KCEd - The Early Childhood Education Initiative at KCET


	Teachers estimate that 1 in 3 children who enter the classroom are unprepared to meet the challenges of school. Teachers College Press


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	"The Carnegie Institute Nation At Risk study is what woke me up. They said, if a child cannot read and write fluently by the end of the second grade, you've lost that child for life." Richard J. Riordan Former Mayor, Los Angeles Background There has never been a time more important for a program like KCEd. Our initial research indicates that despite the wealth of resources available, children still enter kindergarten unprepared to learni and only 37% of children entering school have even a familiarity with printii. We believe the problem is that the adults who spend the most time with these children do not know how to fully support children's learning in the critical years before they begin school. There is a serious need for a program that addresses the specific concerns of caregivers of preschool aged children. KCET is well positioned to serve this unique group – 26% of viewers watching KCET's children's programs are adults over the age of 18iii.
			California statistics for pre-school aged children: 1.6 million children between the ages of 2 and 5 live in California, 480,000 of which live in Los Angeles Country.iv 884,800 (55.3%) children under the age of six are in households where both parents work full-time, or in single parent households where that parent works full-time.v 976,000 (61%) children under the age of 6 are in some form of childcare.vi 22% of California's pre-school aged children are in licensed day care programs, a number far less than the national average of 66%vii



			Population and childcare demographics: Parents in affluent areas are twice as likely to find a childcare or preschool slot as parents in poor areas.viii Low-income communities, particularly Latino communities, have the fewest early care and education resources.ix Nearly half of preschool-aged children in the state are Hispanic, yet only 24% of these preschoolers attend early childhood programs.x 70% of children whose mothers are college graduates attend some type of formalized day care, whereas only 38% of children whose mothers did not complete high school do so.xi 23.6% of children in California live in poverty ($16,450 or less annual income for a family of four in 1998).xii



			The cost of center-based care for California's preschoolers: In 1998, the average price of daycare for a single child was $462 a month.xiii The average family earning less than $30,000 annually spends 22% of their income on licensed childcare, while families with incomes greater than that amount spent 17%.xiv The California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids program (CalWORKs) offers vouchers, subsidies, for childcare to working parents; only 10% of children in eligible families participate.xv Many parents use the vouchers to pay for informal care by friends, family members, and baby sitters, rather than center-based programs.xvi



			Inconsistent statewide teaching standards: Licensed family childcare providers caring for six to fourteen children in their homes have no education or training requirements – only health and safety requirements. Legally licensed exempt care providers have no requirements regarding post-secondary course work or experience in child development. (ex. Families who care for children in only one other family besides their own or provide care through a sponsoring agency such as the Boys and Girls Club.) In Los Angeles Unified School District, preschool teachers must have an A.A. and children's center site coordinators must have a B.A. Beginning teacher aides need only a high school diploma.



	FOOTNOTES: i Harms, T., Clifford, R.M., & Cryer, D. (1998). Early childhood environment rating scale (Rev. ed.). New York, NY: Teachers College Press. ii West, J., Denton, K., & Germino-Hausken, E. (2000). America’s kindergartners. Washington, DC: National Center for Educational Statistics. iii Annenberg Public Policy Center; Roper Reports iv Population estimates for the U.S. and states by single year of age and sex: July 1, 1999 (ST-99-10). Washington, DC: Population Estimates Program, Population division, U.S. Census Bureau. v http://www.childrennow.org vi Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. (2002). America’s children: Key national indicators of well-being 2002. Author. vii http://www.childrennow.org viii Malaske-Samu, K. (2000). Child Care Counts: An analysis of the Supply and Demand for Early Care and Education Services in Los Angeles County. Office of Child Care/Service Integration Branch of the Los Angeles County Chief Administrative Office. ix Barnett, S.W. (1992) “Benefits of compensatory preschool education” Journal of Human Resources, 27, 279-312. x Lopez, Elias, (1999) “Who is least likely to attend Preschool?” California Research Bureau, based on the 1997 U.S. Census xi Population estimates for the U.S. and states by single year of age and sex: July 1, 1999 (ST-99-10). Washington, DC: Population Estimates Program, Population division, U.S. Census Bureau. xii www.childrennow.org xiii Los Angeles County Children and Families First Proposition 10 Commission 2001-2004 Strategic Plan. xiv Los Angeles County Children and Families First Proposition 10 Commission 2001-2004 Strategic Plan. xv Kagan, S., & Cohen. (1997). California Department of Education, http://164.74.253.64/preschool xvi Barnett, S.W. (1992). Benefits of compensatory preschool education. Journal of Human Resources, 27, 279-312. Top For more information, please see the KCEd Whitepaper.