January 2010 E-Newsletter
Baby University: Never Too Early to Start
Greeting from Executive Director
Dear Friend,
Who doesn't want to start the new year with a financial boost?
It turns out that helping students increase their educational levels—that is, get more education, such as completing high school—brings significant benefits to taxpayers. Stephen Carroll and Emre Erkut demonstrate how in their recent report, The Benefits to Taxpayers from Increases in Students' Educational Attainment (RAND Education, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, 2009).
Carroll and Erkut found that "the benefits to taxpayers from increases in students' educational attainment are very high. Regardless of a student's gender or race/ethnicity, raising his or her level of education leads, on average, to substantially increased payments into, and reduced demands on, the public budget." Specifically, they examined benefits in three areas: increased tax revenues for support social programs, decreased public spending on social support and insurance programs, and decreased public spending on incarceration. They conclude that "taxpayers, including those who do not have children in school, have a stake in developing programs and policies that effectively and efficiently increase education levels."
AVANCE-Dallas works on the front end of educational attainment. The foundation children receive early on helps them start school on target and make it to graduation and beyond. Just see our Texas School Ready!™ article below. AVANCE-Dallas is helping us all get that long-term financial benefit—thanks for standing with us in educating children!
Lisa Oglesby Rocha
Executive Director
344 Children and Parents Bond at Family Night
In November our Baby University team put on a Family Night for moms, dads, and children that strengthened family bonds. We anticipated only 60% of families attending, but nearly all of our 105 Baby University families showed up, and they enjoyed a stimulating night of drama, reading, and Thanksgiving fare. Below, Diana Muñiz, our Baby University Program Coordinator, offers her firsthand account of the evening:
We had two goals in our Baby University Family Night. Our first goal was to create an evening that 100 families could enjoy together, but our plan was also to focus on dads. With only a 4% male participation rate in our Baby University classes, the goal for this night was to invite each father to discover their talents as a mentor and active participant in their child's education.
A total of 69 fathers attended. Some of them showed up after a long day at work, and others dressed their best and wore their most formal clothes—leather belts and boots, which are all part of the Hispanic culture. This makes me think that for many of them, this was the first time they had experienced something quite like this.
The varied personalities of these gentlemen was evident right away! Some did not let go of their youngest babies; others walked proudly, hand-in-hand with their wives; and others just sat back and observed with slight distrust in their eyes.
When the activities began, the dads were directed to the school gymnasium along with their kids. None of them knew exactly what was in store for them.
Our collaborator, Mike, from the Strong Fathers, Strong Families organization, observed how one by one each of the fathers moved toward the back of the gym, even though these activities required fathers to actively participate. Mike began speaking, but the dads looked tense.
Then Mike asked our fathers to imagine being a gorilla. The dads looked at each other trying to hold in their laughter. Seconds later, Mike transformed himself into a grand gorilla—no need for makeup or costumes to interpret the sounds, steps, and movements of this enormous animal. The children started to laugh as they looked curiously at their fathers, searching their faces to gauge their reactions.
Mike then became a seal. With grace and skill he dragged himself on the ground while clapping at the same time. Some fathers began to lightly move their hands, and their kids continued to laugh. Little by little, every parent turned into a seal to please Mike, but mainly to please their sons and daughters who anxiously awaited to see how their dad would respond to this unusual situation.
After a short while the gym wasn't a gym anymore; it was a jungle where dozens of animals clapped, jumped, and dragged themselves across the floor while laughing and having a good time. The kids could not stop laughing and imitating these grand jungle animals—that is, their parents.
At that moment I understood that these dads were experiencing for the first time ever, or at least in many years, how to be a child again. Minutes before ending this activity, the agitation had turned into relaxation, and it was then that each father sat on the floor without caring or wondering who was next to him and began reading a book to his child. The spellbound children listened to their dads read; others helped their fathers as they read themselves. No one turned to look at anyone else; it was simply a moment to enjoy a good book, and it was also the moment when these fathers transformed into the example and pride of their children.
Baby University Team Blazes New Trails
AVANCE-Dallas created the Baby University Project in Bachman Lake to develop a more holistic educational program based on our core AVANCE model. We have a talented team of eight staff members who deliver this complex program to our families at four sites in low-income neighborhoods.
Moving left to right in the picture, Cristina Roman is our Baby University Case Worker. An AVANCE-Dallas graduate, Cristina has ten years of experience working at AVANCE, and she's passionate about her work. She has served as an Early Childhood Teacher, a Toy-Making Instructor, a Home Visitor, and a Case Worker. At Baby University, Cristina provides support to families to help them overcome barriers and make it to graduation.
Mary Carmen Rodriguez has been an Early Childhood Teacher for toddlers for nine years. She makes sure classrooms are set up with all the tools necessary to prepare young preschoolers. Her work helps the Baby University Program emphasize letters, syllables, and words; vocabulary; a high commitment to books; and independence.
