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GPRA 1: Children enter kindergarten ready to succeed in school and 2 more... less...

Children enter kindergarten ready to succeed in school (Note: Please track different assessment tools used separately) -

GPRA !

1.a % of children in kindergarten who demonstrate at the beginning of the program or school year age-appropriate functioning across multiple domains of early learning as determined using developmentally-appropriate early learning measures (Alaska Developmental Profile) - GPRA Data and Narrative Entry

Current Value

31.3%

2022

Definition

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GPRA Definition

GPRA 1. Number and percent of children in kindergarten who demonstrate at the beginning of the program or school year age-appropriate functioning across multiple domains of early learning as determined using developmentally-appropriate early learning measures.

Definition. Number of children in kindergarten who demonstrate at the beginning of the program or school year age-appropriate functioning across multiple domains of early learning as determined using developmentally-appropriate early learning measures – Alaska Developmental Profile (ADP)

Data Profile

Data for this indicator is from the Alaska Developmental Profile, which measures kindergarten readiness at the beginning of kindergarten.

Target Description & Source

Click Here to access or upload your Data Plan with Approved Targets

Solutions & Pipeline Location

Parents as Teachers (0-5):

Parents as Teachers (PAT) is a national evidence-based home visiting program for families with children ages zero to five. The program is implemented in the region by the Association for the Education of Young Children Southeast Alaska (AEYC-SEA). AEYC-SEA was given permission from PAT to offer the program virtually at the onset of the pandemic in all STEPS communities and continues to provide virtual services to outlying (rural) communities in the footprint. AEYC-SEA receives referrals for the program from a wide range of community partners including Bartlett Hospital, SEARHC Health Care, ROCK Juneau, pediatricians, childcare providers, and STEPS partner tribes and school districts. One way the pipeline of supports has been strengthened is through the Hello BABY (Plans of Safe Care) program. Staff from Hello BABY meets with every family who has just given birth at Bartlett Hospital in Juneau to provide support and resources, assess risk, and create plans of safe care with parents in cases where they are using opioids and other drugs. The warm hand off that Hello BABY provides to the PAT staff helps ensure that high-needs families are getting ongoing support through early childhood.

This fall, PAT brought on a 3rd full time home visitor staff and was able to move families off the waitlist and into the program. In addition, AEYC continued to offer a weekly PAT Playgroup that was well attended by families in Juneau. The playgroup was open to families on the waitlist and PAT staff reported that many families made connections via this program. Unfortunately, during the fall, the families in Hoonah and Yakutat dropped out of the program– both due to personal reasons- but AEYC staff is working to re-engage them and other families in rural service areas.


Head Start/Family (Preschool):

Head Start is implemented by the Central Council of Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (CCTHITA). It is offered in all STEPS communities except Hydaburg (which offers another, culture-based preschool program), and is the the primary certified pre-K option in Yakutat, Angoon, and Hoonah. Sites also implement family partnership strategies using the national Head Start Parent, Family and Community Engagement (PFCE) Framework. After a pause during COVID, STEPS Head Start partners were able to reinitiate their in-person family activities this year. Head Start has also agreed to work with some schools to more clearly transition headstart students into kindergarten.

In Sitka the Wooch.een Preschool is a blended classroom that combines the Sitka School District’s preschool program for students who need early intervention with Tingit & Haida’s Head Start program. In addition, the Sitka Tribe of Alaska provides staff who integrate cultural lessons, Tlingit language, and family support services. Wooch.een went back to in-person on March 1, 2022 after a two-year absence (during which some virtual programming was provided).


Childcare Certification & Provider Training (0-5 providers (staff)):

AEYC-SEA (regional) provides support to new and existing childcare providers via one-on-one consultation, an annual CDA Academy, and through connecting providers with resources. The academy provided 10 providers with a CDA (Child Development Associate credential). In the fall, AEYC-SEA also supported 6 students to take an early childhood education course at the University of Alaska Southeast. AEYC continues to coordinate with CCTHITA CDA training and degree programs.

