Page 4 - 2020 Progress Report

OVERVIEW BY COMPONENTS AND SUCCESS
EARLY CHILDHOOD COMPONENT
Throughout the last three years, Everett Freeman Promise Neighborhood has focused on building a Pre-K program capacity to disseminate, support, and sustain literacy and language improvements. At the beginning of 2018, EFPN partnered with Tehama County Department of Education’s (TCDE) Early Childhood Program to work with targeted public and private preschool centers to transform them into “Centers of Excellence” marked by high-quality instructional programming. TCDE- Early Childhood Program offers professional development (group and individual coaching)
to private and public preschool and head start educators, increases engagement in literacy improvement opportunities, conducts early literacy screening of students enrolled in the programs, and focuses on strengthening the relationship between the Pre-K programs
and the K- 8 education system. Professional development opportunities have been the primary vehicle for increasing the capacity
of educators.
One highlight from 2020 was the participation of 25 Pre-K and Kindergarten teachers in a summer vertical articulation training designed to deepen the educators’ understanding of instructional strategies. Promise Neighborhood funding has also supported the delivery of evidence-based educational and developmental programming to children age 0 to 5-years-old through the Healthy Families America (HFA)/Healthy Beginnings and the Early Head Start programs. Home visitation programs addressed the limitation of preschool centers by delivering services in participating family’s residences via bilingual home visitors. The programs ensured more children in the community acquired strong fundamental
skills - cognitive, emotional, and language -
to become school-ready. At recommended stages, participating children are screened for age-appropriate functioning using a validated tool, the Ages & Stages Screening Questionnaire (ASQ-3). Additionally, HFA program participants receive additional support from a Public Health Nurse who completes the initial parent screening, provides clinical services to families, and refers the child to a specialist when appropriate.
Page 3 | EVERETT FREEMAN PROMISE NEIGHBORHOOD 2020 Progress Report