- [Child] The following presentation was made possible by PNC.

(upbeat string music) - [Anne-Marie] Social and emotional learning, it's the curriculum early childhood education is made of.

- Their play is their learning.

- [Anne-Marie] Tonight, we explore the challenges our region faces when providing quality or early childhood programs and resources, as well as solutions to ensuring the wellbeing of our most vulnerable learners on this "Living St. Louis" special.

(kids shouting) (funky jazz music) - [Anne-Marie] Early childhood education, the time from birth to kindergarten when our youngest learners develop critical social and emotional skills, lays the groundwork for a lifelong learning and wellbeing.

- [Constance] There are things that develop in children very early on that you cannot catch up with later.

When we talk about cradle to career opportunities, early childhood has to be included in that continuum of care and development of humans.

- [All] One, two, three!

- [Teacher] Woo, pull up!

- [Anne-Marie] Despite the clear evidence supporting this, the significant long-term benefits of early childhood education, education for our region's earliest learners has had long standing issues of inequities.

- Look at my pine cone tree.

- [Anne-Marie] For parents, access to affordable and quality early childhood programs are few and far between.

For educators, well-paid and well-respected teaching positions are just as rare.

- Teachers are not making... like early childhood is not making two grand a month, which is sad.

(gentle piano music) - [Anne-Marie] On average, early childhood educators, those caring for and educating our young children, make $10 and 72 cents an hour.

Parents can't afford to pay more and teachers can't afford what they make now.

- My teachers work really hard.

They work harder than anybody I know, and when you think about what we pay them compared to what some of the school districts pays or some of the other programs pays, you know, you think about the benefits that we try to offer, you know, we're doing a lot.

Zero to five is when 90% of the children's brain develops, so, that's where the investment really needs to be.

- In the United States, preschool is not as valued as or invested in as part of public education.

In fact, in Missouri, school districts are only mandated by law to offer and fund half day kindergarten, even then, kindergarten is a choice.

Pre-kindergarten programs and childcare providers are private businesses or nonprofits, they're funded by tuition paid by families or subsidized by funds raised by the schools.

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the City of St. Louis has just over 22,000 kids under the age of six.

There are less than 12,000 spots in approved centers, at home daycares, headstart programs and preschools in the city, resulting in a service gap of 47%.

In our first story tonight, Brooke Butler introduces us to a program that expands early education opportunities and care, for children whose families are unable to afford it.

- I'm not looking at the camera.

- I'm not looking at the camera too.

- [Brooke] These are some typical activities you would find in a preschool classroom at an early childhood learning center.

On the surface, these activities look like fun ways to pass the time until their parents come and pick them up at the end of the day, but the details that go into carefully planning these activities will engage the children in skills that will last a lifetime.

Making patterns with beads is a small motor and an early math skill, scooping and pouring practices hand-eye coordination, and this parachute activity works large muscles and shows cooperation and perceptual skills.

This particular early childhood learning center, is one of the programs provided by Unleashing Potential, a nonprofit working to close the opportunity gap for children through early childhood education, afterschool programs, and youth enrichment programs.

- Kids don't jump off their parents' belly at five years old, so, you need to start investing in the six-week-old baby.

Everybody needs a opportunity.

It would be great if we had opportunities for high quality early childhood programs as moms and dads, depending on your socioeconomic status and especially in St. Louis, the Zip Code you live in, you know, your choices are limited.

- [Brooke] Located in the St. Louis Zip Code with the highest rate of child abuse and neglect, and with 100% of families receiving financial assistance to cover the cost of tuition, Unleashing Potential understands the obstacles that these families face in meeting their child's developmental needs.

Denise Carter has been the center director for the past 10 years, and has put a lot of focus on parent engagement.

- Parent education, parent engagement, as we call it, it's what sets us apart from all programs.

But our parent engagement looks a little different than other people's parent engagement.

We like to think about what resources and support you need, okay, everybody need a home to live in, so okay, what type of home do you wanna be in?

You know, do you want home ownership?

Do you need information on financial literacy?

How do we provide that?

So, if a mom is good at budgeting, okay, how do we teach other families how to budget?

If a mom is good at nutrition, okay, you can come in and present to all of the other families on what you know about nutrition and, you know, so, that we all can learn from you, from it, so, that our babies can learn.

- [Brooke] Providing parent education opens the door for continuing the nurturing environment that these children receive at school into their homes.

Dr. Kenneth Haller, pediatrician at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital explains the important effect that nurturing environment will have on a child's health.

- The amount of cognitive development that's going on in terms of language, in terms of emotional development, in terms of the ability to move the body in space, you know, kinetic learning, all of this stuff is taking place very soon after birth and even before birth.

So, one of the things that there's a greater appreciation for is what sort of environment is a child growing up in?

