Wichita Falls - Texas Early Learning Council

SCHOOL
READINESS
North Texas Area United Way’s Final Report – 06/13
protective factors
strengths-based
engagement, awareness, interaction
families
communities
assets
healthy development
TABLE OF CONTENTS
iv from the director
01 background
06 quality early childhood education
08 parent education & family engagement
11 neighborhood development
14 prevention
15 reflection
16 sustainability plan
17 programs and services
from the director
"The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high
with difficulty, and we must rise -- with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think
anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country."
— Abraham Lincoln
December 1, 1862 in Message to Congress
Our country is in a state of great change. We have long recognized that our future hangs in the balance of a
strong educational system, and yet we know we‟re not there yet. As pressure mounts on teachers and
administrators to do more and better with fewer resources and greater challenges, we are finally turning an
eye from the end results to the causative factors. We are tracing back from an unprepared workforce, to
struggling eighth graders, to third graders who can‟t read, to preschoolers who lack the basic physical,
social, emotional, and cognitive foundations critical for experiencing success in kindergarten.
We are seeing not one gap, but a continuum of family, community, and policy failures mounting up and
manifesting in our children. Rather than programs aimed at one or two issues, there is a growing
understanding of the need for broader and deeper systems-wide improvements. The tradeoff for the BandAid approach is that systems change is not a quick fix. It requires exploration and digging; bringing deeprooted matters to light; building the capacity of the individuals and organizations involved to face, embrace,
and ultimately act to bring about needed change; and continuous evaluation and adjustment as we venture
into the unknown and test our collective success.
It was a brave and futuristic think-tank that birthed the School Readiness Project in Wichita Falls, and I am
privileged to have the chance to adopt it as my own. They seem to have thought of it all:
 a vetted tool to provide specific and reliable data on the state of early childhood in our community,
traced back to the neighborhoods where children are initially shaped;
 using data meaningfully and collaboratively to focus on building capacity in all the places that affect
how a young child develops—the home, the childcare setting, the neighborhood, and the greater
community;
 supporting families and providing services for those with developmental delays or life circumstances
causing toxic stress on the children; and
 routine, systematic external evaluation to gauge success and make needed adjustments at the
process and outcome level.
This project has been a messy endeavor. We‟ve made mistakes and faced setbacks, and progress has
been slower than anticipated. But we‟re learning. And it‟s working, as is very apparent in the remainder of
this report. The scope of what is being tackled is enormous; however, the mountain is moving. By learning
how to move it a few inches, we are poised to totally change the landscape of early childhood—and through
it, the whole continuum of lifelong success—in North Central Texas in the coming years. The process of
thinking anew, and acting anew, is never-ending. But together we are rising to it.
Raileen Murray
Director of School Readiness,
North Texas Area United Way
background
organizational
North Texas Area United Way has a rich history
spanning 91 years. In January, 1922, the
Municipal Board of Charity was formed to conduct
one united campaign for local charities each year.
In 1927, it was decided the organization would be
better recognized as the "Community Chest
Fund." The Community Chest met in 1955 and
transitioned to the "Greater United Fund of
Wichita Falls." Nineteen years later, the board of
directors renamed the organization "United Way
of Greater Wichita Falls." One last name change
in 1999 to "North Texas Area United Way" reflects
the progress of the organization in expanding its
programs to outlying North Texas areas.
NTAUW serves Archer, Baylor, Clay, Cottle,
Foard, Hardeman, Jack, Montague, Wichita,
Wilbarger and Young counties and is located at
1105 Holliday Street in downtown Wichita Falls,
Texas. Although a member of the national United
Way movement, which includes over 1,300
community-based United Way organizations, the
NTAUW is independent, separately incorporated,
and governed by local volunteers.
The mission of the United Way is to improve lives
by mobilizing the caring power of communities
around the world to advance the common good.
NTAUW has transformed to the United Way
Watch for facts about
Wichita County
Worldwide Community Impact model, focusing on
the three key areas of Education, Income, and
Health to make a measurable difference in the
lives of residents of Wichita County and the
surrounding area. (Please see Appendix C for
more information.)
This new business model includes funding
programs offered by partner agencies that share
in being accountable toward aligned community
outcomes. And it means that United Way, where
necessary, spearheads development of projects
or programs that address the underlying causes of
the community's needs, with the long-term goal of
creating self-sustaining improvements.
When it comes to our work in education, our
vision is that all children will be prepared to enter
Kindergarten ready to succeed, and that all young
people will be career- or college-ready upon
graduation from high school. We believe school
readiness to be the first and most significant piece
of education and community impact demanding
our attention.
population-level assessment
NTAUW's School Readiness Project began in
September 2011 with generous support from the
Priddy Foundation and the Texas Early Learning
Council. The project provides a multi-faceted,
T H R I V E
systems-based approach that builds awareness
and capacity in Wichita Falls families,
neighborhoods, schools, and childcare providers
(both formal and informal) that together are
preparing 8,956 children age birth to five to enter
school.
Guiding project formation were results from the
Early Development Instrument (EDI), a
comprehensive, community-level measure of early
development and school readiness in children.
North Texas Area United Way led the movement
for data-driven decision making around school
readiness in Texas, and was one of the first 18
communities nationwide to utilize this tool. We
were instrumental in helping to form the Texas
Community Campaign for School Readiness
(TCCSR), organized and supported by the Texas
Early Learning Council. As described on the
organization‟s website:
“In November 2011, Council staff met with
representatives from the four TCCSR
communities as well as staff from the UCLA
