Camp Fire School Readiness Program

Healthy development in early childhood supports lifelong health, academic achievement, economic stability, and community strength. High-quality early childhood care and education are foundational for social, cognitive, and developmental growth that lead to kindergarten readiness.1 Nowhere else are the benefits of high-quality early care as pronounced as among children from low-income households, who are at increased risk of entering kindergarten unprepared,2 with lasting disadvantages,3 but with strong potential to close gaps when supported in the first years of life.4 The CFSRP addresses this need by partnering with childcare centers in targeted areas of Fort Worth to support educators with the knowledge and skills to provide quality care to neighborhood children. This solution meets families and neighborhoods where they are, enhancing quality care without displacing current providers or developing new childcare centers.

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, as shown in the CFSRP theory of change5 (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.