Early Education For The Next Generation: Preschool Readiness For The San Joaquin Valley

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Early Education for thE nExt GEnEration: rEadinEss in thE san Joaquin VallEy
San Joaquin Valley Readiness for Early Childhood Education

What LegisLators Need to KNoW
Stories from Rural Central California
The Great Valley Center (GVC) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization working in partnership with the University of California, Merced, to support individuals, organizations and communities in ways to improve the economic, social, and environmental well-being of Californias Great Central Valley. GVC is pleased to have partnered with Preschool California in their efforts as an advocate that brings together a broad and diverse group of supporters, who share a goal of creating quality preschool opportunity for all California children whose families want to enroll them. Both the Great Valley Center and Preschool California have been supported by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, which has made a multi-year commitment to achieve voluntary preschool opportunity for all in California. This report is available to download free of charge from our website: www.greatvalley.org.
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Table of Contents
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Story: Paramount Farms Indicator: Three- and Four-Year-Old Population Story: Public/Private Education Leaders Join Forces to Promote Preschool Waiting Lists in the San Joaquin Valley: A Serious Shortage of Preschool Spaces Story: Local Investment In Child Care (LINCC) Constructing Connections The Central Valley Lacks Facilities for Preschool Children Who Need Them the Most Story: Stephens Pre-Kindergarten and Family Literacy Program RAND Report: Benefits of Preschool in the San Joaquin Valley Story: Pulling It All Together: Funding Qualified Staff and a Suitable Facility to Create a Quality Preschool Program FACTS: Childcare Is a Wise Investment Preschool in the San Joaquin Valley: High Need and High Promise Is Preschool Affordable in the San Joaquin Valley? Unaffordable for Families Earning the Median Family Income in San Joaquin Valley Counties Parent/Teacher Stories Law Enforcement Quotes Media Clips Footnotes Acknowledgements
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Story: Paramount Farms

Bill Phillimore, Executive Vice President County: Kings, Tulare and Kern Students who attend preschool: 18%
Paramount Farming Company grows almonds, pistachios and pomegranates on a large scale. The companys owners, Lynda and Stewart Resnick, attribute their success to hard work and education. They now want to give back to their communities and believe education is one place to focus; they believe education is the great equalizer. When Paramount Farming set up a college scholarship fund for its employees kids, we were unable to give away as many scholarships as we wanted because so few students qualified to go to college. This caused us a great deal of concern. In our ongoing conversations with educators in our communities, it became apparent that kids are coming to school at the earliest ages not prepared to learn, and that once these kids fall behind grade level, they often never catch up. As a result, we are starting a preschool in Avenal, a high need community where many of our employees live. Weve done our research and learned the value of high quality preschool programs. We hope we will be helping a crop of kids successfully complete college, with the aid of our scholarships, in future years.
... we were unable to give away as many scholarships as we wanted because so few students qualified to go to college.
Indicator: Three- and Four-Year-Old Population

Preschool Statistical Information for the San Joaquin Valley 1
3 and 4 Year Old Population per County, 2007
29,530 25,014 21,915
15,608
15,725
8,586 4,969 4,647
Fresno
Kern
Kings
Madera
Merced
San Joaquin
Stanislaus
Tulare
The Three- and Four-Year-Old Population

Children Who Speak Another Language at Home5 46% 46% 46% 46% 46% 46% 46% 46%
County Fresno Kern Kings Madera Merced San Joaquin Stanislaus Tulare
Four-Year-Old Population3 14,135 10,293 1,652 1,894 3,900 9,341 7,725 6,088
Children Living in Poverty4 29% 29% 30% 32% 28% 19% 20% 28%
Third Graders Who Read Below the 50th Percential5 68% 68% 67% 67% 68% 67% 65% 72%
High School Dropout Rates4 26% 26% 19% 27% 19% 34% 21% 22%
Story: Public/Private Education Leaders Join Forces to Promote Preschool