Center for Healthier Children, Families, and
Communities and United Way Worldwide. This
meeting in San Antonio was the first multi-site
EDI technical assistance meeting in the
country. Texas has the most EDI sites in the
country, thanks to the commitment of the lead
agencies to improve their local communities.
Council staff also met with the lead agencies of
all Texas EDI communities in August 2012. The
four TCCSR communities shared their
experiences from the first year of their EDI
work with six new Texas communities using the
EDI to assess their local early childhood
systems. These six new communities are part
of the Texas Home Visiting Program … It is the
vision of the Council that these [ten]
communities will utilize the EDI data to inform
the creation of long-term, sustainable, and
responsive systems to better meet the needs of
young children.”
The EDI is administered via kindergarten teachers
in the latter half of the school year. The teachers
answer objective questions that indicate each
child‟s school readiness across the domains of
Emotional Maturity, Social Competence, Physical
Health and Well-being, Language and Cognitive
Development, and General Knowledge and
Communication.
Rather than being linked to the individual children,
or even to the schools, the blinded data is
mapped back to neighborhoods where the
children reside. It indicates the percentage of
children in each neighborhood who are
vulnerable, ready/somewhat ready, or very ready
in each domain and subdomain, as well as the
percentages of children who have multiple
vulnerabilities.
19.6 out of every 1,000 children are confirmed victims of abuse
7.3 out of 1,000 are in foster care
BY
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When this data is overlaid with the latest census
data, it provides a neighborhood-level snapshot of
school readiness and factors commonly
contributing to the lack thereof, such as poverty
and single-parent homes. It can also be overlaid
with asset maps to better determine factors
contributing to children‟s readiness or
vulnerabilities.
schools of Burkburnett ISD. These data filled in
the gaps from the first round to provide a more
reliable snapshot of school readiness in our
community. The current Wichita Falls-area data
represents 20 schools serving 1,438 kindergartenage students.
NTAUW was fortunate to have buy-in for the
larger vision from the superintendents of both
Wichita Falls and Burkburnett Independent School
Districts when the EDI was administered in our
area.
Obtaining the data was just the first step. A
stakeholder‟s group was formed, comprised of a
wide variety of representatives from the public,
private, and non-profit sector. Together, they
thoroughly analyzed the EDI results and other
available data to inform the next steps. Our goal
was to impact the entire city by focusing initial
efforts on the areas of greatest need that also
showed the greatest potential for improvement, as
the project would utilize a strengths-based model
to identify, connect, and mobilize existing assets
within the community. Two neighborhoods,
Eastside and West Lynwood, were subsequently
selected as focal areas for a targeted School
Readiness project.
In the first round of data collection performed in
January and February of 2011, only Wichita Falls
ISD participated. We learned that seeking implied
parental consent resulted in 100% participation,
while the schools that sought active consent had
many parental consent forms unreturned. That
first round also resulted in population gaps—we
knew from the census data that there were more
children in some neighborhoods (particularly
around Sheppard Air Force Base, the Airport area,
and Eastside) than were represented in our EDI.
In February of 2012, United Way conducted the
second round of data collection, readministering
the EDI in schools with less than 100%
participation, as well as at Christ Academy—a
local private school—and in the three elementary
African
American
Caucasian
Latino
Vulnerable
1+
community need
Of 3,801 residents, Eastside has a racial and
ethnic composition of 61% African American, 25%
Caucasian, and 18% that identify as Latino of any
race, with 34% below poverty and 41% of adults
over age 25 (68% in the Latino population) lacking
a high school diploma or GED. As seen in
Vulnerable
2+
Highest Vulnerabilities
Eastside
61%
25%
18%
37%
16%
emotional maturity (20%)
language and cognitive development (15%)
physical health and well-being (12%)
West
Lynwood
46%
27%
21%
50%
39%
emotional maturity (44%)
social competence (33%)
communication and general knowledge (22%)
T H R I V E
Appendix A, the EDI shows that 37% of Eastside
children were vulnerable in at least one domain,
and 16% were vulnerable in two or more domains.
The highest vulnerabilities were in emotional
maturity (20%), language and cognitive
development (15%), and physical health and wellbeing (12%).
of all brain growth occurs before the age of three
and that there are specific windows of opportunity
during this period of growth where children are
procuring the
foundations of
39.9% of 3- and 4-year-olds
cognitive
are enrolled in Pre-K
development.
In W. Lynwood, 46% of the 933 residents are
African American, 27% are Caucasian, and 21%
are Latino. These children were the most
vulnerable in Wichita Falls, with 50% vulnerable in
at least one domain and 39% vulnerable in two or
more domains. The areas of highest vulnerability
were emotional maturity (44%), social
competence (33%), and communication and
general knowledge (22%).
This project embeds
this “windows of opportunity” research and the
“Strengthening Families” model into
neighborhood-level strategies. Strengthening
Families Protective Factors, as described by the
Center for the Study of Social Policy, both
decrease the likelihood of abuse or neglect and
promote optimal child and youth development.
They include parental resilience, social
connections, knowledge of parenting and child
development, concrete support in times of need,
and social and emotional competence of children.
Selection of these two neighborhoods as the
focus for our pilot project is in no way indicative of
„readiness‟ across the remainder of the area.
Throughout Wichita Falls, children are most
vulnerable in the domain of emotional maturity
(11%). The optimal window of opportunity for
developing the brain connections wired toward
healthy emotions is from birth to 24 months, with
the next best opportunity occurring from two to
five years. These foundations will provide the
scaffolding for all learning, skill development,
social interactions, and ultimately life outcomes.
Early Childhood is a period of exceptional growth
and development. Research informs us that 85%
Ed Schultz
Evaluator
project structure
NTAUW‟s School Readiness Project is organized
into three main intertwined components (the
diagram below can be viewed full-size in
Appendix D, and an organizational chart is
available as Appendix E.):

