What are the positive factors that are contributing to you reaching your desired result?

• State/Federal Funded Pre-k Program: Head Start, Early Head Start, Pre-k 3, Prek 4, birth to 2.5, ECI
• Community Education: Several programs in county offering education for parents 
• Local daycares, Mother's day out programs
• Variety of options for daycare and early childhood education

What are the negative factors that are restricting you from reaching your desired result?

• Low rate of daycare attendance: lack of transportation, lack of finances, ineligible for free programs
• Lack of information available
• Language barrier
• No Pre-K programs in rural areas
• Parents are not able to purchase technology needed to prepare their children. 
• Limited childcare centers: some aren't able to re-open due to pandemic
• Daycare is expensive, childcare subsidies are limited. 
• Parents aren't spending enough time working with their children as their first educator. Parents also feel unprepared to fill this role and feel they don't have time to do this. 
• Many parents are not taking their children to school before K. Instead they go with family members and there is no learning taking place. 
• Research shows that 71% of 4th graders in Texas are not proficient in reading so we can see that this has effects later in school life. 

What populations are the most disadvantaged and what causes these disparities?

• Rural areas 
• Lower middle class-do not qualify for free programs but do not make enough money to pay out of pocket
• Low socio-economic families
• Lack of transportation
• Spanish-speaking families, Pacific Islanders

Are there foreseeable factors that will affect your work over the next few months to a year?

• Potential resources put in place to offer tution to families that do not meet requirements for free program
• Addressing unknowns due to Pandemic: low resources for PPE for example
• Children being out of school for a long period of time due to pandemic: transitioning back to school-readjustment
• Increased job loss in county: emotional, financial stress-unable to pay for daycare when they once were
• Potential to reclose

What additional research is needed to better understand the factors that influence the slope of the curve and related disparities? 

• What resources are available to the rural areas/what resources are needed for those in rural areas?
• What role does culture play in not enrolling child in early education programs?
• Survey parents to understand their needs in helping their children become more ready for school

Who are the partners who can help you reach your desired outcome? List partners and their roles.

• Parents
• Schools
• Daycares/Child care programs
• Early Childhood Programs: Growing Together, Voice, Hope Center, ECI
• Churches
• Funders/Donors to programs: United Way, private donors, etc. 
• Pediatricians, Doctors: Provide resources and education to families
• Child Protective Services: Providing resources for preventative measures
• CASA members
• Texas Workforce: CCS funding
• Navarro College: Child Development Associates Credential 
• Texas Agrilife
• WIC
• Local businesses 

Research/Evidence-Based Practices:

• Having involved parents, invested in their child's education
• Child's enrollment in daycare/Pre-k program
• Reading programs offered at library
• Online Education resources: Sharing with parents 
• Expanding Head Start availability
• Library hours at local library

Low Cost/No Cost Solutions:

• Increase community education and awareness for resources available such as GT, VOICE, Hope Center, ECI, etc.
• Utilize local businesses to provide flyers/information regarding resources
• Increasing spanish speaking information available
• Help Me Grow: Centralized access point for families to get information on their child's development and be connected to resources

Innovative/Out-the-Box Solutions: 

• Childcare scholarships from the community: Have all children enrolled in some sort of program prior to entering school 
• Access to online education for all families
• Parent-teacher partnership and pods: Connecting parents and teachers on a regular basis to discuss child's readiness
• Summer school: For parents the summer before their child attends kindergarten as an orientation to share what their kids need to know before kindergarten.
• Making transportation free and available to all families for daycare/PreK/Kindergarten.

Additional Research:

• What does the TEA readiness assessment assess?
• Why does not every school report their numbers every year? 
•  How will COVID-19 effect children's academic readiness for school?