- Hello everyone, my name is Tanneshia Dukes, and I'm so excited to welcome you to this session on "A Systemic Link Between the Absence of a High-Quality Early Childhood Education Experience & K-3 Literacy Skills."

So today we're gonna dive a little bit into why early childhood is important, and what do those factors look like for us in real life, as we talk about K-3, and most likely kindergarten through fifth grade as well.

So we're gonna dive into that.

So a little bit about me, since we'll be together for this brief time.

Thank you for joining in on this session, and I hope that you love it all.

So I decided to do like four different categories.

So I have home life, school life, work life, entrepreneur life.

So the home life, I'm a native of Georgia.

It's my fun facts.

I'm an educator, advocate, mom, and wife.

School life, I graduated from Greensboro College with my Bachelor's in Elementary Ed, K-6.

Shout out to everybody that's in that elementary range.

It's okay, we're making it.

So then I went on and graduated from North Carolina A&T State University, with my Masters in School Administration.

And from there, I am now a doctoral candidate at Highpoint University with a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership.

So currently I'm an assistant principal in Guilford County Schools.

And in my entrepreneur life, because you know, teaching is my superhero superpower.

I love all things education, and all things equity.

So I have a company called Teaching On The Flip Side.

And what I did underneath there, I was working with teachers, coaching them through their practice exam, the foundations of reading.

Coming up, we'll be dealing with some of the standard-based instruction, really helping teachers to get back to the basics of what we know that our students need to be academically successful.

Aside from that, I co-own a nonprofit, where we do a lot of our giving back to the community, whether that be to schools, or to feeding the homeless, or to a women's shelter.

We try to incorporate all of those things.

So what are we gonna be doing today?

Okay, I know if you're sitting at home, and I know if it's virtual, you're like, "I didn't have time to make it, but I still wanted to see everything."

So we have tailored this just for you.

So we're gonna have some virtual fun.

We're gonna get the 411, anybody a Mary J. fan?

We're gonna do a little bit of the data analysis, questions and advocacy goals, and then the exit survey.

I really hope you enjoy this.

It may not be the full 45 minutes that you may have gotten in person, but with some of the activities, I really feel like you'll feel like you were right there with us.

And thank you to PBS for this wonderful event that they're putting on as well, for you to still have access.

So what are our objectives for today?

So we're analyzing research connected to early childhood education, kindergarten through third-grade literacy scores, and school climate and social-emotional development.

We're gonna talk about how all these things are intertwined.

Then we're diving into demonstrating our understanding of social and emotional needs, as it pertains to students, and us as adults.

We matter as well when we're dealing with our students, no matter their age range.

And then we're gonna construct some advocacy goals.

You'll be able to do this on your own, that address access to high-quality early-childhood education, and its impact on our students from kindergarten through third grade literacy skills, and social-emotional development.

I know you're like, "Why does she keep mentioning K-3?

Why is this so important?"

Because when they miss out on those foundational skills, not testing, but the foundational skills that they need to be productive citizens within society, we see those deficits within kindergarten through third grade.

And what do we have in third grade?

The EOG, the end of grade tests in the state of North Carolina, right?

And so when we have them missing these foundational pieces, we see a lot of those achievement gaps.

We see a lot of people saying, "Hey, they're coming in, and they don't have the skills they need."

Access and opportunity, keep those written down with you today.

So we're gonna jump right in, and we're gonna have a little fun, okay?

So this says, "Summer fun."

By the time you watch this, it'll be summer.

And if not, just imagine that it's summer, 'cause we're all educators, and we're out for the summer.

So say it with an emoji, so you are going to, you can either type it in, or you can scan the code.

So what's gonna happen is that we're going to see, and you're gonna describe your ideal vacation using one emoji.

And then I'm gonna get us started, right?

Because the emoji I would like to use is going to be the one where they're just partying it up, right?

My ideal vacation, where I'm having a good time it's great music, I get to be with my family, and I'm wearing a party hat, right?

Because you know, the summer for us is the ideal time.

So as you can see, I have the emoji on there, the young lady, she's swimming through the airport, because last summer I was running through the airport going on a missions trip, trying to make it to Guatemala.

And so I think that this is gonna be a great way for us to dive in.

It is open, which means that have fun, interact with the other people who may be virtually watching this as well.

I'm gonna put mine in as we dive more into it.

So what's the 411?

You can also scan this QR code, so that way you'll be able to access some of the materials we'll have and be doing on today.

So the reason why we're talking about the statistics, right?

And this is talking about prior to 2022, right?

Before we entered the pandemic, before these things started happening, we know what our literacy skills and where they were as a state, right?

And then now we're dealing with where are we now, since the pandemic, right?

