October 23, 2019 Children’s Fund Working Group Presents Report to County Executive In October 2019, the Allegheny County Children’s Fund Working Group formally presented County Executive Rich Fitzgerald with a report for his review and consideration. In it, the Group recommends the creation of a new county department dedicated to children, as well as an annual investment of up to $20 million to support high-quality learning and out-of-school-time programs. About Officially launched in May 2019, the Allegheny Children’s Fund initiative is a citizen-led effort that seeks to “change the way we fund the efforts that are proven to ensure the health and well-being of our kids across the county: early learning, after school programs, and good nutrition.” In November 2018, the Group successfully qualified a question for the General Election ballot, asking voters: “Shall the Allegheny County Home Rule Charter be amended to establish the Allegheny County Children’s Fund, funded by Allegheny County levying and collecting an additional 0.25 mills, the equivalent of $25 on each $100,000 of assessed value, on all taxable real estate, beginning January 1, 2019 and thereafter, to be used to improve the well-being of children through the provision of services throughout the County including early childhood learning, after school programs, and nutritious meals?” While the group exceeded their goal of collecting more than 40,000 petition signatures from community members and stakeholders, the effort fell short as 48.4% of voters answered “YES” on the ballot. A majority (>50%) “YES” vote was needed. While the question did not receive a majority “YES” vote, community members and stakeholders still agreed that unmet needs remained. With this, County Executive Rich Fitzgerald announced that a 26-member working group had been convened to begin to look at the potential creation of a Children’s Fund to provide resources to early childhood learning and out-of-school-time programs across Allegheny County. Allegheny County Children’s Fund Tasks County Executive Fitgerald charged the working group with the following tasks: review available data to assess the state of children and children’s programming in Allegheny County; gather information from providers, parents, and experts across the county, especially regarding programming demand and supply gaps; gather input from the larger community; review state and federal policies and their impact on children’s programming in the county; design the operations of a possible children’s fund; provide concept budgets for operations within budgets of $5 million, $10 million, and $20 million annually; provide sample allocation models and scenarios; and report findings to the County Executive. Overview of the Report The working group found that there are significant gaps in equitable access and recommends that a focus on improving the quality of the system would provide significant benefit to the community. The report proposed a mission and vision for a Children’s Fund and identified four core principles: equity, access, quality, and accountability. With this, the group’s annual goal is to ensure that more children in Allegheny County can access high-quality programming. As a long-term goal, the group hopes for systemic improvements for children in Allegheny County. “An investment of this level is a commitment that focuses on quality and equity for youth in our community,” said Trisha M. Gadson, Ph.D., Co-Chair of the Children’s Fund Working Group. “It can further support the economic viability of our region.” During its six months of work, the group sought to engage as many voices as possible to receive input and feedback from the community. This process included six public meetings, two focus groups, an online survey (in English and Spanish), and a meeting-in-a-box kit to receive input from teens. In addition to its final report, the group issued a Public Engagement Summary as a companion piece, outlining input from the public on the creation of a Children’s Fund at the county level. County Executive Fitzgerald thanked the group for their diligent attention, stating, “This issue is important to me and it is important to this community. Nothing could be more impactful to the residents of Allegheny County than investing in our children and their future. While I’ve just begun to dive into this report and its recommendations, it is clear that it calls for a systemic change to be dedicated to children’s success. I’m grateful to the leaders of our community who gave of their time and talents to provide us with a plan to consider and will be continuing this conversation with them as we consider what options make sense for our county moving forward.” “The importance of the County Executive’s leadership is vital to the success of our children and our region,” said Michelle Figlar, Co-Chair of the Children’s Fund Working Group. “The addition of local leadership and revenue is essential to the success of early learning and out-of-school programs, and Allegheny County has the opportunity to lead in this effort.” Read the Full Report To read the full report, visit the Allegheny County website. Next Steps The work of the Allegheny County Children’s Fund Working Group is now complete. Follow what happens next with the Working Group’s recommendations at the County Executive’s website or by contacting your member of the Allegheny County Council. More Information For more information, visit the Children’s Fund website. Read the full release. *Information provided by the Office of County Executive Rich Fitzgerald
September 18, 2019 NAEYC Releases New Equity Position Statement As stated by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), “all children have the right to equitable learning opportunities that help them achieve their full potential as engaged learners and valued members of society.” That’s why, in support of equitable access and opportunities, NAEYC released their new position statement: “Advancing Equity in Early Education.” About Early childhood educators and professionals are in a unique position to advance equity in education. Early childhood education settings—including centers, family child care homes, and schools—are often among children’s first communities beyond their families. With the support of the early education system as a whole, they can create early learning environments that equitably distribute learning opportunities by helping all children experience responsive interactions that: nurture their full range of social, emotional, cognitive, physical, and linguistic abilities; reflect and model fundamental principles of fairness and justice; and help them accomplish the goals of anti-bias education. To learn more, read NAEYC’s full position statement. Recommendations Listed below are a few of NAEYC’s recommendations. For the full list, visit NAEYC’s website. Everyone Build awareness and understanding of your culture, personal beliefs, values, and biases. Recognize the power and benefits of diversity and inclusivity. Take responsibility for biased actions, even if unintended, and actively work to repair them. Acknowledge and seek to understand structural inequities and their impact over time. Administrators of Schools, Centers, Child Care, and Education Settings Take proactive steps with measurable goals to recruit and retain educators and leaders who reflect the diversity of children and families served and who meet professional expectations. Employ staff who speak the languages of the children and families served. Recognize the value of serving a diverse group of children and strive to increase the range of diversity among those served. Create meaningful, ongoing opportunities for multiple voices with diverse perspectives to engage in leadership and decision making. More Information For questions, contact NAEYC at 202.232.8777 or help@naeyc.org. *Information provided by the NAEYC