Quality Early Childhood Education, staffed
by a Program Manager and three coaches;
Josh Packard
Evaluator
BY
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
Parent Education and Family Engagement,
staffed by a Program Manager and an
Americorp VISTA volunteer; and

Neighborhood Development, staffed by a
full-time Neighborhood Coordinator in
Eastside and two part-time Neighborhood
Coordinators in West Lynwood.
Prevention is a fourth component spanning and
supporting the other three. Originally staffed by a
Behavior Specialist, Language Facilitator, and
Early Childhood Social Worker, in January 2013
the latter two positions were eliminated due to
lack of sufficient demand for services from the
community. There is now one Preventionist
addressing both language and behavior needs,
and early childhood social work was absorbed into
the services offered by the Social Worker at the
HUB (a NTAUW Income program).
The School Readiness Program Coordinator
maintains financial documents, organizes events
and meetings, assists community members in
becoming engaged in the project, provides a wide
variety of staff support, and helps manage the
Imagination Library program.
Raileen Murray
Director
The Director of School Readiness is responsible
for providing the overarching vision and oversight
for this work as well as building collaborative
relationships, co-chairing the Education Council,
and advocating for the needs of early childhood in
our community.
Each component of this project is evaluated by an
independent third party. Josh Packard, Ph.D. is
the Assistant Professor of Sociology and Assistant
Director of the Social Research Lab at the
University of Northern Colorado. He partners with
NTAUW to evaluate Neighborhood Development.
From Midwestern State University, Dr. Stacia
Miller offers evaluation for Parent
Education/Family Engagement, and Dr. Ed
Schultz evaluates the Quality Early Childhood
Education. The evaluators examine both process
(short-term) and outcome (long-term) data to
determine the effectiveness of specific programs
and initiatives in reaching the project goals. This
unbiased feedback allows us to continually
improve and to make decisions on how best to
focus limited resources for maximum community
impact.
Diane Walker
Program Coordinator
T HearlyRchildhood
I Veducation
E
race for the stars
professional development, mentoring/sharing of
best practices, a quality rating system, and
incentives for reaching comprehensive quality
goals.
Race for the Stars is a comprehensive
quality rating improvement program
for childcare centers designed to
Formal assessments, self-assessments, and
promote learning in a safe environment that
coach observations inform creation of an overall
fosters healthy, age-appropriate growth in all
improvement plan for the center, which then
aspects of a young child's development. The
guides goal setting by each teacher and director.
program's goal is to improve school readiness in
Coaches offer up to eight hours per week of
Wichita Falls by reducing the number of children
hands-on technical assistance per site to help
identified as "vulnerable" and
each staff person meet their goals
increasing those who are "very
in a timely manner.
ready" in the five
8 Centers Enrolled
developmental domains
Due to the typically high turnover
necessary for success in
rate in childcare centers, our focus
37 Teachers Receiving PD,
kindergarten.
is on building director capacity to
Coaching, & Incentives
create programs and teachers that
The Race for the Stars
are consistently successful in
157 At-Risk / 350 Total
program began in 2009 and
building school readiness and
Children Benefitting from
was incorporated into the
ensuring that all enrolled children
Improved Quality
School Readiness Project in
meet developmental milestones or
2011. Three childcare centers
are receiving appropriate
joined the program its first
intervention services.
year. Two sites entered the program in Round 2;
one subsequently withdrew due to unrelated
Childcare centers are assigned a rating from
financial instability. Four new sites were added in
Level 1 (meets minimum standards) to Level 5+
Round 3.
(NAEYC accredited) according to criteria that
Program strategies include coaching/technical
assistance, external and self-assessments,
Aaron Rask
Program Manager
Toma Carlson
Coach
encompass: assessment scores for environment
and caregiver-child interaction; staff education
and training; child-to-staff ratio; implementation of
Angelica Robles Catherine Chastain
Coach
Coach
B Y
F I V E
Strengthening Families Protective Factors; and
business management practices. Six of the eight
childcare centers are moving into level review for
potential advancement at the time of this report.
Actual before and after scores by site are
reflected in Charts 1 and 2, but please note that
these charts include all sites regardless of their
longevity in the program. Number of years in
RFTS is indicated in () next to the site identifiers.
directors best practice exchange
One of the quality initiatives already scaled to the
entire community is the Directors Best Practice
Exchange. In this monthly meeting offered during
the school year, directors network, obtain training
on topics they‟ve requested, and share their
challenges and perspectives with others in the
same role. Although the competitive nature of their
relationship sometimes limits sharing, there is a
healthy exchange of ideas, templates/tools,
celebration of accomplishments, and emotional
support. Currently 32 area directors participate,
with an average of 16 at any one meeting.
education council
The Early Childhood Subcommittee of the
Education Council has formed three Task Force
teams focused on the themes of Engagement,
Literacy, and Emotional Maturity. These teams are
actively involved in fostering expanded community
Chart 1: Childcare Environment Rating
partnerships, volunteer involvement, funding, and
opportunities to strengthen this project‟s outcomes
in their specific focal areas.
evaluation
In May 2013, MSU‟s team conducted a pilot
program evaluation on Race for the Stars via
creating comprehensive case studies for three of
the eight childcare centers. Dr. Ed Schultz and Dr.
Stacia Miller, with assistance from Dr. Tommye
Hutson, concluded that the program is resulting in
improved school readiness outcomes and
increased parental awareness (of normal
developmental milestones) and involvement (in
their child‟s early education). Their full report is
attached as Appendix B.
testimonial
“I have one child that came in and he pretty much
did not know how to hold a pencil or know where
to begin to write. Race for the Stars, with the
curriculum that they provided, taught me how to
start with this child; how to teach him how to write
his name. Now he's getting to where he knows
how to write his name, he can hold a pencil, and
he's writing a whole lot more.”
