About 20 educators from the Panhandle to the Permian Basin got a peek at early childhood programs in Odessa and Midland Wednesday.
Empower Schools and the Education Partnership of the Permian Basin organized the showcase, which included a visit to the YMCA Learning Center and Pre-K Academy at Midland College.
On Oct. 10, there will be visits to Permian Basin Innovation Zone sites in Grandfalls-Royalty, Crane and McCamey ISDs.
Each day gives participants a chance to hear and learn from students, teachers, and leaders. Panel discussions were planned both days.
The YMCA campus provides a 3-year-old prekindergarten program and after-school care. Visitors were interested in how the campus was set up, how it was funded, what the options are for children once they turn 4, the curriculum that is used and attracting and retaining teachers.
“Here in the Permian Basin, we do have a unique set of challenges. One of those is we are a child care desert. Our families do not have access to high quality child care in the way that they need access to high quality child care,” Ector County ISD Associate Superintendent of Student and School Support Alicia Syverson said.
Years ago, ECISD’s kindergarten readiness was in the 30s percentage-wise. It is now 54 percent. The state average is 47 percent.
“Leveraging partnerships is something that has helped us accomplish this goal,” Syverson said.
She added that ECISD is very thankful for its partnership with the YMCA and the leadership there.
“If you can just leave with one phrase that you can put in your pocket and carry home, it is we are better together. So inject yourself around the table to find solutions and ways that you might not think are important, (but) they make a huge difference for kids,” Syverson said.
The district’s partnership with the YMCA was made possible by Senate Bill 1882, a bill designed to promote innovation and improve student outcomes. The district partner manages the school and is responsible for outcomes, has autonomy over personnel, curriculum, calendar, assessments and budget. ECISD holds each partner accountable through a performance contract, information from ECISD said.
Odessa Family YMCA President and CEO Crissy Medina said Wednesday you can see the children develop as they move through the year. They’re able to walk in the building independently and find their friends so they can go to class together.
“When ECISD made that call for partnerships, that’s right along the mission and vision of what the YMCA is about, and that’s youth development. We are a licensed childcare center, so for us to be able to get in to a partnership like this helps us become better so these students can continue to succeed,” Medina said.
Visitors toured a monolingual classroom, a bilingual classroom and a child care room.
Medina said they have had to double the number of bilingual classrooms recently.
“There’s a huge need for just that bilingual element,” she added.
Students are assessed at the beginning of the year, middle of the year and end of year so their progress and growth can be gauged.
What makes the partnership with ECISD unique is that 3-year-old kindergarten is only half a day, but there is an option to continue their learning in all-day care where the same curriculum that’s offered in the morning is offered in the afternoon. The children can also have a snack and sometimes a nap, Medina said.
Principal Sandy Canava said they have 220 students currently and a maximum of 15 students in each classroom.
Ramon Garza, director of federal programs and fine arts at Hereford ISD, said they partner with Head Start and have a campus that holds 200 students.
“But now we’re looking to try to grow our numbers … We have a waiting list just like they do so we also have some kids that don’t qualify, so we’re trying to reach those kids along with our 0 to 3 daycare. We’re trying to start kind of what they have here, but at a younger level, so we’re visiting so we can get some ideas and try to figure out if we can get it done,” Garza said.
He added that the visit will help with that.
Kevin Guico, senior manager at Empower Schools, said the visit was brilliant.
“I think it’s a smart partnership to have a school district partner with a community organization like the YMCA. I think it’s smart for a couple reasons. One, it’s a trusted partnership with somebody that already exists, is already doing this work, already has expertise in the licensing of early childhood, all that part. It adds capacity to the district in a way that’s breaking down silos and working together, versus we’re doing this in this community, and maybe we have this pre-K over here in the district. It’s a great way to bring people together, to serve more families and serve more kids in the younger ages, in particular,” Guico said.
Empower Schools works with state agencies, policymakers, school districts, and in partnership with communities across the United States in service of millions of students, its website said.
