This week the Partnership invited community members and volunteers on an Early Childhood Bus Tour, a three-hour event that invites participants to learn about our work through engagement.  This event was one in a series of bus tours that we host, each having a different focus and set of goals.  With National Volunteer Week recently behind us, we wanted to focus this bus tour on engagement and volunteerism by honoring our many volunteers and showcasing strategies for involvement at the Partnership. 

It is impossible to feature every volunteer opportunity or every one of our community partners on a bus tour, thus, each tour looks very different.  This makes for an exciting journey for participants! 

Wednesday's Early Childhood Bus Tour was unique in that we kicked off the event by simulating a volunteer experience; we put our guests to work as soon as they arrived at the Partnership office!  Moments after we greeted each bus tour attendee we asked that they join us around the table to build Transition to Kindergarten Blast-Off Kits.  These kits require about five minutes of assembly each, but are produced in large quantities so that the Partnership can distribute them widely to young children entering kindergarten in Durham County.  They include items such as crayons, shapes for building, a "Draw A Picture/Tell A Story" activity, an emotion identification game, and other critical pieces that are important for rising kindergartners.

After introductions and a welcome, participants loaded the bus as we headed out into the Durham community.

Destination A: The outdoor learning environment at Early Start Academy
Participants were able to walk through Early Start Academy's naturalized outdoor learning environment designed around best practice that stimulates young children’s play and contributes to healthy development – intellectually, emotionally, socially, spiritually and physically.  These state-of-the-art outdoor classrooms have so many benefits, including connecting children to nature, but require extra attention and upkeep to maintain quality.  Child care centers rely on volunteers to help with routine weeding, organization, clean-up, material donations, and more.

Destination B: Welcome Baby
Welcome Baby Family Resource Center, a funded program of the Partnership, offers an amazing variety of parent education and support services in Durham County.  These include developmental newsletters and parenting workshops, the car seat safety program, multi-vitamin distribution, Cribs for Kids, and the Giving Closet. 

Bus tour attendees had the opportunity to tour the Giving Closet and see many of the resources that Durham families utilize.  Von Brown, Volunteer Coordinator at Welcome Baby, spoke to the need for volunteers within the agency that help accomplish all the great work being done.

Destination C: Readers as Leaders program, Primary Colors Early Learning Center
The final site we visited during the tour was Primary Colors Early Learning Center, a 5-star child care center in Durham that participates in the Partnership’s Readers as Leaders volunteer reading program.  Monnie Griggs, Technical Assistance Director with Child Care Services Association, was able to inform bus tour attendees about why reading aloud to young children – even infants – matters so much.  Children who are exposed to print-rich materials early on are able to build their language and vocabulary skills, gain knowledge about the world around them, and develop an interest in reading.
We also had the opportunity to listen in on a classroom story time and see just how excited young children get about reading. 

All participants left the bus tour with a much deeper understanding of the Partnership's role in the early childhood world, and each person expressed interest in additional Partnership volunteer opportunities.  If you are interested in helping us drive our mission forward, please contact Krissy Dunn, Operations Specialist at the Partnership.  Krissy manages our volunteer program and can help folks navigate our different opportunities like: building kits, reading to children, donating items, visits to child care centers, joining a committee, and many more.  She can be reached at krissy@dpfc.net or 403-6960.

Research tells us that fathers who express warmth, responsibility, nurturance and use of language to their children stimulate brain development in a way that is unique from all other learning.  Children with engaged dads will grow up to be more emotionally secure, have lower rates of anxiety and depression, and be less likely to exhibit violent and defiant behaviors. Language ability is much higher in children with engaged fathers. These children are ready to hit the ground running when they enter school and tend to have higher educational attainment.

So why is there still so little father engagement?  Current U.S. statistics show that roughly one out of three children nationwide is living without his or her biological father. That’s nearly 23.6 million children.

This issue is a big part of what the Partnership’s Early Childhood Faith Initiative sought to address during last week’s faith event, “Congregations, Fatherhood, & Clyde Edgerton,” held at Duke Memorial United Methodist Church.

