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113212

DOING WHATS RIGHT: PREPARING IOWAS

CHILDREN FOR SUCCESS IN SCHOOL AND BEYOND

FIELD HEARING
OF THE

COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION,

LABOR, AND PENSIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
ON

EXAMINING DOING WHATS RIGHT, FOCUSING ON PREPARING IOWAS

CHILDREN FOR SUCCESS IN SCHOOL AND BEYOND

MARCH 10, 2014 (Des Moines, IA)

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COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS

TOM HARKIN, Iowa, Chairman
BARBARA A. MIKULSKI, Maryland
LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee
PATTY MURRAY, Washington
MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming
BERNARD SANDERS (I), Vermont
RICHARD BURR, North Carolina
ROBERT P. CASEY, JR., Pennsylvania
JOHNNY ISAKSON, Georgia
KAY R. HAGAN, North Carolina
RAND PAUL, Kentucky
AL FRANKEN, Minnesota
ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah
MICHAEL F. BENNET, Colorado
PAT ROBERTS, Kansas
SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island
LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska
TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin
MARK KIRK, Illinois
CHRISTOPHER S. MURPHY, Connecticut
TIM SCOTT, South Carolina
ELIZABETH WARREN, Massachusetts
DEREK MILLER, Staff Director
LAUREN MCFERRAN, Deputy Staff Director and Chief Counsel
DAVID P. CLEARY, Republican Staff Director

(II)

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C O N T E N T S
STATEMENTS
MONDAY, MARCH 10, 2014
Page

COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Harkin, Hon. Tom, Chairman, Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions, opening statement ...............................................................................

WITNESSES
Quirmbach, Hon. Herman C., Iowa State Senate District 23, Des Moines,
IA ...........................................................................................................................
Prepared statement ..........................................................................................
Guest, Susan, Director of Early Childhood Programs, Des Moines Public
Schools, Des Moines, IA .......................................................................................
Prepared statement ..........................................................................................
Merrill, Barbara, Executive Director, Iowa Association for the Education of
Young Children, Des Moines, IA ........................................................................
Prepared statement ..........................................................................................
Regan, Christi, Head Start Director, Hawkeye Area Community Action Program, Inc., Hiawatha, IA .....................................................................................
Prepared statement ..........................................................................................
Gallentine, Gabriela, Director of Hispanic Educational Resources, Conmigo
Early Education Center, Des Moines, IA ...........................................................
Prepared statement ..........................................................................................
Pierce, Douglas M., Brigadier General, U.S. Air Force (Retired) Mission:
Readiness, Norwalk, IA .......................................................................................
Prepared statement ..........................................................................................

4
7
10
12
17
21
23
25
29
32
36
38

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL
Connie Boesen, Des Moines School Board, letter to Senator Harkin ..................
(III)

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56

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DOING WHATS RIGHT: PREPARING IOWAS

CHILDREN FOR SUCCESS IN SCHOOL AND
BEYOND
MONDAY, MARCH 10, 2014

U.S. SENATE,
HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS,
Des Moines, IA.
The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9 a.m., in the Mitchell
Early Learning Center, Hon. Tom Harkin, chairman of the committee, presiding.
Present: Senator Harkin.
COMMITTEE

ON

OPENING STATEMENT

OF

SENATOR HARKIN

The CHAIRMAN. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for coming. The meeting of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Committee of the Senate will come to order.
First, I want to thank our witnesses for being with us today. I
also want to thank Superintendent Tom Ahart and the Des Moines
Public Schools for having us here at this site, Mitchell, and also
thank all of you who are involved with this Early Learning Center
for allowing us to come here and hold our hearing.
Ill make an opening statement. Ill introduce the witnesses, and
then theyll make their statements, and well get into a general discussion. At field hearings, what I always like to do, during my time
as chair, is to perhaps even open it for questions or comments from
audience members. Hopefully, well have time to do that.
I want to thank all of you who are witnesses for all that you do
to improve the lives of our young children in Iowa, and I offer my
deepest gratitude for that. Ive had the pleasure of working with
a lot of you in the past and during my years in Congress, and I
know you know that I have been advocating for early childhood
education for a long time.
That interest comes from my strong belief that all children are
born with the potential to learn and succeed. All children, regardless of circumstances, deserve access to high-quality education that
will nurture that potential. If we as a nation are to provide our
children with the tools necessary to be successful in their school
years and afterward, then we must all recognize, as Ive been saying for 25 years, that education begins at birth, and the preparation for education begins before birth.
The Federal Government currently funds a number of programs
to support early childhood education and care. However, theyre
well short of meeting existing needs. And need I mention that
(1)

