.
CO-CHAIR THOMAS asked what Head Start uses as a comparison to
determine the results of the program.
MR. LACKEY replied that there have been national studies on
children who received Head Start services versus those who have
not.
CO-CHAIR THOMAS referenced page 2 of the document. He asked what
a one person family unit would be [in reference to the first
table].
MR. LACKEY replied that wouldn't apply.
CO-CHAIR THOMAS asked what the program costs statewide per
child.
MR. LACKEY replied it depends on the community but, generally,
it is about $10,000 per child.
SENATOR STEVENS asked how many students in the communities that
he serves are considered homeless.
MR. LACKEY replied that for the program in the Matanuska Susitna
Valley there were about 22 families that were categorized as
homeless last year.
CO-CHAIR MEYER commented that this is a fairly large number.
8:42:08 AM
ABBE HENSLEY, Executive Director, Best Beginnings, explained
that Best Beginnings is a movement that began in 2006 to carry
out the recommendations made by the Ready to Read, Ready to
Learn Task Force. She noted that the movement works with many
partners at the state and local level in order to support
parents as a child's first teacher, promote access to high-
quality and affordable early-learning programs, increase
awareness of the importance of early learning, and make sure
that sufficient funds are committed from public and private
sources.
Best Beginnings leverages state funding with contributions from
foundations, businesses, community organizations, and
individuals. She stressed that young children are best served by
a statewide early childhood system that empowers families and
engages communities. She explained that Best Beginnings pursues
this goal by promoting early learning activities, public
education and awareness, early literacy, and community
partnerships.
She gave some examples of Best Beginnings efforts including its
decision to take up statewide sponsorship of Dolly Parton's
Imagination Library. In Alaska, Imagination Library is run
differently and is community based and volunteer driven. She
noted that an evaluation of Imagination Library in Alaska showed
that children enrolled for longer than one year had more books
in their home, were read to more, and were more enthusiastic
about reading.
8:47:23 AM
MS. HENSLEY explained that a more comprehensive effort to
improve early-learning opportunities for young children is being
taken on by a network of 11 early childhood partnerships across
the state. She explained that, with the help of Best Beginnings,
these partnerships are working to improve coordination of
programs and services and promote a better use of resources. She
gave an example of what is happening in one particular community
with a Best Beginnings partnership.
She noted that Best Beginnings would like to see a comprehensive
birth to five early childhood system that includes many options
for families and their children. She recommended a diverse
system for prekindergarten, in relation to SB 6 and the space
needs. She explained that, for example, the prekindergarten
program could be delivered through childcare centers. Best
Beginnings would like to continue this conversation over the
interim in order to encourage a greater understanding of the
issues surrounding early-learning.
She added that Mark Lackey and Beth Snyder are both participants
in Best Beginnings early childhood partnerships in their
communities.
CO-CHAIR MEYER said part of the purpose of today's presentations
is to share with the committee the various organizations that
are involved with prekindergarten programs and are working
together.
8:55:40 AM
KRISTEN RAMSTAD, Director, Parents as Teachers (PAT), Rural
Alaska Community Action Program Incorporated (RurAL CAP), said
PAT is based on the philosophy that parents are a child's first
and most influential teachers.
She noted that page 2 of the PAT Power Point lists the goals of
the program [included in document packet]:
· Increase parent knowledge of early childhood
development and improve parenting practices
· Provide early detection of developmental delays
and health issues
· Prevent child abuse and neglect
· Increase children's school readiness and school
success
She explained that the PAT program consists of four components
and is completely voluntary. These components include
personalized meetings with families, group socializations,
annual developmental, vision, and hearing screening, and access
to resource referrals.
She continued with page 3 of the presentation, which lists what
PAT does:
· Certified parent educators provide research-based
information and utilize evidence-based practices
by partnering, facilitating and reflecting with
families
· Parent educators use the Parents as Teachers
Foundational Curriculum in culturally sensitive
ways to deliver services that emphasize:
- Parent-Child Interaction
- Development-Centered Parenting
- Family Well-Being
She explained that during the parent-child interaction portion
of a home visit an activity is presented that focuses on parent-
child interactions, prompt parent engagement, and encouraging
child development. With regard to development-centered
parenting, educators explain the link between a child's stage of
development, the child's behavior, and appropriate parent
decisions. Finally, parent educators focus on family well-being
by working to strengthen protective factors in each family.
Page 5 of the presentation listed who PAT serves:
· Families with children birth to five
· Special populations: teen parents, children with
special needs, culturally and linguistically
diverse families, military families, and families
referred by OCS [Office of Children's Services]
· Rural and urban communities
· Families in intervention school districts
She explained that 71 percent of PAT is delivered by non-profit
agencies and 29 percent is delivered by school districts.
Page 7 listed the demographics of PAT from the 2009-2010 program
year. She noted that around the state PAT was in 39 communities
and served 781 families and 967 children. The page also listed
the ethnicities of the children served.
9:00:03 AM
MS. RAMSTAD continued with her presentation. Page 8 listed how
PAT is different from other programs:
· Parents as teachers
· Connects parents to other parents
· Incorporates brain development information
· Resources to extend learning opportunities for
children in the home
· State Advisory Board
· Certified parents educators
· Modest investment for high returns/outcomes
She explained that the last bullet point is one of the most
important differences. PAT has a very low cost to deliver PAT
services, with an average cost between $3,200 and $4,000 per
family.
Page 10 included some PAT results from around the state. She
shared some of the successes that have been unique to RurAL CAP
in the past year.
Page 11 explained how PAT fits in with the other early childhood
programs in the state. She noted that PAT is primarily a birth-
three program, which transitions into Head Start or
private/public preschool, and then to school districts. She
explained that PAT also uses the Alaska Early Learning
Guidelines to guide its work.
9:03:48 AM
SENATOR FRENCH commented that PAT is by far the most cost-
effective program that the committee has heard from. He noted
that while the program does not offer all-day instruction, it
does train parents.
CO-CHAIR MEYER said that there are other organizations that he
would like to have testify or give an overview. He asked these
organizations, including Child Care Resources and Families
First, to send the committee information. He noted that the
committee will take public testimony on SB 6 on Friday. He said
that, additionally, the committee would like to receive an
update on the AP3 program. He emphasized that prekindergarten is
a big issue and topic.
9:07:36 AM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Co-Chair Meyer adjourned the meeting at 9:07 a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| SB 6 Meeting Packet 3.30.11.pdf |
SEDC 3/30/2011 8:00:00 AM |
SB 6 |
| SB 6 Pilot Program PreK.pdf |
SEDC 3/30/2011 8:00:00 AM |
SB 6 |
| Agenda 3-30-11.pdf |
SEDC 3/30/2011 8:00:00 AM |
|
| Early Returns.pdf |
SEDC 3/30/2011 8:00:00 AM |
|
| ECP and IL Map 3-29-11.pptx |
SEDC 3/30/2011 8:00:00 AM |
|
| SB 6 PreK North Slope SD.pdf |
SEDC 3/30/2011 8:00:00 AM |
SB 6 |
| Enrollments Over Time 4-11.pdf |
SEDC 3/30/2011 8:00:00 AM |