County: Merced
In 2007, seventy top Merced County executives accepted an invitation to join the Business and Education Alliance of Merced (BEAM). San Joaquin Valley leaders know that an ongoing growth issue in the Valley is attracting new business and the Valleys often under-qualified workforce is a big drawback. At County Bank, for example, job applicants must take a short test in English, basic math and ethics. Though the test is at about eighth or ninth grade level, test takers have a 60% failure rate. By the time businesses identify terrible shortfalls like these, it is often too late to go back and repair. BEAM members spent a year learning about the merits of preschool and are convinced it is essential to a childs long-term educational success and to closing the readiness gap that exists at the kindergarten door. They learned that prior to third grade kids are learning to read but that from third grade on they need to be reading to learn. Quality preschool programs prepare our children to do their best in kindergarten and beyond. Preschool makes concrete differences in peoples lives in long-term measurable ways. According to a RAND study, the San Joaquin Valley would see over 1,600 fewer high school dropouts each year by making quality preschool available and a 25% increase in the years of education achieved by Valley students. Often 60 CEOs or more, along with the co-chairs, attend BEAMs Executive Committee meetings and they are ready now to send a collective message to local and state policymakers about the need to expand quality preschool opportunities to make Merced County and the Valley a more attractive place for business growth.
Waiting Lists in the San Joaquin Valley: A Serious Shortage of Preschool Spaces
Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, California, surveyed preschool programs in all of the states counties to measure childcare capacity. Waiting list rates for 2005 were published for each county. The results for the San Joaquin Valley reveal serious capacity problems.6 All California Head Start, State Preschool and General Child Care contractors in each county were surveyed. The overall survey response rate was 48%.
In all counties in the San Joaquin Valley1, 59% or more of all public programs that responded had active waiting lists.
In Madera County, every public

preschool responding to the survey had an active waiting list.
Preschools with Active Waiting List

(percentage of survey respondents)
County Fresno Kern Kings Madera Merced San Joaquin Stanislaus Tulare State Average All Public Programs 72% 83% 60% 100% 59% 89% 96% 64% 76%
Stanislaus County was near total

capacity, with 96% of its responding public preschool programs maintaining active waiting lists.
In half of the counties in the San

Joaquin Valley the percentage of responding public preschools with an active waiting list exceeded the state average.
The Great Valley Center reports regularly on child well being and education outcomes. We believe that early learners benefit from attending pre-schools with sound academic plans. That practice improves the chances of reading at grade level by third grade and mastering basic math concepts.
David Hosley, President Great Valley Center
Story: Local Investment In Child Care (LINCC) Constructing Connections

Steve Sanders County: Kern
Since 1997, the Kern County Superintendent of Schools has operated the Local Investment in Child Care (LINCC) project to address the need for quality early childhood education (preschool and child care) in our community. LINCC assists private, public and non-profit sector parties who want to own, operate and/or develop quality preschool/ child care facilities, whether they are in-home family providers or stand-alone centers. LINCC services help potential providers to design, locate, license, and finance suitable facilities to care for children. Since 1997, LINCC has been able to develop 10,000 new quality early childhood education spaces in Kern County, creating numerous new jobs in the early childhood education industry in a county with notoriously high unemployment. Kerns LINCC program is supported by the Low Income Investment Fund through their Constructing Connections grant. They serve as one of ten demonstration sites that has successfully worked to create more quality early childhood education opportunities for children. Kern and Merced Counties are the only Constructing Connections sites in the San Joaquin Valley. Many others have voiced their support of LINCCs mission. The LINCC Leadership Team, consisting of business and government stakeholders, has been working for the past several years to develop collaborative approaches that will meet the need for quality early childhood education in Kern County. Several cities are exploring ways to include preschool/child care facilities in new developments so as not to continue
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adding to the shortage. The cities of Delano, Ridgecrest and Taft have adopted supportive early childhood education policies in their General Plans, which will make it easier for preschool/child care operators, developers and other key stakeholders to work together to create quality preschool and child care spaces as the community grows. Other communities are working to add similar language as they update their general plans. Constructing Connections and Kern Countys LINCC project are working proactively to address the needs of early childhood education in the San Joaquin Valley. For more information visit the LINCC web site at http://kcsos.kern.org/cccc/lincc.
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The Central Valley Lacks Facilities for Preschool Children Who Need Them the Most
Children in California neighborhoods that are rich with young families and struggling with academic achievement are often the children who face the steepest access barriers. If preschool program funds were made available tomorrow, there simply would be no ready space for many of the children who need it the most.7 In Californias Preschool Space Challenge, 2007, the Advancement Project documented space shortages for preschoolers throughout the state in two hypothetical scenarios: (1) preschool for all universal approach - in which preschool is made available to all four-year-olds in the state; and (2) a targeted approach in which preschool is made available to all fouryear-olds who are heading into elementary schools whose Academic Performance Index scores are in the two lowest performing deciles (API 1 and 2 schools).8
Some of the Most Severe Space Shortages in California Are In the San Joaquin Valley
While the fact that California lacks adequate facilities for 21% of four-year-olds who would enter preschool in both the universal and targeted scenarios presents challenges, this statewide figure masks even more serious equity and access problems. Facilities shortages are not evenly distributed throughout the state. They are concentrated in space short communities and are clustered disproportionately in the San Joaquin Valley.9
None of the San Joaquin Valley counties have adequate space to accommodate entering
preschoolers in either a universal or targeted preschool initiative.
In 7 of 8 San Joaquin Valley counties, the percentage of children who could not be accommodated in a preschool space under the preschool for all scenario exceeded the state average by a significant percentage.
In 6 of 8 San Joaquin Valley counties, the percentage of children who could not be accommodated in a preschool space under the targeted AP 1 and 2 scenario significantly exceeded the state average.
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Generally, County shortages are not evenly distributed, but tend to be larger in communities that
would benefit most from increased preschool attendance, especially lower income and Spanish speaking communities.10
The two main types of shortfall neighborhoods are urban core and exurban neighborhoods
where the social service infrastructure has not kept up with the recent large influx of new housing developments.11
Space Shortages in the San Joaquin Valley

