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Home My WebLink About06/03/2008 04A Draft Minutes 03-18-2008 Special Meeting - Study Session• • r� u SPECIAL MEETING / STUDY SESSION MARCH 18, 2008 8:00 - 9:30 A.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS - YAKIMA CITY HALL 1. Roll Call Present: Council Staff: Y VA Mayor Dave Edler, presiding,. Assistant Mayor Micah Cawley, Council Members Kathy Coffey, Rick Ensey, Norm Johnson, Bill Lover, and Neil-McClure City Manager Zais and City Clerk Moore, 2. Discussion with ESD #105 regarding East Yakima early learning demonstration project (presentation material provided) Introductions: Helen Marieskind, Executive Director of Ready -by -Five Rick Linneweh, President of the Board, Ready =by -Five, and CEO of Memorial Hospital Joe Farina, Board member and Chair of EPIC Early Learning Program Stacy Drake, Director of Early Learning for Yakima School District and the Children's Program Director for Ready -by -Five Cynthia Juarez, Director for Early Learning Quality Improvement for Ready -by -Five Lydia Rodriquez, Technology Support for ESD 105 Vickie Ybarra, Yakima School District and Farm Worker's Clinic Joe Farina spoke about the problems, solutions, and strategies. Many children begin life with measureable indicators of overwhelming risk factors. One risk factor can be overcome by a child's resilience, but two or more risk factors affect the child's chances for success, Many children in Yakima face two or more risk.factors. The further behind children are when they enter kindergarten, the harder the catch up becomes. Without successful intervention, these children are in danger of falling behind other children in social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development. . Stacy Drake spoke about the developing brain. Children in poverty experience life with parents who are typically poorly educated and without resources to stimulate brain growth and development in their children. Many children growing up in very poor families with low social status, experience unhealthy levels of stress hormones which impair their neural development. The net result is the impairment of language development and memory with a lifelong consequent inability to develop the cognitive and communication skills that give youngsters the ability to do well in school and society and the chance to escape poverty. MARCH 18, 2008 —STUDY SESSION ESD #105 EAST YAKIMA EARLY LEARNING DEMONSTRATION. Vickie Ybarra described how children's brain development happens so quickly when they are very young and are stimulated, to a large degree, by interaction with their primary care giver, usually their mother. For years the best predictor of a child's success in school was their mother's education level. The lack of development happens in poor children more often, not because they're not loved and nurtured by their parents, but because the parents don't have the educational background to provide the stimulation that will allow the child to achieve in school. Mr. Linneweh said many disciplines conclude the same solution, quality early learning to prevent the negative outcomes. There has to be something that sets high standards, and provides support for parents. Approaching this on an all -day, all -year basis will make transitions between the years of birth to five and prepare the child for moving into school at the kindergarten level. This is the major thrust of the Gates Foundation, Thrive by Five project. It will focus upon children who have multiple risk factors. Over the next ten years we are going to be acting as a demonstration community to help east Yakima gain access to affordable, quality, early learning. Cynthia Juarez related results of surveys in the target area of east Yakima. • 83% of parents in the area are interested in help getting their children ready for kindergarten. • 58% requested assistance with pre - school education. • 41 % requested financial help. • 39% would like assistance with transportation. • 36% would like parenting information. • 23% would like medical and dental services. • 21 % would like early learning in a licensed child care center setting. • 16% would like access to a licensed child care home. When asked in what manner would you like to be involved with your child's early learning: • 82% would like to receive more information about their child's development and how they can support it. • 62% would be interested in attending sessions to learn more about child development and parenting techniques. • 53% would be interested in home visits. • 70% would be willing to help in a classroom setting. • 57% would be interested in attending community activities. 59% would help with field trips. 