Preschool Education Community Forum

On June 5^th, Commons will partner with Catalyst Chicago in presenting Preschool Education: The Latest in Policy and Practice.  This community forum will feature a panelist discussion on emerging policies and best practices in early childhood education.

Panelist include:

·         Nancy Radner, Director of Illinois Policy, Ounce of Prevention Fund

·         Carlos Fortenberry, Director of Early Learning Programs, Illinois Action for Children

·         Nathalis Reyes, Preschool for All Teach Coach, Illinois Action for Children

·         Jan Stepto-Millett, Vice President of Early Childhood Services, Children’s Home and Aid

·         Cynthia Hill, Family Engagement Coordinator, Children’s Home and Aid

The forum begins at 4:30 p.m. and will be held at Chicago Commons’ Paulo Freire Family Center located at 1653 West 43^rd Street near Ashland.

For more information, contact Erin Cross at (773) 826-3771 or email crosse@chicagocommons.org.

-Erin Cross

Assistant of the Year

Assistant of the Year

 

Known to most as Bubbles for her bubbling personality, Ethel Watts was all smiles on Wednesday when she was named “Assistant of the Year” by Chicago Commons’ Home Care.  Nominated by her supervisor, Marketta Bryant for her initiative, quality of work and reliability, Ethel has more than satisfied her role as Home Care Assistant.

 

Clients praise Bubbles for her attentiveness and compassion in going out of her way to make them feel comfortable in their home.  Even to the point of purchasing cleaning supplies and décor to create a smile on her client’s face. She also ensures that the cleaning is done properly by asking her clients how they desire tasks to be accomplished.

 

Aside from her nurturing and professional demeanor, Ethel took a six-week computer course to help her locate additional resources for her clients. 

 

We congratulate Ms. Ethel Watts on a job well done.

Cary Crawford
Vice President of Senior Care
 

The Age of Networks

We live in the age of networks. 

An important survey of human services trends, Disruptive Forces, describes the need to brand causes rather than organizations.  Related to this is the growing importance of formal networks of organizations, rather than individual organizations, as the key to driving social change.

Chicago Commons has embraced this view of the world, but it is a viewpoint that requires a lot of skill in terms of management and organizing.   Networks can get messy really fast when strong leadership is absent.

Fortunately, Commons is part of some networks with strong leaders:  Pilsen Planning Committee, Humboldt Park New Communities, West Humboldt Park Educational Pathways, Chicago Benchmarking Collaborative, The Back Office Cooperative and Together 4 Health to name a few.  The future of Chicago Commons will be one of shared success.

The Tie That Binds

Commons has had six Executive Directors in its 118 year history.  On May 7th, I am leaving to move to Oregon after a great 8 years as Director and 15 years of service to Commons.  The fact that my tenure is "short" compared to past Directors is amazing to me.   

I have been thinking about exactly what kept me here so long?  

The tie that binds is the historic, inspirational culture of this organization.  

In the words of Commons’ founder, Graham Taylor, this is a place that truly works WITH people, not just FOR them.  This is such an important distinction.  There are no hand-outs at Commons.  Successes are earned here.  

This is a place (a ‘Commons’) where people come together to make life better on an individual, family and community level.  I witnessed countless lives improved for the better.  And my own life has improved by sharing in the mission with so many other wonderful people.  The lessons I have learned here will serve me well for the rest of my life.  And I will always consider myself part of the Commons’ family.

Cutting Terraces into the "Cliff"

Mayor Emanuel and City of Chicago are starting to release information about the Ready to Learn initiative (which was announced last year at the Commons' Nia Family Center!) .

One of the first highlights, a new "sliding scale" allowing parents to pay for half-day Pre-K according to their ability to pay.  Sun times headline is that more affluent families will pay up to $4,000 per year for a half day Pre-K program.  But this misses the point a little.

This new sliding scale is a big step away from the awful "eligibility cliff" that is the norm in early learning programs for parents with modest incomes (see past blog post on the cliff.)   This approach creates a "terraced hillside" instead of a cliff that boots parents from the program once their income crosses an invisible line.

Unfortunately, this will only apply to the city's Pre-K program, and will not change Head Start or State funded Child Care programs (Commons' operates both of these).  So the cliff will continue to a big problem for many parents and many programs like Commons.  Let's hope President Obama's stated desire to create a more terraced approach will eventually move forward in Congress!

Nothing Fair about it

The sequester is an "across the board" cut that slashes all discretionary federal spending.  Across the board cuts are sometimes called "fair" because they are proportional.  But there is nothing fair about this one.

There has been some good coverage showing how geographically skewed the cuts are.  States like Alaska, New Mexico, Kentucky, Alabama and Virginia will take the brunt.

Another group taking the big hit is low-income families with children.  Cutting Head Start is particularly short-sighted.  By either reducing number of days that programs are open or cutting number slots, it will make it more difficult for parents to work and go to school.  Reducing family stability and opportunities for early learning is as terrible for our economy as it is for the individual families.

Let's get something done Congress... go here to find your Congressperson's phone number and tell them to fix this.

Early Learning Push

Watch for early childhood education in President Obama's State of the Union on Tuesday.  There are rumors that he is considering a big push in early learning.

At Chicago Commons, any focus on early learning is welcome news overall.  But, there is a lingering question:  Will this create more robust support for quality early learning or will it allow state governments to serve more children by watering down quality?

One idea to consider -- extend subsidies to working and middle class, but require these families to pay a significant share of the cost.  And at the same time, give special subsidies to high poverty neighborhoods that have created local educational plans/systems.  Give these neighborhoods special funding for early learning to underwrite high quality early learning centers, like what Chicago Commons.  These centers are irreplaceable and reach the highest need families.  And I, for one, am worried that the effort to extend pre-k to the middle class (while good) will actually threaten the survival of high quality centers that are focused on serving the lowest income families.