% of Children Who Could Not be Accommodated (preschool for all) 9-16% 38-45% 30-38% 38-45% 30-38% 30-38% 30-38% 23-30% 21% % of Children Who Could Not be Accommodated (AP 1 & 2 targeted) 10-20% 39-49% 29-39% 49-58% 39-49% 10-20% 29-39% 29-39% 21%
County Fresno Kern Kings Madera Merced San Joaquin Stanislaus Tulare Statewide
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Story: Stephens Pre-Kindergarten and Family Literacy Program

Dana True County: Madera
The Madera County Office of Education provides a comprehensive child development program that includes early childhood education, parent workshops, home visitation, research-based professional development for teachers, and school-linked family literacy activities between the child, parent, and the early childhood educator. The early childhood education class is designed for 4-year-old children, and includes a balanced approach between child initiated play and teacher directed activities. All instruction includes purposeful and intentional teaching and learning experiences. The foundation of the curriculum includes interactive conversations and dialogic or shared reading and writing activities. By focusing on the whole child, including the social/emotional, mental, and physical domains of development, children will enter kindergarten ready to learn, with the necessary foundation for success in school. Parent workshops build the capacity of families for serving as their childs first and most effective teachers through providing information, training, and modeling that engages children in early literacy, health, and fitness activities at home. Parent workshops are hands-on and involve the parent and child learning together. The program also provides parent outreach and education on topics, such as the impacts of domestic violence on early brain development and school readiness. Parents are also provided home visitation on an as-needed basis for necessary community service referrals and follow-up.
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Children, parents, and educators participate in weekly school-linked family literacy activities. This includes engaging children in shared reading, both in school and at home, followed by adults inviting children to represent their ideas about stories in home and school dialogue journals. Parents and teachers scaffold childrens vocabulary development and language experiences through conversations about stories and drawings, dictating in the journals what children say, and then reading the dictated sentences back again with children. Further, children are encouraged to share the pen and take a turn writing, which often means scribbling for the PreK child. Drawings and dictated sentences that are written at home are discussed at school during small group times, and drawings and dictated sentences from school are re-read and discussed at home between parents and children together. Using childrens experiences with story books and their authentic language during shared reading and writing activities, has resulted in successful early literacy gains for PreK children. The PreK program also offers research-based professional development for teachers. Workshops are centered on language and literacy, social and emotional development, and early math. Furthermore, teachers are provided follow-up site teacher meetings for sharing effective teaching and learning strategies, and teachers often participate in individualized coaching.
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RAND Report: Benefits of Preschool in the San Joaquin Valley

A 2005 RAND report, County-Level Estimates of a Universal Preschool Program in California, explored the substantial benefits of quality preschool attendance for four-year olds in five California geographical areas.12 The authors analyzed several factors measuring childrens success in later years including the number of children per year retained in a grade, the years children spent in special education programs, high school dropout rates, and involvement with the juvenile justice system. Significant improvements were demonstrated in each of these areas as a result of preschool attendance. The RAND analysis was applied on a regional basis to the eight county San Joaquin Valley: Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Tulare counties. In addition, the authors looked at 13 individual counties expected to have the largest population of four year olds over the next decade. Fresno, Kern, and San Joaquin counties were among the 13. These results were reported in raw numbers and as a percentage change from the baseline.
The Benefits of Preschool Attendance Are Even Greater for the San Joaquin Valley than for California as a Whole
Because the San Joaquin Valley had the largest share of low income students of the regions examined in the RAND Study, and because low income children show larger educational gains as a result of preschool, the benefits of universal preschool pertaining to educational outcomes exceed those measured for California as a whole by several percentage points.14 For example, universal preschool would mean that the San Joaquin Valley would have to provide 13 percent fewer years of special education compared to nine percent for California. If universal preschool were offered, the San Joaquin Valley would see a 22 percent reduction in the number of dropouts. California by contrast would experience only a 14 percent decline.
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The San Joaquin Valley Would Benefit From Universal Preschool

SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
2,214 fewer children per year ever retained in a grade13 10,063 fewer special education child years 1,610 fewer dropouts per year 4,744 fewer total criminal charges filed against juveniles FRESNO COUNTY 539 fewer children per year ever retained in a grade 2,449 fewer special education child years 392 fewer dropouts per year 1,154 fewer charges filed against juveniles per year KERN COUNTY 488 fewer children per year ever retained in a grade 2,220 fewer special education child years 355 fewer dropouts per year 1,046 fewer charges filed against juveniles per year SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY 323 fewer children per year ever retained in a grade 1,466 fewer special education child years 235 fewer dropouts per year 691 fewer charges filed against juveniles per year 11% 30% 14% 15% 22% 19% annual rate of improvement 20% annual rate of improvement 14% 13% 22% 17% annual rate of improvement annual rate of improvement
Reduction in children ever using special education Central Valley California
Reduction in child years in of special education
Reduction in high school dropouts
Increase in number of years of education
8-13% 5-9 %
13% 9%
22% 14%
25% 15%
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Story: Pulling It All Together: Funding Qualifed Staff and a Suitable Facility to Create a Quality Preschool Program
Delhi Unified School District Superintendent, Bill Baltazar, is a member of the P16 Council run by the Merced County Office of Education. At the Council he learned about the value of quality preschool and determined that he wanted a solid foundation for all his students so they can be best prepared as they move into his kindergarten all the way through high school. With a Power of Preschool (POP) California First 5 Commission grant and his districts Title 1 dollars, he got started. Superintendent Baltazar knew that his students reading and math scores would be higher, their need for special education would be lower, and their likelihood of graduating from high school would be boosted if his preschool were an effective, quality program. The lynchpin of preschool quality is effective teaching staff, so Superintendent Baltazar hired the best folks he could find. He didnt have to go far to find his first hire, Charleen King, a kindergarten teacher at his own Schendel Elementary School with experience in early care and education. His two preschool classrooms, with morning and afternoon sessions, serve almost 40% of those who enter the districts kindergarten class and are staffed by two fully credentialed teachers who are paid according to the districts certificated salary schedule, and four fulltime instructional aides all of whom have their AA degrees including 12 units of early care and education classes. Preschool facilities are at a premium in the San Joaquin Valley. A recent study by the Advancement Project determined that even if there were resources to provide the needed preschool programs, Merced County would lack facilities for somewhere between one-third and
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one-half of its preschoolers. But Delhi Unified committed their facilities modernization dollars to creating two preschool classrooms. And because they suspected that their POP dollars might only be a temporary fix, they competed, successfully, in 2006 for AB 172 preschool dollars, the only new state preschool program money to come along in many years. In 2008, Delhi Unifieds first preschool teacher, Charleen King, became the first ever preschool teacher to win the Merced County Preschool Teacher of the Year.
I knew that having the right people, fully credentialed BA teachers, working in my preschool would make all the difference in the world. We are doing a study now to evaluate the impact preschool will have on our first graders but I am already confident that preschool is working to get our four year olds ready to do their best in school. My kindergarten teachers tell me they can independently identify the kids who have been through our program because they are so well prepared academically and socially for what school requires of them.
Bill Baltazar, Superintendent Delhi Unified School District
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FACTS: Childcare Is a Wise Investment

Preschools save communities money.
Every dollar spent on high quality one-year, voluntary universal preschool programs in California would generate $2.62 in benefits. The RAND report quantified savings and tangible benefits for California resulting from the improved outcomes associated with providing universal preschool. While the RAND study did not attempt to quantify these on a regional or county level the results make it clear that savings for counties would be very substantial as these improved outcomes are multiplied by the number of individuals benefiting and as they accumulate over time.
oUtCoMe
Reduced California public sector costs per year of special education Lifetime earnings differential per high school graduate compared to high school dropout California tax revenue per high school graduate California public sector juvenile justice system costs per juvenile charge filed Tangible victim costs per juvenile criminal charge
(2003 present value dollars)
Benefits
$8,421 $131,848 $5,512 $9,204 $12,873
Knowledge of the critical importance of the brain growth and learning during the early years has spread well beyond the wall of academia. Many children need quality preschool to help them be ready for school. Sadly, the lack of affordable, high quality programs is a barrier to that readiness. Too many parents cannot afford the cost of quality programs, or, quality programs are simply unavailable at any cost. We need a concerted effort to ensure that programs are affordable and available for the Valleys working families and that early care and education teachers are well prepared and fairly compensated.
Marianne Jones, Chair Child, Family, and Consumer Sciences Department California State University, Fresno
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As Chancellor of Californias newest UC campus, my days are filled with immediate challenges in building the foundation for the long-term success of UC Merced. This requires building a strong faculty, staff and campus now as well as working for effective preschool programs in the San Joaquin Valley. I need to be watching what is happening upstream to assure that the pipeline brings me young people prepared to take advantage of what the University will offer. All the data tell me that preschool is a great investment in getting our youngest people ready to do their best in kindergarten and all the way through high school, into college and beyond. Its all linked. Its really a big circle, with preschool a key link to assuring young people are ready to do their best in their studies and then, later, in the world of work and family, and in building a strong civic culture. The preschool investments we make now will be the basis for the future success of the University and of the Valley.
Chancellor Steve Kang, University of California, Merced
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Preschool in the San Joaquin Valley: High Need and High Promise
High-quality preschool is one of the most promising investments California can make in the children of the San Joaquin Valley. The Valley, with its large child population and high poverty rates, would gain enormously by providing high-quality preschool to its children who need it most. The Valleys third grade reading scores are in the bottom half nationally and its high school dropout rates are, in several cases, significantly above the state average. High-quality preschool can provide the Valleys eager young learners with the early academic and social skills they need to succeed in kindergarten, the early school grades and well beyond. Unfortunately, high-quality preschool is often unavailable and unaffordable for the children who need it most.
Fresno County
4 Year Old Population16 Children in Poverty17 English language learners Third Graders Testing below the 50th Percentile Nationally in Reading18 High School Dropout Rate19 More School Success and Less Crime20 What high-quality preschool means for Fresno County: 539 fewer children per year who are ever retained in a grade 2,449 fewer special education child years 392 fewer dropouts per year 1,154 fewer charges against juveniles per year Cost of Preschool per child per year21 Median Household Income22 Household shortfall for making ends meet with preschool23 Facilities (percentage of preschoolers in low-performing school districts who lack space in a preschool facility)24 Preschool Programs with Waiting lists25 Avg. $5,453 Top 15% $3,478 $41,390 $6,536 19-29% 72% 14,135 29% TBD 68% 26%
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Is Preschool Affordable in the San Joaquin Valley?

