Facts In Action

Collaboration is the key to high-quality child care and to effective partnerships for educators and families. A recent inventory conducted by the Child Care Action Campaign (CCAC) of 68 community partnerships in low-income communities highlights the challenges and successes of community collaborations in early education and care around the country.

Bringing together public schools with Head Start, child care providers, and other early childhood partners, the majority of these partnerships report signs of improved outcomes for children in school readiness and performance. The following findings provide a convincing picture of the long-term benefits of these collaborative services:

• 84% of the programs report higher levels of performance in elementary school;

• 45% of the programs report improvements in reading and 30% improvement in classroom grades;

• 60% of the programs report fewer behavioral problems and reduced retention on the kindergarten level; and,

• 38% report a reduced incidence of grade retention and a 33% decline in assignment to special education classrooms.

Furthermore, the report indicates that partnerships between community-based programs and the public schools help to improve access to quality child care and facilitate transitions between preschool and the early grades.

The report recommends that in order for quality early childhood education to lead to future school success, public schools must take leadership roles in these partnerships and invest their resources, authority and political clout to improving child care. The partnerships also rely on the public schools to form strong relationships with their community-based partners, who bring expertise about early childhood development, curriculum, comprehensive services and parent involvement.

Source:
Partnerships for Success: Community Approaches to Early Learning - A Report on Partnerships in Low-Income Communities, S. Ochshorn, Child Care Action Campaign, April 2000.

For more information:
contact CCAC, 330 Seventh Avenue, 14^th Floor, New York, NY, 10001, by telephone at (212) 239-0138, or by visiting them on-line at ww.childcareaction.orgEditor's Note: this url is no longer active.

Facts in Action, August 2000