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By Victoria Mannes, President and CEO, ChildCareGroup

As we discussed in yesterday’s post, supporting high quality early childhood education programs benefits the entire community, not just the children and parents served.

Low-income parents benefit from holistic early childhood programs that support parents in their efforts to increase their life skills and job skills, work outside the home, and earn living wages. You will recall Jasmine, the parent who benefited from ChildCareGroup’s high quality early education program. She was able to improve her education, secure better employment and provide a better future for her family. Jasmine was able to succeed because she knew her son, Jacob, was in a safe, nurturing, educational setting that helped him grow in to the sharp second grader he is today.

Jasmine’s son was able to overcome extra challenges during his years at ChildCareGroup, thanks to the holistic support he and Jasmine received there. Jacob was born with cortical dysplasia, a developmental abnormality in his brain, causing significant delays. When Jacob was three years old, Jasmine enrolled him at ChildCareGroup. His teacher identified a number of significant delays, which Jacob corrected over time through the no-cost developmental and speech therapies he received on-site at ChildCareGroup. Without these early interventions, Jacob would not have been ready for kindergarten.

Thankfully, Jacob had a loving and engaged mother and attentive teachers at ChildCareGroup. He received the individualized attention and nurturing he needed to overcome his challenges and learn coping mechanisms to help him focus at school and enjoy learning. During Jacob’s time at ChildCareGroup’s MLK Early Care and Education Center, his mother said he made enormous strides in his social, emotional and academic development, which he simply could not have made elsewhere.

Jacob is currently attending second grade at Uplift Education’s Gradus Preparatory School in South Dallas. His kindergarten teacher was impressed at how Jacob had learned to work with his challenges and she worked closely with Jacob and Jasmine to help Jacob continue his success.  In spite of his early challenges, Jacob is thriving. The strong foundation he received at ChildCareGroup along with the support services provided to his mother were just the beginning of a bright future. Without this holistic support, Jacob would not have started kindergarten ready to learn and succeed. Children who start kindergarten behind stay behind. Jacob and his mother still notice today the impact ChildCareGroup had on Jacob’s development, and they are so grateful.

ChildCareGroup’s early education programs even impacted the rest of Jasmine’s family. ChildCareGroup Family Advocates work at each of our Centers to support all the families in our programs, helping parents set personal and practical goals to lift themselves out poverty. Family Advocates teach parenting skills to help parents raise their children well. This is especially important because parents living in poverty face extra challenges and stressors.

Jasmine received skills through the relationship she had with her Family Advocate that helped her not only parent Jacob better, but also to free up time and resources to help her be more available to her other children as well. Thanks to ChildCareGroup, Jasmine reports she is not only better off financially; she is also a better mother to her children. And Jasmine believes children are better off academically and socially because of what she learned from her Family Advocate at ChildCareGroup.

We know that early childhood education matters, especially for low-income and at-risk kids. Statistics show that 49% of Dallas kids entering school are not ready for kindergarten. However, children enrolled in a high quality early childhood education are also statistically more likely than their peers to stay in school, to attend a four-year university, and are more likely to be more financially stable in their later careers and lives. Meanwhile, these same children are less likely to become teen parents, to be arrested for any type of crime, or to accept welfare at any point.

All these results help keep children on the path to success, create stable homes, and increase the earning and spending potential of DFW families. This is good for our economy, but it is not possible without intervening early with high quality care and education for young, low-income children in our community.

High quality early childhood education benefits two generations of a family, and when done well, leaves lasting impacts. Parents, and especially single mothers, are able to advance their education, careers and financial wellbeing, and children enter kindergarten ready to learn, thrive in school, and have brighter futures for the rest of their lives. ChildCareGroup is extremely proud of our early childhood education programs, because we know they make a difference in the lives of thousands of Dallas families every year. When companies like Alliance Data invest in our programs, they make investments in their neighbors, in their local economy, and ultimately, in Dallas’ future.

ChildCareGroup has a partnership with Uplift Education, providing high quality prekindergarten to low-income children at Gradus Preparatory and Heights Preparatory Schools. Uplift Education is a network of charter schools across the Dallas area that is especially known for assisting 100% of its graduates to attend a two or four year college program. We look forward to following the success of Jacob and our other students as they progress through school.  

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