Engaging Families Through Early Literacy System Development April 2013

1. Engaging Families Through Early Literacy System Development April 2013

2. Framework MISSION: Read On Arizona is a statewide public/private partnership of agencies, foundations and community stakeholders who are committed to a collaborative approach to improving language and literacy outcomes for Arizona’s children from birth to age eight.

3. Visionary Goals • Increase the % of students reading at or above grade level by 3rd grade to 100%. • Increase the % of children demonstrating school readiness at kindergarten entry in the language and literacy domain. • Drive change through capacity building, group solutions, continuous instructional improvement, and integrated systems. So that every child: enters kindergarten ready for school success and stays on track for college and career success.

4. Alignment Statewide and regional partners: • Founding Partners • Arizona Community Foundation • Arizona Department of Education • First Things First • Head Start State Office of Collaboration • Helios Education Foundation • Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust • Core Partners* • City of Goodyear • United Way of Northern Arizona • United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona • United Way of Yuma • Valley of the Sun United Way • *Convening role in a Read On Arizona community

5. Alignment Collaborative partners: • Achievement Learning • Advocacy and Communication, Inc. • America Reads • Arizona Association for the Education of Young Children • Arizona Business Education Coalition • Arizona Center for Afterschool Excellence • Arizona Charter Schools Association • Arizona Head Start Association • Arizona Literacy and Learning Center • Arizona Ready Education Council • Arizona State Library • Arizona State University, Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College • Association for Supportive Childcare • AZ K-12 Center • Boys and Girls Club • BUILD Arizona • Central Arizona College • Children’s Action Alliance • The Children’s Museum of Phoenix • City of Flagstaff • City of Phoenix, Mayor Greg Stanton’s Office • City of Tucson, Mayor Rothchild’s Office • Educare Arizona • Eight, Arizona PBS • Elevate Phoenix • Expect More Arizona • Experience Matters • First Book • Flinn Foundation • Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning • Governor’s Office of Education Innovation • Greater Phoenix Educational Management Council • Hands On Phoenix • International Dyslexia Association- AZ • International School of Arizona • Jumpstart • KPMG • Lakeshore Learning • Leaps & Bounds, ASU • Literacy Connects • Maricopa County Head Start • Northern Arizona University, College of Education • Parent Teacher Association of Arizona • Paradise Valley Community College • Phoenix Public Library • Phoenix Reads • Raising A Reader • Reach Out and Read Arizona • Reading Is Fundamental • Rodel Foundation • Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community Schools • Sanford Inspire Program • Southwest Human Development • Southwest Institute for Families and Children • Stepping Stone Foundation • Target • Toyota Family Literacy Program • University of Arizona College of Education • WestEd • And more…

6. Challenges / Solutions Challenges and solutions • Lack of information on critical factors prevents solutions. • Data Integration and system linkages • Lack of communication and coordination between efforts • Read On Network- a collaborative effort in each community to fill the literacy gaps • Insufficient access to programs that work • Continuum of effective practices • Too little awareness and attention given to early literacy • Community awareness and engagement

7. A model early literacy continuum (Birth to age 8) The right program at the right time for each child Language-rich and engaging curricula coordinated for impact (quality/dosage) Ongoing assessments and screenings as early as possible Capacity building models (professional development) Family supports focused on language and literacy

8. Bringing Early Literacy Into Focus (in a region): Making Family Partnerships a priority in the community: • Raising a Reader in low-income apartment communities, preschools and Kinder classrooms • Every Child Ready to Read parent training and free Reading Screenings at local libraries • School-based Literacy fairs for families with an emphasis on home libraries

9. Bringing Early Literacy Into Focus (statewide): Making Family Partnerships a priority in communities throughout Arizona: • Summer Reading Collaborative (State agencies) • Family Literacy Day- Nov. 1st (public/private partnership) • Infusing literacy in framework of partner agencies with a systems approach (First Things First)

10. Family Support and Literacy Framework Arizona Early Childhood Development and Health Board Dr. Aaliyah A. Samuel Senior Director of Family Support and Literacy