Clyde Edgerton, author of critically acclaimed books The Night Train and The Bible Salesman, read from and signed copies of his newest book, Papadaddy’s Book for New Fathers: Advice to Dads of All Ages.

Jeff Quinn, research analyst for Duke’s Center for Child & Family Policy and key Partnership volunteer, is a leader in the fatherhood movement and was present at the event to address why fathers have such a unique impact on child development and how to support father involvement. 

The No. 1 thing we can do to encourage father engagement is to get dads hooked early, prenatally. We are already seeing more fathers doing so now more than in the past by taking part in activities like attending ultrasounds, buying baby supplies and talking to the baby bump.  Additionally, we need to consistently ask the question: “What about dad?” to ensure that fathers and male caregivers are not excluded from the parenting equation.

Kenny Robinson, Infant Toddler Specialist with the Durham Early Head Start program, shared how each dad and his parenting experience is different and that male caregivers and role models serve a much greater purpose than just doing “heavy lifting.” 

Rev. Joseph H. Hensley, Jr. of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church offered ideas for father engagement within congregations, including involving fathers in planning children’s activities at churches, holding events specifically targeted toward fathers, and dedicating time within men’s groups to the topic of fatherhood/grandfatherhood.

» Read the event coverage by the Herald-Sun.

Durham’s Partnership for Children is pleased to announce the launch of the Durham Touchpoints Collaborative that will provide training in the evidence-based Touchpoints approach to 100 Durham-based providers over the next two years. The Partnership received funding from Oak Foundation for the implementation of the Durham Touchpoints Collaborative early in 2013.

Touchpoints is an evidence-based theory of child development based on the work of Dr. T. Berry Brazelton that is used by providers across disciplines (e.g. pediatrics, home visiting, early education). Once implemented by providers, this method helps parents understand regressions that accompany their children’s developmental spurts, which occur often during the first years of life. The Touchpoints approach gives providers tools to support parents during these challenging times and to strengthen the parent-child relationship. Touchpoints also helps to break down silos by building relationships among providers across disciplines to create a more unified community.

Yesterday we celebrated this news with a public launch held at the Durham County Library where Dr. Ann Stadtler, Director of Touchpoints Site Development & Training, Brazelton Touchpoints Center (Boston, MA), delivered the keynote address to Durham-based early childhood, health and human service, and education stakeholders interested in adopting the Touchpoints philosophy in their work.

We extend deep gratitude to community members and representatives from key agencies that were a part of our launch, and to the dedicated members of our Durham Touchpoints Planning Group who have provided much vision to this process.  We look forward to the next steps in building this network in Durham.

Please join us for the Durham’s Early Childhood Faith Initiative event
“Congregations, Fatherhood, and Clyde Edgerton” on Thursday, May 9th at 4 pm.

The event will be an opportunity to hear from novelist Clyde Edgerton as he reads from his new book, “PAPADADDY’S BOOK FOR NEW FATHERS: Advice to Dads of All Ages.”  As the 68-year-old father of children ranging in age from five to 30, Edgerton gives voice to a growing demographic of older fathers and shares what his three decades of fatherhood have taught him.

Edgerton is the author of 10 novels and one previous nonfiction book. He has been a Guggenheim Fellow, and five of his novels have been New York Times Notable Books. His love of his little ones inspired him to write PAPADADDY’S BOOK FOR NEW FATHERS.

Also speaking at the event will be Jeff Quinn, research analyst at Duke’s Center for Child & Family Policy, who is deeply involved in the Fatherhood movement and serves as Co-Chair of the NC Fatherhood Development Advisory Council and is an active member of the Fatherhood Policy Committee.  Quinn will present on the “Father Factor” of early child development, and will show how the most effective strategies for supporting fathers are focused on prevention and early intervention by engaging with fathers during pregnancy, at the time of the birth of their child, or very early in the child’s life.


» Visit the Partnership’s Early Childhood Faith Initiative online.

» Visit the Prevent Child Abuse NC “Fatherhood Virtual Resource Center”

» Visit the National Fatherhood Initiative’s Father Resource Page.