Juneau’s ROCK Coalition (“Raising Our Children with Kindness”) named improving the quality of early childhood experiences as a priority for the collaborative. The Haa Sh Kalneegí | Our Story culturally responsive, place based early childhood education certificate was developed to support that goal. The ROCK coordinator has been working with cultural leaders and education specialists to develop a guide to resources for educators and other community members. Ten early childhood educators have participated in the cohort training program. Participants have been exploring anti-bias strategies and how those can be implemented in the programs. This includes understanding bias, historic trauma, and how to support children form positive personal identities.

As part of this work, ROCK provided culturally responsive teaching training at the Head Start Pre-Service training to 50 staff and hosted a regional conference this spring, bringing together over 235 early childhood educators from around Southeast Alaska to learn from each other and leaders in the field. The conference focused on culturally responsive early childhood education and featured Ethan Petticrew with the Cook Inlet Native Head Start as the keynote speaker. He was also the focus of a pre-conference shared training session with 35 Juneau School District Pre-K and Head Start teachers from around the region.


Kinder Transitions Family Support (PreK-K):

AEYC-SEA (regional) continues to offer early learning support to families across the region, including a monthly newsletter that offers early learning tips and highlights the juneaufamilies.org website with its kindergarten transition page.

Sitka offers ongoing support to Head Start families in the transition to kindergarten, as well as implements kinder transition events, including an Ice Cream Social with families and kindergarten staff, and a family dialogue with local preschool families and center staff (See GPRA 9.2 - community dialogues). One theme that came out of the family dialogue was the importance of students experiencing the kindergarten building before kindergarten. Staff are exploring the possibility of holding more activities at Baranof Elementary School. Another concern raised by families was the lack of childcare options in Sitka, and the barrier of not enough staff was identified. The Sitka Early Childhood Coalition has formed a workgroup Childcare Now which is working on this issue (see GPRA 1b - Early Childhood Coalitions).


Imagination Library (0-5):

The Dolly Parton Imagination Library program sends age appropriate books and literacy tips to families with kids ages 0 to 5 to support at-home reading experiences. Registration information is provided at the birth center and hospitals so families can enroll their children as soon as they are born, as well as at libraries and other locations. AEYC also provides books to pediatricians’ offices with QR codes linking to an online registration form. When families sign up for the program, they also get on AEYC-SEA’s mailing list and receive a monthly bulletin with literacy and parenting tips and information about local events and resources. AEYC reports that funding for this program is unstable and they may need to limit enrollment moving forward if they cannot find additional funds.

In Sitka, the volunteer board who oversees Imagination Library in Sitka used census data to estimate that they are reaching 70% of eligible children. The local library’s “Babies and Books” program also welcomes newborns with board books and hosts literacy events for families of young children and serves about 270 children (many of whom overlap with Imagination Library participants).


Baby Raven Reads (0-5):

Sealaska Heritage Institute’s award winning Baby Raven Reads program develops and distributes culturally relevant books, literacy tips, and family events across the region. This year STEPS partners worked together to keep the program going by using blended funding streams. Unfortunately, much of that funding ended in September, resulting in a scale-back of services during the last few months of the year, serving primarily Hydaburg in Q4. SHI had hoped to receive a federal grant to bring back this programming at previous levels starting in October, but did not receive it. They have just received more funding to sustain BRR beyond the STEPS grant. BBR staff worked with AASB and a few schools to develop a strategy for BRR to feed into school transitions in 2023.

Sitka - Sitka hosted one Baby Raven Reads event this fall for Indigenous People’s Day at the local University of Alaska campus. About 30 people attended.


Family Network Circles (Families of kids 0-8):

Juneau - 5 cohorts of Circles of Security classes were offered in Juneau this year. Interest in parenting classes is constant, however, offering classes has not been easy for agencies. Many agencies are experiencing staff shortages and increased need for their services which decreases capacity to offer parenting classes on top of their workloads.

