Make a Difference - Durham District School Board€¦ · Make a Difference DDSB — An Oshawa ... Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do ... make

DDSB − An Oshawa Early Years Initiative

Make a DifferenceMake a Difference

DDSB — An Oshawa Early Years Initiative

DDSB - An Oshawa Early Years Initiative 1


2013

For more information please contact the Durham District School Board

Early Years and Child Care Office

visit us online at www.ddsb.ca


The Starfish StoryThe Starfish Story Adapted from The Star Thrower

By Loren Eiseley (1907-1977)

Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.

One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, so he walked faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young boy and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young boy was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects and throwing them into the ocean.

He came closer still and called out, “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?”

The young boy replied, “The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them in, they’ll die.”

Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, “But young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can’t possibly make a difference!”

As if he hadn’t heard, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he turned, smiled and said, “It made a difference to that one!”


The first 5 years of a chìld`s life are critical to his or her development, and living in poverty during this time has been shown to have a significant impact on a child’s development. With that in mind, the Durham District School Board is launching a pilot project in Oshawa schools entitled, `Make a Difference - an Oshawa Early Years Initiative.`

Although most children experience a supportive home and neighborhood environment with access to sufficient financial and nonfinancial resources to support healthy development, many children do not.

Supporting our young children, especially those in need, and ensuring they have the best possible early years opportunities, will change both their ability to succeed in school and their future.

Developing a comprehensive, multi-faceted strategy to address poverty is essential if we want to truly make a difference.

Poverty can have short-term and long-term effects on young children. It can alter their development and have an impact on their ability to be successful in school, to lead productive lives and to become responsible citizens. Many children in Durham Region feel the effects of poverty every day.

PovertyPoverty Poverty is complex and multi-faceted and has many causal factors. In Canada, one measure to determine poverty levels is LICO (low income cut-off). Statistics Canada provides LICO information each year. LICO represents an income threshold below which a family will likely spend 20 percentage points more than the average family on food, shelter and clothing.

According to the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) Poverty Overview Possibilities document, “the low income cut-offs vary by the size of the family unit and the population of the area of residence. Expenditure data shows that the average family spends 43% of its after-tax income (or 35% of before-tax income) on food, shelter and clothing. Families with incomes that fall below the LICO Levels are spending 63% or more of their after-tax income (or 55% of before-tax income) on these three necessities.” Approximately 11% of Durham’s children ages 0-12 are living below the low income cut-off. The prevalence is higher in Oshawa (19.8%) as compared to the Region as a whole. The issues of poverty affecting families in Oshawa need to be addressed.

Children who experience poverty, especially on a continuous basis, are at higher risk of suffering health problems, developmental delays, and behaviour disorders. They tend to attain lower levels of education and are more likely to live in poverty as adults.

Research clearly demonstrates the links between low literacy and low achievement in school and poverty.

“I feel so depressed all the time…poverty does that to me… I feel like there will never be a way out… It makes me sad and depressed.”

From Giving Voice to Poverty in the Region of Durham

Durham ResidentCommunity Development Council Durham


One of the most disconcerting effects of poverty in Ontario is that children living in poverty are more likely to become adults living in poverty and have higher mental health and medical needs. This cycle will continue as each generation hits adulthood, with another cycle of poverty beginning with their children. Inter-generational poverty is a complex cycle that requires a multi-faceted approach to supporting, educating and assisting both the adults and children.

The 2011 report card on child and family poverty, entitled Revisiting Family Security in Insecure Times, released by campaign 2000, provides the following data:

• 639,000 Canadian children still live in poverty. Of those, 412,000 are in Ontario.

• One in ten Canadian children continue to live in poverty, while one in four children living in First Nations communities grow up in poverty.

• Thirty-eight percent of food bank users in Canada are children under 18; 149,000 Ontario children used the food bank in 2010.

• In 2010, about 6.5% of Ontario’s population was receiving social assistance, which is slightly above the average for the past fifty years. Of those receiving assistance, almost half were single parents and their children.

If all children are born ready to learn, why don’t all children arrive at school ready to learn? We know that 85% of brain development occurs before age 5. Similar to the construction of a home, the process begins with a solid foundation. What happens in a child’s life during this critical period shapes how the brain is developed. Reducing the achievement gap at the kindergarten entry level of school is a critical strategy in ensuring later school success.

The DDSB Assessment and Accountability team found a high correlation between Early Development Instrument (EDI) and EQAO, demonstrating that many students who are low in three of the EDI domains achieve low EQAO scores in grade 3. Quite simply, many students do not catch up academically.

