opinion
lighting a ‘SPARk’ for Early Childhood Education
“O
n your mark, get set,
ready, go!” In the lan-
guage of childhood,
these words are an exciting invita-
tion—and a signal that it’s time to
be at the starting line and prepared
to take off in order to sprint to suc-
cess. But what happens when
children aren’t ready for the most
important
race
of
their
lives? Every year, four million
children in America enter kinder-
garten, but as many as one in three
won’t be ready for school—and
many of them will never catch
up. Supporting Partnerships to
Assure Ready Kids, or SPARK, a
national initiative of the W. K.
Kellogg Foundation, was designed
to get children at the starting line
and ready to go. Seeking “ready
children,” “ready communities,”
and “ready schools,” SPARK
worked for over five years in
seven states and Washington,
D.C., to help communities unite
resources to better prepare chil-
dren for school and smooth the
transition between pre-school and
elementary school settings. The
Children’s
Defense
Fund’s
Southern Regional Office (CDF-
SRO) was honored to be the
grantee for SPARK Mississippi
(SPARK-MS), a $5 million initia-
tive that has improved school
readiness for more than 800
Mississippi children ages three to
C HIlD w AtCH
Marian
Wright
Edelman
eight—a concrete example of
what’s working to improve chil-
dren’s chances.
In Mississippi, as in many states,
the early care and education “fam-
ily” is bound by the common
belief that all children should be
well prepared to enter kinder-
school districts. At the core of
every SPARK-MS site is the cre-
ation of a Local Children’s
Partnership. As Ellen Collins,
Executive Director of SPARK-
MS, explains, “These partnerships
are made up of community mem-
bers representing early education,
local school districts, business
leaders, parents, health providers,
SPARK staff, and other stakehold-
ers who realize that the success of
their community and ultimately
the state rests upon meaningful
investments in its children… They
understand their community’s
livelihood is based on the children
being ready for kindergarten, and
they are working to address any
Using the SPARK-MS model, work is
being done to align early childhood
education with the K-12 education
system in 10 targeted school districts
garten. But, too often child care
providers, Head Start centers, and
even public schools are preparing
children for the race on their own
without working together. Using
the SPARK-MS model, work is
being done to align early child-
hood education with the K-12 edu-
cation system in 10 targeted
gap or service need in their com-
munity and advocate for increased
quality and access.”
SPARK-MS’s
interventions
include professional development
and technical assistance for early
learning center staff, resource fairs
and cultural awareness activities
for children and families, home
visitation, and coordinating transi-
tion activities between early learn-
ing settings and public schools.
Every site employs Learning
Advocates who work with fami-
lies on a one-to-one basis, serving
as case managers, tutors, and
friends. This unique aspect of
SPARK provides a parent training
track, and the families whose chil-
dren participate in SPARK consid-
er their Learning Advocates part
of their own family. “She’s like
the preacher, the teacher, the
mama, the counselor, the husband,
the wife, all in one,” grandparent
Tena McNair said of her grandson
Tamarius’s
Learning
Advocate. “To me, she’s every-
thing.” Tamarius started with
SPARK at age three and is now a
successful fifth grader. As she
raises her grandson alone, Mrs.
McNair is especially grateful for
the assistance SPARK employees
provide. “They are always just a
phone call or a ride away. If it
wasn’t for them, I don’t know
what I would do sometimes.”
Satoya Payne, whose son Ricky
was one of the first SPARK partic-
ipants in his school district, shares
similar gratitude: “When he was in
first grade, struggling with his
speech, I didn’t know what to
do. Then SPARK came in, and it
was a big turnaround.” Learning
Advocates petitioned the school
district in order for Ricky to
receive speech and language serv-
ices and individualized tutoring,
and equipped his parents with
behavior
management
tools. Today, Ricky is a fifth grade
honor roll student who wants to be
a firefighter when he grows up.
The first cohort of SPARK-MS
students began taking statewide
standardized tests in spring 2009,
and the encouraging results echo
the positive impact we’ve already
seen in children like Tamarius and
Ricky. SPARK students who took
the Mississippi Curriculum Test
(MCT2) outperformed non-
SPARK students from a compara-
ble school district in both
Language Arts and Mathematics.
We have also seen more parents
involved in their children’s aca-
demic process and more commu-
nity members taking an active role
in advocating for changes to
strengthen the early childhood
development
and
learning
system. With a proven track
record and measurable results,
SPARK-MS is now moving into
the next phase. “We know the
model works; now we want to
focus on improving the system,”
says Ellen Collins.
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Across America, labor Unions Fight for Survival
T
he showdown
between
public unions and the gov-
ernor of Wisconsin is drama
likely to be replayed in other
budget-challenged states during
the next few months and may
determine whether American
unions rebound or become a fad-
ing fixture of the past.
According to the National
Conference of State Legislatures,
44 states and Puerto Rico have
introduced legislation governing
labor unions and collective bar-
gaining.
