The Community Foundation

The Early Childhood Education Scholarship Initiative seeks to transform the lives of children who risk entering the public school system at an educational and behavioral deficit that will forever hamper their ability to learn and to succeed in school and in life. The Community Foundation’s goal is to make a difference in the lives of children by capitalizing upon the “Window of Opportunity.” In this phase of the Early Childhood Education Scholarship Initiative, scholarships are being provided in Davidson County, Tennessee. This initiative came to fruition through the dedicated work of civic leader Nelson Andrews.

“The development of the unique features of speech and fine motor function occurs almost exclusively during the period from birth until three years of age as a result of the abundance of neurons (brain cells) that exist at this pivotal time; accordingly, to maximize learning opportunities, it is imperative that all children receive the highest level of attention during this narrow and irreplaceable ‘Window of Opportunity.’”
– Dr. Henry Foster, Professor Emeritus and former Dean
School of Medicine, Meharry Medical College
And Clinical Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology Vanderbilt University

Our Community’s Challenge

Every year too many of our children show up on the doorsteps of our schools ill-equipped to learn, unable to succeed. Why? Often, until that moment, learning and “playing well with others” have not been a priority in their lives. Sometimes they’ve never seen a book; sometimes their days have been filled with TV rather than human interaction. As a result, our children and our schools are suffering.

• Almost one-third of our young people do not graduate from high school.
• Dropouts are at risk for higher rates of incarceration, unemployment, and physical and mental health problems.
• We are investing most of our resources too late, decreasing the chances of success.

What We Propose

The Community Foundation is working to create a foundation for children’s future learning, behavior and health, particularly for children who are at risk. The Early Childhood Education Scholarship Initiative partners with Early Childhood Education centers which have achieved Three-Star Certification from the State. These centers have a proven track-record of successful learning programs and strong parental involvement.

Our goal is to provide quality educational settings to children from birth until they are old enough to enter the Governor’s Pre-K program. The majority of children in the scholarship program are children of the “working poor,” a designation for families earning between $18,000 and $24,000 annually.  These are families who earn too much to receive financial assistance from the State, but for whom quality care would be nearly impossible to afford.

We will also assist families where without this help, a parent would have to leave school or quit work to keep their child safe and secure. This is a key factor in reducing the cycle of poverty.

It is our pledge to every child receiving a scholarship that we will see them through until they reach the Governor’s Pre-K program at four years old.  The continuity of high quality early childhood education for these children will be an investment that yields untold rewards.

For more information, contact The Community Foundation at 615-321-4939. To learn more, read GivingMatters.com’s Issue Overview on the topic.

By the late Nelson Andrews, former early childhood education steering committee member and former board chair of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee

Let us begin with a bold statement that we believe to be undeniably true. As a society, and more specifically as the Nashville community, if we do not take the action that we are about to propose, then:

•    We cannot break the cycle of poverty.
•    We cannot solve our drug problems.
•    We cannot solve our incarceration problems.
•    We cannot solve many of our health care cost problems.
•    We cannot create the economic climate that we all desire.
•    And we cannot attain an acceptable K-12 public education system in our community.

The premise is basic. As we look at the learning process of the children of our community, let us focus on what occurs in our public education system K-12. When we see almost one-third of our kids becoming dropouts, we regretfully admit that the system is broken. We also understand that it is from this dropout group that most of the problems we have previously listed are germinated.

Logically, we first would fix our attention on determining where it is broken. Let us consider the learning process as an assembly line. Almost always, our first reaction is to be quick to say that the assembly line is broken in high school –after all, that’s where dropouts occur. But, although that instance of dropout is where the dramatic evidence of the failed system is recognized, that is not when the break occurs, and therefore, that is not the point at which it can be fixed. So we look at the assembly line in closer perspective and we realize the following:

If a child does not read with a reasonable degree of comprehension upon completion of the third grade, research tells us that the likelihood of that child becoming a dropout is well over 90%.

At that point in their learning process, we know who is not going to make it. We know who is destined to be in the failed one-third. So again, logically, we look farther back towards the beginning of our assembly line and we find that children who are not prepared to enter kindergarten are the children, by and large, who don’t achieve reading comprehension by that third grade time frame and are thus destined for dropout status.

So we look even farther towards the beginning of the assembly line. We find that from birth to age four---and particularly in the first year and a half---children rapidly develop the critical capabilities---the enormous brain development---that become the foundation for their subsequent development. In fact, 90% of the architectural structure of the brain is built in the first three years of life. Children are born with a billion brain cells, and no more are created after birth. However, the way these cells are “wired” or linked together, is controlled by the environment the infant experiences during these first three years.

We find that with proper brain development, the gains they can make in language and thinking skills are remarkable, and they also can make dramatic progress in the growth of their emotional, social, behavioral, and moral capacities.

On the other hand, without such brain development, scientists tell us that they will miss a “window of opportunity” that closes forever as they leave those early years. In any event, the fact is that we do know where the assembly line is broken and we know it is in those formative early years.

To address this challenge, The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee is facilitating an Early Childhood Education Scholarship program. The Community Foundation is partnering with early childhood education centers which have achieved three-star certification from the State. These centers have a proven track record of successful learning programs and strong parental involvement.

Our goal is to provide quality education settings to children from birth until they are old enough to enter a pre-kindergarten program.

We are relying on the centers to help us identify at-risk children who, but for this assistance, would be unable to access this care. The majority of children we are helping are children of the “working poor,” a designation bestowed upon families earning between $18,000 and $24,000 annually. These are families who earn too much to receive financial assistance from the State, but for whom quality care would be nearly impossible to afford.

This transformation requires a big investment. For every child we help, we commit to seeing them through this formative period. It will take, on average, $20,000 per child, a figure that seems large until you compare it with the cost of not giving these kids the chance to succeed.

The Community Foundation will provide the majority of the funding in the form of a scholarship. The family and the center work to cover the remaining costs. The children reap the benefit of caring, professional teachers who regularly assess their progress and ensure they meet the appropriate developmental benchmarks.

The continuity of high quality early childhood education for these children will be an investment that yields untold rewards.

Consider the Learning Process as an Assembly Line

Our first reaction is often to think the assembly line is broken in high school, where dropouts occur. Although there is dramatic evidence of the failed system in high school, it is not when the break occurs, and therefore, not the point at which it can be fixed.

As we look at the assembly line of the learning process more closely, we realize the following:

• If a child does not read with a reasonable degree of comprehension at the end of the third grade, the likelihood of that child becoming a dropout is over 90%. Simply put, if a child cannot read, she/he cannot learn.
• If we move even further toward the beginning of the assembly line, we find that children unprepared for kindergarten often don’t achieve reading comprehension by the third grade and are destined for dropout status. For these children, kindergarten is too late.

Scientific studies show that from birth to age four – and particularly in the first 18 months – children rapidly develop the critical capabilities which become the foundation for their subsequent development. 

In fact, 90% of the architectural structure of the brain is built in the first three years of life. With proper stimulation and learning opportunities, the gains children can make in language and thinking skills, and in the growth of their emotional, social, behavioral, and moral capacities are remarkable. But without such brain development, scientists tell us that they will miss a “window of opportunity” that closes forever as they leave those early years.