Investing in the Future: Our Children Helen Danielson- Network LiaisonNorth Dakota KIDS COUNT

North Dakota KIDS COUNT Early Warning! Why Reading by the End of Third Grade Matters: A 2010 KIDS COUNT Special Report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation

North Dakota KIDS COUNT

 What percent of North Dakota 4 th graders score below proficiency level in reading?  What percent of North Dakota 4 th graders from low-income families score below proficiency level in reading?  What percent of children 0-17 live in poverty? North Dakota KIDS COUNT

 What We Know  Cost to Society  Reading Proficiency Levels in North Dakota  National Comparison  Low-Income Disparity  Factors to Consider  Learning to Read – Reading to Learn  ABC’s for early learning  Responsibility North Dakota KIDS COUNT

Good readers become our  Problem solvers  Innovators  Business leaders  The backbone of our national security And it begins at birth… North Dakota KIDS COUNT

 Three quarters (75%) of students who are poor readers in third grade will remain poor readers in high school.  Increase in behavioral and social problems  Long term consequences ◦ High school dropouts ◦ Less individual earning potential ◦ Less productivity ◦ Less competiveness in our global economy North Dakota KIDS COUNT

 In 2007, nearly 6.2 million young people (16% of the age group) were high school dropouts.  Every dropout costs our society an estimated $260,000 in lost earnings, taxes, and productivity.  The process of dropping out begins long before a child gets to high school. North Dakota KIDS COUNT

 65% of 4th grade public school students in North Dakota scored below proficient reading level in  Compare to: ◦ 68% in the United States ◦ A low of 53% in Massachusetts ◦ A high of 82% in Louisiana Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2009 Reading Assessment. North Dakota KIDS COUNT

 78% of North Dakota 4 th graders from lower- income families score below proficiency level in reading. North Dakota KIDS COUNT Disparities in development outcomes “emerge in infancy and widen in toddlerhood. By the time children from families with low-income enter kindergarten, they are typically months below national norms in language and pre-reading skills.” -The Council of Chief State School Officers

 In 2000, 14 percent of North Dakota children ages 0 to 17 lived in poverty* (22,163 children). Current 2008 data indicate that the child poverty rate is still at 14 percent. *Poverty refers to a condition in which one is unable to afford basic human needs, such as clean water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing, and shelter. In 2009, a four-person family earning $21,947 or less was considered impoverished. North Dakota KIDS COUNT

 American Indian reservations in North Dakota are most affected by high rates of child poverty. ◦ In Sioux County, which includes part of the Standing Rock Reservation, one out of every two children ages 0 to 17 was impoverished in the 6th highest child poverty rate in the nation. North Dakota KIDS COUNT

 Higher incidence of health problems  Receive less care  Lack interactions to develop language  Social-emotional skills are lacking  Less opportunity for high-quality early childhood preparation  Inappropriate assessments – mismatched to children’s ages, developmental stages, culture or languages North Dakota KIDS COUNT

 Instability - home, neighborhood, school  School districts lack resources to meet needs  Disconnect between schools and parents  Low expectations  Chronic absence from school  Children lose ground during the summer months  Teachers may be inexperienced North Dakota KIDS COUNT

 Early Care and Education opportunities for children ◦ About half (49%) of North Dakota children ages 3- 5 are not enrolled in nursery school, preschool, or kindergarten.  Parent Education and Involvement North Dakota KIDS COUNT

In North Dakota, we celebrate children’s births. But…do we wait to see if they succeed in school before we pay attention to their strengths and needs? Did you know? The number of births in North Dakota increased an average of 2 percent per year from 2001 through 2008, rising to 8,931. North Dakota KIDS COUNT

“The brain is an environmental organ: its health and development are strongly shaped by the stimulation and interaction children receive, particularly during ages 0-5, a critical period of growth and learning.” -J. Clinton, 2007 North Dakota KIDS COUNT

Examples:  Home Visitation  Head Start  Right Start  Even Start  Healthy Families  Parent Resource Centers  Gearing Up for Kindergarten  United Way Imagination Libraries - Born Learning – Success by Six North Dakota KIDS COUNT

National research suggests:  32% of kids have some problems entering kindergarten  16% have difficult entries into kindergarten  In North Dakota, nearly 47,000 children between ages 0 and 5 are preparing for their entry into school and needing to gain knowledge and skills for success. North Dakota KIDS COUNT

 A Place for Play - develop children’s critical social-emotional and self-regulatory skills.  LEARN together – “I don’t know…but we can look it up together.”  Build good attendance habits in the early grades North Dakota KIDS COUNT “We don’t stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing.” -George Bernard Shaw

 NDEA is a leader in addressing North Dakota Dropout Prevention – 2 nd Summit in 2010  Life skills, skills for college ◦ Governors and state commissioners of education have committed to developing a common core of state standards in English-language arts and mathematics. State standards will define the knowledge and skills students should have in K-12 education to graduate and be able to succeed in entry-level, credit-bearing academic college courses and workforce training programs. North Dakota KIDS COUNT

 Composite ACT test scores for 2009 North Dakota public high school graduates averaged 21.5 (out of 36), slightly higher than the national average of  However, only 1 in 4 were ready for college- level courses. See North Dakota State Data Center June 2010 Population Bulletin for more information: North Dakota KIDS COUNT

A is for ASSIST. Help children prepare for entry into school through high-quality early care and education experiences. About half (49%) of North Dakota children ages 3-5 are not enrolled in nursery school, preschool or kindergarten, compared to 39% nationally. North Dakota KIDS COUNT

B is for BOOKS. Read to a child and cultivate a joy of learning. Some North Dakota children ages 1-5 (9%) are read to by family members less than 3 days a week. Young children whose parents read to them, tell stories, or sing songs tend to develop larger vocabularies. North Dakota KIDS COUNT

C is for Create. Create language-rich summer learning opportunities. Children experience a decline in reading comprehension over the summer months. This reading comprehension loss is larger for lower-income children. North Dakota KIDS COUNT

 Parents  Policy makers  Child advocates  Educators  Neighbors  Libraries  Early childhood caregivers  Community program organizers North Dakota KIDS COUNT

 There’s a large tent of people coming together – building a system  No single response offers a total solution North Dakota KIDS COUNT

North Dakota KIDS COUNT