What sort of stimulation are they getting, and how are they reacting to it?

If those developmental milestones are not met effectively that can lead to chronic illness, not just psychological, not just emotional, but physical illness for the rest of a person's life.

It's not uncommon for us to see children who have been in environments that have been impoverished physically or emotionally, have these stressors put on them.

That can affect their immune system so, that they're more prone to infections later in life, it can also affect their immune system in that it becomes hyper reactive and that leads to what we sometimes call the allergic triad which is allergies, asthma, and eczema.

On top of that, this can lead to long term problems or a lifetime with both type one and type two diabetes, with obesity, with heart disease, with lung problems, you know, all of these things get set up early in life.

- [Brooke] Meeting those basic needs of housing, nutrition and safety are necessary for creating a secure learning environment.

But Denise doesn't stop there - It is as important for the kids here for them to see things beyond their four block radius.

So, I started taking the two to the five-year-olds to college every year.

So, think about a two year old, it's really not about the college experience for the two year olds at that time, but this is about putting it into the heads of parents that, "Hey, I'm expecting these two year olds "to go to college."

We had a parent who was actually enrolled in one of the nursing programs at the college, and that day we pulled up on site with our bus and our van and all of the kids got out and, you know, they got to meet the chancellor, sit at the desk and things, and the mom was like, you know, "I'm just now getting to college "and the fact that see my three-year-old get off the van "and go into a classroom "and, you know, do activity with somebody "and meet the chancellor, things of that nature.

"You know, it's like I'm driven now "to really complete my school "and so that my baby can be here in a couple of years."

- [Brooke] Paving the pathway to a successful life of learning is exactly why early education is necessary.

But what about the teachers who make that learning possible?

The same colleges that these two to five-year-olds visit are the same places that some of their teachers received a degree or training to become an early educator.

But even with that higher education, early learning caregivers and teachers with a bachelor's degree earn nearly half the salary of other individuals with bachelor's degrees.

97% of early education teachers are women which widens the gap in pay equality even further.

This pay rate qualifies some teachers with families for the same government assistance as the low income families that attend the schools where they teach.

- Most of my teachers, we train them really well and then they leave because the pay, it's not because they're not passionate about what they do, but at some point, you know, you have to think about as a individual, you know, am I going to stay with my passion or am I gonna think about, you know, the traditional, do I wanna own a home or a car, things of that nature, and what we pay in early childhood can't compete with the larger corporate world out there.

You know, we know the return on investment for this age group, and when people really spend time and realize that you're doing more than babysitting, you know, nobody in early childhood now has a TV in front of the children.

You know, you're learning about... you're helping them learn all about their social, emotional, you're working with them on nutrition, you're working with them on self-regulation, the skills that we're teaching now in their early childhood are the things that they need in the workforce.

You know, those soft skills.

So, you know, if I'm able to self-regulate at two, I'm able to conflict resolve when I'm in the workplace.

(gentle guitar music) - We can't leave out the importance of early childhood education when it comes to the health of our region's workforce and economy.

Study showed children who are engaged in early learning programs are more likely to graduate from high school and find pathways to careers.

And when parents can place their children in safe early education programs, they can go to work, support their families and contribute to the growth of our economy.

This directly affects employers and their ability to attract and retain a skilled workforce.

Due to COVID-19 many daycares permanently closed this past year, forcing parents with young children out of the labor force.

The Center for American Progress found that about two-thirds of those parents who left their jobs, were mothers.

But even before the pandemic, the cost of childcare was forcing women out of the workforce.

- I'm Michelle and my husband is Phil, this is our daughter Azalea, she's six months old and this is Maggie and she's two years old.

So, I am a full-time stay-at-home mom.

(Maggie cries) Oh, do you need a kiss?

- Aha.

- Yeah (blows kiss).

- So, when I got pregnant, I was working full-time at the daycare.

And we started looking at the numbers and how much it was going to cost to enroll our child full-time, because that would be what we'd have to do, we don't have any family that could watch her.

And I would basically be giving my entire paycheck back to the daycare where I worked.

So, for us it just wasn't feasible to do that.

I mean, I was definitely excited because I was, you know, going to get to stay home with my baby and everything, but at the same time just, you know, the stress of being a family with one parent working.

I've always wanted to be a teacher and do that, and I am just kind of afraid that being out of the workforce for so long will hurt my chances at getting a good job.

- Early childhood education is voluntary, so, it can look different from family to family.

Some families wanna take their child to a center or school, some, especially a parent like Michelle who has a background in early education are well-equipped to provide a learning environment at home.

Others may want to bring someone into their home to provide those supports, and that's exactly what this next story is about.

- I have it.

Stop touching the button.

(baby chuckles) - That's okay.

- Do you not click the button.

You see how like trying to talk to you?