Diana Muñiz serves as the Baby University Program Coordinator. She has been working at AVANCE-Dallas for nine years and has personally served more than 600 families in that time. She has a bachelor's in social psychology and has received nine certifications to facilitate curricula in the last eight years. Ms. Muñiz has particular experience in mentoring, training staff, and teaching parents, and she knows how to make the best impact by being sensitive to the culture and language of the Hispanic community. Diana exhibits a passion and excitement about how families can progress through Baby University.
Carolina Murillo is an Early Childhood Teacher with nine years of experience working with infants and toddlers at AVANCE-Dallas. She is particularly skilled in helping babies feel comfortable in her classroom, and she works hard to stimulate them even from their earliest months.
Alicia Abonza, an AVANCE-Dallas graduate, is in charge of the administrative tasks in Baby University, including reports, material purchases, family records, and optimal maintenance. With more than four years of experience in this area, Alicia is a key piece to organizing and providing the support her team needs.
Known for her artistic abilities, Adriana Tamayo brings her skills to her dual position as Toy-Making Instructor and Home Visitor. Adriana graduated from AVANCE-Dallas and has three years of experience with our organization, which prepares her well to awaken the creative talent in the Baby University parents. She helps families craft 1,600 toys and makes 750 home visits over the course of the program year.
Adriana Paniagua is the Child Development Supervisor. A graduate of AVANCE-Dallas, Adriana has nine years of experience working here, and she has earned her Child Development Associate certification. For two consecutive years she has received Texas School Ready!™ certification (see next article). Adriana supervises the Early Childhood team and oversees the four early childhood classrooms that serve 115 children.
Alicia Giron has worked as an Early Childhood Teacher for the last two years, and she also graduated from AVANCE-Dallas. She knows the area of Bachman Lake very well since she lives in the neighborhood. Alicia is in charge of educating 40 tireless toddlers and providing early stimulation, care, affection, and dedication that will put them on the road to university.
With their individual skills and abilities, the Baby University team members come together in a unique blend to make a lasting difference in the high-need area of Bachman Lake in Dallas!
Four AVANCE Sites Certified Texas School Ready!™
We're proud of our Lead Early Childhood Teachers. Their hard work and skill is making a difference, a difference that the Texas State Center for Early Childhood Development recognizes.
The Texas State Center for Early Childhood Development certifies preschool education classrooms that effectively prepared their students for kindergarten. To receive Texas School Ready!™ certification, a program must demonstrate a link between "the quality instructional practices that must be in place in a preschool program to get children ready for kindergarten" and "the children actually achieving scores showing they were on track in the areas of reading and social skills when they went to kindergarten."
Last year one of our sites received the certification, and this year, we're proud to say that four sites received Texas School Ready!™ certification:
• Pilar Coleman at Annie Webb Blanton Elementary in Pleasant Grove
• Adriana Paniagua at Stevens Park Elementary in Bachman Lake
• Maria Suarez at Anson Jones Elementary in Oak Cliff
• Maria Tello at George Peabody Elementary in Oak Cliff
These four teachers were honored at a ceremony at the Texas Early Education Model (TEEM) offices. AVANCE teachers are pictured above with TEEM staff (in front, r-l, are AVANCE teachers Maria Suarez, Maria Tello, Pilar Coleman, and Adriana Paniagua). To find out more about the Texas School Ready!™ certification, check out their website:http://cli.uth.tmc.edu/our-programs/program-overview/TX-school-ready/default.html.
AVANCE-Dallas Lead Early Childhood Teachers are putting young children on a certified path for success today!
Faithful Partners
We're grateful to start out the new year with the steady support of faithful partners. Two such funders who recently awarded grants to AVANCE-Dallas are the Rosewood Foundation and the Hispanic Employees Initiative Forum from Texas Instruments.
The Rosewood Foundation provides contributions to nonprofit organizations providing services in the fields of education, arts and culture, and health that serve the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, North Texas, and the nation. The Rosewood Foundation's $3,500 grant to AVANCE-Dallas will help make possible our life-changing Parent-Child Education Program to at-risk Hispanic families in 2010.
The Hispanic Employees Initiative Forum (HEIF) from Texas Instruments provided a $6,000 grant to AVANCE-Dallas that will specifically fund GED scholarships, community college scholarships, and adult education supplies, advancing low-income Hispanic families in education. The HEIF has supported us for years, always volunteering to judge at our annual Toy Competition, help out with our graduations, and serve as third-hour resource speakers and role models for our families. They exemplify TI's philosophy of contributing to society to improve education, the environment, and quality of life.
A special thanks to the Rosewood Foundation and the Hispanic Employees Initiative Forum from Texas Instruments for being faithful AVANCE-Dallas partners!