SOMERVILLE EARLY CHILDHOOD REPORT PROMOTES BOLD UNIVERSAL KINDERGARTEN READINESS STRATEGY

SOMERVILLE – A comprehensive
report commissioned by the schools, the City and the School Committee on
preparing children for kindergarten recommends that rather than pursuing solely
school-based universal preschool for 4-year-olds, that the community establish an
innovative early childhood system for pre-kindergarteners of all ages via a
provider network, which would include Somerville Public Schools, nonprofit and private
early childhood care providers and other local agencies working collaboratively
to support universal kindergarten readiness.

The report, presented to the
School Committee on Tuesday and titled SomerReady: Creating a Citywide, Universal
Kindergarten Readiness System, calls for coordination and collaboration
among the existing early education and care services in Somerville, including
the City, School Department, Head Start, non-profit providers, and private and
faith-based groups.

The report cites research
showing that providing children and families with education and support
beginning with pregnancy and continuing until kindergarten, rather than waiting
until the child is three or four years old, is critical to creating the
foundation for a child’s success in school. A strong early education and care
system is needed to deliver programs and services to all families and children.
Critical programs and services noted include:

• Home visits by health or child development
  specialists

• Parent education

• Early intervention and special education services

• Child care

• Pre-kindergarten

• Physical and mental health services

The report states that because
both public and private organizations in Somerville already offer these
programs and services, these existing resources should be coordinated and enhanced
for infants through 4-year-olds, rather than the City pursuing a solely
school-based universal preschool. It recommends instead that public, private
and nonprofit providers work collaboratively in an integrated system to provide
a set of streamlined, coordinated and comprehensive services to all families,
ensuring that each child and family receives education and support, all with
the same high standards. Joint professional development for all service
providers in the system and a more structured support system for early
childhood programs across the city is also recommended.

“This impressive study
recognizes the complexity of raising children who are ready to take full
advantage of all that our schools offer, especially for families who may experience
additional challenges,” said Somerville School Committee Chair Christine Rafal.
“The recommendations could be seen as a modern way to implement the traditional
wisdom that it really does take a village ('Ville-age) to raise a child to his
or her fullest potential.”

Recommendations for instituting
this integrated early childhood strategy include a new Director of Early
Education and Care, who would be responsible for coordinating these efforts. It
also includes creating a single point of entry into Somerville’s early education
and care system, with Somerville Public Schools’ Parent Information Center
(PIC) expanding to include early education and care information and referral. A
new website would also provide families with an overview of all the programs,
services and options available in the city.

The proposed plan would
transition from the current and somewhat separate public and private systems to
an integrated approach through which public and private services collaborate in
providing support for young families. The goal is to provide universal
kindergarten readiness for all Somerville children, and bring greater
continuity to those children’s experiences across the education and care
settings of their pre-kindergarten years while also offering flexibility and
choice to families to choose a provider setting that best suits their child.

“High-quality preschool
education has been shown to narrow the achievement gap by as much as half,
according to the National Education Policy Center, but it’s more than just
preschool that can make a difference. As we know in Somerville, it takes a
holistic approach, supporting our children not only academically, but in all
areas of their lives,” said Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone. “This should be a
fundamental right for every student, not a luxury, and this report makes
innovative recommendations on how to provide this to all of our children, from
diapers to day one of kindergarten, by utilizing both public and private
resources in a collaborative way that preserves flexibility for our families.”

The report is in response to a
2013 request from the Somerville School Committee and the Mayor’s Child and
Youth Study Team, which is a joint effort by the City and schools, to study
kindergarten readiness in Somerville. Initially focused on the future
possibilities within Somerville Public Schools’ SMILE preschool program, the
report’s authors found that focusing on the broader idea of universal
kindergarten readiness, instead of only universal preschool, would better serve
the diverse community in Somerville while capitalizing on the resources and
programs already available.  

“Our focus on universal
Kindergarten readiness based on research and best practices to maximize student
potential supports our community’s vision and desire to share best practices
and learn from one another, and develop an approach that works for our
community,” said Tony Pierantozzi, Superintendent of Schools. “Somerville is a
unique community that brings together a wide range of cultural experiences and
knowledge. We want to build on that collective wisdom.”

The report outlines how
Somerville is well poised to play a leadership role in the creation of a robust
and coordinated network of early education and care, with many of the necessary
elements already in place, recognizing that no one sector—public schools, the
City, private providers or other community agencies—can achieve universal
Kindergarten readiness alone.

“The report includes
recommendations for a bold commitment to early childhood education in Somerville,
a commitment that will advance our city’s role as a state and national leader
in support for early learning,” added Dr. Vince McKay, Assistant Superintendent
for Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment. “These steps represent good social
policy as well as good economic policy. One of the most compelling arguments
for investments in the early years is that they have been widely proven to
reduce later social and economic costs. This is the right thing to do, now, for
our children.”

Authors of the report include
Moncrieff Cochran, Professor Emeritus in Human Development at Cornell
University; Assistant Superintendent Dr. Vince McKay; Anna Doherty, Director of
SomerPromise; and Nomi Davidson, Director of the Somerville Family Learning
Collaborative. Dr. Cochran was brought in to lead the initial Kindergarten
readiness study in Somerville. In June 2008, Dr. Cochran completed a 35-year
career focused on early care and education, parent empowerment, and parenting
education at Cornell University. From 2008-2011, he was a Visiting Professor of
Child Development in the Eliot Pearson Department of Child Development at Tufts
University, where he assisted in the re-design of the Early Childhood Education
Program and established a collaboration with the City of Somerville. He has
served on the national Governing Boards of the Family Resource Coalition and
the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). From 2007
to 2009, he served as Senior Advisor to the NAEYC Office of Applied
Research. 

“If Somerville could implement
a Kindergarten readiness plan this comprehensive,” Dr. Cochran tells us, “the
City would become a leader not only in Massachusetts, but nationwide.”

The report was also informed by
broad community input and ongoing work by various early childhood groups,
including members of a citywide Advisory Group overseeing grant implementation
efforts of an Early Education and Care (EEC) Race to the Top Early Learning
Challenge Grant (ELCG) awarded last year to support initial alignment efforts
of early childhood services across the city.

“As a member of the Alignment
Grant Advisory Committee, it’s been exciting to collaborate with the schools,
city, and other community partners,” commented Allen Kesten, Special Projects
and Early Learning Mentor for the Community Action Agency of Somerville (CAAS)
Head Start. “We are all committed to improving and expanding programs and
services for young children and families, as well as enhancing professional
development. CAAS Head Start looks forward to new partnerships with the
Somerville Public Schools as we explore creative models of joint programming
between Head Start and SMILE, working toward Universal Kindergarten Readiness.”

“I have been working in the
community for almost 40 years, as director of the Open Center for Children,”
added Gale Morano. “The alignment grant has brought the community preschool
programs together with the public school teachers of the lower grades to share
training in the use of a comprehensive child assessment tool currently in place
in the preschool programs and soon to be implemented in the public kindergarten
classes. Both groups have visited each other’s classrooms, met and worked
together collaboratively and gained a new respect for and appreciation of the
work of community preschool and public school educators in the city. It has
been both exciting and gratifying to participate in this work.”

– END –

Contact:

Susana
Hernandez Morgan, 617-629-5221