And I like to tell people, and it's a matter of opinion, right, everyone has the magic thing that they could have done in the middle of COVID.

But I tell people, COVID only exposed the inequities that were already there, right?

Let's take a moment to really think about that, guys.

Like COVID genuinely exposed some of those access and opportunity gaps that our students were already facing.

But now what happens is that these gaps have now expanded past the areas of where they were intended to be.

So now we have an emergency on education.

What are we going to do about ensuring that our students are ready to be productive in elementary, middle, and high school, and beyond?

So we're talking about preschool enrollment rates are higher for children whose parents have higher level of educational attainment.

I'll use myself as an example.

I'm an educator.

I know the importance of daycare, and not just where someone's caring for my son, but I know during early childcare, what they are doing in those facilities, it's not just babysitting, right?

They are actually ensuring that our students are developing social skills.

My son learned to crawl from watching all the other kids crawl.

My son learned to walk, he got brave enough to walk because he was watching all the other kids, and they're like, "Oh no, I'm not gonna be left."

You know, and the kids are actually socializing, and they're learning how to exist with others.

And so we noticed that everyone's not afforded that opportunity.

And we know that that deals with cost efficiency, right?

Like how cost friendly is this for us to attend early childhood?

I know that the first six months of my son's life, you know, he was not in childcare.

Couldn't afford it, I was a first year teacher.

Those were just things that I just could not then afford.

And actually, I was actually going into my second year, in the middle of my second year when I had him.

And so I didn't have a lot of time underneath my belt, but I knew the importance of at least getting him into one, once we built up some things.

So then we know that enrollment rates of preschoolers range from 35%, for those whose parents had not completed high school, to 60% among those whose parents had attained a bachelor's degree or higher.

Let's really think about what these numbers are telling us.

That is a huge gap between our students, who everyone needs it, right?

Pre-K for all, right?

Everyone needs the ability to have access and opportunity to a early childhood facility, within their zone.

And these are just hardcore numbers about what's happening right here.

What are we doing for our students as they come in?

So then we know prior to kindergarten enrollment rates, but to a lesser extent, indicate that preschool enrollment is more dependent on parental educational attainment.

I told my son the other day, "Knowledge is power.

No one can take what you know."

But what happens when I don't know?

What happens when I haven't had the opportunity for someone to sit down and do this, and say, "Hey, it's important?"

What happens when we haven't talked to the right representative, to talk about how important it is for our students to have these things?

Why is it important?

Not so much as the what, but why.

Simon Sinek says, "Start with why."

Why is it important that our students have access and the opportunity to attend early childhood?

Why?

What does that do, what do these numbers do?

What does it say about our students, right?

If you look on the right hand of the screen, we talk about percentages of three to four year olds in school by household poverty.

This is 2019.

Hmm, I want us to sit with this for a little bit, because although this is a session on those systemic barriers, right?

Or seeing the links between how all of this is intertwined, but we're sitting with it, because once we become aware, we are now advocates of change.

So what impact is early childhood having on education?

Like what's happening?

Why is it important?

The demographic data on preschool enrollment is showing that preschoolers are increasingly diverse, right?

The programs they attend are often more racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically segregated, than those serving older students.

I did an assignment in our doctoral program, and I talked about modern-day segregation.

What does that look like when we divide our students by access and opportunity?

Research demonstrates the importance of high-quality early childhood experiences for young children's social, emotional, and cognitive development.

We know that when our students don't have access, it's harder for them to cope in kindergarten.

"Wait, I'm away from my parents?

Wait, there's other students around I have to share with?"

I know my fear was is my son gonna be able to share the learning?

I know you're like, "Why is that a fear?"

Because when COVID happened, so many people, and when we were in the pandemic, so many people could not afford early childcare, including my son's facility.

So we ended up having to switch facilities.

But while he was there, she literally only had him.

A couple months went by, and parents started pulling their children out because of fear.

But I said, "I have to put him on a mask, and he has to go into that classroom."

And I know she was like, "He's the only one here."

But I said, "This is so important."

It's so important for him to learn.

It's so important for him not just to know his alphabet.

That's not all they're doing.

It's so important for him to develop the sounds.

What letter is this?

What sound does it make?

How, because when it's time for him to read, all of that's gonna come into play, right?

And so these are the things that I wanted him to experience, but because of that, he was ready for school.

He was ready for pre-K, like his teachers, like I gave him an assessment, all my teacher friends, they have kids, we do it, we do it.

I gave him an assessment before he started pre-K at the the Montessori school, and I'm like, "I'm gonna know what he doesn't know, So that way I'm not surprised as a parent.

I'm gonna make sure that if he's EC, and he needs support, he's gonna get it, right?"

And the teacher says, "You do know that he performs better with other students, than he would sitting at the kitchen table with you?"

