{"id":3105,"date":"2013-05-02T13:03:16","date_gmt":"2013-05-02T13:03:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesecretnewsonline.com\/?p=3105"},"modified":"2013-05-06T00:09:40","modified_gmt":"2013-05-06T00:09:40","slug":"children-matter-new-family-resource-center-and-whats-new-at-emeryville-child-development-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thesecretnewsonline.com\/?p=3105","title":{"rendered":"Children Matter: New Family Resource Center, and What’s New at Emeryville Child Development Center"},"content":{"rendered":"

New Family Resource and Wellness Center!\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Several years ago, John Sugiyama, interim superintendent of Emery Unified School District, put together a small working group to look at services in Emeryville for children birth to 5 and their families.\u00a0 There were many gaps in services and families looked to Berkeley and Oakland for support.\u00a0 Using information prepared by the working group, Superintendent Sugiyama wrote a federal grant to bring resources to these families and fill the service gaps.\u00a0 Emeryville USD received a federal grant of $250,000 to open a Family Resource Center and alleviate some of the difficulties families faced.<\/p>\n

The grant\u2019s main purpose is to provide a \u201crainbow of services\u201d targeted at children and families of all ages.\u00a0 This grant provides funding to set up the Family Resource Center and implement a unique city-wide, birth to 5 project\u2014”The 5 Bold Initiatives”\u2014that encompasses (1) search and serve, (2) promoting\u00a0 school readiness, (3) building community capacity to access services, (4) a coordinated network of service providers, and (5) early screening, identification and referral.<\/div>\n

The Family Resource and Wellness Center opened on March 26th at the city\u2019s recreational building, 4300 San Pablo Ave. \u00a0The 5 Bold Initiatives Project has been incorporated into EUSD\u2019s Coordinated School Health: A Framework for Wellness <\/em>Program and is one of eight elements in this framework.\u00a0 For more information on this project, contact Wanda Hundley, Family Resource Center Director, 510.596.4384; wanda.hundley@emeryusd.org.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s New at the Emeryville Child Development Center
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The Emeryville Child Development Center (ECDC), (located at 1220 53rd St.), will be hiring new teachers. \u00a0As staff numbers increase the Center will be able to enroll more children to meet ECDC\u2019s new licensing capacity. \u00a0In October, the Center lost its second Director in less than two years. The director, Mary Anne Doan, took a position at First 5, Alameda County. \u00a0The new director, Diana Garcia-Ortiz, originally hired as an Interim Family Subsidy Specialist in October, and Education Supervisor Antoinette Edwards, who was hired in November, are working together to realize the potential of the program.\u00a0 It is not an easy task, and it needs the support of the teachers, advisory committee, city staff, city council and the community, including local businesses, both small and large.\u00a0 New ECDC Advisory Committee Chair Mira Roseman has replaced Brian Carver, and Council Member Jac Asher has replaced Council Member Nora Davis as Advisory Committee member. \u00a0There are still opportunities to join the committee so please consider getting involved!<\/div>\n

The Center no longer serves food from its kitchen, but now contracts with a food service program for the children’s meals. \u00a0Although there is a beautiful kitchen on site, it is difficult because of staffing issues to organize and cook daily meals.<\/p>\n

The Value of Emeryville\u2019s Child Development Center (ECDC)<\/strong><\/div>\n

What does it mean for the city of Emeryville to have a Center such as ECDC right here in our small town? \u00a0The possibilities are endless. \u00a0This is a chance for the city to think about what it means to support a relationship-based center that connects to the whole community.\u00a0 A report on the center in March 2012, conducted by BANDTEC, an early education consultancy group, provided crucial information that enabled the city and Center to begin work toward excellent care and education. This report<\/a> is available on the ECDC city website<\/a>. It is worth reading.\u00a0 It offers a comprehensive look at multiple aspects of the program and highlights both areas of strength and areas in which growth and support are required. \u00a0It is important to understand the impact of such a thorough analysis of the city’s program. \u00a0And, this transparency is an indication of the commitment of the council and staff to have a high-quality center in our city. \u00a0The center has been working since March toward achieving the report\u2019s recommendations through a quality improvement plan (QIP).<\/p>\n

With so much change and lack of continuity in leadership in the past two years, there is more stress, and staff and children are vulnerable to it. Meanwhile, the state\u2019s licensing agency is stretched thin, having suffered numerous cutbacks over the last few years. For this reason, the agency only attends to programs brought its attention. It would take a book to explain the challenges to quality, support, and training facing early education here in California and nationwide.\u00a0 But there are many groups working with our own ECDC to improve its quality and to build a community for children and families.<\/p>\n

The Center itself is a beautiful building and the environment offers great learning spaces for children and adults.\u00a0 But one of the questions \u00a0remaining for me is will the city and staff open themselves up to multiple perspectives on how children learn and how best to support them and their families? \u00a0One of the areas that must be examined is curriculum.\u00a0 This is such an important part of what makes a program successful.\u00a0 It is so easy to get caught up in a particular ready-made curriculum that costs a fortune but provides minimal results.\u00a0 I hope, with wider discussion, we can avoid such traps.\u00a0 We have several excellent programs close by that could serve as sister schools to support the staff in moving toward excellence in both curriculum development and understanding children’s learning.<\/p>\n

Stay connected to Emeryville\u2019s early education center.\u00a0 Support it any way you can.\u00a0 Please consider donating to Friends of ECDC, a non-profit that supports the Center’s work. There is also a scholarship program being developed to help low-income families. Supporting young children and families is crucial for the good of the whole community.\u00a0 As James Heckman, Nobel Prize Winner in Economics, said: “Great gains are to be had by investing in early childhood development\u2014from birth to age five.”<\/p>\n

\u201cChildren Matter\u201d columnist Ruth Major<\/strong> is an Early Education and Infant Family Mental Health Consultant. She is also Executive Director of the Read-Aloud Volunteer Program (RAVP) in Richmond, CA.<\/em><\/div>\n

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