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Contact: Liz Carroll
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E-mail: carroll@gcc.mass.edu

Media contact: Liz Carroll
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Release date: April 11, 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Educational forum champions the preschool experience

Preparing young children not just for school success, but for life success

"Young children need powerful friends,” says Karen Green, Union 38 Coordinator of the Community Partnership Council for Children. They found them in the Franklin County Collaboration for Children, a partnership of six Franklin County agencies and nine different programs that focuses on the education and care of young children and their families. Formed three years ago, the group puts on an annual breakfast forum at Greenfield Community College to highlight the importance of early childhood education and the people who provide it. "We want to support the highest quality child care we can,” says Green, "and unless these issues are on people's radar, they get lost in the shuffle of everything else that's important. So I feel like we have to be a voice for young children an families, and often the strongest voice.”

The Forum has grown in size and prestige with each successive year. On April 1st, GCC President Robert L. Pura welcomed over a hundred advocates for young children, including preschool teachers, daycare providers, educators and parents, saying "You're creating that foundation on which so many years of learning and growth will be built, and I thank you for that.”

New this year was the first Abigail Adams Eliot Award, presented to Teresa Dailey (see related story).

The keynote speaker was Elisabeth Schaefer, Early Learning Administrator for the Massachusetts Department of Education. "She is a very powerful advocate for young children and for creating a vision of early education and care in the state of Massachusetts,” says Green. Schaefer delivered a message with a strong emphasis on the kind of networking at which the Franklin County Collaboration for Children excels: connecting families with the social services they need in times of crisis. "I think the local connection is critically important,” said Schaefer.

Proof of the state's commitment to early childhood education is the creation of a new board and Department of Early Education and Care. Professionals in the field hope that this will lead to better pay for teachers and early care providers. "The state is certainly working hard,” says Green, "but there has to be the commitment of dollars to supporting early childcare. We can't have quality child care without being able to pay teachers a living wage, which has really not happened so far.”

Following the keynote address, four panelists addressed specific issues of early childhood care. Gwen Hawk, Education Site Supervisor for Parent-Child Development Center, explained how Head Start combines education with social work, providing whatever the family needs to help them stand on level ground. Parent and GCC alum Helen Patties recounted how Head Start helped her son to make a smooth transition from preschool to kindergarten. Maryanne Gallagher, Director of University Child Care at UMass., emphasized the importance of thinking beyond kindergarten success to instilling the problem-solving skills that lead to life success. Chris Jutres, principal of Hillcrest Elementary School spoke about the tension between implementing federal "no child left behind” guidelines, such as for reading readiness, and equally important activities like art, music, play and outdoor time. "We want to keep early childhood in the early childhood program,” said Jutres.

Afterwards, an appreciative audience took advantage of the opportunity to raise their concerns to people who are in leadership positions. One person pointed out that all of the statistics gathered by the Department of Education are based on data that busy childcare providers are supposed to find time to document. "Teachers' heads are just spinning,” she said. "The theory is great, but the demands are overwhelming.”

Kim Audette, Building Careers Coordinator at GCC, agrees. "We're all being asked to step up to the plate and provide more services.” Audette hopes that the educational forum and the new award validates the commitment of people who work with young children. "There's a lot happening in the field today, a lot of changes,” says Green. "Coming today will help bring them up to date on what the state is thinking about in terms of school readiness for young children, and how that's going to impact their programs. I hope they take away with them a sense of how our field is becoming more professional, and get additional resources so that we can help children and their families even more.”