EDUCATION

Preparing Bay County’s Early Learners For Life-Long Success

by: Tami Valdez, Community Development and Outreach Coordinator, Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida

The Florida Chamber of Commerce estimates between now and 2030, over 1 million jobs will need to be created in our state to support the expected population growth. This estimate has prompted the Florida Chamber to initiate The Florida 2030 Blueprint, putting the long-term ahead of the short-term. To improve Florida’s Talent Pipeline, the initiative calls for 100% of Florida’s 3rd graders to read at or above grade level and for 100% of young children to be ready for kindergarten by 2030. The Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida is here to help this vision become a reality for Bay County children.

The Readiness Landscape in Bay County Data from the Florida Chamber through their Florida Gap Map shows that 49%, or 913, of Bay County’s third-grade students, are reading below a third-grade level. For younger learners in Bay County, only 46%, or 816, were deemed “Ready for Kindergarten” in Fall 2021, according to data provided by the Florida Department of Education’s Division of Accountability, Research, and Measurement of kindergarten students who were assessed for “readiness” using the Star Early Literacy Assessment in the first 30 days of the school year.

Why is Early Learning Important to Life-long Success? Research shows the brain develops rapidly from birth to age five. Helping ensure young children have high-quality early learning opportunities is essential to becoming successful adults. Early care and education programs help prepare children to develop early literacy skills. Working with families to ensure a positive social-emotional environment prepares children for lifelong learning when they enter kindergarten.

What is Being Done for Bay County’s Young Children? Several local organizations are working with the Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida to improve the school readiness of young children and, ultimately, third-grade reading scores to move closer to the Florida Chamber’s 2030 goals. A few of the initiatives being implemented in Bay County include:

> The Bay County Public Library Foundation distributes books at early learning centers that feed into underperforming elementary schools, helping families build libraries at home.

> The Panama City Rotary Club’s Rotary Read Aloud program purchases books, and volunteer Rotarians read at 18 local early learning centers in Bay County.

> Alignment Bay County has made early literacy for children ages birth to 5 a focus of their long-term strategic plan.

> A Grade Level Reading campaign is being initiated through a partnership of local organizations in Bay

County and beyond. The campaign has four focus areas: 1) 3rd grade reading scores, 2) infant and maternal access to healthcare, 3) improving school attendance, and 4) addressing the “summer learning slide.”

> The Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida is launching a new early literacy initiative that will provide

Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) teachers with additional learning opportunities, including one-on-one classroom mentoring with a certified reading coach.

Ways to Get Involved

Here are things you can do to help prepare our youngest learners for life-long success and help ensure Bay County meets the challenges of 2030:

> Share this information and continue this conversation!

> Volunteer to read at an early learning center in your neighborhood – ELCNWF can connect you.

> If you are a business owner, consider implementing

Family-Friendly Policies and Practices to support the families with young children you employ.

> Ask how you can support and get involved with the organizations in Bay County working to make a meaningful difference in early learning.

For more information or other ways to get involved, please get in touch with Tami Valdez at the Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida at Tami.Valdez@elcnwf.org.

DAVIS DIRECT