united way of greater toledo - framework for education priority community issue: education –...

United Way of Greater Toledo - Framework for Education

Priority community issue: Education – Prepare children to enter and graduate from school

School Readiness

School Success


We seek to effect change in:


3

School Readiness

School Success


Health and physical

development

In order to be ready for school, a child needs supports

with:


Language and literacy

development


Social and emotional

development

Strategy B: Expectant parents and parents ensure their children 0 – 6 develop early literacy skills

•Support parent learning and provide learning resources through parent outreach and coordination of periodic events, meetings, and social and educational forums.•Invest in parent education programs that use best practice curricula; incorporates parent/child activities.

Strategy A: Early education programs support the language and literacy development of children

•Assess the teaching practices and learning environment of early care and education centers and make recommendations for improvement.•Provide training, tools, and other resources to teachers in early education centers to support age-appropriate language and literacy development.•Invest in early care and education programs that are nationally accredited or minimally, Step Up to Quality star 2-rated; serves children 0 – 6 living at or below 250 percent of the federal poverty level.

Target outcome: Children 0 – 6 develop the skills needed to listen to others, speak with others, and read and write

Strategy C: Readers are recruited and placed with preschool children

•Provide trained volunteer readers for students identified with low early literacy skills.

Strategy D: Public Policy AdvocacySupport public policy advocacy priorities, which:

• Provide voluntary access to high-quality early care and education programs for all children in Ohio in any appropriate setting designed to meet families’ unique needs.• Support program practices which are developmentally appropriate for each age level.• Strengthen quality early care and education services that engage parents in their child’s early learning and development.• Increase parents’ understanding of the importance of early learning and help them seek out educational opportunities that enrich their child’s life and enhances their parenting skills.

5

School Readiness

School Success


Health and physical

development

In order to be ready for school, a child needs supports with:



Social and emotional

development

Language and literacy

development

Strategy A: Early education programs support the appropriate social-emotional development of children

•Assess the teaching practices and learning environment of early care and education centers and make recommendations for improvement.•Provide training, tools (including Incredible Years curriculum) and other resources to teachers in early care and education centers to support age appropriate social-emotional development.•Ensure that children have social-emotional skill-building experiences in the classroom.•Invest in early care and education programs that are nationally accredited or minimally, Step Up to Quality star 2-rated; serves children 0 – 6 living at or below 250 percent of the federal poverty level.

Strategy B: Expectant parents and parents understand and support age-appropriate social-emotional development

•Support parent learning and provide learning resources through parent outreach and coordination of periodic events, meetings, and social and educational forums.•Develop family and child-focused teams to observe, assess, and provide needed clinical services to children and families.•Invest in parent education programs that use evidenced-based curricula focusing on developmental milestones, and provide activities that expectant parents and parents can use to nurture and stimulate child development.

Target outcome: Children 0 – 6 will be able to explore safe environments, form stable relationships, and regulate emotions.

Strategy C: Public Policy AdvocacySupport public policy advocacy priorities, which:

• Provide voluntary access to high-quality early care and education programs for all children in Ohio in any appropriate setting designed to meet families’ unique needs.• Support program practices which are developmentally appropriate for each age level.• Strengthen quality early care and education services that engage parents in their child’s early learning and development.• Increase parents’ understanding of the importance of early learning and help them seek out educational opportunities that enrich their child’s life and enhances their parenting skills.

7

School Readiness

School Success


In order to have success in school, a student must have:



Attendance that meets school requirements

Academic performance that

meets school requirements

Age-appropriate social and emotional

development

Strong family and community supports

Target Outcome: K-12 students – with the support of family, schools, and community – in the Woodward and Scott feeder patterns will be successful in school and life, graduating from high school on time, prepared for post-secondary education, work, and life.Building Block I: Schools and communities provide supportive learning environments

Strategy A: Incorporate social-emotional learning in K-8 curriculum

• Develop a school-building leadership team that guides the continual growth and development of staff implementation of social and emotional learning practices.• Provide professional development and coaching opportunities for teachers that help children build academic and social-emotional competencies.• Social and emotional learning principles extend to whole-school life and effect school-wide practices and policies to promote a caring learning environment.• Strategies to build family and community partnerships are implemented and family support coordinators are utilized to build trusting relationships and address family needs.

Strategy B: Create, implement, and sustain full-service schools that serve as community hubs

• Build relationships with, and gain commitment from, school district, union, and building leadership to build a Hub model.• Invest in a Hub Director, through the selection of a lead nonprofit organization, who manages community involvement. The lead organization will also help deliver core program elements and provide leadership for staffing, program oversight, and community outreach.• Provide ongoing training and technical support to the Lead Partner, Hub Director, School Team, United Way and district leadership.•Build community capacity to grow and scale the Hubs model.•Identify volunteer opportunities to engage parents, neighborhood residents, and community members.

Strategy C: Provide quality out-of-school time programming and enhance the quality of out-of-school time supports throughout the city of Toledo

• Invest in quality out-of-school time programming that develops partnerships to meet multiple needs of children, provides long-lasting relationships with positive adults, and ongoing experiences that create positive youth development.• Develop quality standards and indicators that will help improve the quality of out-of-school time programming in Toledo.•Provide information, technical assistance, and capacity building opportunities for out-of-school time providers to meet quality standards and deliver quality programming, services, and experiences.•Identify and place volunteers to support the development of children and youth in out-of-school time programs through Ambassador and other identified volunteer projects.

Strategy D: United Way AmeriCorps Graduation Coaches are placed with at-risk eighth and ninth grade students

Target Outcome: K-12 students – with the support of family, schools, and community – in the Woodward and Scott feeder patterns will be successful in school and life, graduating from high school on time, prepared for post-secondary education, work, and life.

Building Block I: Schools and communities provide supportive learning environments.

Strategy F: Mobilize residents in target neighborhoods to make neighborhood improvements that support learning

Strategy E: Readers and tutors are recruited and placed with preschool – sixth grade students

Strategy G: Public Policy AdvocacySupport public policy advocacy priorities, which:

• Transform school buildings to have an integrated focus on academics, education and family support, health and social services, youth and community development, and engagement.• Broaden public understanding and development of sustainable sources of funding for Schools as Community Hubs.• Promote social and emotional learning.• Increase age-appropriate out-of-school time opportunities, giving youth the experiences and skills needed to succeed in schools and be prepared for post-secondary education, work, and life.• Encourage greater parent engagement and student involvement in schools.• Support Toledo’s five Grad Now strategies to improve high school graduation and post-secondary readiness outcomes – Community Engagement, Early Warning Systems and Interventions, Mentoring, Parent and Family Engagement, and Post-Secondary and Career Readiness.

united way of greater toledo - framework for education priority community issue: education –...

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