Support for Children to Succeed:
Preparing young people at both preschool and school-age levels to succeed, focusing on the critical period from birth to third grade.
Strategies
1. Improving the quality and quantity of child care for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.
With increasing numbers of double-earner and single-parent families, child care has become one of the primary environments where young children spend their formative early years. High-quality, readily accessible child care offers opportunities to promote children’s healthy physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development, while also supporting parents in maintaining family self-sufficiency. Specific approaches may include:
- Programs that enable child care workers serving infants, toddlers, and preschoolers to acquire formal training that leads to a degree in Early Care and Education (ECE) as well as informal training providing practical support or incentives to child care workers from both home- and center-based child care organizations to further their educations. (Individual preschools are not eligible to apply.)
- Umbrella programs that promote new and support existing high-quality child care providers through activities such as start-up support, business management training, staff development, and child care quality consultation and enhancement.
2. Supporting parents as children’s first and most important teachers and advocates.
Parents are uniquely qualified to promote their children’s healthy development and success in school. Providing parents with accessible information, practical training, and opportunities for involvement in their children’s education enhance parents’ capacity to confidently take on their roles as their children’s first teachers and most important supporters. Specific approaches may include:
- Programs that provide targeted outreach and support for parents and at-risk children from birth to age 8, such as home visiting programs and programs that address the individual needs of low-income, limited English proficiency families from underserved communities.
- Programs that promote parents’ understanding of school systems and children’s educational rights, including information for disadvantaged parents about their children’s eligibility for services.
- Programs that promote parent engagement and that remove barriers to parents’ participation in their children’s education and healthy development, such as activities to make services accessible to parents with limited English proficiency.
3. Helping all children make a successful transition to kindergarten.
The transition to kindergarten represents a critical opportunity to lay the foundation for long-term success in school. Specific approaches may include:
- Supplemental programs for children entering kindergarten without preschool experience.
- Programs that facilitate coordination between preschool/child care and kindergarten to promote continuity for children.
- Programs that provide education for and support the involvement of parents in their children’s transition to elementary school.
- Professional resources for parents and teachers who are working with children who are exhibiting socio-emotional behavioral issues that impede their ability to learn and adjust socially in the classroom.
4. Encouraging children to become lifelong readers.
The preschool and primary years of kindergarten through third grade mark the key window for children to develop competence in and a love for reading. Children who are reading at grade level by the end of third grade have the core foundation of literacy they will need to succeed in school and life for the long-term. Specific approaches may include:
- Programs that promote the incorporation of books and literacy activities in child care and afterschool programs.
- Programs that support parents’ participation in promoting early literacy.
- Programs that enhance accessibility of literacy resources for all families through activities such as expanding multilingual children’s library collections.
5. Enabling children to build a foundation of competence in math and science.
In today’s high-tech world, quantitative skills are vital prerequisites for securing living wage employment and navigating and benefiting from everyday technology. Children who are performing at grade level in math by the end of third grade are well-positioned to achieve the quantitative proficiency required for long-term academic and life success. Exposing children to science allows them to develop critical reasoning skills and expands their vision for future careers. Specific approaches may include:
- Programs that supplement school-based math and science education through innovative, hands-on instruction in the classroom exposing children from primary through 3rd grade. Afterschool programs and field trips that are integrated with curriculum, standards-based, and led by trained math and science educators or professionals in related fields.
- Programs designed to promote effective elementary school math teaching for English language learners.
- Programs that provide elementary school mathematics teacher training and curriculum resources, with a focus on kindergarten through third grade.
For the 2010-2011 fiscal year, the deadline is August 9, 2010 (at midnight) for Support for Children proposals.
To apply: Follow the application process.
