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The Venture Fund and the Preschool Promise: Tools to Read On! and Change the Story…

The Venture Fund and the Preschool Promise: Tools to Read On! and Change the Story…. Emily Lewis, The Strive Partnership. 2013 Strive Cradle to Career Network Convening Dallas, TX. CRADLE TO CAREER CIVIC INFRASTRUCTURE. HS Graduation College & Career Ready.

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The Venture Fund and the Preschool Promise: Tools to Read On! and Change the Story…

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  1. The Venture Fund and the Preschool Promise: Tools to Read On! and Change the Story… Emily Lewis, The Strive Partnership 2013 Strive Cradle to Career Network ConveningDallas, TX

  2. CRADLE TO CAREER CIVIC INFRASTRUCTURE HS Graduation College & Career Ready Postsecondary Enrollment, Retention & Completion 8th Grade Math Kindergarten Readiness 4th Grade Reading  Strive Partnership 2012 Coordinating Action to Support Student Achievement: Five Overarching Goals: • Early Childhood Leaders • District Superintendents • College and University Presidents • Community, Corporate, and Private Funders • Business and Parent Leaders • Service Providers Prepared for school Supported inside and outside of school Succeeds academically Completes postsecondary education Enters and advances in a meaningful career

  3. 4th Grade Reading Kindergarten Readiness Our Once in a Generation Opportunity

  4. Why Early Childhood and Early Grade Level Reading? “Policy makers should invest in young children, where the return on investment is the strongest.” – Nobel Laureate James Heckman

  5. Decades of Data Show: …And Graduating from High School Ready for Postsecondary Education and Careers …And Reading Successfully by the End of 3rd Grade… Quality Preschool Gets More Children Ready for School... 85%

  6. Why Now? We Need to Do More. Cincinnati Students: % Ready for Kindergarten Our community has been investing in early childhood and making incremental gains for years, yet nearly half of CPS kindergarteners are showing up unprepared. To see transformative change, we need to do more. Bold Goal: 85% 55.4% 44% 2006 2012

  7. We Need to Grow Our Talent Pipeline. High Child Poverty: 1 in 3 children lives below the poverty line. Low Income Mobility: Cincinnati ranked 27th of 30 cities. Low 3rd Grade Reading: 1 in 4 3rd graders (554) were not proficient readers last year. Low High School Graduation Rate: 1 in 3 CPS high school students don’t graduate. Skill Mismatch:There are 30,000 local job openings for which people are not qualified.

  8. and change the story...

  9. Read On! A multi-year, multi-faceted regional campaign for early grade-level reading Broad Commitment and Scope Focused on proven strategies: • Kindergarten Readiness • Attendance • Summer Learning • Early Literacy Tutoring • Community Will • Parent Engagement Chaired by two of our region’s influential leaders • Brent Cooper, Northern Kentucky business leader • Santa Ono, President, University of Cincinnati

  10. We’re off to a good start: • Soft launch in November 2012 • Hard launch in August 2013 • Invigorated tutoring campaign focused on K-3 literacy • Ongoing work in kindergarten readiness, led by United Way of Greater Cincinnati • New collaborative efforts in summer learning and attendance • Key audiences and core messages identified • Cincinnati Preschool Promise developing

  11. But, what do we really need to see transformative change?

  12. Read On! Venture Philanthropy Fund Scope: $15-20M, 5-year fund Source: Local and national investments Targeted Investments: Focused on bringing advanced stage, proven work in early grade-level reading to scale.

  13. Process Used in Developing the Fund: Building the Case: Feasibility study and case for support Interviews: 40 interviews with local and national funders Strengths: Evidence based/data-driven approach, established partnerships, proven results, and a “just right” mix of strategies Challenges: Strong Leadership and Plan for Sustainability

  14. Rigor Borrowed from Venture Capitalism Objective analysis of an entire organization, not a specific program Disciplined due diligence process Effective risk management Long-term, hands on involvement Financial and non-financial support Focus on performance measures and (social) return on investment

  15. Grantees Must Demonstrate: Alignment to Read On! campaign strategies Established system for ongoing data measurement and reporting Strength of existing outcomes as well as data, growth, and capacity-building plans Financial sustainability and established fiduciary practices Potential for scalability Effective organizational leadership Strength of a plan to secure public sector support

  16. Denver Preschool Program Results 93% 69%

  17. More Children Need Services in Ohio. A very small proportion of the number of eligible children are currently being served.

  18. 43% of Cincinnati Families are Under-Served by Existing Resources GAP Note: Most Head Start slots in Cincinnati are quality rated or in CPS public preschool. However, child care subsidies do not require parents to use quality-rated centers. The goal of the Cincinnati Preschool Promise is to incentivize parents to use quality centers, create a demand for higher quality centers among all parents, and increase the supply of quality-rated centers city-wide.

  19. We Have a Supply Shortage. Two-Thirds of Eligible Preschools in Cincinnati are Not Quality Rated. (20) (10) (82) Note: The state quality-rating system is changing from a 1-3 star scale to a 1-5 star scale in 2013. CPS 42 public preschool classrooms that are excluded because they were not eligible under the old rating system. Their public preschool classrooms are mostly Head Start.

  20. The Cincinnati Preschool Promise An independent, cross sector effort to ensure all Cincinnati children have the opportunity to attend quality preschool at age 3 and 4.