Sitka - The Circles of Security program implemented 2 cohorts in partnership with Center for Community’s Early Learning Program. In addition, the Sitka Tribe of Alaska enrolled 4 fathers in their Fatherhood is Sacred parenting program. Circles of Security returned to in-person programming in the fall. Both agencies reported challenges with staffing these programs and with enrolling participants, but that they are committed to continuing to offer high quality parenting classes for the community.


Quality Preschool/Language Immersion (Preschool):

Hydaburg’s immersion preschool, Xantsii Naay, continues to operate successfully. A culturally aligned assessment for pre-school was designed and implemented in April & May. In May, a cultural graduation was held to celebrate Haida culture and educational attainment. Families were specifically invited to the graduation where families participated in the cultural ceremony including cultural name giving for both pre-school graduates and high school graduates and uncles carrying in students in a carved canoe (to represent that culture holds us up as we move through our education) and providing down feathers to honor the students and commit to the uncles supporting student learning through a lifetime. Tuesday and Thursday evenings of each week, XN hosts a gathering of family members to learn language and/or participate in cultural activities such as dance or regalia making. The current goals of the preschool are: to improve attendance and academic retention and to create a plan to continue XN activities after the STEPS grant ends.

Juneau - The district offers 3 preschool programs: KinderReady (funded by STEPS), an integrated pre-K program to support students with special needs, and a Montessori program. The Juneau School District worked with Head Start and AEYC to implement several shared trainings for early educators focused on culturally responsive and trauma informed practices.

Sitka’s Wooch.een preschool program, reported on under Head Start, provides Tlingit language and culture instruction through a partnership with the local tribe.


Rain or Shine / Helping Little Kids Succeed Communication Activities & Online resources (Regional):

A team of people representing ten different agencies (AEYC-SEA, Head Start, Juneau, Sitka, and Yakutat School Districts, the Juneau Public Library, REACH Infant Learning, Bartlett Hospital, and Sealaska Heritage Institute) worked together to develop the Rain or Shine Learning all the Time campaign.  The group set a goal to make positive parenting and asset-based development tips contained in thick booklets like Helping Little Kids Succeed available in bite-sized, visually compelling, culturally relevant format that could be shared on posters and social media. The vibrant images were created by local artist Evon Zerbetz who also created the images for the Stronger Together Family Partnership Framework.

The Rain or Shine images were featured in the Juneau Parent Bulletin, which AEYC-SE mails  out monthly, and reached 2,037 families. Other programs shared the images as well - Yakutat included them in newsletters and communications to families; AASB shared them to its facebook page (700 followers); and Sitka partners shared them to the Sitka Kids facebook page (typically has around 1500 engagements in a month) and the Sitka Kids website (132 users).


Kinder Transitions Summer Programs (PreK-K):

Sitka - After a 1-year hiatus and delays to Covid-19, Sitka brought back the Baranof Kinder Camp this August. Using baseline information, it was determined that emphasis would be on fine motor skills and social emotional learning. Three certified staff and two paraprofessionals led activities focusing on fine-motor skills. One teacher led tool-based activities, working with students on the use of pencils, crayons, white board markers, and bubble wands. Another teacher focused on sensory activities involving sand, foam, stickers - working to improve students' pincher grips. Socializing was an important feature of the camp and the staff found the children to be very friendly, interactive, and cooperative. An intention was to foster skills that would allow children to provide an example for kindergartners not attending the camp in terms of playground expectations. One important outcome of the camp was that it allowed families to make decisions about kindergarten enrollment and to enroll in kindergarten district homeschool programs instead and delay kindergarten for one year.

