Filed under: E3 Alliance
Op-Ed originally run in the Austin American Statesman on May 12, 2011
by Ellen Balthazar & Brenda Strama, Local Contributors
A recent groundbreaking study by E3 Alliance shows that 48 percent of children in our region are not ready for school when they enter kindergarten. This is significant because children who start out behind stay behind. They are more likely to fail early grades, need intensive education services, drop out and enter the criminal justice system.
It is heartbreaking to think of 5-year-olds failing in school from the moment they start, but that is the reality for many of our children. According to United Way Capital Area Success By 6, the cost to intervene after a child is struggling in school is time-consuming and very expensive. Early intervention programs help even the odds for our most at-risk children. Without interventions, the costs of school failure will keep growing.
As districts and elected officials make very difficult budget choices, they have to consider where to invest in education, not just where to cut. Making good investments in education pays off over time and can support a strong economic future for Texas.
Quality early education is a smart investment. A recent study from the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, gives a conservative estimate that for every $1 we invest in pre-kindergarten for 4-year-olds we get at least $3.50. This $3.50 comes back to communities in fewer special education referrals, reduced involvement in criminal activities, increased income and lifetime earnings and improved work performance. This is a return on investment Texans can see every year as children move from grade to grade and from school to career.
The personal payoff for succeeding in education is also huge. A child who graduates from high school earns almost $350,000 more over a 25-year career than someone without a high school diploma. A person with a college degree earns $1.3 million more. It’s like winning the education lottery — a way to break out of poverty and achieve the American dream.
But a child’s education should not be left to chance like a lottery. There should be an even educational playing field, and the best and most efficient way to level that playing field for those children who are disadvantaged by poverty is to provide quality early childhood development opportunities.
In Central Texas, we have seen child poverty grow at an alarming rate in the last several years. More than 63 percent of children in Austin public schools are low-income. In Manor, that figure is 79 percent; in Del Valle, it’s 85 percent. The strain on the system is increasing just as funding for education is decreasing.
The E3 Alliance study showed that low-income children who attended any type of a pre-kindergarten program are 3.5 times more likely to be kindergarten-ready than low-income kids who did not attend pre-kindergarten. We like those odds.
We all know that with a structural budget deficit and dim outlook for state revenues, all major state-funded programs will see cuts. But drastic, across-the-board cuts to early education opportunities could irreparably harm our children’s future and our collective economic future. Cuts now that add up to big costs later are no way to balance the budget.
We need to invest in student success early, not pay for education failure later.
Balthazar is captain of School Readiness efforts for The Blueprint for Educational Change and executive director of Any Baby Can. Strama is chairwoman of the United Way Capital Area Success By 6 Leadership Council and a health law attorney at Beatty Bangle Strama, PC.
http://www.statesman.com/opinion/balthazar-strama-giving-kids-early-boost-in-education-1471901.html
This is a repost of Seth’s Blog located at: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2011/05/whats-high-school-for.html
What’s high school for?
Perhaps we could endeavor to teach our future the following:
- How to focus intently on a problem until it’s solved.
- The benefit of postponing short-term satisfaction in exchange for long-term success.
- How to read critically.
- The power of being able to lead groups of peers without receiving clear delegated authority.
- An understanding of the extraordinary power of the scientific method, in just about any situation or endeavor.
- How to persuasively present ideas in multiple forms, especially in writing and before a group.
- Project management. Self-management and the management of ideas, projects and people.
- Personal finance. Understanding the truth about money and debt and leverage.
- An insatiable desire (and the ability) to learn more. Forever.
- Most of all, the self-reliance that comes from understanding that relentless hard work can be applied to solve problems worth solving.
Filed under: E3 Alliance
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This study of Kindergarten Readiness was designed and implemented by E3 Alliance to determine what portion of Central Texas children entered kindergarten ready for school. Over 900 students from eight school districts were assessed using the Central Texas Guide to School Readiness (CTGSR). Four competency domains were assessed: social-emotional development, language and communications, emerging literacy, and mathematics.
Key findings:
• Overall, 52% of Central Texas children were school-ready when they entered kindergarten.
• Overall, 42% of the economically disadvantaged children who attended PK were Kindergarten Ready, which was three and a half times the rate for those who did not attend PK (12%).
• The Kindergarten Readiness of economically disadvantaged children who attended PK was statistically equal to their more affluent peers who did not attend PK.
• Children who attended PK were Kindergarten Ready at higher rates in the Emerging Literacy and Mathematics domains than their non-PK peers, and this finding was observed for both economically disadvantaged and non-economically disadvantaged children.
