The Kimball community could save $122,500 in the coming years with early childhood care and education. For every dollar spent on early childhood there is a $7 return. “Those kids [who get early help] are going to be more productive,” said Scott Theilman, Kimball Early Childhood Coalition co-chair. “We want to make sure that all children have those opportunities.” Too many of Minnesota’s kindergartners are coming to school without the basic skills needed to succeed; and too many of our local, state and national resources are being spent for later intervention efforts. The Kimball Early Childhood Coalition was given a $15,000 grant from the Initiative Foundation and another $2,500 from the State Bank of Kimball. There will be a community visioning speak-out from 6-9 p.m. Tuesday, March 31, at the Kimball Elementary School gymnasium to discuss local needs and assets. “It’ll be interesting to see if [concerns voiced at the speakout] match up with our community profile,” said Margaret Arnold, Kimball Early Childhood Coalition member. “We need to hear from parents. We need to hear from groups and individuals and groups that work with children, whether it’s daycare or healthcare, to find out what they see as our strengths and weaknesses.” The Minnesota Early Childhood Initiative in the Kimball area is a project of the Initiative Foundation. Together with the other five Minnesota Initiative Foundations, Ready 4K (Ready for Kindergarten), the McKnight Foundation, and a number of Minnesota foundation supporters, the Initiative Foundation is partnering with communities to improve outcomes for young children. The goals of the coalition are to build on strengths, encourage partnerships and creative uses of local resources, identify and develop new programs, and encourage school readiness for all children in the community. “It’s not to tell parents what to do, but strictly provide them with resources,” Arnold said. The coalition surveyed 44 people in the Kimball area this past December to determine the areas where more information is needed. They sought a true cross-section of citizens to interview and obtained the input of early childhood professionals, including ECFE (Early Childhood Family Education) and ECSE (Early Childhood Special Education) teachers and coordinators and child care providers along with opinions of people in other sectors such as parents, businesses, faith communities, health care providers, elected officials, law enforcement, senior citizens, and K-12 educators. The Wilder Research Center and the Minnesota Initiative Foundations then developed the items and rating scale. Questions centered on early care and education (quality, accessibility, availability and affordability), community resources, parenting support, health resources and diversity. The results are the perceptions of those interviewed and provide a snapshot of our community – a place to begin our visioning, planning and implementation effort. The survey revealed what citizens view as assets, concerns and gaps in the community. Our assets Clearly, the citizens surveyed see many positives with respect to early care and education in our area. o 98 percent believe that we have a public library and other services that promote reading with young children. o 88 percent believe that faith communities support families with young children within their own congregations. o 86 percent believe that all children are provided health and development screening and are referred to appropriate resources if problems are identified. o 77 percent believe that (a) services are available to identify children with special needs at an early age, and (b) the housing in our community is decent, safe and affordable for families with young children. o 73 percent believe that families receive information and support to help raise their young children. o 70 percent believe that parents of young children have positive connections and a sense of community belonging through family, friends and neighbors. o 66 percent believe that children and families have proper nutrition and enough to eat, and that young children with special needs and their families have easy access to appropriate services and supports. Our potential concerns Besides our community’s many assets, survey responses indicate areas of potential concern. o 61 percent do not believe that jobs in our community pay wages and benefits adequate to support a family. o 45 percent do not believe that parents of young children in our community have access to reliable transportation. o 43 percent do not believe that (a) when parents need a break from their young children that help is available, and (b) that teen parents in our community are adequately supported. o 41 percent do not believe that our community offers recreational facilities such as parks, playgrounds and a community center for families with young children. o 39 percent do not believe that families with young children have easy access to dental care. o 34 percent do not believe that families have easy access to prenatal care. Gaps in our knowledge Our survey results show that many respondents have gaps in their knowledge about early care and education in our community. o 34 percent did not know how to respond to this statement: “Single parents with young children feel valued and supported.” o 32 percent did not know how to respond to these statements: “Teen parents in our community are adequately supported.” “Services are available to protect children when families are in crisis” o 25 percent did not know how to respond to this statement: “When parents need a break from their young children, help is available.” o 20 percent did not know how to respond to this statement: “Businesses in our community accommodate the needs of parents with young children.” Community speak-out and visioning session The Kimball Community Speak-Out and Visioning Session for Early Childhood Care and Education will allow the community to discuss goals and long-range plans for our youngest children. Residents and experts in early childhood care and education fields will speak. Everyone is invited to attend and help create a vision for early childhood care and education in our community. There will be free pizza, ice cream and pie for families, and quality daycare will be available for the evening. The Kimball Elementary Choir will perform and free children’s books will be given out. Feedback from the speak-out will be combined with the survey information. The coalition will review their findings and hope to find practical projects to enhance early childhood education in the community. “When we have feedback we’ll identify the needs of the community,” said Theilman, “what we need to continue doing, what we need to build up and what we need to look for in the future.” For more information please call Margaret Arnold at (320) 398-6070.