Juneau - Juneau Kindergarten JumpStart (JKJS) is a summer day camp program which focuses on language, literacy, and social-emotional skills for incoming kindergarteners.  JKJS is an intensive, literacy rich, engaging program for learners. The program is implemented through stories, songs, large and small group activities, and Centers. Each day, campers are exposed to high quality literature, rich oral language, and opportunities to engage with their peers. The daily schedule is full of experiences and routines that will help incoming kindergarteners be ready for the learning that will take place in their kindergarten classroom - morning meeting, recess, read alouds, and closing circle. JKJS is open to any Juneau child who will begin kindergarten in the fall. If the cost of JKJS would present a financial hardship to families, JSD offers scholarships to cover the cost of attendance. Families are responsible for transportation to and from camp which may have served as a barrier for some families.

Story Behind the Curve - PN

Alaska Developmental Profile results for the 2022-2023 school year have not been received yet.

In STEPS schools, about 1/3 of kindergarteners are entering school with readiness as measured by this assessment tool. There does not appear to be a difference between STEPS results and statewide results (STEPS: 31.3% vs Alaska: 31.6%).

We continue to see disparities by racial/ ethnic group and income level. White students have higher proficiency rates when compared to Alaska Native, American Indian, and/or 2+ race students (“AKN2+”). Higher income is also associated with higher levels of proficiency.

 

Access to high quality child care continues to be a major issue in our STEPS communities. This is especially true for economically disadvantaged families in larger communities such as Sitka and Juneau, where program capacity is not proportional to population size. Interestingly, it appears that being Alaska Native is a protective factor that may mitigate some of the impacts of lower income through targeted programs like Head Start and tribal-associated childcare programs, as well as the higher concentration of AK Native families in rural communities, where program capacity is more aligned with population density.

Similar to all of the education system, some of the biggest barriers to increasing access are around workforce. Centers continue to struggle to fill vacant staff positions and are forced to operate at lower capacity in order to stay in ratio, limiting open spots for families. Wages have not increased to match inflation, the stress of a childcare career, or the training required. One of the longest-running and well established childcare centers in Juneau closed this year because the board could not find a qualified director to take the job after the previous director left to take another higher paying, less stressful job. Another center in Sitka closed due to similar challenges finding staff.

In addition to the well-documented challenges of recruiting and retaining people in a low-paid, high-stress job, it is also more difficult for potential staff (high school and college students) to connect with entry-level opportunities. Career exploration opportunities like job shadows and in-person internships were disrupted by the pandemic; partnerships that placed students in these roles have been among the slowest to return. Head Start programs also face an additional barrier when it comes to hiring: the classroom lead teacher must have a bachelor's degree. Alaska currently has the lowest four year degree completion rate (in six years time) of any state in the nation.

Also, it is clear that the past few years of Covid-19 and fewer early learning, meant that these students that are entering kindergarten were unlikely to have experienced as much early learning opportunities out of the home. We anticipate that this next year, even with centers closed, more students will have experienced early learning opportunities similar to prior to Covid-19.

Despite these persistent challenges, STEPS AK partners continue to offer programming and services in this pipeline area. We continue to see low enrollment in parenting programs and childcare certification/ training programs. Programs operated via local non-profit organizations, such as Parents as Teachers and the Rain or Shine Campaign have all met targets. Preschool programs and kinder transition programs were not able to reach targets due to limited capacity as described above and will continue in the no-cost extension year next year. While Baby Raven Reads has met many of its targets over Covid-19, the program was not able to be delivered with the same quality with in-person family learning and will be continued in the no-cost extension year.

Solution

# Reached Y5

% AKN2+

% Low Income

Yr 5 Target

% of Target Reached

Parents as Teachers

121

39.7%

33.9%

120

100.8%

Head Start/ Family

107

70.1%

62.6%

275

38.9%

Childcare Certification & Provider Training

328

N/A (staff program)

N/A (staff program)

720

45.6%

Kinder Transitions Family Support

545

Not available

Not available

700

77.9%

Imagination Library

1514

Not available

Not available

2200

68.8%

Baby Raven Reads

242

Predominantly AN

Not available

220

110.0%

Family Network Circles/ Parenting Programs

79

11.4%

20.3%

380

20.8%

Quality Pre-School/ Language Immersion

99

47.5%

22.2%

80

124%

Rain or Shine Campaign

4237

Not available

Not available

1400

302.6%

Kinder Transition Summer Camps

83

N/A

N/A

170

49%

 