-Margaret Ramirez
Four-Year-Old Teacher
at a “Race for the Stars” Site
Chart 2: Caregiver-Child Interaction Rating
T H Rfamily
IV
E
engagement
parent education
Parent education/family engagement
for these neighborhoods focuses on
helping caregivers recognize ageappropriate developmental milestones that their
children should be reaching, as well as promoting
more frequent and purposeful parent-child
interactions to facilitate healthy development
across all domains.
United Way partnered with North Texas Child
Care Association (NTCCA), AgriLife, and
Washington-Jackson Elementary to offer Kaplan
training in December 2012. Attendees learned
about the importance of language development,
how it progresses in infants, toddlers, and young
children, and specific techniques for building
language ability in the home.
Born Learning‟s Ages and Stages Series provides
concise, age-specific materials that summarize
typical expectations, things to know about health,
growth, development, safety, and how best to
nurture children at each age. NTAUW staff
distributes these materials at community outreach
events such as the Health Fair and Ben Franklin‟s
Parent Resource Fair, as well as via the childcare
centers, through the preventionist, and as
requested by parents seeking helpful resources.
born learning trail
A 2009 study from the National Center for
Education Statistics found that children living in
poverty are less likely to have someone read to
them, tell them stories or sing to them. Studies
have also shown that low-income children can
begin kindergarten one to two years behind their
counterparts. Research from United Way of
America indicates that lack of time and knowledge
about how best to prepare children for school are
often at the center of this disparity.
The Born Learning Trail installed in Lucy Park is
an engaging path of ten fun outdoor physical,
linguistic, and imaginative activities that help
parents promote language and pre-literacy skills,
motor skills and school readiness in their young
children. Children play their way through the park
interacting and learning with a parent or caregiver
while getting exercise outdoors and having fun!
live „n‟ learn playgroups
Live „N‟ Learn was created by NTAUW to teach
parents how to integrate language development
into daily interactive and simple activities. It is a
playgroup that can be replicated throughout the
city with our train-the-trainer program. Host sites
determine the frequency, but most are offered
B Y
F I V E
weekly or monthly. A weekly playgroup is hosted
at Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church on Eastside, and a
monthly Live „N‟ Learn is offered at the HUB on
Eastside. Live „N‟ Learns are also modeled at
childcare centers to encourage staff and parents
to form a regular playgroup. To date, 32
playgroups have been offered throughout the city,
with 43 residents participating at least once.
imagination library
Dolly Parton‟s Imagination Library
program is designed to promote
literacy and parent-child
interactions in the home, thereby
promoting healthy emotional,
linguistic, and cognitive
development and a love of reading. Through
Imagination Library, children ages birth to five
years receive a high-quality, age-appropriate book
every month mailed directly to their home.
Research shows that if at least eight ageappropriate books are in a home, the child is
significantly more likely to be reading on target by
third grade. Engaging in reading at least three
times a week results in children being almost
twice as likely to score in the top 25% in reading
than children who were read to less than three
times a week. Having attractive, interesting, ageappropriate books in the home greatly increases
the likelihood of parents reading frequently with
their children. This program puts books in the
homes of children who need them the most.
Since January of 2012, NTAUW has distributed
47,706 books to more than 4,400 children of
Wichita County. Each month, about 84-94
children age out of the program or move, while
registrations average115 per month, making our
current enrollment fairly stable at 2,931.
As of June 2013, there were 78 children
enrolled in Imagination Library from the West
Lynwood area and 135 enrolled in the
Eastside area. Population mobility creates
some challenges in keeping the addresses
current, but we have inundated the community
through our neighborhood events such as
Trunk or Treat and are comfortable that at least
85% of the eligible children from these
neighborhood have been enrolled in the program.
Independently operated Imagination Library
programs are now also offered in Clay County and
Archer County, with NTAUW serving as their fiscal
agent.
i „heart‟ books week
The Wichita County Imagination Library
Committee teamed up with project staff and Race
for the Stars providers to create early literacy
awareness and improve school readiness through
“I ♥ Books” week.
THRIVE
During this Texoma Children‟s Literacy Awareness
week leading up to Valentine‟s Day, 294 children
and their families participated in a series of ten
llama llama red pajama parties hosted at Sikes
Senter Mall, an area library, five local childcare
centers, an elementary school, and two Early
Childhood Centers.
Sikes Senter Mall sponsored their kickoff event,
providing advertising, snacks, 150 free llama
llama books, and 20 sets of llama llama stuffed
animals and books to serve as door prizes at the
other party sites.
Sixty children became new enrollees in the
Wichita County Imagination Library program.
Celebrity readers were Gwen Bevel (KFDX), Artie
Woods (McGruff), Jeff Bryant (Ricochet
drums/vocals), Lindsey Forst (KAUZ), C.A.
Thomas (Firefighter), Judge Woody Gossom,
Lindsey Wopschall (KFDX), Chris Showalter
(Times Record News), and “Big” Jim Russell
(Radio Personality).
8956.org
8956.org was create as a resource to provide
parents, early childhood professionals,
businesses and community leaders the resources
they need to create better lives for children. The
site has 4,198 visitors and 22,795 hits per month.
Mary Chaney
Americorp VISTA
47,706 I.L. Books Delivered
4,400 Children Reached
294 Families Participating in llama
llama red pajama reading parties in
one week
evaluation
For the Family Engagement component, we are in
the phase of internal process evaluation, which
utilizes the participant and response data included
in each section. We anticipate having sufficient
data for outcome-level evaluation in another 12-24
months.
testimonial
“Now that we incorporate games through learning,
he doesn't realize this is learning, he realizes it as
a game and he's more engaged ... His attention
span is a lot longer, he's learning how to play with
other kids a lot better ... He's in the top of his
class at the pre-K at Kate Burgess … That's been
a difference within the last two months … and I
have to contribute it to the Live „N‟ Learn
