An Aligned Agenda for Early Childhood Education--The McCormick Foundation approves $6.3 million to improve early care in Illinois

Shanita Bigelow |

In an effort to improve early care and education for all children in Illinois, the McCormick

Foundation recently approved more than $6 million in grant money for 21 organizations across

three areas: public policy, infrastructure and public awareness. Grant recipients include the Kohl

Education Foundation ($83,000), the University of Illinois at Chicago ($500,000), the City Colleges of Chicago ($85,000), Illinois State University ($360,000), the Womens Business Development Center ($75,000), and the Erickson Institute ($450,000).

Illinois has been a national leader in early education, according to Sara Slaughter, Director of the

McCormick Foundations Education Program. Weve enjoyed a lot of successes, she said, adding that shes proud of the foundations consistent funding in the area over the years to improve quality and access.

She cites the passage of Pre- School for All (2006), making Illinois the first state in the nation

to offer pre-school to all families with three and four year olds who wish to participate. The program offers mental health consultation, parent outreach, as well as efforts to expand teacher certification and professional development.

The McCormick Foundation has already invested over $90 million to better address the necessities and complexities of early childhood education in Illinois. While we recognize that

learning is a continuum, we know our current education system is not it is a series of silos each with its own delivery system, funding stream, governing laws and regulations, Slaughter said in a press release. The Foundations expanded focus from birth to age eight will look across these delivery systems to work toward a unified system to ensure continuous, quality education for our youngest learners.

While programs such as Pre-School for All and Head Start, among others, address the needs of

children across the state, they are governed by their own rules and regulations, Slaughter said. With this funding the McCormick Foundation is trying to promote more of a vision of alignment, she continued.

The nations economic crisis is a major challenge for existing programs, according to Slaughter.

Many programs are closing, she said, and if they arent, they may be forced to reduce available

classrooms, leading to a watering down of quality.

Another challenge, according to Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs /Dean of Faculty

at the Erikson Institute, Aisha Ray, Ph.D., has garnered little attention in early education research

and institutions of higher education: effectively preparing early educators to better work with students from culturally, linguistically, racially, and socioeconomically diverse backgrounds.

Family environment is an early determinant in a childs skill development, but early education

programs are also vital. Research shows that teachers understanding of childrens backgrounds influence classroom interaction, childrens adjustment to school, and academic success, according to Ray. Understanding students culture and language is critical, Ray said, because early childhood settings are often the first places where kids are not with their familyThere

can be a real disconnect between school and home settings. This disconnectthe stark differences between most teachers and their studentscan lead to the disadvantaged discourse labeling many students (often students of color, low-income or ESL students) atrisk,

according to Ray.

Ray, in conjunction with colleagues at the Erikson Institute, looked at one-third of early childhood teacher preparation programs in the U.S. In 2005/2006 to determine what extent of those programs courses addressed diversity. They found that of the required courses in 226

institutions of higher education only 12.5% addressed any aspect of diversity (e.g. culture, gender, and world view).

Its not that faculty in higher education dont realize that preparing teachers for diversity is a

problem, she said, but improvements can be made around faculty preparation and curriculum

assessment by infusing it with knowledge about the children that are actually in the classrooms.

An aligned effort is essential,according to Slaughter, an effort to better prepare early educators

and school leaders, assess current program outcomes, share research findings and support early care facilities to ensure quality care for all children.

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