Building the Next Generation: School Readiness Many families in Fort Worth recently celebrated their child’s first first-day-of-school. Smiling faces of children holding chalkboards filled social media feeds. Little children toting backpacks that are often a little too big for their tiny frames marched into classrooms, excited and nervous for what is to come. “Big School” has begun. The sobering fact Camp Fire uncovered in 2005 is that many of these bright little minds were not equipped with the knowledge or social skills required to be successful in pre-K, kindergarten and beyond. Since that time, Camp Fire has been focused on strategies and partnerships to ensure the number of children ready to learn when they enter school increases.
Camp Fire School Readiness Program recognizes the best way to help children be prepared when they come to school is to maximize the early learning years, from zero to three. Supporting children, families and early child care teachers before children arrive on the doorstep of their local elementary is essential to creating a foundation from which children thrive.
“Expectations of today’s kindergartener are more rigorous than we’ve ever encountered,” said Lyn Lucas, Chief Program Officer of Camp Fire First Texas. “Children enter school expected to have core skills that used to be associated with readiness to enter first grade, while also coping with more adverse experiences than children from even a generation ago.”
A study by Nobel laureate and economist James Heckman found that every dollar invested in high-quality early childhood education for disadvantaged children from birth to age five delivers up to a 13 percent per year return on investment. The program’s three-prong approach leverages the
• Only 48% of children from low income families are ready for school at age five. • Half of Tarrant County’s student population is categorized as economically disadvantaged, quality early education is a crucial area for investment. • Five-year-olds with higher levels of school readiness are generally more successful in grade school, less likely to drop out of high school, and earn more as adults.
potential of early learning through: 1. Supporting early childhood teachers with quality and developmentally appropriate continuing education, mentor/ coaches, and assessment tools to support individual learning goals for each child. When child care teachers understsnd child growth and brain development, it enables them to provide teaching that encourages children’s skill development. 2. Providing family engagement and parent education opportunities. Creating a reciprocal partnership aids the learning and development of each child. 3. Assessment and monitoring the outcomes of early learners to adjust the program’s approach - ever improving on the experiences in these early years while increasing their capacity to learn. “What we have learned in the last decade is when the quality of teaching increases coupled with a universal understanding of brain development from both families and teachers, the children are the ones who benefit – and
ultimately our community is the big winner with educated citizens, a prepared workforce and adults who have skills to manage conflicts, adverse issues and rise above to thrive,” Lucas added. The latest report from Camp Fire School Readiness shows that children in Camp Fire Supported programs are: •Entering Kindergarten with greater early literacy skills than their peers. •Showing gains in communication skills, problem solving and their ability to meet their own self-help needs (personal-social skills). •Maintaining early learning gains year-overyear as they progress through school.
Camp Fire First Texas programs are for boys, girls and adults and include camping, after school programs, teen services, environmental education, early childhood education and school readiness. We change young lives for the better in our community. Inside and out. CampFireFW.org | 817.831.2111
“We are focused on this aspect of early learning because we have seen the results. It is encouraging that many others, such as the many members of the Early Learning Alliance (ELA)—a 50+ collaborative group working toward improving local early learning systems—are taking notice of these critical early years and making quality early education available to more children,” said Lucas. “It is the integration of all the systems working together that will enhance not only the quality of learning, but the opportunities each of our students have as they progress through life.” Read Camp Fire’s latest School Readiness Report and accompanying blogs on early childhood learning at CampFireFW.org.