  21. Rapid Community Will

  22. 89% 82% 67%

  23. Why Cincinnati voters believe quality preschool is important "So there is an even footing from parents who can afford funding and those who can't. The overall well-being of the city. It's only as good as the lowest income and the least education so we need to bring everyone up". "Because I think every child should have the opportunity to be educated...I think that education is the only way you are going to make any city, state, country better. You need educated people and if only a certain percentage of the country is getting educated it is not going to happen" "It's important that three and four year olds have early childhood education or they will not be successful adults. It is a stepping stone for the rest of their lives. If they don't have that building block in place they are not going to be successful adults when they get older"

  24. Our Process Create a common message Identify key stakeholders (to hear that message!) Research other examples Corral our local data Build the framework for how it will work Run numbers and think about how much it could cost Research funding options

  25. Our Core Values Parent Choice – Voluntary participation and decision-making Universal Access – Tuition assistance is given on an income based sliding scale Quality Incentivized – Greater tuition assistance is given at higher rated centers Building on Existing Resources – Complements other demonstrated successful efforts Investing in What Works– Supporting proven strategies to improve outcomes Independent Oversight and Transparency – Ongoing monitoring and public reporting Ease of Use – Administrative assistance available for all populations

  26. The Cincinnati Preschool Promise Will Provide: Tuition credits for all Cincinnati 3 and 4 year olds to attend quality preschool on an income-based sliding scale. A market for quality by providing more tuition assistance for parents who choose higher-rated centers. Support for centers to become quality-rated and increase their quality, including: • Teacher training, credentials, and professional development • Proven curriculum and teaching methods • Lower teacher to student ratios An accountable structure focused on effective stewardship of resources, transparency, and continuous improvement.

  27. What Are the Roles of Each Entity 2.Program administrator sub-contracts to provide quality coaching & parent support 1. Contract Quality Improvement Experts Administrative Agent Funding Entity 4. Provides parent referral and support services 8. Program administrator shares outcome and financial data 9. Oversight Committee reports outcomes 3. Provides quality coaching to providers 6. Administrator releases tuition credits Independent Oversight Committee Parents Quality Preschool 7. Providers share student enrollment and performance data 5. Parents choose quality-rated preschools and give consent to share student data

  28. Key Variables Impacting Cost: Participation Rates: Other cities and states have participation rates of 60-80%. After 5 years, 70% of 4 year olds in Denver use tuition credits to attend high-quality preschool. Full Day Preschool vs. Part Day Preschool: This is entirely dependent on parent choice. We are estimating a 50/50 split. Tuition Credit Sliding Scale: Tuition credits are provided on an income-based sliding scale. The amount of assistance provided impacts total cost. Demand for High Quality Centers: 90% of children in the Denver Preschool Program attend the highest quality-rated preschool centers.

  29. What the Funds Will Provide Total Children Served by Cincinnati Preschool Promise Tuition Credits: 5,025

  30. Accountability and Oversight • An independent, cross sector body will have responsibility for: • Overseeing subcontracts, data, and strategy • Fiduciary monitoring • Public reporting of outcomes

  31. How Will this Benefit Our Economy? Fewer Kids Being Held Back at 3rd Grade: Savings to CPS of $5-7M per year in additional teachers, specialists, and tutors. Less Need for Costly Special Education Spending: Pennsylvania found quality preschool can eliminate at least 70-80% of special education needs in a school district, and the resulting price tag of $13,000 per student, per year. At Least 460 New Jobs for Cincinnati Pre-K Teachers Minimal Public Costs: Public expenditures for the Preschool Promise average $3,000 per child. This is 1/5 the per pupil cost for K-12 education in CPS.

  32. More High School Graduates, More Earnings, Less State Spending Compared to Graduates, a High School Drop Out is: • Twice as likely to live in poverty • Three times as likely to be unemployed • Eight times as likely to be incarcerated Reduced Prison Costs: A 5% increase in male high school graduation rates in Ohio could save $126M in incarceration costs and prison-related expenditures. Increased Lifetime Earnings: • A high school drop-out earns an average of $7,650 less per year than a graduate • More than 39,000 Ohio students did not graduate high school in 2011 • The lost lifetime earnings for that class of dropouts alone totals $4.8 billion

  33. Who Are We Impacting? • Jack • Age: 4 years old • Neighborhood: East End • Last year, Jack attended the Cincinnati Early Learning Center site at Riverview East. His parents used child care subsidies to support the tuition and paid the weekly co-pay. Recently, Jack’s dad got a small raise at work… but it was just enough to push him over the income limit for the subsidy. They couldn’t afford the tuition without help, so Jack started staying home with his grandmother. • Keyonte • Age: 3 years old • Neighborhood: Pleasant Ridge • Keyonte’s dad works in marketing for a mid-size Cincinnati company and his mom used to work at a small nonprofit. They have two small children, and she’s stayed home since he was born. They can only afford preschool if she goes back to work, which will require full day care for both of them. The tuition would be almost as much as her paycheck, so she’s decided to stay home another two years. • Tiffany • Age: 3 years old • Neighborhood: Mt. Auburn • Tiffany is the youngest of 5. Her single mom just lost her job. She’s eligible for Head Start but the slots are full. Tiffany’s mom doesn’t qualify for the child care subsidy, in this case because she isn’t working. As a result, Tiffany stays home, often in front of the TV.

  34. Key Takeaways Leadership: Need for serious, strong, committed leadership and visioning Infrastructure: Significant infrastructure in place that can be built upon to take work to scale Practiced Community: A community that’s practiced in collective impact, sharing data, and using data to evaluate results and drive decision-making Local Data: Several years of local longitudinal data to make the case for why these are important investments, and why/how we can expect the benefits of quality early childhood education to last in Cincinnati.

  35. Questions?

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