Envision Dallas’ Post

Braiding funds in Head Start programs is transforming policy, practice, and research, leading to more effective and integrated support for our communities. By combining various funding sources, Head Start programs can address a broader range of needs, ensuring children and families receive comprehensive services that promote their overall well-being. Our dedicated VPD team members play a crucial role in this effort. They support cutting-edge research that informs evidence-based practices, driving innovation in program delivery. Their work ensures that policies are not only data-driven but also responsive to the diverse needs of the populations we serve. Together, we are making strides in creating a more equitable and effective early childhood education system. #HeadStart #BraidingFunds #EarlyChildhoodEducation #PolicyImpact #ResearchInnovation #VPD

“This is about our children, our work, our success.” — Dr. Karla Eslinger Great to see so many PhilMO STL & Rolla Members join local educational leaders at the Delmar DivINe for the first of a series of Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education meetings to introduce Commissioner Karla Eslinger, solicit feedback on the 2023-2026 DESE Strategic Plan, and discuss the role of cross-sector partnerships. The room did not hold back — generally agreeing on the priority areas and foundational needs while: 🔹 urging bolder goal setting; 🔹 highlighting need for more seats and staffing for quality early child education and full day child care; 🔹 noting the power of language and need to reframe the narrative around public education; 🔹 emphasizing the continued need for increased and more equitable funding; 🔹 discussing workforce implications; 🔹 reflecting on the similarities and differences across rural and urban districts and suggesting value in encouraging regional approaches; 🔹 uplifting the need to overcome silos and other barriers to more collaborative, creative approaches… and more. Next up: Springfield & Kansas City #ShowMeSuccess #ImpactInspired

Kids are our future...and our future workforce! We know children who have high-quality, early childhood education will go to kindergarten socially, emotionally, and academically ready and will have a higher chance of being successful throughout school and going on to enter our workforce ready to succeed. That’s what we all want for kids in our community! Last year, 1,133 local kids were enrolled in high-quality, early education, thanks to people like you who give. This is just one of the ways your gifts make a difference! Those kids now have a better chance of succeeding in school…and in life. That’s the power of community. https://bit.ly/3VXQ4uG

DC's early education system is simultaneously 1) one of the best and most comprehensively funded in the US....and 2) the least effectively understood in terms of its housing, educational, and labor market context. (Would also note that too many of us in DC take its best parts for granted.) Valuable stuff from D.C. Policy Center.

What Happened When Brooklyn Tried to Integrate Its Middle Schools A new report found that many schools enrolled more racially and socioeconomically diverse groups of students without sparking a major exodus of families from public schools. Seeking to solve a problem that has vexed public schools around the country for decades, one progressive section of New York undertook an ambitious plan to better integrate middle schools that were among the most homogenous in the city. Selective admissions were scrapped. Every child got a lottery number instead. Schools adopted targets to admit certain numbers of disadvantaged children. And unlike in many places where integration attempts faced fierce opposition, parents led the effort. Now, five years later, the plan appears to be working. Middle schools in a section of northwest Brooklyn that stretches from Sunset Park to Cobble Hill went from being the second most socioeconomically segregated to 19th out of the city’s 32 local districts. Teachers and students say friendships are emerging across income lines. And while opposition to integration efforts is often focused on concern that middle-class and white families will abandon public schools, the area — District 15 — has not seen a major exodus. The city’s public school enrollment has dropped as families leave New York or move to charters, but the district’s declines have been less extreme than elsewhere. Across American public schools, more than a third of all students attend a school where most of their peers share the same race or ethnicity. But the Supreme Court has also limited how schools can use race to sort students among schools, and efforts to address racial segregation have mostly stalled. Instead of using race, the district employed other categories to diversify student bodies and bring students with different life experiences and resources together. Specifically, schools prioritized students who are homeless, learning English or from low-income families — factors that are often correlated to race but that do not pose the same legal challenges. The question of how to integrate schools has prompted heated debates across New York. In northwest Brooklyn and across the city, some Asian American families in particular have fought efforts to overhaul admissions that they say could lead to their children losing access to prime educational opportunities that they have worked hard for. The plan in Brooklyn’s District 15 is a rare of example of progress on desegregation that has prompted less public conflict. https://lnkd.in/ej_jaR3h

Colorado’s school choice systems lead the country. Colorado has among the highest percentage of families who understand they have a choice in where they can send their children to school.Low-income families, however, have far fewer choices than middle and upper-income families. While Colorado ranks in the top tier of states for families feeling like they have a choice, there is nearly a 20 percentage point difference between low and middle income families, offering a clear call to action for innovation and co-creation in communities that have been historically underserved by creating additional high quality school options.Read the whole report at https://lnkd.in/gQ72kfqk

Check out this article highlighting an exceptional school that serves more than 115 students in our community with a holistic environment!

How are #CommunitySchools transforming #PublicEducation? 📚 Improving Academic Performance 📚 Improving Attendance 📚 Advancing Racial Equity 📚 Increasing Teacher Retention 📚 Increasing School Safety 📚 Increasing Family Engagement 📚 Avoiding School Closures 📚 Addressing the Housing Crisis That's just the magic of #Community led schools! Interested? Check out the full report made with our partners at In the Public Interest and Network For Public Education! https://lnkd.in/gax4WYht #CSForward

Birmingham is getting creative to ensure kids are in school every day, and it’s working! ⬇️ In January, we launched Every Day Counts, a partnered effort with City of Birmingham Mayor's Office and Birmingham City Schools (BCS) to combat truancy. The effort offers an incentive to Birmingham’s public housing families wherein, if all school-aged children in the household are in the classroom each day for one calendar month, the household is entered into a random drawing for financial assistance toward a housing (ex. rent) or utility (ex. electricity) expense for the following month. In January, we had fewer than 10 households eligible. Yesterday, we had +130 and awarded $2,700 to nine households whose school-aged children received perfect attendance. In addition to the financial incentive, we’re offering wraparound services to support academic performance like Homework Help, literacy programming, and transportation to and from school if needed. In February, we had 60+ youth residents receive Homework Help after school and 40+ adult residents participate in literacy programming. Our success over the next few months until the end of the school year will be measurable thanks to a new data-sharing agreement in place between HABD and BCS. The early success of Every Day Counts is a result of our staff and community partners who share a commitment to helping public housing residents — many of whom are our most vulnerable —overcome barriers and become self-sufficient. #Birmingham #Community #Partnerships #Impact #Education #Studentdevelopment #Successstory

Dynamic and hard-hitting conference today at UC Berkeley's Center for Cities and Schools on addressing the needs of homeless students and families, organized by the one and only Deborah McKoy,. Oakland High School's participation in the YPLAN (Youth Plan, Learn, Act, Now) project, where high school students do their own research in partnership with Cal students to propose policy solutions, was repeatedly mentioned. Oakland got a shout-out when state Board of Ed chair Linda Darling-Hammond cited Latitude High School's student construction of tiny homes as a great initiative. Asked what schools can do to most help their unhoused students, one of the student panelists said: Teachers and school staff should do something when they notice that one of their students has their head down or is very stressed out. When you just got a 14-day notice of eviction, there's no way you can think about homework during those 14 days. USC Dean of Education Pedro A. Noguera (who was my professor when I was an undergraduate 30 years ago at Cal!) called out Bay Area districts like Berkeley, where he was once a school board member himself, for calling themselves progressive when there's so little progress. We need stronger policies for effective support for homeless families, including stronger oversight by county offices of education on the use of LCFF supplemental and concentration funding. Lots of food for thought on how to make policy meaningful, for homeless students and all students in California!