- Yeah.

(baby screams drown conversation) - Are you still there?

- Yeah.

- [Brooke] Any parent of a young child can surely relate to this situation, no matter how much attention you give, they seem to demand more as soon as you shift your focus to something other than them.

- Like I mentioned a little bit ago that she's in the egocentric phase, so, she like thinks - Yes.

that the whole world revolves around her.

- A 100%.

- Yeah.

You have to set that boundary.

You have to allow yourself to set that boundary with your child too.

Because I know you and I know that you have mom guilt (laughs).

- [Brooke] Guilt, another relatable feeling that so many parents have struggled with over the past year in dividing their attention between virtual learning, working from home and just the state of the world.

This communication you see between a moms struggling to create boundaries and a parent educator providing guidance and support is just one of the many benefits provided by the program Parents as Teachers.

Using what they refer to as an Evidence-Based Home Visiting Model, Parents as Teachers engages with parents and caregivers to increase their involvement and understanding in their child's development.

- It's so important to invest in early child developers, because even from prenatal to age three, that rapid brain growth is happening, those neurons and wires are connecting.

Children are these magical sponges that are absorbing all of the great things that are happening around them.

So, for a parent and the role of Parents as Teachers, helping them understand task and strategies that they can perform with their child, and also understand what the developmental milestones are.

- [Brooke] The Parents as Teachers Home Visiting Model involves four components, personal visits or home visits, although it doesn't necessarily need to be at your home, involve a parent educator engaging in educational activities with the child and caregiver.

Group connections are when multiple families gather for a shared learning experience and also to encourage social connections.

Resource networking provides families with necessary information on medical, educational and social services in their community.

Child screenings performed by the parent educator, show a record of general health along with developmental milestone progress.

The Parents as Teacher Home Visiting Model has been tested in numerous peer-reviewed studies and has proven results in, improved parent knowledge and practices, early detection of developmental and health delays, preventing child abuse and neglect and increasing kindergarten readiness.

But with the past year of restrictions due to the pandemic, in-person home visits a major component of the model were put on hold.

Luckily they were already well on their way to implementing a virtual home visiting option for families.

- So, for four years we piloted delivering Parents as Teachers through interactive video conferencing, all four components of the model, all were done through video conferencing.

What that did for us, it was an efficacy study to see if parents were one, receptive, and if there were benefits still to delivering home visiting in that way.

Because of the learnings from that pilot, when we shut our office down in March of 2020, we immediately got guidance out to our entire network of affiliates and professionals.

So, to support them in delivering virtual visits, we never stopped, we never closed.

- Hi, Chris, are you ready?

- Mm-hmm.

- Okay, we're gonna do picking up pompoms today.

Ah!

do you got your tweezers?

- [Brooke] Megan Maier is a parent educator with the Ferguson Florissant Parents as Teachers program where she can serve up to 65 families at a time.

- People don't quite understand what we do.

You know, sometimes my daughter says, "you're not a real teacher, are you a mom?"

And I'm like, "Oh, thank you."

You know, but we don't go into a classroom and the kids come and then the kids turn around and leave, we're on 24/7.

Like if that family texts, you respond.

You know, like, "Hey, I need diapers, do you have diapers?"

"Yep.

I'll bring them tomorrow."

It could be eight o'clock at night.

Zoom is great for if we're feeling sick or if a family is feeling sick, we don't have to necessarily cancel our visit, but we kind of see so many concerns right now with some of that early intervention that we're missing because we're not there and parents, you know, may have the speech concerns or they are concerned their kids are tiptoe walking or maybe they have some sensory issues, and when if we're not there to see it and see if it's progressing or it's not progressing, it's a lot harder.

- [Brooke] Megan became a parent educator while using the Parents as Teachers program for her own children.

She especially saw the importance of the program when determining if her son could benefit from early intervention with his speech development.

With a consistent parent educator tracking developmental progress, Megan was able to receive the feedback and resources she needed instead of seeking outside help.

From 2019 to 2020, almost 37,000 children in the Parents as Teachers program, were identified with potential delays as a result of child screenings.

Without the parent educators, caregivers might not know how to recognize developmental delays and then how to address them.

And without early recognition and intervention those potential delays could develop into lifelong learning or health challenges.

(upbeat piano music) Vanessa Arnold is one of the moms that has benefited from Megan's awareness of early intervention.

- She has given me so many tools because especially in this pandemic, you know, you could be ready to pull your hair out of your head if you don't have activities that are benefiting the child.

And especially with my son, I mean, he has not been around anybody in this last year, and her being able to tell me like, yes he is on track or no, he needs to do this, or, you know, this activity would help him a little bit more in progressing in this way.

There was one point in time that, you know he didn't talk a lot and so I was concerned, I'm like, "is he going to talk?"