• Children who attended PK were Kindergarten Ready at higher rates in the Social-Emotional Development and Language and Communication domains than their non-PK peers, but this finding was observed only for economically disadvantaged children and not for non-economically disadvantaged children.
• Children who were eligible to attend PK attended full-day PK programs at a higher rate than they did half-day programs (18 percentage points higher).
For a download of this report, please visit the E3 Alliance website at: www.e3alliance.org and click on the More Information Tab
Filed under: E3 Alliance
The Blueprint for Educational Change (the Blueprint) Leader Summit brings together almost 200 business, community, education and political leaders from Central Texas to prioritize the actions for the regional strategic plan to improve education from early childhood through college and workforce. The Blueprint is Central Texas’ strategic plan to build the strongest education pipeline in the country. It arose from over two years of ground-breaking research and a series of community dialogues involving hundreds of stakeholders, culminating in the 2008 Leadership Summit.
The four goals prioritized during last year’s Summit were:
1. Children Enter Kindergarten School Ready
2. Central Texas Eliminates Achievement Gaps While Improving Overall Student Performance
3. Students Graduate College and Career Ready and Prepared for Lifetime of Learning
4. Central Texas, as a Community, Prepares Children to Succeed
The theme of this year’s Summit is Why Not? – alluding to a consistent theme we heard during the community dialogues – why not challenge the way we’ve always done things to make the changes in education our students need and deserve? The Summit’s goal is to build community accountability while identifying specific action steps to flesh out the action strategies already developed in the Blueprint.
“The Blueprint for Educational Change is the most promising effort we have seen to affect regional systemic change in education,” said Chris Busse of the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. “This strategic plan is data-driven, community-based, and regionally-focused, and, as a result, the accomplishments are impressive and broad-reaching.”
Some notable Blueprint accomplishments demonstrate the “Why Not?” perspective:
1. Release of the Central Texas School Readiness Standard – the first standard for building and assessing readiness for Kindergarten in the history of the state.
2. First-in-the-state articulated academic credit for select Project Lead the Way engineering courses to Community College and Public University.
3. Award of a collaborative, regional National Science Foundation grant including 10 school districts and three institutions of higher education to strengthen the Engineering Pipeline.
Today’s Summit will result in stronger community commitment to the Blueprint’s four goals, more detail in the action strategies to focus and sustain efforts to align education change across education, industry, and the community.
FOUR STRATEGIC EDUCATION GOALS
1. Children enter kindergarten school ready
2. Central Texas eliminates Achievement Gaps while improving overall performance
3. Students graduate from high school – college and career ready – and prepared for a lifetime of learning
4. Central Texas, as a community, works with educators to prepare children to succeed in life
Are you a student, parent, community member or interested in the topic? We welcome comments and feedback on these goals!
E3 Alliance’s Blueprint for Change – 2008 Leaders Summit, held January 23rd at the Four Seasons in Austin, was a unique forum that brought together over 150 Central Texas leaders representing a cross-section of business, government, community and education to explore ways to collectively drive the educational future of the region. Summit Leaders worked together to set education priorities that will drive systemic change over the next decade.
Commissioner Raymund Paredes of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board opened the event from a national perspective, emphasizing the need for change. He highlighted the often big disconnect between what the education system produces and what the business market needs. Paredes emphasized that it is in the self-interest of every CEO, college president, superintendent and community leader to commit to true systemic change – not just for their organizations, but for the region and state.
Executive Director, Susan Dawson, shared some of the ground-breaking research that has been undertaken by E3 Alliance, as well as the thousands of hours engaging Central Texas grass roots communities over the last year. Together, this research and the voice of the community provided the input to the Blueprint for Change.
The Blueprint for Change is the regional strategic plan that defines critical leverage points enabling systemic alignment of our education systems from early childhood to workforce prosperity, based on the strategic goals prioritized at this Summit.
The Blueprint for Change will define quantified goals and strategic actions for the alignment of practices and institutions, optimization of resources, needed policy changes, and financial opportunities. The completed Blueprint will provide a way for people at every level to connect into and engage in education reform for our region.
Summit Leaders took the better part of the morning discussing, prioritizing and adopting four strategic education goals based on research and community input compiled by the E3 Alliance. They examined how Central Texas has responded to the educational challenges of the region, and how we could adopt ambitious goals to “move the needle” in educational and economic outcomes.
Senator Kirk Watson then led an inspirational “auction” process where over a hundred leaders from across the region pledged to champion one or more of the selected goals. In his closing remarks, Senator Watson spoke of the centrality of education to the future of Central Texas. “Education is the most socially responsible way to address economic development. We must all become MOTOs (Master Of The Obvious) for education to secure a winning future for every child in Central Texas.”