program.”
-April Williams
Parent Attending Live „N‟ Learn Playgroup
Theresa Welch
Program Manager
B Yneighborhood
F I development
V E
resident councils and cafes
Staff facilitates neighborhood development
through human-asset mapping and resident-led
councils, where participants learn how to organize
themselves to initiate and implement projects that
benefit their families, schools, and neighborhoods.
Projects that have been accomplished are
featured in this section; projects in the works
include a partnership to keep an elementary
school library open during the summer and
installation of two new Born Learning Trails.
A committee has been formed to collaborate with
the principal of Burgess Elementary to expand the
scope of their partnership, which will provide an
avenue for residents to more actively support the
school‟s efforts to expand its services to students
and their families. Ideas under consideration
include offering ESL and GED classes for parents,
a social services connection, after-school tutoring,
literacy partnerships, and serving as a social and
educational hub for neighborhood children during
the summer.
everyday democracy
Everyday Democracy has provided its services
under a partial in-kind grant to work with
Neighborhood Coordinators and residents to build
a shared vision and more effective collaboration.
The goal is to increase the efficacy of residents‟
efforts through a process that helps people of
different backgrounds and perspectives dialogue
and collaborate to solve problems and create
communities that work for everyone. Their
methodology has been used in over 600
communities to address issues such as: poverty
and economic development; education reform;
racial equity; early childhood development; policecommunity relations; and youth and neighborhood
concerns.
the HUB
The HUB improves access to community
resources for parents and families, reducing
impact of crises on early childhood development.
On-site programs offered include GED/ESL
classes, computer lab, financial education,
workforce development, and parent education.
asset mapping
Residents and volunteers have gone door-to-door
to over 225 homes in Eastside conducting surveys
and initiating conversations with their neighbors to
uncover their visions and hopes for the
community, their talents, and their interests. This
data is then utilized to connect and mobilize likeminded residents toward change.
Chart 3: Participation in Neighborhood Events
THRIVE
neighborhood watch
When it was discovered that the children of West
Lynwood were not getting to be physically active
outdoors because their parents were afraid to let
them outside due to criminal activity, the resident
council formed a Neighborhood Watch program.
Every street has a block captain, and the result
was a series of „stings‟ that shut down meth
houses and removed significant populations of
dangerous people from the neighborhood.
Children are now regularly seen playing and
socializing in their front yards.
trunk or treat
Diverse populations of residents
from West Lynwood joined together
in the parking lot of Burgess
Elementary to trick or treat out of
numerous trunks decorated by
United Way staff, school staff, local
business, and other local
organizations. Relationships were
built and children saw that the
people of the community could
come together peacefully to celebrate.
eastside mural
When Eastside residents decided to beautify their
neighborhood and promote a positive attitude
toward education, a local artist named Virgil Taylor
agreed to paint a mural of children reading on a
highly visible wall along Martin Luther King Street.
The mural is about 65% finished at the time of this
report.
central urban development
Central Urban Development, Inc. representatives
from Oklahoma City presented to 19 residents at
the HUB in March 2013, then toured Eastside to
consult with parties interested in revitalizing the
community through not-for-profit commercial and
residential construction. Their mission is the
revitalization of traditionally underserved,
disinvested communities through attracting
professional families into quality new homes to
increase the social value of the community as well
as its property values.
psa‟s for residents, by residents
Hirschi High School (in W. Lynwood) Studio Team
students produced four television spots promoting
school readiness for the Neighborhood Marketing
Subcommittee of the Eastside Resident Council.
This school partnership exemplifies the strengthbased collaboration this project is designed to
help create.
B Y
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little free libraries
The W. Lynwood Resident Council discovered this
project for increasing literacy through providing
free, easy-to-access books conveniently located
within walking distance of residential areas.
Resembling a large birdhouse with a covered roof
and a plexiglass door, the first Little Free Library
was installed in front of a local Race for the Stars
childcare center in March 2013 and is very well
utilized. The dedication ceremony for the first Little
Free Library of Wichita Falls, Texas drew the
neighborhood elementary, junior high, and high
school principals and other school staff, residents,
children, business owners, volunteers, and the
television media. This project is readily embraced
by the community, likely due to its immediacy and
simplicity as a solution to increasing literacy.
Army volunteers built six additional Little Free
Libraries in June, and these are scheduled for
installation throughout W. Lynwood and Eastside
in July.
evaluation
A random survey has been distributed to 350
homes in the two neighborhoods to gather
population-level data reflecting changes in
awareness and behavior as a direct or indirect
result of this project. At this time, the surveys are
being collected and data analyzed.
testimonial
“We have the skills … We have the talent … I see
a hope in our community that they can be
successful and prosperous just like any other
people, that if I put forth the effort to accomplish
and achieve, then I will be successful. What United
Way is really interested in is ensuring not only that
the community is successful, but we have to start
at the root, and the root are our children from zero
to five years old. What United Way is doing is
showing us a viable way to work together on one
accord.”
-John Prince
Eastside Volunteer
Brenda Jarrett
Eastside Coordinator
T H R I Vprevention
E
developmental screenings
NTAUW offers free developmental
screenings (ASQ & ASQ-SE) for
children age birth to five who reside
in Eastside or West Lynwood. Intakes occur due
to referrals from word of mouth, childcare center
directors, and childcare and elementary teachers.
Tricia Hughes
Behavior Specialist
child and family case management
When a child‟s screening indicates that prevention
services are needed, an on-staff Preventionist