Some successes to celebrate include:

  • Moving toward sustainability. Over the past year AASB and STEPS partners have been working toward sustainability plans. AEYC-Southeast Alaska is one of four STEPS partners who have achieved their target goals and have a sustainability plan so during the sixth year of STEPS they will use local government, funding from the State of Alaska to bolster its Parents as Teachers program, and it has received five million dollars in federal funds to construct a Family Center in Juneau. This is an extension of the role AEYC-SEA played in hosting the community-wide Partnership for Families and Children Coalition. The coalition is still going strong with more than a dozen organizations contributing at the start of 2023.
  • Tlingit and Haida Head Start Cultural Curriculum - Sitka School District, Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, and the Sitka Tribe of Alaska held a series of weekly meetings with the aim of updating and revising  an out-of-date memorandum of agreement. The finalized MOA affirms a commitment to implement a cultural curriculum across all Tlingit Haida Head Starts in Fall of 2023 reaching beyond Head Start in Sitka to others in Southeast. The commitment to a cultural curriculum brings Wooch.een Tlingit Haida Head Start closer to its goal of being a Tlingit language nest and STEPS AK closer to our goal of providing high-quality, culturally responsive programming across the region.
  • Indigenous language programs linked to family engagement and reading success. The Haida Language Immersion preschool program in Hydaburg is leading not only students, but their families as well, in a full-scale revitalization of the Haida language. The Tlingit Language Immersion preschool program is also looking at ways to grow by bringing in apprentices to learn the language and the program to be able to expand the immersion program. Each immersion program is working with both the school district and the tribe to ensure a long-term partnership and financial support structure for language immersion early learning preschool programs. In every community conversation, there is a strong desire for students to learn Tlingit and Haida languages which are endangered and families are interested in participating in learning. 
  • The Baby Raven Reads program has fostered family involvement in reading and has shown that students involved with the program have higher kindergarten readiness scores. Baby Raven reads will work with specific schools in the next year to help with kinder transition and focus in on students and families that might have higher needs within that school.
  • The Alaska state legislature recently passed the Alaska Reads Act to help elevate the science of reading. The Alaska Reading Playbook which guides this work recognizes that learning any language - including Alaska Native languages - can increase critical pre-reading schools like phonological awareness.

Strategy Responses Based on Your Story Behind the Curve Analysis

Some goals identified for this work area include:

  1. Expand and strategically establish early childhood career exploration opportunities.
  2. Identify solutions for increasing pay for early childhood providers through subsidies, funding alignment, and partnerships.

 

Some next steps identified were:

  • Do a deeper analysis to understand who has access to early childhood education and who is still persistently not accessing early childhood education.
  • Build on promising practices like the effort to start linking more students with early childhood education career opportunities through Educators Rising. These could be amplified and expanded. The Child Development Associates program also strives to meet people where they are at. Candidates can move through the program independently, but there are also intensive academies and on-going study hall opportunities where candidates can receive more hands-on support.
  • Sitka’s workgroup focused on increasing childcare established five short-term goals: to conduct a babysitting class leading to certification and a babysitter referral list, creating a qualified childcare director sub list, forming and re-establishing toddler time/toddler gym opportunities, researching Coast Guard involvement in childcare solutions, and creating a communication and advocacy plan for progress in childcare.

 

AASB received a Full-Service Community Schools grant which includes 6 schools from within STEPS and a few partners. The partners identified some of the most persistent challenges from within our STEPS collaboration and identified new approaches to addressing them within the full service community schools model and pillars. For example, there is the Strong Start strategy which will provide intensive assessments with each family and students to understand the learning and enrichment and integrated supports needed for each kindergartner. The Baby Raven Reads and Tlingit and Haida Headstart programs will  be partners in transition families.  Our partners and AASB, learned from STEPS that each of our partners need to continue to work together to understand the needs of families.

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