Learn to Earn organized the partnership that will carry out the grant activities. By comparison, she said, about half of kindergartners who did not attend program sites earned the same readiness scores. Our Birth to 3 work focuses on: Increasing the quality of early health and education services for young children, Increasing equitable access to these critical services, Educating our community about the need and benefit of increased investment in the earliest years. JEREMY P. KELLEY / STAFF, Dayton City Commissioner Matt Joseph. But attendance in the 2021-2022 school year jumped up by 50%, as COVID lockdown and safety measures were eased and the program expanded eligibility to include younger kids in the DPS geography, as well as 4-year-olds in a new district (West Carrollton). That's why Dayton and Montgomery County are investing in children beginning at birth. Preschool Promise just started providing services to 3-year-old children who live in the Dayton public school district last fall, and so far about a quarter of the newly eligible kids are attending one of the groups sites. Its an expensive thing to send kids to preschool, but other countries figure out ways to do it, he said. Thanks to Dayton voters and Montgomery County, Preschool Promise: HELPS Preschool providers improve their programming, EDUCATES the community about the importance of children attending Preschool. Dayton Public Schools Superintendent Elizabeth Lolli said expanding Preschool Promise to 3-year-olds helps prepare more students for kindergarten because foundational skills, such as colors, numbers and shapes, will be taught earlier. These eligible children can apply now by visitingpreschoolpromise.org/apply. It will be administered by the Miami Valley Child Development Centers, our local Head Start provider. About 1,236 children who are 4 years old attend one of Preschool Promises partner sites in Dayton, Lightcap said. In addition to tuition and teaching and programming assistance, Preschool Promise also provides a stipend to teachers to boost their pay. Three-year-olds who reside in Dayton or Dayton Public School boundaries will receive the full benefits package including tuition assistance, Star Attendance rewards, Play Boxes, Books-of-the-Month, monthly postcards, a birthday card, etc. The award will support 5 early learning programs in their teaching of early literacy. He said this is a policy choice by lawmakers at the state and federal level, adding that community members who believe early childhood education is important should voice their opinions with elected representatives. In 2020, Learn to Earn was recognized for its leadership of the Montgomery County Birth to 3 Collaborative and was awarded a 3-year $350,000 grant by the. 10/1/15 to 9/30/16 5-year-old Eligible to apply if a Montgomery County resident10/1/16 to 9/30/17 4-year-old Eligible to apply if a Montgomery County resident10/1/17 to 9/30/18 3-year-old Eligible to apply if family lives in DPS/City of Dayton10/1/17 to 9/30/18 3-year-old DOES NOT reside in DPS/City of Dayton NOT ELIGIBLE10/1/18 to Present NOT ELIGIBLE to apply. Started with leadership from Learn to Earn, the Dayton-Montgomery County Preschool Promise was created to help more children come to Kindergarten ready to learn. The online application has been modified to screen applicants by their school district and birthdate. CONTRIBUTED, Robyn Lightcap, executive director of Learn to Earn Dayton addresses hundreds of educators and community leaders at the 10th annual Kindergarten Readiness Summit, Friday, March 8, 2019 at Sinclair Community College. The nonprofit provides tuition assistance, resources for families and works closely with teachers to improve teaching practices through workshops, coaching, professional development and other activities. We do that by helping families, teachers, and preschool providers.. In Dayton, the program is funded using millions of dollars in revenue from the earnings tax increase voters approved in 2016. This will mean that these children who enrolled at the age of 3 would receive two full years of Preschool Promise benefits! This funding is supporting expanded access to early interventions for infants and toddlers, including evidenced-based home visiting, with a particular focus on improving health outcomes for African-American young children in Montgomery County. Use this chart to help understand which children are eligible. Preschool Promise, which has served 4-year-olds in Dayton and Montgomery County for years, is now offering services to 3-year-olds in the city of Dayton. Learn to Earn Dayton is committed to supporting children prenatally to age 3, when their brains are developing most rapidly and the foundation for future success is being built. To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key. Preschool Promise operates in seven school districts: Dayton, Kettering, Northridge, Trotwood-Madison, Mad River, Jefferson Twp. CORNELIUS FROLIK / STAFF, PHOTOS: Notable Dayton Daily News front pages through the years, New details: Dayton Air Show attendance hits 80,000. Families who dont live in the City or DPS boundaries but have a Dayton mailing address may be confused why theyre not eligible. In addition to adding 3-year-olds who live in Dayton or DPS boundaries, were also allowing 5-year-olds to participate in a second year of Preschool Promise REGARDLESS of where they reside for the 2021-2022 school year. The Preschool Promise program which launched in the 2017-2018 school year has made a lot of progress in a short amount