“Even with expensive interventions by schools, it is often too late to change the trajectory for the numbers of 5-year-olds who are ill-prepared for kindergarten. Many will not graduate high school; one in five Canadians does not…the annual public cost of one early school leaver [is] $7,515 annually, a figure derived from a combination of lost tax revenue and increased spending on employment insurance and social assistance, and increased costs to the criminal justice system. The cost to the individual is even higher, at $11,589 in diminished health and income. Annually, the public costs for a cohort (generation group) of early school leavers total $2.62 billion. Costs are estimated in the hundreds of billions of dollars when aggregated over the expected lifetimes of each cohort of dropouts across Canada” (NWT Literacy Council and Alternatives North, 2012).

“People in our community do not respect the poor. We are dirt to them. They don’t realize that we are their neighbours. Their kids go to school with our kids… They don’t get this at all.”

From Giving Voice to Poverty in the Region of Durham

Durham ResidentCommunity Development Council Durham


There is a considerable amount of research that demonstrates schools can make a difference in alleviating the effects of poverty:

• Setting high academic expectations;

• Improving instruction and using evidence-based strategies;

• Providing high quality preschool and Early Years programs; and

• Creating an engaging connection with families.

Schools play an instrumental role in changing the trajectory of a child’s life.

Bernie Froese-Germain in Make Poverty History cites Cleveland et al. (2006) in their review of the impact of early learning opportunities: “What happens before and during kindergarten seems to set the foundation for what is to follow in a child’s school experience. Early predispositions and achievements in kindergarten predict long-term educational and adjustment outcomes. Children who begin school ahead of others in academic achievement tend to stay ahead. Furthermore, these children make greater gains over time due to the cumulative benefits of early learning, but also due to other factors such as teacher expectations, home factors and parent involvement.”

Poverty is a factor that influences a child’s readiness for school. Readiness for school refers to the child’s ability to meet the demands and expectations of school, such as:

• Being comfortable exploring and asking questions;

• Listening, remembering and following adult directions;

• Playing and working with other children; and

• Benefiting from the educational activities (literacy and numeracy) that are provided at school and are based on the foundation built in early childhood.

Success in school depends on whole child development.

“Family income directs parents’ child care options. The less affluent the family, the less likely their children are to attend an ECE centre.”

McCain, Mustard, McCuaig, Early Years Study 3: Making Decisions, Taking Action.

“As socioeconomic circumstances improve on average, so do measures of better learning, behavior, and health. As socioeconomic circumstances diminish, so do these same outcomes. Early childhood socioeconomic status is linked to learning, behaviour, and health outcomes in early life and beyond. These outcomes are associated with each other. Low literacy rates are associated with more health problems.” McCain, Mustard, McCuaig, Early Years Study 3:

Making Decisions, Taking Action.


When children are not ready for school, they struggle or have difficulty meeting developmental milestones. However, these children not only live in poverty, but also live in environments that may be deprived of more than just economic resources. Early experiences help prepare children for school and life; many of these families don’t understand the importance of talking and reading to their infant, toddler and preschool children. They believe that learning starts when their child enters school. Due to the lack of critical early childhood experiences, the chances of children being ready for school are slim and the cycle of poverty continues from generation to generation.

The EDI is an accurate predictor of children’s early development and later school success.

It assesses students in five domains to determine their readiness to learn at school. This data provides valuable information which leads educators to ensure that intervention strategies are in place to assist students in further developing their skills:

• Vulnerabilities are found in all community EDI data, but are more prevalent in poorer communities/neighbourhoods;

• A strong correlation exists between low EDI and EQAO scores;

• There is a direct relationship between children who score below average in three or more domains in EDI and those who achieve lower scores in later grades;

• The EDI provides information about where children are most vulnerable; and

• The EDI is a good predictor of student achievement and educational trends.

There is no single measure to address poverty. The impact of poverty on young children is complex and requires a coordinated, integrated and multi-faceted approach at all levels of government and education.

However, the education system can and is taking measures to develop a robust strategy and action plan to make a difference.

“The quality and duration of ECE influence educational achievement and success, from elementary school through high school, post-secondary education and employment.”

Early Childhood and Poverty Research, NWT Literacy Council and Alternatives North

(June 2012)

Connecting Poverty to the Early Development Instrument (EDI)

Connecting Poverty to the Early Development Instrument (EDI)


• We know that we need to continue to develop effective strategies within the school system, which must be coupled with comprehensive, coordinated poverty reduction strategies at the national and provincial level to counter the effects of poverty.

• Low achievement and dropping out of school are problems rooted in social and economic inequality.

• What happens before and during kindergarten sets the foundation for what is to follow in a child’s school experience. Early predispositions and achievements in kindergarten predict long-term educational and adjustment outcomes. Children who begin school ahead of others in academic achievement tend to stay ahead. Furthermore, these children make greater gains over time due to the cumulative benefits of early learning, combined with other factors such as teacher expectations, home factors and parent involvement.

