Early Childhood and Diversity in Iowa: Challenges and Opportunities

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Early Childhood and Diversity in Iowa
Challenges and Opportunities

• Setting the Context

Charles Bruner September 26, 2007
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Diversity in Iowa Children Leading the Way
Percent of Population of Color and/or Hispanic by
Age
15.1
12.2
8.0
Hispanic population
2.9
1.7
Sources United States Census Bureau, 2005
American Community Survey The Annual Condition of
Education Report, Iowa Department of Education,
2006
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Projected 0-17 Population Growth in Iowa 2005 -
2025
Iowas child population is projected to grow by
88,630 over the next two decades (Hispanic
growth rate 143.5 African American growth
rate 37.4 White non-Hispanic growth rate
2.1 and Pacific Islander, Native American or
other races growth rate 73.9)
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Diversity and School Readiness Critical
Importance of the Early Years to School and
Other Success
Up to half of the gap in achievement scores in
school can be attributed to gaps already evident
at the time of school entry. -- Rouse,
Brooks-Gunn, McClanahan, School Readiness
Closing Racial and Ethnic Gaps While schools can
and should be responsible for narrowing the gap
between kindergarten and third grade, eliminating
the gap requires actions in the earliest learning
years ... from birth to school age. --
Rothstein, Class and Schools Closing the
kindergarten readiness gap is essential not only
for addressing education and achievement gaps but
for addressing interconnected health gaps, social
and economic gaps, and justice system gaps. --
Charles Bruner (and Iowa African Americans and
Prisons report)
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School Readiness A Multi-System Approach to
Closing Gaps

• Health 20
• Preschool and Other Early Care and Education 30
• Family and Community 40
• Special Needs 10

Early Learning
Health, Mental Health and Nutrition
Family Support
Special Needs/ Early Intervention
source Early Childhood Systems Working Group
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School Readiness and Diversity Issues and
Opportunities

• Outreach to ensure engagement in effective
  services closing participation gaps
• Culturally aligned services and expectations
  adopting a multi-cultural lens in program and
  learning standards
• Culturally diverse workforce professional
  development strategies that create a
  representative and diverse workforce
• Culturally competent planning and decision-making
  constructing diverse tables

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Outreach and Engagement in Effective Services

• Health care coverage for immigrant children
  (highest rate of uninsurance in population
  because of 5-year waiting period under Medicaid
  and hawk-i)
• Neighborhood-based strategies that give proper
  focus to where minorities live (in poorest and
  least-resourced neighborhoods)

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Culturally Aligned Services and Expectations A
Multi-Cultural as Opposed to Dominant Culture Lens
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A Culturally Diverse Workforce that Reflects the
Children Served
Evidence abounds that points to the interactional
misfit between poor children of color and their
teachers. ... When disparities exist between
childrens background (family/cultural values,
rearing conditions/expectations) and the culture
of the school, children do not make the
meaningful connections necessary for academic and
social learning. Teachers need to be better
prepared to teach the children of diverse
language, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds that
come before them. ... Culturally relevant
teachers identify and build on childrens
strengths and interests and adapt assessment and
teaching practices to the cognitive styles and
language needs of the class. -- Aisha Ray,
Barbara Bowman, and Jeanine Brownell,
Teacher-Child Relationships, Social-Emotional
Development, and Student Achievement
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Revisiting a Key Report

• Iowas incarceration rate of African Americans
  ranks in the top five states nationally.
• Education provides the best long-range
  opportunity for reducing incarceration rates.
• The state should increase its support for early
  childhood education.
• The state should encourage school districts to
  improve communication between school officials
  and African American families and relationships
  with community-based resources in
  African-American neighborhoods.

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Inclusion in Planning and Decision-Making

• Conference puts Iowa in the Forefront
• in Raising these Issues!