We are pleased to announce the 11 child care sites and elementary schools that will receive transition to kindergarten mini-grants through our collaborative Transition to Kindergarten (TTK) Initiative. The grant amounts total $6,030 to support early educators, elementary schools and child care sites in designing and implementing transition events for their specific student and parent populations. This is the second year the Partnership has offered mini-grants for TTK projects. Funds for these mini-grants were made available through a generous gift from Wells Fargo. The Morgan Creek Foundation also supports the TTK Initiative. 

The TTK Initiative is a collaborative project of the Partnership and Durham Public Schools that provides specific experiences that prepare children for successful entrance into kindergarten and that prepare schools to receive children and their families.

Best practices in the early childhood field include assisting children and parents in the transition process from formal pre-school programs or home settings into local elementary schools. Parent involvement is the strongest predictor of how well young children will do in kindergarten.

“We know that prepared children and families are more successful at facing the enormous transition of entering school,” said Laura Benson, Executive Director of the Partnership. “Rising kindergartners and their families will be present, ready, and engaged if they know what to expect, and research clearly shows that being present on the first day of school matters. Children who are in attendance on the first day of kindergarten miss, on average, 9 days less throughout the school year than children who are absent on the first day.”

This year’s mini-grants include activities such as summer transition camps, neighborhood parties, field trips to kindergarten classrooms, and full day kindergarten experiences. These projects are collaborations between an elementary school and a child care center, and many of the activities will be implemented in the spring months.

Mini-grant recipients include:
Bethesda Elementary and Victorious Praise Day Care
Early Explorers Playschool and Creekside Elementary
Easley Elementary and Aldersgate Weekday School
Fayetteville Street Elementary and Scarborough Nursery School
Holt Elementary and Childcare Network #57
Mangum Elementary and Master's Garden Preschool
Merrick-Moore Elementary and Steps & Ladders Child Care Center/Everything New Child Care
Burton Elementary and Russell Memorial Child Development Center
Oak Grove Elementary and A Brilliant Beginning Day Care
Parkwood Elementary and Learning Tots Academy
Toddlers Academy, Inc. and Pearsontown Elementary

“As these projects unfold in the community, we directly address the needs of transitioning young learners in Durham County,” said Benson. “Promoting school readiness and helping to shape the future success of our youngest students is priority.”

In addition to the mini-grants, rising kindergartners and their families benefit from other TTK activities such as Steps to School Family Nights, Steps to School Newsletters, Teachers Talk Forums, and the annual Countdown to Kindergarten event held each August at the Museum of Life and Science. 

This week, stakeholders from across the Durham community attended the Partnership’s latest Early Childhood Bus Tour, a hands-on event that helps illustrate the work of the Partnership through visits to a variety of partnering sites within the community.  These models of best practice help showcase how our youngest children and families are being served within the early childhood system.

The March 5th tour began at the Partnership offices where attendees enjoyed breads baked on-site in the Child Care Services Association kitchen, which provides nutritious food options for child care centers throughout Durham as part of its Meal Service Program.  Discussion was opened by Partnership Executive Director Laura Benson. 

Destination A:  Grace House at Grace Lutheran Church
Grace House is a partnering site with the Durham Early Head Start program, which provides child development and family services to families with children birth to 3 years of age.  DEHS Home Visitation Supervisor Dr. Karen Carmody and DEHS Home Visitor Ebony Sneed guided tour participants through the home while explaining:
•    The evidence behind the home-visiting model of DEHS
•    How DEHS trains parents to be their child’s first teacher
•    Needs are still high, including transportation for families and mental health support for moms

Bus Tour participants had the opportunity to meet a parent enrolled in the DEHS program and hear about her experiences.

Destination B:  Ernestine Gladys (EG) Brown Memorial Day Care
EG Brown Memorial Day Care is a 4-star site that currently enrolls eight children, ranging from 2 to 5 years of age.  Monnie Griggs, Technical Assistance Director with Child Care Services Association, was joined by Site Director Mary Lewis to discuss the growth of the high-quality center.  During the tour, Monnie and Mary explained:
•    What indicates high-quality at a child care center
•    The amazing transformation the site has undergone with the support of Quality Enhancement and Quality Maintenance (QE/QM), including increased program standards and staff education
•    Prior to working with QE/QM, teachers at the center were volunteering their time.  Now – made possible by scholarships – they are in school obtaining their degrees, increasing education standards at the site, and are full-time, paid employees.

