Sybil Jordan Hampton on Arkansas’ preK initiatives
Arkansas scored 10 out of 10 on quality preK benchmarks in the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) Preschool Survey. It is one state whose continuing challenge is to raised the educational qualifications of its preschool teachers, not rescue them from decline. Yet, it is clear that here, as elsewhere in the country, there is more work to be done to improve the skills and credentials of those who teach Arkansas’ youngest students ("Degrees of Improvement"). Three statewide initiatives, working collaboratively, have been instrumental in enhancing preschool teacher educational qualifications.1. The Arkansas Better Chance (ABC) program, a joint effort of the Division of Early Care and Education and the Arkansas Department of Education, was created in 1991 by a legislative act with funding of $10 million to serve children birth through 5 years with a variety of developmental and economic risk factors. Act 1841 of 2001 placed a 3 percent excise tax on beer to help fund early education.
2. A 2003 legislative act expanded ABC with an additional $40 million for The ABC for School Success (ABCSS) program serving free of charge any three- or four-year-old child whose family income is 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level or less. In 2005 an additional $20 million was added, so total funding is currently over $71 million. During 2005-2006 ABC and ABCSS will serve approximately 18,500 children across the state.
3. The Schools of the 21st Century (21C) model developed at Yale University and implemented in the Paragould, Arkansas, public schools in 1992, has spread to six other school districts in the state. In 2001 and 2004, the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation awarded two five-year grants to expand the number of 21C sites, establish an Arkansas 21C Network and develop the infrastructure to sustain the growth of 21C. Currently there are 21C programs in 34 school districts.
21C schools provide preschool and other services and also provide training to teachers in center-based and family child care in the community. ABC program participants can use professional development funds to support staff seeking higher education degrees. These efforts are paying off: programs affiliated with the Arkansas 21C Network, ABC and ABCSS have an increased number of paraprofessionals with Child Development Associate (CDA) credentials. In 2004-2005, 72 percent of all ABC paraprofessionals (246 teachers) held a CDA credential, and 87 percent of all ABC lead teachers (214 lead teachers) had either a BA or master’s degree.2. A 2003 legislative act expanded ABC with an additional $40 million for The ABC for School Success (ABCSS) program serving free of charge any three- or four-year-old child whose family income is 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level or less. In 2005 an additional $20 million was added, so total funding is currently over $71 million. During 2005-2006 ABC and ABCSS will serve approximately 18,500 children across the state.
3. The Schools of the 21st Century (21C) model developed at Yale University and implemented in the Paragould, Arkansas, public schools in 1992, has spread to six other school districts in the state. In 2001 and 2004, the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation awarded two five-year grants to expand the number of 21C sites, establish an Arkansas 21C Network and develop the infrastructure to sustain the growth of 21C. Currently there are 21C programs in 34 school districts.
The expansion of early education and child-care programs in Arkansas has been inextricably linked to the goal of increasing high quality programs. The Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education (established in August 1997) created the Arkansas Early Childhood Professional Development System to provide leadership and guidance in professional training and education for all early care professionals and developed a professional registry to track training and approve trainers. Between 1996 and 1999 the number of Child Development Associate Credentialed (CDA) staff rose from 168 to 3,114, according to an Early Care and Education Report to Joint House and Senate Education Interim Study Committee, September 2000.
In Arkansas, the growing number of school-based preschool programs that support and develop private providers as well as incentives for center and home-based teachers and administrators have resulted in an increase in professional credentials. Arkansas’ ongoing educational equity and quality case has generated increased funding and support for preschool, despite the fact that early education has not been mandated by the Arkansas Supreme Court. The cup is half full. Strategies are needed to increase the number of Quality Approved/Accreditation childcare centers and homes, to enlarge the 21C Network, and to motivate colleges of education to produce teachers with the qualifications, knowledge and skills to teach all grades from PK-3, insuring alignment and expectations for children.
Dr. Sybil Jordan Hampton is president of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation.