In Paying the Price for High Cost of Preschool in California, Fight Crime: Invest In Kids, California reports the cost of attending preschool in California on a county by county basis. By examining the cost of maintaining a household, as reported by the California Budget Project, the report demonstrates that most lower and middle income families cannot afford even parttime preschool. Further analysis comparing the median income in each of the San Joaquin Valley counties to the cost of maintaining a household and sending one child to preschool, reveals serious shortfalls for families in all but one county in the San Joaquin Valley, demonstrating that preschool is out of reach for many families in the Valley.
How Much Does Preschool Cost In The San Joaquin Valley?

Fight Crime: Invest in Kids reported preschool costs for the San Joaquin Valley ranging from $3,428 per child per year to more than $6,000 per year.27
CoUNtY Fresno Kern Kings Madera Merced San Joaquin Stanislaus Tulare Cost $3,478 $3,504 $3,691 $3,427 $3,428 $3,509 $3,480 $3,443 15% highest cost programs $5,453 $5,466 $5,099 $5,622 $5,624 $5,351 $6,125 $5,621
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Unaffordable for Families Earning the Median Family Income in San Joaquin Valley Counties
A two-parent household in the San Joaquin Valley with two children and one working parent must earn $44,448 annually to maintain a household and raise children.28 This figure assumes that the family rents a modest apartment rather than purchasing a home and does not include preschool costs.29 For San Joaquin families earning the median household income even part-time center-based preschool of varying quality is unaffordable. The annual shortfall between actual income and income needed to maintain a household and send a child to part-time preschool ranges from $1,160 to $9,712.
Families in the San Joaquin Valley: Median Income

Counties Fresno Kern Kings Madera Merced San Joaquin Stanislaus Tulare MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME $41,390 $40,146 $40,433 $44,655 $40,039 $48,828 $46,768 $38,179 MINIMUM INCOME TO MAKE ENDS MEET $44,448 $44,448 $44,448 $44,448 $44,448 $44,448 $44,448 $44,448 COST OF PRESCHOOL $3,478 $3,504 $3,691 $3,427 $3,428 $3,509 $3,480 $3,443 MAKING ENDS MEET WITH PRESCHOOL $47,926 $47,952 $48,139 $47,875 $47,876 $47,957 $47,928 $47,891 SHORTFALLL $6,536 $7,806 $7,706 $3,220 $7,837 $671 $1,160 $9,712
Ive talked to other business owners and community leaders and found they have the same challenges County Bank has finding qualified employees. This problem has also affected Merced Countys employers ability to attract new employers with higher paying jobs. The data shows that quality preschool programs provide the foundation for assuring that we have the capable, high performing workforce we need.
Ed Rocha, President/COO County Bank
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Parent/Teacher Stories
I have a 7th grader now who went to preschool when she was four. I was impressed at how
well she learned to communicate and get along with other kids. When she got to kindergarten she was prepared and got great progress reports all year. So when my younger daughter turned three, I knew I wanted her to have the advantage of preschool too. Kids are never too small to learn and she adapted quickly to her new environment. She got a lot of good structure and stimulation at preschool. I realized that before strong preschool started she was starting to get bored being home with family. She learned a lot of more grown-up words at preschool, and it all got her ready for kindergarten where she is doing very well now.
Lurdes Martinez, Parent Sanger