Destination C:  Transition to Kindergarten Initiative (Y.E. Smith Elementary)
Our final stop on the bus tour highlighted the Transition to Kindergarten Initiative, a collaborative project of Durham’s Partnership for Children and Durham Public Schools.  The Initiative offers a set of coordinated activities for families and schools that supports the educational success of Durham children, and Y.E. Smith Elementary is a paragon of how transition activities can be executed effectively to engage parents and rising kindergartners.  Assistant Principal Darlene Escudero welcomed bus tour attendees to the school, while EDCI Executive Director David Reese and EDCI Program Director Mary Mathew explained the importance of parent involvement as linked to a child’s success in school. Mary highlighted many of the transition activities currently being done, such as Steps to School Family Nights, Kindergarten Safari Nights at Y.E. Smith, and the role of parent advocates.  We were joined by kindergarten teacher Ms. Latisha Johnson who explained:
•    The challenges faced by rising kindergartners, especially those who have no previous high-quality early childhood experiences (which represents about 62% of kindergartners at Y.E. Smith)
•    How early interest and parent engagement can greatly improve academic outcomes for young children

The Partnership would like to thank all of the agencies involved and their staff for welcoming our group and for supporting this opportunity to showcase the work being done on behalf of young children in Durham County. We look forward to continuing to educate our community with future tours!

Since January’s Faith Summit on Child Poverty, a collaboration initiated by End Poverty Durham and the Partnership’s Faith Initiative, conversations around addressing poverty for children and families in Durham have felt a new energy, and critical conversations are being put into action.

One such action step is “Poverty in Durham: A Faith Perspective,” a Tuesday night series held at Pilgrim United Church of Christ (3011 Academy Road) in Durham, where community members can continue learning and mobilizing in response to local needs.  The series covers four Tuesdays in Lent; all programs start at 6:30pm and end promptly at 8:00 pm.  Heavy hors d'oeuvres will be available at 6:15 pm.  This event represents just one of many congregations hosting series on poverty during this religious season.

Below outlines the topics and many Durham leaders who will take part in this series.

For more information, call (919) 489-1381.  To view the event flier, click here.

For a second year, the Partnership is offering competitive mini-grants to support planning and implementing transition activities targeted to families with children who will be heading to kindergarten. The goal of these grants is to foster collaboration between elementary school and early educators around transition to kindergarten, thus all mini grant applications must be a joint application for a joint project between a local elementary school and child care site.  Mini grant award amounts may vary based on events/activities proposed.  The average size of grants last year ranged from $300 to $500.
 
Sample transition activities might include:

• Summer Transition Camp
• Spring/Summer Open Houses
• Creating introductions for rising kindergartners
• Build “going to kindergarten” into the pre-school curriculum
• Kindergarten Classroom Visits
• Registration Events
• Child Care/Pre-k Visits

The application process for these mini-grants is underway and applications must be received by Friday, February 22nd at 5 pm.  Eligible applicants include kindergarten teachers, elementary school principals, PTAs, and child care teachers and directors. Click here to download the Transition Mini-Grant now.

For questions, please contact Pat Harris at (919) 403-6960, Extension 224 or email pat@dpfc.net. To learn more about our Transition to Kindergarten Initiative, click here.

Durham’s Partnership for Children received funding from Wells Fargo and Morgan Creek Foundation to support rising kindergartners across Durham County through Transition Mini-Grants and additional Transition to Kindergarten activities.

Last Thursday’s Faith Summit on Child Poverty, a collaboration initiated by End Poverty Durham and the Partnership’s Faith Initiative, welcomed nearly 500 people and was a hugely successful event, thanks to the many facilitators, exhibitors, and speakers involved.  Held at Union Baptist Church, the summit kicked off with a performance by KidZNotes and an Interfaith Worship service.

A morning call to action was delivered by Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson II (director of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Office of Public Witness) that focused on how we shape the worth of children coming from at-risk situations.