11. Factors Influencing families • Economic and Educational Factors • Parents Understanding of Child Development/Educational Level of Parents • Parents Educational Level/Economic Status • Family Demographics and Environmental Risks • Low Birth Weight • Food Insecurity • Maternal Depression • Child Abuse Neglect • Community Characteristics • Varied and targeted voluntary services • Cultural Responsiveness • Strong and Safe Communities

12. Components of a Strong Family Support System • Varied, Voluntary Services for Families • Economic Supports • Strong and Safe Communities • Statewide Information Systems

13. Gaps Gaps in Arizona’s Family Support System • Almost 1:4 children in Arizona under the age of six lives in poverty • Additional 32% live in families where the income is between 100% and 200% of poverty. • Over half the population of young children in Arizona living in families of low income • High number of rural areas and significant differences in family needs

14. School Readiness Indicators

15. Coffman’s Framework

16. FTF Strategies • Parent Kits Helpline • Parent Outreach and Awareness Newborn Follow Up • Reach Out and Read Home Visitation • Parent Education Community-Based Training Native Language Preservation • Family Support Coordination Family Resource Centers • Family Support Children with Special Needs Food Security • Curriculum Development—Parent Education

17. Recommendations • Context - Improving the political environment that surrounds the system so it produced the policy and funding changes needed to create and sustain it. • Continued collaboration with BUILD – Early Grade Success and Read On Arizona to assist fostering the political environment regarding the importance of family support and literacy. • Broaden outreach and awareness to parents of children birth – 5 on the Common Core Standards and Move on when Reading initiatives. • Components - Establishing high-performing programs and services within the system that produce results for system beneficiaries. • Utilizing the Quality Assurance measure and ensure high quality service provision, determine which family support strategies meet the child and family in various systems and provide effective wrap around services. Rubrics will help inform, identify and assist with establishing a comprehensive set of family support strategies by determining what services and supports a community needs. • Analyze findings from targeted family support regional studies. Determine how the results can be used in conjunction with other data sources to better understand the full impact of a comprehensive set of family support strategies that are funded in a region. Utilize scope of the evaluation, data sources and how the results from the targeted evaluation study can inform best practices.

18. Recommendations • Connections - Creating strong and effective linkages across system components that further improve results for system beneficiaries. • Initiate and engage Child Protective Services (CPS) or the juvenile court system to provide supports for high risks families who have not entered or are exiting the CPS or juvenile court system. • Systems building training for all strategy, determine and discuss shared goals, how regionally funded strategies can be best utilized • Infrastructure - Developing the supports systems need to function effectively and with quality. • Establish a regional risk profile and well-being profile of each region based on the needs and asset report. The purpose would be to take a deeper look at the composite of family support and literacy services in each region to ensure that there is a solid match between the services that are provided and the needs of the community. • Scale - Ensuring a comprehensive system is available to as many people as possible so it produces broad and inclusive results for system beneficiaries. • Identify specific regions that have high carry forward funds and determine how to assist with scaling up Family Support and Literacy programs.

19. Hualapai and Hopi Tribes Native Language Enrichment Strategy Native Language Preservation connects children in tribal communities to their native language and culture in the critical early years. Provides materials, awareness and outreach to promote native language and cultural acquisition for the young children of Tribal families.

20. Santa Cruz County Family Resource Center Kindergarten Readiness Class Key’s for 3’s Class Parent Education – Community Based Training Course Family Resource Centers strengthen families of young children by providing locally-based information and instruction on health and child development issues. Provides local resource centers that offer training and educational opportunities, resources, and links to other services for healthy child development.

21. Local Family Support Resources Parent Out Reach and Awareness improves child development by educating parents and connecting them to resources and activities that promote healthy growth and school readiness. Provides families with education, materials and connections to resources and activities that promote healthy development and school readiness.

22. Parent Kits • Arizona Parent Kits are available to the family of each newborn when they are discharged from the hospital. • The Arizona Parent Kit has a wealth of information for all phases of your child's youngest years. • All Kits Contain: • Arizona Parents Guide • Infant Board Book • 6 Videos/DVDs • Refrigerator Magnet with the toll free number for the Birth to Five Helpline.

23. Q&A Contact: Terri Clark, State Literacy Director Email: tclark@readonarizona.org