helps set client-defined goals with the family, and
a treatment plan is put into place. The child
receives weekly or biweekly services at home, at
school, or at childcare.
If a child is delayed enough to meet the
requirements for ECI (Early Childhood
Intervention), the Preventionist refers the family
and creates a plan for coordinating with ECI to
offer additional support toward the goals set in
that relationship.
Case management is frequently required to assist
with family needs or goals affecting young
children in the home, such as accessing state and
local resources to meet basic needs, procuring
employment, or building workforce skills. In these
cases, the Preventionist makes a referral
internally to our Income Social Worker and
continues to help manage the case around the
needs of the children.
teacher training and support
The Preventionist supports teachers in the eight
Race for the Stars childcare centers and the two
elementary schools in Eastside and West
Lynwood by modeling and providing resources to
assist with language facilitation and healthy
behaviors, as well as modeling with small groups.
As a Behavior Specialist, she also provides
trainings to groups of providers such as Early
Head Start and Head Start teachers.
testimonial
“Starting at such an early age, I think, is really
important because if you get on top of those
behaviors while they're four, and you start getting
those things under control, then once they're in
kindergarten or first grade, … they'll have some of
those coping skills and more self-control.”
5 Families Receiving Assistance with a
Developmentally Delayed Child
22 Children Served In Small Groups
34 Classroom Teachers Supported with
Language and Behavior Resources
-DeNeka Johnson
Social Worker & Counselor,
Washington-Jackson Elementary
B Y
F I V
E
reflection
Outcome #1
An increase in social connections within the
neighborhood
Yes. This project has definitely increased social
connections within the neighborhood and within
the broader community of Wichita Falls through
special events and regular meetings.
Outcome #2
An increase in the knowledge of
developmental milestones among adult
residents
Yes. The Race for the Stars evaluation results
confirm that parents are growing in understanding
what their children should be capable of doing at
various ages, as well as identifying and seeking
help when their child is not meeting ageappropriate expectations.
Outcome #3
An increase of positive parenting techniques
among caregivers of children from the target
neighborhoods
Yes. Participants in Live „N‟ Learn and in
Community Cafes indicate that they are learning
positive parenting techniques through these
activities and the increased social connections
and supports realized through their participation.
Outcome #4
An increase in the acquisition of language and
cognitive development
Yes. Until we conduct a follow-up EDI
assessment, we will not have a reliable tool for
measuring widespread success in this outcome.
As a result of anecdotal parent reports and
preventionist services, we do know that individual
children are progressing in acquisition of language
and ability to process cognitively.
Outcome #5
An increase in the utilization of concrete
supports for residents of target
neighborhoods
Yes. This data is reflected in the utilization of the
Social Worker services at the HUB ending in
resolution of the initial need.
Outcome #6
An increase in the acquisition of social and
emotional development among children
Yes. As with Outcome #4, we are dependent on
the next EDI to provide evidence of gains in this
domain. However, logic serves that as children
participate in an increasing number of
social/community events with their families in the
context of modeling pro-social and healthy
emotional behaviors, they will increase their
development accordingly.
Outcome #7
An increase in parental resiliency
Yes. The neighborhood surveys will better
indicate progress in parental resiliency. In the
meantime, we know that parents are connecting
with neighbors, accessing needed services, and
taking advantage of parental education and
support materials offered through this project.
According to the Strengthening Families
Protective Factors research, these changes
naturally result in increased resiliency.
T H R sustainability
I V Eplan
There are many lessons we‟ve learned in
implementing the action steps resulting from
analysis of the EDI data. We are carrying these
lessons (and many more that are unstated here)
into the continuation of this project.
the state-level CLI grant that helped initiate the
School Readiness Project, NTAUW has already
been successful in being awarded a substantive
state-funded TSR! project purposed toward quality
early childhood education.
While we celebrate our successes—some
seemingly less notable and some we‟re busily
shouting from the mountaintops—we are
purposefully moving into the future along four key
themes.
Project leadership will continue to identify and
pursue multi-faceted funding opportunities to
sustain the various components of this project
until they can sustain themselves or are no longer
needed. It is very important to the School
Readiness Team that we not launch into initiatives
that cannot be seen through to fruition, as we
believe that is more harmful than having remained
inactive. To that end, we will seek multi-year
funding whenever possible.
shared leadership
United Way‟s approach is to address local
problems in such a manner that they no longer
need our involvement. As it relates to school
readiness in the greater Wichita Falls area, that
ideal is likely 15 to 20 years down the road.
However, it is imperative that we move toward the
broader community taking a unified approach to
systems-level change.
The Stakeholder‟s Group will be instrumental in
forming collaborative relationships and expanding
the ways in which the EDI data is being used in
our community. Our goal is to develop shared
accountability toward community-wide outcomes.
funding diversity & longevity
Just as one team should not continue to bear this
project in its entirety, neither should one funder. In
addition to the local Priddy Foundation grant and
simplicity
We will share our message in ways that are easy
to understand.
expansion / replication
As leaders in utilizing EDI data to inform systemslevel community improvement, the NTAUW
School Readiness Team feels compelled to share
what we have done and our lessons learned, to
stay connected to other communities doing similar
work, and to help those interested in helping
children where they live to be ready for school,
ready for life.
B Y
F I V E
programs and services
The following is a more detailed description of the
programs and services NTAUW proposes for the
next 24-month stage of this project.
early childhood education
quality would be eligible for
componentized, fee-based Race for the
Stars services.