And so that brought me back to it is so important for our students' cognitive development, and social-emotional development to be amongst their peers, and have those opportunities.

The science also tells us that young children's brain development developed more rapidly during the years prior to kindergarten.

If you look at the research of the brain development, it talks about how the most important years are from birth to three or four years old.

They're soaking it all up.

Anything you can give them, they're ready for it.

They're ready for learning, right?

And we always say when they come to us in kindergarten and elementary, it's never too late, because we're in the business of growing kids, right?

That's our goal is to grow students.

But if we start by the time they get to us, it's already too late.

There's already an achievement gap there.

There's already an academic gap, when you compare them to their counterparts, right?

Research has revealed the importance of high-quality early-childhood education for children's short and long-term academic, social, and professional success.

I always tell my students, "If you need an example, I'll be your example, I'll be your role model," right?

Because you hear a lot of students say, "Well, my teacher did this.

Because she did this, I can do that."

What does that say about our students when we have conversations, and we ask them, "Well, what career goal do you wanna have?"

"Well, I just wanna work as a cashier, because that's what my mom does," and that's okay.

Everyone has their respective career that they want.

But then we speak to the parents, and they're like, "I want them to go to college.

I want them."

How are they able to have access and see these things?

Because we know that college, it's not built to be for everyone.

So where do we fit in at?

But if we don't create them to be dreamers very young, and say, "Maybe I could be a police officer.

Maybe I could be a nurse.

Maybe I could work for NASA.

Or just maybe I could be a mechanic, and the best one in my neighborhood.

Maybe my mechanic shop is gonna be so big, and so fancy, that everybody in town is gonna wanna come see my shop."

What does that do for our students when we set them up for success to dream?

My son loves to sing, and I know you're like, "Why are you keep referring to your son?"

It's the closest example that I have that's near and dear to my heart.

He loves to sing, right?

"You wanna get in music, dude?

Fine.

Wanna play an instrument?

Fantastic, dream."

Let's give our students the ability to dream without even knowing that they're dreaming.

So we're gonna take a look at what is our North Carolina Health Department say about all of what we're talking about dealing with third grade literacy scores?

And when we look at this, they are correlating our students' literacy scores, third grade proficiency, reading proficiency, to their health.

Children with low reading proficiency are more likely to drop out of high school, acquire low paying jobs that limit access to healthcare, and have increased risk for numerous adverse health outcomes.

And we have this linked here as well, so that way you're able to go through and read these things.

Because what does that do for us in society?

It matters.

Guys, early childhood matters.

The care matters, right?

And so what we are saying right now, it's not just what's happening to early childhood, right?

But it is how do we come up with a plan to effectively address the needs that are there?

And we're gonna dive a little bit into that right now, as we deal with diving really into the data.

So now it's the thing of what does the data say for us?

What does the data say?

So let's go back and let's see.

So for our data analysis, what we have is three different articles, right?

And so with our three different articles, the first two are written by Dr. Mary Ann Wolf, who's the president and executive director of the Public School Forum.

The third article is written by Juliet, David, Deborah, and Nick.

And so these are, it's the perspective of early childhood education, care, and support.

It's the perspective of ensuring all NC students read on grade level by grade three.

And it's the school climate and culture for social-emotional development.

And what we're gonna do is you can join in on a conversation that we're having.

Tell us your why.

Why do you think these articles are important?

And you can just pick one, you don't have to do all of them.

You can just pick one.

Why is it important?

Why is this article important?

How do you see these things being implemented and infiltrated into our buildings, or into your line of work?

Why does it matter for who you are?

And then what are some next steps that we can do to continue on the conversation?

So if you scan, you'll be able to join in on that conversation.

And I wanna thank you for having this conversation with me, for being open to come to an Early Childhood Impact Summit, that talks about what are we gonna do for our kids?

Because every child, from the time they're born, no matter what side of the district lines they're on, every child and their success, their academic success, their educational outcomes, it matters.

We are looking at our future doctors, lawyers, people who will work with neuroscience, the next individuals to build a rocket ship.

This is the next.

So what are we gonna do now for our next?

And I wanna thank you for jumping in with me.

I have two links up here @DukesTeachesAll, I'm on Twitter.

Usually it's a bunch of education stuff, because that's what I love.

But let's connect, and then also, feedback is a gift.

I love feedback.

If you say, "Why'd you scratch your head in the middle of that," I'm open to it all.

Please jump in and have the conversation with me.

And don't be surprised if you get a message back when we're discussing those three articles, because we're just ready to dive in.

And the time is now, it's time to act now.

And we are so grateful that you joined in with us.

You took the time to join in, and talk about early childhood education, and why it matters.

Thank you so much.