61 % would like information about parenting in the home. Mr. Linneweh spoke about the two primary movers behind the effort; the Gates Foundation and Thrive by Five (a new organization created within the state of Washington). These organizations concluded they would be setting up two demonstration projects around early learning with the idea of demonstrating to the state, and the nation, that when effort, energies, and resources are put into early learning, the chain of poverty can be broken. They sought communities where they could work on the demonstration project. Yakima stakeholders,_ 40 -50 organizations in greater Yakima, came together and, literally, put Yakima on the radar screen. The contract is between the Gates Foundation and Thrive By Five with the ESD #105 acting as the formal partner. 2 MARCH 18, 2008 —STUDY SESSION. ESD #105 EAST YAKIMA EARLY LEARNING DEMONSTRATION They have created a 5013C for the purpose of showing this is not just within the educational stream, but is a community effort. Therefore, the board is composed of partners who make up the stakeholders. The project strategy is simple but profound: to work with parents, the Gates Foundation, Thrive by Five and other organizations in focusing upon children who have multiple risk factors that can jeopardize school readiness; to reach these children where they spend their days; and over the next ten years, act as a demonstration community to help the families of east Yakima gain access to affordable, quality, early learning for their children. Helen Marieskind reviewed the previous studies on various programs of this nature and their results. Mr. Linneweh advised they have put together a governing board and established a significant relationship with the Gates Foundation and Thrive by Five who are bringing significant dollars. into the community. They will be doing fund raising to demonstrate community support. They have identified they want a hub. They know the population and area upon whicti to concentrate. They are at the point of determining where a hub in the target area will be. They need four acres of property and are asking to work with a governmental agency in taking individual residences and converting them into a campus, or looking for properties not occupied or marginally occupied that are in the area. They hope to work with the City Council to identify a good site that does not displace residents from their homes. They have applied for a grant up to $1 million for planning for the site. Council members questioned what areas are being considered and what are the requirements? Two areas noted were Martin Luther King Park and Kiwanis Park. A recommendation from the Bounce network is for it to be adjacent to an elementary school.. They are looking for open space or working with an entity that has eminent domain. One of the key elements will be sustainability and replication in other locations. That is the specific reason for the demonstration. The Buffetts and the Gates and others who have funded these programs are saying, if evidence shows that putting your dollar in at the early stages can save on the back end, then we, through our educational funding, need to look at where we put money for education. The effort behind this is to demonstrate to the state legislators, and to the country, that we need to start putting more of the educational dollars in the front end. It is a collaborative effort with partnerships in Yakima. Each partner has given a significant contribution to the project. Many are providing people who can provide specific services. This builds the possibility of sustainability from the beginning. No one provider has the huge burden of providing all of the services for the program. Mayor Edler asked, how do you see us becoming partners? Mr. Linneweh said they would like conversations about the use of the Martin Luther King area lying between the Adams Elementary and Washington Middle School. Council suggested having the Parks Commission involved in discussions, and the potential of considering the South East Community Center. During discussion, Assistant Mayor Cawley, recommended a Council subcommittee speak with the other partnerships.to come up with some recommendations. City Manager Zais said the Economic Development Committee or Neighborhood Development Committee, along with the Parks Commission, could review this. They could expedite it, hopefully, taking no more than six weeks to determine a site. Mayor Edler advised that there would be a follow -up meeting scheduled by City staff. 3 MARCH 18, 2008 —STUDY SESSION ESD #105 EAST YAKIMA EARLY LEARNING DEMONSTRATION 3. Audience comments No one came forward to speak. 4. Adjournment CAWLEY MOVED AND McCLURE SECONDED TO ADJOURN TO THE REGULARLY SCHEDULED BUSINESS MEETING AT 6:00 P.M.. The motion carried by unanimous voice vote. The meeting adjourned at 8:08 p.m. READ AND CERTIFIED ACCURATE BY ATTEST: CITY CLERK COUNCIL MEMBER DATE COUNCIL MEMBER DATE DAVID EDLER, MAYOR Minutes prepared by Linda Watkins. A CD of this meeting is available in the City Clerk's Office 4 • • •