Diana Rauner Visits DuPage County Early Learning Programs
On Thursday, May 19, the DuPage Regional Office of Education, Wheaton-Warrenville District 200, West Chicago District 33 and Metropolitan Family Services of DuPage welcomed Illinois' First Lady Diana Rauner to DuPage County to learn more about the expansive programming in the area of early childhood education. Dr. Rauner is the President of the Ounce of Prevention Fund, which helps children from low-income families and advocates for early childhood education.
Dr. Rauner was greeted by the various partners at West Chicago District 33's main office where Dr. Darlene Ruscitti, DuPage Regional Superintendent; Dr. Charles Johns, District 33 Superintendent; Dr. Jeff Schuler, District 200 Superintendent; Theresa Nihill, Executive Director of Metropolitan Family Services of Dupage; and Marjory Lewe-Brady, District 33 Director of Partnerships/WeGo Together For Kids offered comments on the importance of early learning opportunities in Western DuPage County where, as stated by Dr. Ruscitti, "collaborative partnerships enrich learning for all students and create meaningful family engagement."
Dr. Rauner toured both the West Chicago District 33 Early Learning Center and Jefferson Early Childhood Center, the early learning center in District 200. Both schools offer early learning opportunities for students with special needs, typically developing peers and students who come from at-risk backgrounds. While on the tours, Dr. Rauner heard from educators in both districts, spoke to parents who shared their family's experience with early childhood education, observed various classrooms and even participated in a science experiment in one classroom.
The highest rate of brain development occurs during the first five years of a child's life. Research demonstrates that the early years are a particularly sensitive period in development which lays a foundation for later success in the areas of cognitive functioning, self-regulation, social skills, behavior, and physical health. For every $1 invested in early childhood education, $7 to $10 is saved on remedial education, health and criminal justice expenditures. Investing in early learning produces great returns to individuals and society in better education, health, economic and social outcomes - not only saving taxpayers money, but increasing economic productivity.
Toward that end, Wego Together for Kids and Metropolitan Family Services assist with coordination of early childhood services in DuPage County that are funded, in part, by United Way (West Chicago) and the Bright & Early DuPage Initiative of the DuPage Foundation. Each of the collaborative groups consist of dozens of agencies in DuPage County and District 33 and District 200 are the key leaders. The two groups have been able to leverage resources and effectively coordinate services focused on providing opportunities for learning success and improved kindergarten readiness for children birth to age five, especially for those most vulnerable.
In District 200, outcome data indicates readiness for students entering kindergarten in neighborhoods with a high concentration of low income families has steadily increased from 21% in 2012 to 35% in 2015. During the same time period, enrollment in all day kindergarten from targeted high poverty neighborhoods has increased from 36% in 2012 to 57% in 2015. District 200 Superintendent Dr. Jeff Schuler is pleased with the outcomes but also looks to how his District can expand the scope of early learning services. "We know that some of our outcomes would not be possible without our recent expansion of early learning opportunities in our community and the coordinated efforts of the Wheaton Warrenville Early Childhood Collaborative. We look forward to a continued upward improvement of those outcomes. However, we have more work to do. There are still children in our community that do not have access to vital, early learning opportunities. Our Board of Education and Administration is committed to reviewing program expansion and facility options that are appropriate for our community's our early learning needs," said Schuler.
In District 33, twelve parents graduated from a Parent Leadership Training where they learned how to set goals for themselves, their families and their community in order to build their family strengths, as well as the community strengths. District 33 Dr. Charles Johns was thrilled to share with Dr. Rauner. "It was a great opportunity for us to learn from Dr. Rauner's expertise on our approach which brings families together with our community partners and educational professionals in order to foster the growth of our students. In District 33, we take a holistic, family approach. We actively partner with our families and community to provide quality early learning opportunities. We know that connecting the schools, families and community gives our young learners the best chance for success. We are proud to be able to make those connections," said Johns.
Dr. Darlene Ruscitti, DuPage Regional Superintendent, is proud to share the increased early learning program offerings in DuPage County with Dr. Rauner. "Schools and education have a profound, long-lasting impact in the lives of children. We know that early learning is critical to overall educational success. I'm proud that we are starting to make an impact for our children at an early age in DuPage County. I serve on many committees, including one that oversees alternative learning programs for high school students. I see and hear the challenges facing many of our teenagers and they are profound. Increasing educational opportunities from an even earlier age will only open doors and give our children more opportunities to be a successful, because they got a great start in school. We welcomed Dr. Rauner to observe our work and invite her to continue participating in our conversation and work in early childhood education," said Ruscitti.