Before he turned three I'm like, "he's not going pee on the potty, I'm like, "Selena was going pee on the potty at 18 months, "What am I doing wrong?"

You know, she gave me those encouraging words to know that it's okay and, you know, you're still developmentally on track, you know, things might be a little bit behind because of the circumstances, but you can get through this.

- When a parent looks at their child, we see joy.

So, to have a professional to kind of support things that you may not necessarily be looking for or understand how to look for, and just to help you see them and say, I see this, you may not see it, let's see if we can get some support for this.

And I think that is the powerful thing about home visiting, it's not a replacement for a childcare or a child development center.

We want more families to have access to high quality childcare.

The combination of early home visiting and high quality childcare is where the most powerful outcomes are for children and families and making sure that children are healthy, safe, and ready to learn.

- The support the State of Missouri offers early educators and families with young children will operate a little differently moving forward.

The new Office of Childhood operating out of the department of elementary and secondary education was recently announced.

Dr. Pam Thomas has been named the Chief of Early Learning.

I sat down with Dr. Thomas to discuss her new role and what this means for our youngest learners.

Since January, he's combining multiple offices that address early education into one office, that's gonna be run out of DESE.

Can you explain that, and why the consolidation will improve what the state can do for Missourians?

- Yeah.

I think many of us in the early childhood system have for years talked about this, we've talked about through needs assessment activities, through conversations, through meetings, and heard our stakeholders tell us that our system is fragmented.

Families don't know where to go to get information, professionals often don't know where to go in order to be able to find the kinds of training that they need.

And so I think the most important thing for us to be able to recognize is we at the state level need to be able to provide that coordination and consolidation, so, that we can then have a more streamlined, efficient and effective operations for services that families are seen at the local and regional levels.

- Is this office just streamlined or are you gonna have more funding in the budget?

- The current budget, as some of you may be following has been set for fiscal year 22, those budget books were completed before the office announcement.

And so that funding has been set and it is pretty much moving the different programs and offices, budgets, and staff and activities into the one office.

But we do hope through our streamlining and consolidation that we are able to be more efficient, and we do hope that we will be able to grow the programs and services and be able to produce meaningful outcomes and really show what the effect and impact of a high quality early learning program can do for children.

- Will this be something that the office will address that, you know, preschool is not something that's readily available to everybody without having a cost associated to it?

That access to preschool education?

- Yes.

A variety of early learning opportunities.

One of the things that has been high on our list here for our State Board of Education, one of their legislative priorities for a couple of years has been thinking about how we can have volunteer universal preschool opportunities for person... for families who want that for their children and across the state.

So, I think that one of the important things is to look at how we can not only use our schools and our public partners, but also our private providers and our community-based programs.

One of the priorities for this office is to strengthen those partnerships at the local and regional level.

- I know some people say, "well, why don't they just make preschool "a part of public education so it doesn't start "at kindergarten or first grade?"

'Cause kindergarten is not even mandatory - Correct.

in our public education and in Missouri.

Why isn't preschool part of that system?

Wouldn't that be an easy solution?

- It is a conversation, we get this question a lot and it is a conversation and there's a really strong desire not just from our department but from a lot of stakeholders, families, schools, childcare providers, to really think about how we can grow that.

And to do that I think we first have to figure out how to coordinate everything into this office and then start laying out a very strategic plan for where we can increase capacity and where we will be able to grow those services.

And preschool volunteer, universal preschool is one of those that we want to grow.

- And one of the things I hear a lot from directors and teachers themselves is that retaining early education professionals, teachers, people who have qualifications to not babysit kids but to actually educate them is a struggle.

And basically that comes down to money.

Is that something that the state will address?

- I'm not sure when and how, but yes, it is another priority for this office, is to really look at the workforce for a birth to five system.

And we can do better.

We know that we are asking for these professionals to serve our most vulnerable, most youngest learners, and we have to be able to really package early childhood as a viable system and a viable career, for professionals who wanna serve families.

And so I think the workforce is something that we've got to really coordinate as well.

We know that our professionals are so passionate about this field and they also are just critical, they are absolutely critical.

If we don't have professionals, educators, providers, helping children and families, we don't have programs.

And so we've got to really elevate early childhood as a profession, and find a way for those who want to work in that field to find the place that they can start and grow.

And really not limit their potential and their capabilities in whatever field that they wanna work in.

(gentle piano music) - That's all the time we have tonight.

To learn more about what Nine PBS is doing to support early learning, visit ninepbs.org/learningtoolkit.

Thanks for joining us.

(soft rock music) - [Advertiser] "Living St. Louis" is made possible by the support of the Betsy & Thomas Patterson Foundation, the Mary Ranken Jordan and Ettie A. Jordan Charitable Trust, and by the members of Nine PBS.

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