Juans parents are migrant workers. They dont have much money at all and they are uneducated. They speak only a little English. Juan is the youngest of five siblings. His parents work in the fields and have done that for years. I am happy to say that I can tell already that Juan is going to do well in school because he came to my kindergarten with a big advantage: hed been to preschool. His parents had been told about our school districts preschool program and that it would help their little boy do better in school and so they enrolled Juan. I could tell from the first day of school that Juan had been to preschool. He was confident. He knew how to behave in the classroom and got along well with the other kids. And, over the course of the year his literacy and math skills were able to keep pace easily with what was expected of him. When kids come to me without preschool experience I need to spend a lot of my time teaching them the basics in terms of classroom behavior and also in terms of academics. Some kids come without knowing what is expected of them and it makes for an emotionally rough transition for these kids. Kids without preschool usually dont have the basics down in
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terms of socializing and sharing. And they also dont have basic literacy skills like recognizing letters and understanding that letters stand for certain sounds. They start out way behind. Its tough on their confidence. I notice that later in the school year, when I compare the academic progress of my students, its the children who had preschool who make the biggest gains. Juan is doing great. Hes a good role model for some the kids who have not had preschool. He often helps me out with tasks in the classroom and I can see his confidence and leadership skills building every day. He came to my kindergarten class ready to learn. There is a lot less crying in my kindergarten classes now than there was when I started teaching kindergarten over a decade ago. Sanger Unified School District has added a lot of preschool classrooms now, and that means I have a lot more students who arrive ready to take advantage of what I have to teach them. I wish all students could get this kind of start. I am worried now that my own two-year-old daughter will not be able to go to a quality preschool when the time comes. Although my husband and I both work, we dont make enough to be able to afford the high cost of quality preschool, but we arent low income enough to be eligible for the districts preschool program. I hope that someday this changes and that all kids can have the preschool advantage that Juan has had.
Dolores Leal-Martinez, Teacher Ronald Reagan Elementary School, Fresno County
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My husband tells my boys, who are in the third and fourth grade now, that Once you get an A you wont want to settle for a B. Both of these boys are on the honor roll at school, and I am sure it was their preschool experience that set them up for that. When they got to kindergarten they already had high expectations of themselves. They knew their letters and songs and shapes and it gave them confidence. And their preschool helped me be a better parent by opening my eyes to the importance of education at an early age. The preschool sent home fliers all the time with lesson about how to help my boys learn. Once they started preschool my boys became more interested in interacting with books. They developed good learning habits and good judgment. My nephews who did not go to preschool had a much harder time. Their vocabularies were more limited and they were not as good at sharing and waiting their turns. When my youngest, Adrian, started preschool just last year, the school identified that he had a speech delay. I had noticed his speech was slow but didnt know there was something we could do to help him. He is working with a speech therapist and its made a huge difference for him. Now Adrians speech is more clear and hes forming sentences. Its great for all of us because now we can understand better what he is trying to communicate to us. I am grateful for all that preschool has done to help our boys.
Rosa Linda Gutierrez, Parent Sanger Unified School District
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Law Enforcement Quotes

We are making too many three- and fouryear-olds play a dangerous waiting game that threatens the public safety of our communities. The research is clear: turning our most at-risk kids away from quality preschool increases the chances that they will fall behind in school and eventually turn to careers in crime. Id rather pay now to open the door of opportunity for our kids than pay more later to shut a jail door behind them. Those of us on the front lines of fighting crime know well see a big drop in crime when Californias commitment to putting criminals in jail is matched by our commitment to investing in kidsstarting with preschool programs that help kids succeed in school and start down the right path in life. Unfortunately, every single public preschool in Madera County reported that they are forced to put kids on waiting lists because theyre at capacity. Clearly we need to create more opportunities for our kids to get a head start with preschool.
Chief Jerry Dyer, Fresno PD

Before their first day of kindergarten, more than half of Californias youngsters are already behind in school. Without a year of preschool under their belts, they stumble over the basics following directions, taking turns, reciting the alphabet. Studies show they might never quite catch up and are more likely to wind up in special education, dropping out of high school or in the justice system.
Sheriff John Anderson, Madera County

We need to use every weapon in our arsenal to fight crime and the research is clear: denying kids quality preschool programs increases the chances that they will drop out of school and become career criminals later on. Its much more cost-effective to invest in children today, than pay to lock them up later in life. Unfortunately, only 28% of the three- and four-year olds in San Joaquin County are enrolled in preschoola real problem from a public safety perspective.
Chief Thomas Klose, Sanger PD