The summit far surpassed expectations of attendees, presenters and hosts. By combining objective data, community input from across the region and the best ideas of our leaders, we launched the Blueprint for Change for Central Texas.
Please contact us if you would like to add your name to the list of champions for any of the strategic goals at info@e3alliance.org.
Of course, the hours and hours of work that went into planning the event should also be acknowledged. The organizers were Susan Dawson, Hannah Gourgey, Millie Marquis, Meg Moore, Rick Olmos and Taylor Willingham.
Filed under: Achievement Gap, Austin, E3 Alliance, Education, Non-profit
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Rick Olmos
Phone: (512) 223-7244
Email: rolmos@austincc.edu
Helping to Build a Blueprint for Change in Education in Central Texas
An open forum to help shape the education system in Central Texas
The E3 Alliance, in partnership with Austin Voices for Education and Youth and Texas Forums, seeks people willing to take an active role in reshaping education in Central Texas by taking part in the upcoming forums. Recent studies have shown that closing the gaps to education across all groups would benefit the Central Texas region by almost $52 Billion by 2030.
Throughout the months of October and early November, the E3 Alliance will host discussions about the impacts of Achievement Gaps in Education in six communities in the Central Texas region including Austin, Bastrop, Eanes (Westbank), Manor, Round Rock and San Marcos. These moderated discussions will allow each community to examine options for improving education outcomes for all students.
“It is vital that the public have an opportunity to participate in a discussion about education and the achievement gaps that threaten our economic future,” stated Susan Dawson, executive director for the E3 Alliance. Over the past year, the E3 Alliance has conducted objective, ground-breaking, region specific research to identify exactly where gaps are occurring between different groups, as well as trends in achievement. “Strategic decisions about education in Central Texas will require broad support, and these forums are the first step in gaining that support. Please join us to discuss how we can improve the educational future of Central Texas; we need your input. ”
The goal of the forums is to give everyone the opportunity to voice their opinion and share their views and, in turn, provide the community, experts and policy-makers more understanding prior to making decisions and setting education policies. These group discussions will strengthen the community’s standing in the eyes of policy makers and will build consensus and increase clarity within the community.
“These discussions will provide tangible approaches for addressing achievement gaps and a basis for an action plan,” stated Sylvia Acevedo, president and CEO of Communicard, LLC. “Ultimately, these efforts will strengthen the community and move the conversation from individual opinions to reasoned public judgment that supports systemic change.”
These deliberations will culminate in a Regional Delegate Forum November 15, where each community will take part in developing a region-wide plan to close education achievement gaps that will lay groundwork for a Blueprint for Change in Education for Central Texas.
For more information about the discussions in a specific community, to RSVP, or for materials, visit the E3 Alliance website at: www.e3alliance.org
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Filed under: Achievement Gap, Austin, E3 Alliance, Education, Non-profit
Conversation Schedule
Filed under: Achievement Gap, Austin, E3 Alliance, Education, Non-profit
E3 Alliance has partnered with Texas Forums and Austin Voices to conduct forums on Too Many Children Left Behind: Closing the Achievement Gaps in Central Texas.
We need over 100 moderators to commit to leading three sessions in communities throughout Central Texas in October and November.
During October and November, over 600 people in six communities – Bastrop, Manor, Austin, San Marcos, Eanes, and Round Rock – will deliberate ideas for closing the achievement gaps. In mid-November, delegates from each community will gather at the LBJ Library to develop a region-wide strategy and action steps we can take to make sure that ALL of our youth achieve and thrive and contibute to the vibrant economy and culture of this region.
Click here for more information about the project and the dates of the forums.To participate as a moderator, you must attend one of the following training sessions:
North Training Session
Saturday, September 15, 2007
9:00 am to 2:00 pm
Location: Round Rock High School Lecture Hall
300 Lake Creek Round Rock, Texas 78681
(Register) (Will take you to Texas Forums website)
Central Training Session
Monday, September 24 and Wednesday, September 26, 2007
6 pm to 8:30 pm
Location: United Way Capital Area
2000 E Martin Luther King Jr Austin
(Register) (Will take you to Texas Forums website)
South Training Session
Saturday, September 29, 2007
9 am to 2 pm
Location: St. Edward’s University,
3001 S Congress Ave Austin
(Maloney Room, Top Floor Main Bldg)
(Register) (Will take you to Texas Forums website)
WE HAVE AN ONLINE STORE!!!
Come buy some of the E3 Alliance products and show your support around town!
http://www.cafepress.com/e3alliance