• Every dollar spent on early childhood education – the key to school success for all children – eventually returns $9 to the economy over time (Heckman, 2003). Early childhood education programs have a high economic return.

• Parenting programs have a significant impact. They strengthen families by providing relevant, effective education and support in healthy, developmentally appropriate environments.

• Early Years experiences from birth to 5 years of age have a significant impact on student achievement, school success, mental health, graduation rates and overall life success.

• Exposure to an early learning program in the year before school entry has a positive effect on children’s school readiness.

• There is substantial research that concludes the need to close the achievement gap in academic performance at the entry level. • Programs that support families and communities are able to produce a wider range of effects.

• High quality Child Care programs and Full Day Kindergarten (FDK) have a significant impact on student achievement.

• One in ten Canadian families has to worry about food security.

• Canada currently spends 0.02% of GDP on child care and early education.

SummarySummary

“The developmental gap that emerges so soon after birth for so many children not only robs individual potential, it also creates an unsustainable burden for our education, health, and mental health systems. It deprives the economy of productive capacity and society engaged, contributing participants.”

McCain, Mustard, McCuaig, Early Years Study 3: Making Decisions, Taking Actions


Schools play an integral role in supporting our vulnerable students. A multi-faceted approach is needed by our schools and community

partners to provide a service-centered

approach with a range of programs to support

our youngest learners and their families. We will

be focusing our efforts on implementing a comprehensive strategy to address issues of poverty for Oshawa children and their families.

RecommendationsRecommendations “Poverty creates barriers not only to student success at school, but also to success in life. We must first seek to understand what the many barriers are, and then begin the task of knocking them down one by one. Many Oshawa children come to school significantly disadvantaged when it comes to learning. Many lack proper nutrition, the opportunity for dental care, reading glasses, hearing aids, warm clothing and footwear in the winter and the list continues. As a school, we seize every opportunity to help alleviate these disadvantages. Who will advocate for our children of poverty? I argue that it is the responsibility of everyone.”

Mike Bashucky, PrincipalDr. C. F. Cannon P.S.

The following recommendations support an integrated approach:

• Nutrition/Breakfast programs

• Vision, dental and hearing screening

• Ongoing use of focus groups

• Full service-centred schools

• Parent and Family Literacy Centres

• Parent activities/workshops to support community needs

• Create an Opportunity Gap Action Plan

• Intervention programs

• Use of EDI for planning purposes and establishing programs

• Kindergarten Support Programs

• Affordable high quality Early Years and Child Care programs

• Targeted oral language programs


Best Start Resource Centre, “I’m Still Hungry,” Child and Family Poverty in Ontario, Toronto, (2010).

Brown, G. et al., “Possibilities Addressing Poverty in Elementary Schools,” Elementary Teachers Federation Ontario (ETFO), Toronto, (2012).

“Early Childhood and Poverty Summary of Research,” NWT Literacy Council and Alternatives North (June 2012).

Froese-Germain, B., “Make Child Poverty History? Yes We Can – Examining the Relationship Between Education and Poverty,” PD Perspectives (Spring 2009).

Glasser, D. & H. Heath, “Advancing the Field of Parenting Education,” National Parenting Education Network (NPEN) (2004).

Irwin, L.G., A. Siddiqi, & C. Hertzman, “The Equalizing Power of Early Child Development: From the Commission of Social Determinants of Health to Action,” Child Health and Education (2010).

McCain, M.N., J. F. Mustard, & K. McCuaig, Early Years Study 3: Making Decisions, Taking Action, Margaret & Wallace McCain Family Foundation, Toronto, (2011).

Mikkonen, J. & D. Raphael, Social Determinants of Health: The Canadian Facts, York University School of Health Policy and Management, Toronto, (May 2010).

Schroeder, J. & G. Corless, “Creating Communities for Young Children,” Human Early Learning Partnership (2009).

EDI: Early Development Instrument

EQAO: Education, Quality & Accountability Office

ETFO: Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario

GDP: Gross Domestic Product

FDK: Full Day Kindergarten

LICO: Low Income Cut-Off

ReferencesReferences

AcronymsAcronyms

We can make a difference... one child, one family, one school, one community.

DDSB — An Oshawa Early Years Initiative

One ChildOne FamilyOne School

One Community

Collaborative Partnerships

and Integration of Services

Parent and FamilySupports, Services

and Programs

From High Poverty to High Performing Schools

Educator Team Professional Development

Healthy Breakfast/Snack Programs

Affordable Child Care and After School

Programs

Durham District School BoardEarly Year Priorities

1. Ready for School2. Closing the Entry/Achievement Gap

3. Integrated Model of Service with Strong Parental Engagement


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Make a Difference - Durham District School Board€¦ · Make a Difference DDSB — An Oshawa ... Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do ... make