Decades of research has shown than an effective preschool experience is one of the best crime-prevention tools around. Its important for us to remember that investing wisely and early in our young people is the way to keep our kids in school and out of jail.
District Attorney James Willett, San Joaquin County

Kids who attend quality preschool learn the building blocks that lead to success in reading, in school and in life. But in Stanislaus County a whopping 96% of publicly funded preschools are forced to keep kids on waiting lists. It is unacceptable that low- and middle-income working families face such a high road block to enrolling their children in preschool.
Sheriff Donny Youngblood, Kern County

We cant arrest our way out of the crime problem, but we can educate our way to a safer community. The key is getting kids started on the right track as early as possible, and then making sure the parents and schools do whats needed to help them succeed and graduate.
Chief Marty West, Oakdale PD
District Attorney Ron Calhoun, Kings County
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Media Clips
Stockton Record, November 8, 2007 Study: Some S.J. preschoolers behind on academic, social skills - Jennifer Torres Fresno Bee, August 13, 2007 Preschool helps children succeed Fresno Bee, August 24, 2007 Chief backs preschool - Jerry Dyer Stockton Record, November 8, 2007 Study: Some S.J. preschoolers behind on academic, social skills - Jennifer Torres Merced Sun-Star, November 12, 2007 Study shows California kindergartners falling behind - Abby Souza Merced Sun-Star, November 24, 2007 Kids should learn early and often - Lee Andersen and Catherine Atkin Merced Sun-Star, January 19, 2008 Galgiani finds preschoolers can ask tough questions, too - Abby Souza The Bakersfield Californian, April 28, 2008 New preschool boasts 192 licensed spots - Courtenay Edelhart Merced Sun-Star, July 1, 2008 Preschool out of neediest kids reach - Abby Souza Fresno Bee, July 10, 2008 Op-ed: Our children must have preschool access - Larry Powell Fresno Bee, July 14, 2008 Letter to the editor: Value of preschool - Francine M. Farber
29
1 2 3 4
Footnotes
The 2007 California County Data Book, Children Now. U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income & Poverty Estimates, January, 2008 (based on 2005 data). Making Ends Meet: How Much Does It Cost to Raise a Family in California: The California Budget Project, 2007. The Report
calculates the basic household living expenses for a two parent, two child household with one working parent. The basic numbers make no allowance for childcare. The figure used for this report are those calculated for Region V, the counties of the San Joaquin Valley, using data from 2005-2007
5
Lee, Brian, Paying the Price for the High Cost of Preschool in California, Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California. These figures Key Preschool Indicators, Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, 2005 (a series of county fact sheets including preschool waitlists). Californias Preschool Space Challenge: What preschool advocates, parents, and policy-makers need to know, Advancement Ibid. at 4 (The report assumed that programs would be fully operational by 2010-2011.) Ibid. at 12-13. Ibid. at 13. Ibid. The RAND study assumed a 70% participation rate of four-year-olds in a part-time program totaling 525 hours per year. Due to data limitations, the authors could not calculate baselines for every category, and therefore could not measure per-
are based on California Department of Education Data from Statewide RMR for Preschoolers, 2005.
6 7
Project (2007) p. 5. Space short communities are also clustered in the Bay Area and Southern California.
8 9
10 11 12
Karoly, Lynn A., County-Level Estimates of a Universal Preschool Program in Cailfornia, RAND Corporation, 2005, p. xiii.
13
centage changes for some variables. Karoly, Lynn A., County-Level Estimates of a Universal Preschool Program in California, RAND Corporation, 2005, p. xv.
14 15
Karoly, Lynn A., County-Level Estimates of a Universal Preschool Program in California, RAND Corporation, p. 3. Karoly, Lynn A., and James H. Bigelow, The Economics of Investing in Universal Preschool Education in California, Santa Key Preschool Need Indicators, fact sheet, County data collected and compiled by Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, California, in The State of the Great Central Valley of California, Assessing The Region Via Indicators: Education and Youth Preparedness
Monica, Calif.: RAND Corporation.