July 24, 2019 For Student Success, We Need To Remake Learning As technology continues to be integrated in the daily lives of our region’s youth, the landscape of learning and workforce readiness is evolving. With this, youth are utilizing what some may call “non-traditional” methods to purse knowledge, seek support, and develop their identities. To ensure their long-term fulfillment personally, academically, and in the workforce, we need to “remake learning.” About Remake Learning Remake Learning is a network that ignites engaging, relevant, and equitable learning practices in support of young people navigating rapid social and technological change. Established in 2007, the network is an open group of interconnected, creative, and innovative people and organizations in the greater Pittsburgh region. Their purpose is to spark and share best practices and new ideas, make it easier for neighbors and colleagues to help each other, reduce duplicative efforts in the region, and leverage resources collectively for greater impact. With this, they seek to ensure that learning is engaging, relevant, and equitable to ensure that all youth in our region have access to learning experiences that reinforce their long-term success. Why It Matters Just as it’s important to utilize developmentally appropriate strategies with our youth, it’s important to consider that fact that the traditional, repetitive learning structure is, as Remake Learning puts it, “a relic of the bygone factory era: a time when efficiency and repetition were valued above all, with a focus on basic knowledge and skills.” As the needs of society develop over time, so do the needs and requirements of our youth and the workforce. However, many schools and programs are still relying on the traditional learning structure, making only small adjustments to incorporate a taste of technology. And, as displayed through stagnant or declining test scores across the years, this structure isn’t working. Establishing Learning Values In their mission to ensure that learning is engaging, relevant, and equitable, Remake Learning encourages the following learning values: Activate skills in critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, communication, and collaboration so learners are prepared for an increasingly technology-driven future. Doing so will empower students to identify and solve problems; to fail, try, and learn from mistakes; to express their creativity in authentic ways; and to both struggle and have fun. Challenge learners to question, examine, and dissect social systems; to develop the confidence to address and deconstruct inequalities; and to construct a more just and equitable world. Connect all the places learners live, work, and play, including schools, libraries, museums, parks, clubs, community centers, centers of faith, home, and online. Encourage learners to explore and play and support them to follow their curiosity using varied tools (including, but not limited to, technologies). Establish deep and caring relationships between learners and their families, peers, educators, and mentors. Connect learners to their communities and, in an interconnected world, help learners develop cross-cultural understandings that unlock opportunities to thrive both within and beyond their own communities. Become A Member Are you interested in supporting Remake Learning’s mission? Consider signing up to become a part of their network! Remake Learning members reside in the greater Pittsburgh region, including the counties of Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Mercer, Washington, and Westmoreland in Pennsylvania, as well as parts of north-central West Virginia. *Information provided by Remake Learning
April 26, 2019 Harnessing the ‘Power of Play’ to Build Equitable Cities When planners and community stakeholders are hashing out asset inventories and needs assessments to figure out the state of neighborhood amenities, a few things are sure to almost always make the list: more access to green space, safer crosswalks, more parking in business districts, gateways, and wayfinding signage. When planners design communities to be safer, healthier, more sustainable, and more walkable, how often do those efforts make a community more playful? The Power of Play Play is powerful. In the sphere of early childhood education, experts recognize the unparalleled importance of play in learning and development. In business, play is seen as a gateway to greater creativity, collaboration, and breakthrough innovation. In society, communities that play together stay together. Isn’t it time we embraced playfulness as a quality worth designing into our urban spaces? Perhaps the trouble is that the word itself seems just too playful to be taken seriously. We need more words for play. More Words for Play The Finnish language has no shortage of words for play. For Finns, playing a game is different from playing a sport, which is different from playing music. There are distinct Finnish words for children’s play and the play that adults engage in. There’s even a Finnish word that means both “work” and “play.” This rich vocabulary shows that in Finland, play is a valued part of life that isn’t confined just to kids’ stuff. Where else would we see play show up in our plans, if only we had the words for it? What would we call the kind of play that brings strangers together? What would we call playing around with ideas and possibilities? It’s questions like these that motivated a coalition of public and private sector partners to start the Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative and organize a citywide movement to expand the presence of play in every community. As a mid-size, post-industrial city in the midst of dramatic changes spurred in large part by new development, we see a mandate to build greater public demand for play as an integral part of the city’s future. Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative Locally in southwestern Pennsylvania, the Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative is working to make play a part of the urban infrastructure. Since 2013, members of the Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative have been working together to find and remove the barriers holding communities back from experiencing the social benefits of play. These efforts have brought together leaders and representatives from the city’s parks and museums, human services and municipal agencies, arts and sustainability nonprofits, and community development groups. Along the way, we’ve encountered distinct manifestations of play that we really wish had their own name. Learn more about the work of The Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative and read the full article from the urban planning magazine Planetizen. (shared via Planetizen)
February 13, 2019 2019 First Up Annual Conference Join First Up on March 1-2, 2019, at the University of Pennsylvania for over 60 engaging, expert-led workshops on topics from “Keystone STARS to Personal Empowerment to Managing Challenging Behaviors”… and more! Still not sure? A complete workshop listing is available on the conference website. Keynote Speakers There will be two amazing keynote presentations – Dr. Rosemarie Allen on Friday, and Dr. Veirdre Jackson on Saturday – and an offering of national and local experts to help you expand your Early Childhood Education knowledge and toolkit. More Information Keep yourself informed about the latest developments by downloading the free First Up Conference App (coming soon to the App Store and Google Play) and following them on Facebook and Twitter. You’ll find everything you need to know listed in the conference app, including a complete schedule of workshops and special events. Registation is still open, via this link.
