La. awarded nearly $8M to improve early childhood education

By Kari Dequine Harden

Research leaves no doubt about the magnitude of development in the first five years of life.

Every second, one million new neuro connectors are formed in an infant’s brain, and about 90 to 95 percent of brain development occurs by the time a child enters kindergarten.

And all those aspects of early human development, from brain growth to the capacity for empathy, are affected by a child’s environment and experience, said Jen Roberts, executive director of the The New Orleans Early Education Network (NOEEN). Early childhood education is “one of the most important factors contributing to lifelong success.”

But it remains a persistent challenge for families to find affordable, high quality childcare.

“In recent years, Louisiana has worked diligently to create an integrated, efficient early childhood education system through policies that better serve our children and families,” State Superintendent John White said in a press release. “This award is a validation of the state’s approach and sets us up to take ambitious next steps.”

$7.1 million comes from a competitive federal Preschool Development Grant with an additional $800,000 from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The state must spend the money by the end of 2019.

The LDOE laid out four primary points in their spending plan:

1. Equip communities to make informed decision to improve local early care and education;

2. Incorporate family homes into the statewide network of early childhood education providers;

3. Enhance the quality of early childhood education provided to young learners; and

4. Improve systems that inform the statewide network of early childhood education providers.

Sub grants totaling more than $3.75 million will be awarded to early childhood education networks.

“This grant will touch all corners of the state, including those communities most in-need of quality care, through professional development opportunities for educators, additional classroom resources, etc.,” according to the LDOE. “Underserved communities, especially, will benefit from the work we have planned with family homes,” said Dunn. “These settings have not previously been able to access any state supports, which is critical for areas that lack formal child care.”

Comprised of all publicly funded early childhood care and education providers in Orleans Parish, New Orleans Early Education Network is the state’s lead agency and point of contact between the Louisiana Department of Education and individual providers.

Roberts said the biggest challenges she sees in New Orleans are access to quality care, workforce and talent, and resources.

“Quality is really expensive,” Roberts acknowledged.

In New Orleans, there are about 1,400 children under the age of 3 receiving a publicly funded seat, she said. But there are over 7,000 children under 3 in the city who qualify as low income, she said. Meaning only 16 percent of low-income children are being served.

Just seven percent of low-income infants are being served through publicly funded seats, 17 percent of one-year-olds, and 23 percent of 2-year-olds.

Statewide, Louisiana currently serves nearly all 4-year-old children, but only seven percent of in-need children birth to age 2, and 33 percent of in-need children age 3. An additional 3,130 children remain on a waiting list for services.

As the grant stipulates, it cannot be used to finance new slots, “The receipt of this Preschool Development Grant award allows the state to apply for future grant dollars to expand access to fully funded seats in early learning centers, a critical need for Louisiana children and families,” according to the LDOE.

New Orleans, Roberts said, “is making headway in the right direction.”

The City Council recently voted to double the budget’s funding for early childhood development, allocating $1.5 million for child care providers to enroll infants up to 3 years old into daycare and other programs, and funding Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s new Office of Youth and Families.

“New Orleans is one of the only metros in the country making a public investment in children from birth to 2,” Roberts said. “That is incredibly rare and extremely important.”

When children are prepared to enter kindergarten both socio-emotionally and academically, they are more likely to succeed and thrive in school and in life.

When they aren’t prepared with skills – including being able to regulate emotions, and persevering through challenges – there can be adverse affects down the line, Roberts said. With the funding the state hopes to “drive faster rates of improvement and equip more classrooms with fully prepared teachers.”

However, “Given that these funds cannot be used for seats, and given that we are only serving 15 percent of our children in need from birth through age three, we look forward to future opportunities to increase the publicly funded seats for our hard-working families who desperately need access to reliable, affordable, quality care for their young children,” said Melanie Bronfin, executive director of the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children in the press release.

Underserved communities, according to the LDOE, “will benefit from the programs we will pilot to empower local leaders, who understand their unique communities, to identify their needs and support quality improvement.”

Roberts said she does hope the state will empower local communities to direct the money toward their greatest and unique needs, allowing “local folks to determine the use of funds based on what the community identifies as priorities.”

This article originally appeared in The Louisiana Weekly.