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2
theres a lot of different intersecting programs and its very hard
to figure out sometimes exactly who is covered by what.
But we are well short of meeting existing needs. We serve fewer
than 1 in 20 infants and toddlers that are eligible for Early Head
Start. We serve about one in six children eligible for child care assistance. The Omnibus Appropriations bill that we passed in January made some investments. Through the Appropriations Subcommittee that I chair, we provided over a $1 billion increase for
Head Start, $1 billion, and a $150 million increase for child care.
Now, that all sounds well and good. But I have to say a lot of
that was just to make up for the cuts in sequestration. So we sort
of got out of the hole, and now weve got to start moving ahead.
Just last month, in my first of a series of hearings on this, one
of the witnesses mentioned that of parents in the top quintile of income earners, the top 20 percent of income earners, 90 percent of
their kids receive access to preschool. For children who live in families in the lowest 40 percent of income earners, only 65 percent of
those children had access to preschool. That disparity is simply unacceptable, I believe, in our society.
Why should the access to quality preschool, just like access to elementary school or secondary schoolwhy should that be determined by your zip code or by the income status of your family? It
shouldnt be, if we truly believe in equal opportunity for all.
Here in Iowa, the State has made great advancements in providing greater access to high-quality early childhood education.
When you take into account the States investments in the Shared
Visions program, the statewide Voluntary Preschool program for 4year-olds, and the Federal investments through IDEA, Head Start,
and Child Care, Iowa is near the top in the Nation in terms of access to preschool.
However, as Im sure well discuss today, there are areas where
we can improve. My understanding is that the statewide program
only requires an instructional program of 10 hours a week, or 2
hours a day. Im a firm believerand I think the research indicatesthat a full day of preschool yields far better results for children, not just 2 hours. And on a more practical note, this part-day
structure of 2 hours makes it tough on families who have to knit
together transportation and child care arrangements to make preschool work for their kids.
Another area where we can improve is geographic equity in access. I understand that school districts in Iowa participate in the
preschool program on a voluntary basis, which is shutting out some
4-year-olds in some communities all together.
Now, again, I have legislation that is pending in my committee
that I am trying to get through, my Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions Committee, this committee. Its called the Strong Start for
Americas Children Act. That billsome of you may be familiar
with itsignificantly expands our investments at the Federal level
to accelerate the work being done in States to support high-quality
pre-K. It also dramatically increases access to high-quality care for
infants and toddlers.
Id be interested to hear any of your views on that legislation. Im
trying to get it passed out of my committee before Memorial Day.
Thats another reason why were having these hearings, to give us

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3
more input on changes and things that we need to do to mark up
that bill.
I look forward to the testimony from all of you, and I want to
encourage you all to have a frank conversation on how best Congress can support some of the great work that youre already doing
here in the State of Iowa.
Ill just introduce our witnesses in order. Well ask them each to
make an opening statement, and then well get to questions and
answers.
First, we welcome Senator Herman Quirmbach. Senator
Quirmbach was elected in 2010 to his third term in the Iowa State
Senate, representing Ames and the surrounding areas. Senator
Quirmbach is the chair of the Education Committee and a member
of the Human Resources, Judiciary, Local Government, Ways and
Means committees, and the Education Budget Subcommittee.
Prior to serving as senator, Senator Quirmbach sat on the Ames
City Council and was Ames Mayor Pro Tem in 2002. He received
his Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University and his Master of
Arts and Ph.D. from Princeton University. He is also an Associate
Professor of Economics at Iowa State University.
Next we have Susan Guest, who has spent her entire professional career with the Des Moines Public Schools and now serves
as the Early Childhood Programs administrator, overseeing all
Federal and State grant-funded pre-Kindergarten programs. She
has spent the past 5 years creating a comprehensive system for
serving pre-Kindergarten students in Des Moines.
Prior to that, she was principal at Smouse School. She also
served as Special Education consultant and teacher for the district
for 14 years. She holds a bachelors degree in elementary education
and special education from UNI, her masters from Drake University, and her administrative endorsement and license also from
Drake University.
We have Barbara Merrill, executive director of the Iowa Association for the Education of Young Children and the Project Manager
for T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood Iowa. In addition to her responsibilities at Iowa AEYC, she currently serves Early Childhood Iowa in
a leadership role with her early childhood professional development
work.
She has worked in the field of early care and education for over
30 years, including teaching and child care in Head Start, providing family child care, directing a child care center, and instructing at the college level. Ms. Merrill has her bachelors degree in
child development from the University of Maine and her masters
degree from Drake University.
Next is Christi Regan. She is the Head Start director for the
Hawkeye Area Community Action Agency, as we call it, HACAP.
Ms. Regan has been in Hawkeye Head Start and Early Head Start
for 14 years, working as a services supervisor, parent involvement
and family literacy coordinator, and education coordinator. She is
also vice president of the Iowa Head Start Association. She received her bachelor of science degree from Mount Mercy College in
Cedar Rapids.
Then we have Gabriela Gallentine, the executive director of Hispanic Educational Resources, Inc., in Des Moines. She serves as the

