Community Partnerships
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"Childcare" can describe an educational program that prepares youngsters for school enrollment and success in later life. It can also describe an environment of custodial care in which no education is attempted.

Research has shown that the youngsters who have stimulating and enriching experiences by age 5 will outperform other children throughout their lives. Otherwise they usually fall behind in school from the earliest grades. Many eventually drop out before graduating. These also are a high percentage of those needing special education, needing welfare, becoming pregnant as teenagers, and becoming involved in criminal activities.

United Way is working with other organizations interested in early education to provide high quality childcare for all area youngsters. The first step is a pilot program at seven childcare centers in Broome County. As part of the program, the Partners for Learning approach, which has been very successful in other communities, has been adopted by the seven childcare facilities.

Dr. Craig Ramey, author of the Abecedarian Study in Chapel Hill, N.C., developed the Partners for Learning curriculum. Dr. Ramey found that the seven principles which should guide any early childhood education are: 

1) it must begin in the first three years and continue through school age, 
2) the more intense and active the child’s participation, the greater the benefits, 
3) direct learning experiences, including programs designed specifically for children, are preferred to indirect programs, such as those that support the entire family, 
4) comprehensive programs offering breadth and flexibility are more effective than one-dimensional programs, 
5) not every child in a program will achieve the same results, 
6) a program works best in an environment of positive attitudes that encourages continued learning, and 
7) a program should be tailored to each child’s cultural situation.

Ramey’s studies show that children from families with low resources generally show increasing deficits or delays in their development during the first three years of life, usually scoring low on scales measuring general competence, intelligence, and language development. However, children from such families show substantially better progress when they receive high quality early education, responsive parenting, and good health care during these first three years. They also show reduced rates of mental retardation and better grade retention.

The agencies that will participate in the pilot program to implement Partners for Learning in Broome County currently serve a high percentage of children from low-income families. While poverty itself is not an indicator of poor performance, it is usually linked with lack of education, neglect, unsafe environments, and single parenting. As these factors increase, the greater the chance the child will be an under-performer.

Recently, two Broome Community College faculty visited a Ramey-based child care centers in Chicago to observe and learn first hand the practices associated with the Partners for Learning approach. They are now developing training modules that will be used to support staff working in the seven pilot sites. These childcare workers as they complete the modules will be able to demonstrate competencies that align with the Partners for Learning curriculum.

The seven pilot child care programs are at All My Children Day Care Center, Binghamton Children’s Learning Center, BOCES, two centers operated by the Day Nursery Association, Whitney Point Preschool and Day Care Center, and the Y’s Kids Program at the Binghamton YMCA.

In looking at community problems in Broome County, United Way saw that area children were doing poorly in certain areas. About 16 percent of the children enrolled in Broome County schools need special education programs. In addition, about 300 drop out of area schools before graduating each year.

United Way representatives also learned about the success of the Ramey-developed program in improving the lives of children in other communities. Working with other organizations in the community, including Partnership 2000, BOCES, and several local school districts, United Way proposed the adoption of a similar program in Broome County. As part of its Venture and Special Assistance Grant Program, United Way granted $4,870 in July 2001 to the Binghamton Association for the Education of Young Children to cover the cost of the educational tools needed to support the pilot program at the seven child care centers.

While only a pilot program now, the goal is to expand this program to provide all Broome County with the opportunity to participate, and a greater chance for success throughout their lives.

updated: May 21, 2008