CAMP FIRE SCHOOL READINESS PROGRAM (2020-2021)

School readiness encompasses the social and cognitive skills and developmental milestones that prepare children to succeed in school when they enter kindergarten.5 It is well established that children from lower-income households are at increased risk of entering kindergarten without the skills to support their success.6 Furthermore, lower-income students who enter kindergarten with this disadvantage tend to progress academically at a slower rate, falling behind their peers, ultimately leading to lower educational attainment and lifetime earnings.7 One remedy to this problem is high-quality early education programming. Empirical studies indicate that students with highquality early education are more prepared with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in school, with low-income children seeing the greatest benefits.8 In light of having an unambiguous solution to a critical community need, Camp Fire provides professional development for early childhood educators as the most effective means of improving quality of early education and development. It is not always feasible to implement new childcare centers or support advanced teacher training and certification, especially in the communities where students have the greatest need. Camp Fire works with childcare development centers in low income, targeted areas of Fort Worth to support early childhood educators with the knowledge and skills necessary to provide high-quality childcare.

The CFSRP measures its success in terms of child learning and development, classroom quality, and center quality at the beginning and end of each school year. The theory of change9 below outlines the causal model for the program (Figure 1). The components of the program are outlined in detail in Appendix A. To understand how and why these outcomes came about, the evaluation includes program implementation indicators: teacher and student retention, teacher participation in professional development, and mentoring activities.

5 Snow, K. L. (2006). Measuring school readiness: conceptual and practical considerations. Early Educ. Dev. 17, 7–41. doi: 10.1207/s15566935eed1701_2 6 Reardon, S. F. & Portilla, X. A. (2016). Recent trends in income, racial, and ethic school readiness gaps at kindergarten entry. AERA Open 2(3), 1-18. doi: 10.1177/2332858416657343 7 Garcia, E. & Weiss, E. (2017). Education inequalities at the school starting gate. Economic Policy Institute. epi.org/132500 8 Magnuson, K.A., Meyers, M.K., Ruhm, C.J., & Waldfogel, J. (2004). Inequality in preschool education and school readiness. American Educational Research

Journal. 41(1):115-157. doi:10.3102/00028312041001115 9 A theory of change provides an illustration of a program’s impact pathway—the logical causal change that is expected to occur as a result of program activities.