“All of our children are at-risk,” said Nelson. “But there are children that come from at-risk situations.  We need to deal with children in those circumstances.”  Nelson spoke in depth about education as the foundation for a successful life, focusing on schools and their capacity to provide resources to our children.  Then he focused on families.

“The primary educator of our children is their parent,” Nelson continued. We need to train whole families about building “relationships that will be significant to that child’s future.”

Breakout sessions (early childhood, elementary, teen) followed the morning address where attendees participated in small group discussion about current resources for addressing the issues of children in poverty, defining what are the main pressures affecting children in poverty, and what is needed for systemic change.

The afternoon keynote address was delivered by Rev. William Barber, president of the NC NAACP.  Requiring that our nation make poverty a top priority, Barber said that politicians seldom talk about the poor but instead focus on the middle class.

“Martin Luther King said that when you ignore the poor, one day the whole system will collapse,” said Barber.  He then repeated the words of his grandmother, who said that a house should never be moved from the middle, but from the foundation.

“If you try to move a house from the middle, that does not work,” Barber said. “You will tear it apart. But if you move it from the bottom, then everybody in the house gets blessed.”

The question posed to all Faith Summit attendees by the Rev. Nelson and echoed in an editorial in Sunday’s Herald-Sun, was this:  “What in the world are you going to do about it?”

Resources/Strategies for reducing child poverty
» Winnie Morgan, Faith Initiative Coordinator for the Partnership and Co-Chair of the Faith Summit, put together a growing listing of opportunities for faith involvement with agencies, non-profits, and community groups that work with underserved children and families.  Some of the many strategies/needs on the list include: donating blankets and diapers to Durham Connects; volunteering with “Get Set, Get Ready, Let’s Read” with the Durham County Library; donating safety kits, health kits, and parent/child interaction kits to the Exchange Clubs’ Family Center; and mentoring young pregnant women through Pregnancy Support Services.  Please contact Winnie at winniewmorgan@juno.com if you have needs to be added to this list. 

» Durham County Pocket Guide of Support Services (Durham Opening Doors)

Wednesday morning was an exciting time for Partnership staff as we had the rare opportunity of facilitating a focus group with 4-year-old children (and some of their parents) at Brown’s Day Care Center. A unique audience for this approach to research, a classroom full of pre-kindergarten children just happens to be the most important target in our Transition to Kindergarten work.

Entering kindergarten is one of the biggest changes a young child will encounter.  The Transition to Kindergarten Initiative is a collaborative effort between Durham Public Schools (DPS) and Durham’s Partnership for Children to help prepare families for the move to kindergarten.  Currently, the Partnership and our Transition to Kindergarten Advisory Committee is brainstorming ways to rebrand “Transition to Kindergarten” so that both DPS and Partnership efforts better align.  We want future Durham kindergartners and their families to receive a singular, more clearly integrated message about transitioning their child to kindergarten. 

As part of the rebranding process, we are bringing to life a Transition to Kindergarten mascot; this character will be the new face of transition to kindergarten and will help children feel more comfortable with this major step in their lives.  Throughout the planning process we have been strategic and thoughtful.  But many questions remain – questions best answered by the engaged and willing 4-year-old children at Brown’s.

During our half-hour focus group, the children were asked their thoughts on starting school and their opinions on our mock-up transition mascot, a baby bull. 

“How do you think the bull feels?  What items might he take with him to kindergarten?  What might he wear to kindergarten?  What should his name be?”

These brilliant young minds offered plenty of valuable insight.  He’s a soft, brown, excited and happy bull and he could wear pajamas or Sketchers.  Or perhaps his finest dress suit or boots.  Some children shared that he could carry his blanket, stuffed bear, homework, or a snack.  Then the children offered up their favorite names for the Transition to Kindergarten bull – Ricky, Otis, Freddy, Hoperoo, Manchita, and Rock Star, just to name a few.

Partnership staff walked away from the experience eager to put the preschoolers’ thoughts into action.  We are hopeful that our bull has found a comfortable new home in the Transition to Kindergarten Initiative, and that rising kindergartners across Durham will welcome him with open arms.

Stay tuned as the process unfolds!


The Transition to Kindergarten Initiative is supported through funding from the Morgan Creek Foundation and the Wells Fargo Foundation.