16
partnership with Children Now in 2005. The population data is for four year olds who are not in kindergarten.
17
(Second Edition), Great Valley Center, 2008. P. 14. Figure is the percentage of children under 18 living below the federal poverty level.
18 19 20
ibid at 22 ibid at 26 Karoly, Lynn A., County-Level Estimates of a Universal Preschool Program in California, RAND Corporation, 2005 TABLES Lee, Brian, Paying the Price for High Cost of Preschool in California, Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, 2006. Based on data from
3.1 and 3.2 p, 27 and 28. (benefits when 70% of Fresno four-year olds attend high-quality, part-time preschool)
21
the California Department of Education. Figures include average cost and starting costs for schools in the upper 15th percentile of costs.
22
Lee, Brian, Paying the Price for High Cost of Preschool in California, Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, 2006. Based on data from
the California Department of Education. Figures include average cost and starting costs for schools in the upper 15th percentile of costs.
23
Authors calculations based on combining household living expenses from Making Ends Meet: How Much Does It Cost to
Raise a Family in California? The California Budget Project, 2007 with preschool expenses as reported in fn vi. above and comparing to household median income fn vii. The Budget Project report calculates the basic household living expenses for a two parent, two child household with one working parent. The basic numbers make no allowance for childcare/preschool. The number shown in the chart is the shortfall between median household income and costs of making ends meet including providing preschool for one child. The figures used for this report are those calculated for the counties of the San Joaquin Valley using data from 2005-2007.
30
Footnotes (cont)
24
Californias Preschool Space Challenge: What preschool advocates, parents, and policy-makers need to know, Advance-
ment Project, 2007. Charts 4 and 5 pages 10-11. In calculating the availability of preschool facilities, the report looked at, among other things, a targeted approach where preschool is made available to all four year olds who are heading into elementary schools whose Academic Performance Index scores are in the two lowest performing deciles (API 1 and 2 schools).
25
Public Safety Cant Wait: Californias Preschool Shortage, a Missed Opportunity for Crime Prevention, Fight Crime: Invest
in Kids, 2005. The figure represents the percentage of all responding programs with an active waiting list. All California Head Start, State Preschool and General Child Care contractors in each county were surveyed. The overall survey response rate was 48%.
26 27
Lee, Brian, Paying the Price for High Cost of Preschool in California, A Report by Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, 2006. These figures are based on California Department of Education data as reported by Fight Crime: Invest in Kids. Although
they are lower on a per child per year basis than the RAND estimate, the figures are not comparable to the cost of quality care. They represent the cost of part-time preschool and childcare of varying quality. While higher costs do not guarantee higher quality programs, cost and quality tend to be related, because of the need for larger numbers of more highly trained staff, comprehensive curricula, smaller staff to student ratios, and screening and referral services. The starting cost for preschools in the upper 15% of cost are included to give a sense of the costs of higher quality programs in each of the counties.
28 29
Making Ends Meet: How Much Does It Cost to Raise a Family in California, The California Budget Project. 2007 p. 21. Ibid.
Acknowledgements
Authors
Maryann OSullivan Manuel Alvarado
Editor
Amy Moffat
Project Partners
Preschool California Kern County Office of Education Fresno County Office of Education Merced County Office of Education This project and report was funded by a grant from the David & Lucile Packard Foundation.
A Great Valley Center Report
Great Valley Center | 201 Needham Street, Modesto, CA 95350 ph (209) 522-5103 | fax (209) 522-5116 | www.greatvalley.org

Early Education For The Next Generation: Preschool Readiness For The San Joaquin Valley

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Early Education For The Next Generation: Preschool Readiness For The San Joaquin Valley

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San Joaquin Valley Readiness for Early Childhood Education

Story: Paramount Farms

Indicator: Three- and Four-Year-Old Population

29,530 25,014 21,915

8,586 4,969 4,647

The Three- and Four-Year-Old Population

Story: Public/Private Education Leaders Join Forces to Promote Preschool

In Madera County, every public

Preschools with Active Waiting List

Stanislaus County was near total

In half of the counties in the San

David Hosley, President Great Valley Center

Story: Local Investment In Child Care (LINCC) Constructing Connections

Space Shortages in the San Joaquin Valley

Story: Stephens Pre-Kindergarten and Family Literacy Program

RAND Report: Benefits of Preschool in the San Joaquin Valley

The San Joaquin Valley Would Benefit From Universal Preschool

Reduction in children ever using special education Central Valley California

Reduction in child years in of special education

Reduction in high school dropouts

Increase in number of years of education

Bill Baltazar, Superintendent Delhi Unified School District

FACTS: Childcare Is a Wise Investment

(2003 present value dollars)

$8,421 $131,848 $5,512 $9,204 $12,873

Chancellor Steve Kang, University of California, Merced

Is Preschool Affordable in the San Joaquin Valley?

How Much Does Preschool Cost In The San Joaquin Valley?

Families in the San Joaquin Valley: Median Income

Ed Rocha, President/COO County Bank

Lurdes Martinez, Parent Sanger

Dolores Leal-Martinez, Teacher Ronald Reagan Elementary School, Fresno County

Rosa Linda Gutierrez, Parent Sanger Unified School District

Law Enforcement Quotes

Chief Jerry Dyer, Fresno PD

Sheriff John Anderson, Madera County

Chief Thomas Klose, Sanger PD

District Attorney James Willett, San Joaquin County

Sheriff Donny Youngblood, Kern County

Chief Marty West, Oakdale PD

District Attorney Ron Calhoun, Kings County

Monica, Calif.: RAND Corporation.

A Great Valley Center Report

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