Because so much is at stake,
both pro- and anti-labor groups
around the nation have sent pro-
testers to Wisconsin during the
past week to support their cause.
Thousands of protesters, including
teachers, rallied in Madison, the
state capital, to voice their con-
cerns. Anti-labor protesters have
also marched in the streets to
express their support for a pro-
posed measure to strip public
unions of much of their power.
At the center of the debate is
Governor Scott Walker’s
proposal to save $330 mil-
lion through mid-2013.
Under the plan, govern-
ment workers will have to
pay more than half the
costs of their pensions and
at least 12.6 percent of
their healthcare premiums.
Unions would still be
allowed to represent work-
ers, but could not seek pay
increases above the Consumer
Price Index unless approved by a
public refer en dum. Fire fighters,
police officers, and state troopers
would be exempted under the new
t He C urry
r ePort
George E.
Curry
plan.
Labor officials say they are will-
ing to compromise on pension and
healthcare benefits, but not their
ability to freely negotiate on
behalf of government workers. At
the national level, the budget bat-
tles feature organize labor, a key
base of Democrats, and fiscally
conservative Republicans, the key
to GOP election gains last
November.
Although public unions are
being blamed for many of
Wisconsin’s woes, they are not the
real culprits.
The Associated Press reported
on Feb. 1, that a “new analysis
to a fund that was raided four
years ago.”
Wisconsin is obligated to pay
Minnesota $58.7 million after the
end of a tax-reciprocity agreement
between the two neighboring
states. The state is under court
order to pay $200 million that was
illegally transferred in 2007 from
a state medical malpractice
fund, according to the
Milwaukee
Journal
Sentinel.
Further
complicating
matters, Governor Walker
pushed through tax cuts in
his first month in office
that are estimated to bring
in $117 million less in pro-
jected state taxes during
the next two year. Another
$72 million drop is a result
of lower than expected tax rev-
enues.
Like his federal counterparts,
Walker argued that the lower tax
cuts will create economic growth.
This is the same argument that
President George W. Bush used in
getting two federal tax
reductions
through
Congress. But, the prom-
ised economic growth
never materialized.
In Wisconsin, organized
labor is losing the public
relations battle as anti-
labor Republicans enjoy a
larger share of state houses
and governors’ mansions.
According to a survey
conducted earlier this month by
the Pew Research Center for the
People & the Press, “The favora-
bility ratings for labor unions
remain at nearly their lowest level
Although public unions are
being blamed for many of
Wisconsin’s woes, they are
not the real culprits
released Monday showed that
Wisconsin’s budget could be
between $79 and $340 million
short by June 30, 2013, due large-
ly to anticipated Medicaid expens-
es and a court-ordered repayment
in a quarter century with 45 per-
cent expressing a positive
view. Yet the public expresses
similar opinions about business
corporations – 47 percent have a
favorable impression – and this
rating is also near a historic low.”
The Pew report observes:
“Americans express mixed views
workers (36.2 percent) is more
than five times the private rate of
6.9 percent. Within the public sec-
tor, union membership was high-
est among local government work-
ers such as police officers, fire
fighters, and teachers.
A Labor Department survey in
2010 showed that African-
Americans were more
likely to be union mem-
bers (13.7 percent) than
Whites (11.7 percent)),
Asians (10.9 percent) or
Hispanics (10 percent).
Unionized full-time
wage and salary work-
ers had a median week-
ly income of $917 in
2010. Workers not rep-
resented by unions
earned $717 — $200
less than union wages.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported that 11.9 per-
cent of all wage and salary work-
ers in the U.S. belonged to unions
in 2010, down from 20.1 percent
in 1983.
By all accounts, labor unions
were primarily responsible for cre-
ating the American middle class in
the bygone era when manufactur-
ing was king. In an era of eco-
nomic belt-tightening and rising
Republican influence in politics,
however, they are serving as con-
venient scapegoats for pro-busi-
ness voices that wanted to get rid
of them all along.
A Labor Department survey
in 2010 showed that African-
Americans were more likely
to be union members than
Whites, Asians, or Hispanics
of the impact of labor unions on
salaries and working conditions,
international competitiveness, job
availability and productivity.
About half (53 percent) say unions
have had a positive effect on the
salaries and benefits of union
workers, while just 17 percent say
they have had a negative effect.
Views are similar about the impact
of unions on working conditions
for all workers (51 percent posi-
tive, 17 percent negative).”
It is ironic that the debate over
the role of unions is being played
out in Wisconsin, the first state to
enact of major collective bargain-
ing law in 1959. The American
Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees was found-
ed in 1936 in Madison.
According
to
the
U.S.
Department of Labor, the union
membership rate of public sector
george e. Curry, former editor-
in-chief of emerge magazine and
the nnPa news Service, is a
keynote speaker, moderator, and
media coach.
February 23, 2011 The Portland Skanner Page 5