of time, said Dayton City Commissioner Chris Shaw. That equates to about 70% of children of this age within the DPS boundaries, she said. But last year, the nonprofit expanded the program to accept 3-year-old children in the Dayton school district. Dayton is home to 55 partner sites. Learn to Earn Dayton leads the Montgomery County Birth to 3 Collaborative, which includes partners that serve infants and toddlers and their families; social service agencies; public health, hospital and health care leaders; and philanthropic organizations. It is making at least one year of high quality Preschool more available and affordable to families with 4-year-olds. We listened to parents who are concerned their childrendid not receive a full year of their Preschool experience due to COVID and will be sending their child for another year of Preschool. Preschool Promise is now able to enroll 3-year-olds who reside in Dayton Public School and/or City of Dayton boundaries for the 2021-2022 school year! Watch this video about the impact of Help Me Grow home visitors. To make this extra year of Preschool more accessible to families, these 5-year-old children are eligible for Preschool Promisewithout a waiver or any special consideration. 2186, Preschool providers improve their programming, the community about the importance of children attending Preschool. Dayton City Commissioner Matt Joseph said that, sadly, early childhood education is not a funding priority in the United States, and the field faces challenges like staff shortages because the pay is so inadequate. and West Carrollton. MARSHALL GORBY\STAFF, Preschool Promise is reaching 71% of 4-year-olds and 24% of 3-year-olds who live in the Dayton Public Schools district geography. The Collaborative meets regularly and has been instrumental in bringing new funding to our community to support young children. In addition, students will learn classroom skills that are critical to being successful in kindergarten, such as sitting and listening to a teacher, standing in line, and following directions, Lolli said. If they have questions, we can explain the funding situation to them. Three-year-olds will need the same documentation and completed application 4-year-olds are required to complete to receive all benefits. Our vision is to help all children in Montgomery County be ready for kindergarten, Lightcap said. CONTRIBUTED, Preschool Promise participation for each of its seven school jurisdictions. When students begin kindergarten after having attended preschool, they are more likely to be academically successful for years to come.. 2022 United Rehabilitation Services of Dayton, Our Referral Sources, Stakeholders and Outcomes. Click here to read the Collaboratives quarterly updates. Preschool Promise is a nonprofit organization funded by Dayton, Montgomery County, grants and charitable donations that seeks to prepare children for kindergarten by helping them get into high-quality preschool programs. State assessments show that about two-thirds of DPS kindergartners who attended Preschool Promise sites were approaching or demonstrating readiness for school, Lightcap said. To learn more, contact Hope Vuto at (937) 236-9965, ext. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. Also in 2020, the Ohio Department of Education awarded our community a 3-year grant of nearly $400,000 to promote early literacy among children from 0-5. Brain development occurs fastest in the early years, between ages 0-5. We are the only grantee in the State whose work exclusively focuses on childrens literacy from 0-5. We are very pleased with the number of 3-year-olds we have in this first year, especially with COVID continuing to impact preschool attendance, said Robyn Lightcap, executive director of Preschool Promise. This is when the foundation for all later learning occurs. In the first year, about 423 children of that age are attending partner sites, or about 24% of the newly eligible population. Ohio Task Force 1s search, rescue efforts continue after flooding in Sinclair holding healthcare career fair tomorrow, Tuesdays election: What you need to know about voting, Group provides tuition assistance to families, quality assistance to schools, Preschool Promise just started providing services to 3-year-old children, provides tuition assistance, resources for families and works closely with teachers. Enrollment at Preschool Promise sites fell sharply in the 2020-2021 school year, as COVID-19 led to closures, quarantines, staffing shortages and increased costs for providers, officials said. This is a great step forward in helping more children attend Preschool! This major change is thanks to support from the City of Dayton, which is why only Dayton 3-year-olds are eligible. Were also happy to share that these 3-year-olds will also count in your quality stipend when it is calculated in early October. CONTRIBUTED, Income data for families participating in Preschool Promise. We know it takes some time for families to understand they can now sign up their 3-year-olds, so we hope to see even more sign up for the 2022-23 school year.. Its a policy choice, thats not set in stone, that other people have figured out how to fix., Breanna Sharp reads to her preschoolers Tuesday July 6, 2021 at the On Purpose Academy just north of downtown Dayton. Preschool Promise is working to grow enrollment and attendance, Lightcap said, and the organization has staff focused on outreach who attend and host events and sign up families before their children reach the ages of 3 or 4.