Continuance:

Maintain Race for the Stars services as
they are currently structured for eight
grandfathered sites: professional
development, annual external
assessments, coaching/mentoring,
incentives, quality rating system under
the condition that annual progress
continues to be made.
In addition to the TSR!-related expansion
plans discussed below in the Family
Engagement and EDI sections, we will
partner with the five committed in-home
providers to begin piloting the registered
and licensed home provider portion of the
Race for the Stars program.
Expansion:


Develop the “Gear Up” program as a
preparation and holding location for sites
interested in participating in Race for the
Stars and/or needing to temporarily or
permanently cease progress in Race for
the Stars. Any childcare provider
interested in improving quality can
participate. Offerings include no-cost/lowcost group quality training, access to
quality tools and resources, and access
to business planning services provided by
Small Business Development Center.
Sites meeting more strict criteria of
financial stability and commitment to
NTAUW is in the negotiation phase of
being awarded a grant to serve as the
lead agency for the TSR! Project 2013-15
to be implemented in 43 classrooms in
North Central Texas. The structure of this
project will dovetail into current Race for
the Stars services and offerings, and its
collaborative nature provides the ideal
opportunity for expanded outreach into
the 11-county region served by NTAUW.
Shared Leadership:

Collaborate with church-based childcare
centers and local businesses to begin
sharing the cost of providing Race for the
Stars services to centers, with dual
purposes of sustainability and expansion.

Partner with other entities vested in early
childhood education to open The
Cooperative Learning Institute for
THRIVE
Cultivating Kids (“the CLICK”). This site
will provide a holistic, collaborative
solution to address the need for a
childcare resource/materials co-op and to
offer quality supports for in-home care
providers.
A single location serving the entire early
childhood community, the CLICK will
contain a cooperatively owned Resource
Room where participating caregivers can
check out/rotate through learning
materials and non-consumable
equipment and supplies to increase the
quality of early childhood education they
are able to provide in their homes or
centers. Participation will be based on an
annual fee plus a deposit equal to the
value of equipment checked out at any
one time.
The center will contain a cooperatively
owned Resource Room where
participating caregivers can check
out/rotate through learning materials and
non-consumable equipment and supplies
to increase the quality of early childhood
education they are able to provide in their
homes or centers. Participation will be
based on an annual fee plus a deposit
equal to the value of equipment checked
out at any one time.
family engagement
Continuance:

Maintain Born Learning Trail in Lucy Park

Continue to grow Imagination Library
enrollment to 3,000 monthly recipients

Offer free area-wide parent trainings
conducted by early childhood experts
every six months

Sustain and grow the two existing Live „N‟
Learn playgroups
Expansion:

Install at least one Born Learning Trail in
each target neighborhood

Begin independently funded and
operated Imagination Library programs in
at least two additional counties as a result
of connections made through the TSR!
Project in our expanded service area

Train the trainer to begin one new selfrun Live „N‟ Learn playgroup in the
Wichita Falls area every six months
Shared Leadership:

Partner with Early Head Start, Head Start,
and other organizations to provide at
least one fun and engaging learning
B Y
F I V E
event yearly for parents and families that
helps them understand the five
developmental domains of school
readiness and their role in helping their
child be “ready” or “very ready” in each
domain
neighborhood development
prevention
Continuance:

Free ASQ/ASQ-SE screenings in West
Lynwood and Eastside

Referrals and case management offered

Teacher support and modeling at Burgess
Elementary, Washington-Jackson
Elementary, and RFTS Childcare Centers

Small-group services at same locations
Continuance:

Community Councils and Cafes offered
monthly in each neighborhood

Small grants available to fund limited
number of resident-initiated projects

Marketing materials created with resident
input specifically to reach neighbors with
message about school readiness
Expansion Shrinkage:

Gradually withdraw NTAUW staff from
Community Councils and Cafes as
residents demonstrate self-sustainability
Shared Leadership:


Collaborate with key stakeholders to form
West Lynwood‟s version of the HUB that
is a conveniently located resource for
residents
Pursue a shared leadership model with
other entities vested in the concept of
community dialogues for change
Expansion:

Free interpretation of ASQ/ASQ-SE
screenings for any parent in Wichita
County

Enhanced resources (online videos)
created for behavior modification and
language facilitation intended for both
parents and teachers
Shared Leadership:

Explore possibility of locating
Preventionist at North Texas Rehab to
service children age birth to five needing
services but not qualifying for ECI

Engage pediatricians, hospitals, and
clinics in conducting screenings and
referring to the School Readiness
Preventionist as needed
THRIVE
between communities that will better our
entire region
administration of EDI
The EDI has proven its usefulness in informing
data-driven community change that aligns
resources and programs around the true needs of
a neighborhood. Ten communities in Texas and
forty in the United States are now utilizing the EDI
to drive population-level, systemic improvements
in school readiness, and the scope of this tool‟s
implementation throughout the globe is constantly
growing.
Continuance:

Readminister the EDI in Burkburnett ISD,
Wichita Falls ISD, and Christ Academy in
January/February 2015 to measure the
effectiveness of population-level
programs, services, and policies
Expansion:

Implement the EDI throughout the entire
11-county region serviced by our
organization, gathering data from at least
one kindergarten classroom in each
county
Such expansion would provide reliable
data to each community as a selfassessment for how well they are
equipping their young children for lifelong
success, and it would also allow positive
conversations and collaborations to occur
By Fall 2013 identify and begin
discussions with potential private donors
from each community interested in
supporting data collection
Shared Leadership:

Explore possible collaborations and
shared accountability with hospitals,
health department, and other entities who
could utilize EDI data to demonstrate
needs and outcomes. Obtain financial
and administrative buy-in from at least
one other entity to ensure administration
of the EDI every three to five years on an
ongoing basis for our community
B Y
FlistIof appendices
V E
Appendix A: EDI Community Profile
Appendix B: RFTS Program Evaluation Report
Appendix C: Diagram--Evolution of United Way
Appendix D: Diagram--School Readiness Project
Appendix E: United Way Organization Chart
Appendix F: Evaluation Plan
Appendix G: Project Financials