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4
director of Conmigo Early Education Center, the only five-star,
State-licensed, bilingual early childhood program in Des Moines.
And just so everyone understands, that is the highest rating a licensed center can receive from the Iowa Department of Human
Services.
For 20 years, Ms. Gallentine has worked in early childhood and
elementary education, both as teacher and administrator. She was
recognized by the California State Senate for her teaching skills
and rewarded by California for her students performance on California standardized tests. She graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in education from UNI and a masters degree from Chapman
University in 2003. And my notes say she is the first person in her
family to complete a college degree.
Next is Brigadier General Douglas Pierce, a member of the executive council of Mission: Readiness, a nonpartisan national security
organization of senior retired military leaders calling for smart investments in Americas children. General Pierce spent over 39
years serving in the U.S. military. He began his military career by
joining the U.S. Air Force in 1968 and then joined the Iowa National Guard in 1974.
He spent over 20 years in the 132d Flight Wing as the 124th
Fighter Squadron Operations Officer. He became Vice Commander
of the 132d Flight Wing in 1999. In 2002, he was transferred to the
headquarters of Iowa Air National Guard as Vice Commander. In
2004, he assumed his duties as Assistant Adjutant General.
After retiring from the Air Force as a Brigadier General in 2008,
General Pierce decided to continue his public service as mayor of
Norwalk. Thats a town south of Des Moines. Its a little town
thats a suburb of Cumming, as some of you may know. He continues his public service by being involved with Mission: Readiness.
So we have a distinguished panel. All of your statements will be
made a part of the record in their entirety, and just in the order
in which I introduced everyone, well start off. And, if you could,
just take 5 to 10 minutesI dont have a clockwell, Ive got a
watch, I guessand sum up for us your testimony and what you
think we need to know as we develop this Federal legislation.
Senator Quirmbach, welcome and please proceed.
STATEMENT OF HON. STATE SENATOR HERMAN C. QUIRMBACH, IOWA STATE SENATE DISTRICT 23, DES MOINES, IA

Senator QUIRMBACH. Thank you, Senator Harkin. I want to

thank you and I want to thank your committee for your interest
in this issue and for your good work. Were looking for good things
for the bill that youre working on.
Early childhood education is, indeed, a worthwhile investment
and, indeed, a critical investment for this country and for the future of our children. There has been a lot of research done over decades to show benefits flowing to the kids throughout their lives.
The longitudinal studies are just amazing and show how many different areas and different ways in which the benefits show up
years and years later.
I wanted to talk today about what were doing here in Iowa, and
I need to start with a little disclaimer. You mentioned Im a faculty
member at Iowa State, so I have to be clear. The factual informa-

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5
tion Im reporting today is not from my own research. Its derived
from a variety of sources. The supporting documents were all submitted to you for the committees record. So Im sure that the facts
are all right. Theyre just not my facts.
Here in Iowa, there are a number of different programs which
help to serve the needs of 4-year-olds, and thats where Im going
to be concentrating my remarks today. The statewide voluntary
preschool program, which was initiated in 2007, serves roughly half
of the 4-year-olds in the State. We also have an older, smaller program called Shared Visions. Of course, theres the Federal Head
Start program and other services. We wind up serving about 65
percent of the 4-year-olds in the State. That percentage has been
growing throughout the length of the statewide voluntary program.
Let me talk about the statewide voluntary program since thats
the newest and the largest. The word, voluntary, is important. It
reflects the voluntary nature on both the school side and the parent
or the child side. Districts in Iowa are not required to offer this
program. But over the years, since inception, weve gotten up to
about 90 percent of the districts, and 314 out of 348 school districts
a year ago were offering. So only 34 are not yet offering.
The ability of parents to enroll their kids in the programs offered
by neighboring districts is quite liberal. So the access is pretty
good, but not yet perfect. It is voluntary on the part of school districts. It is also voluntary on the part of parents and students. Parents are not required to enroll their kids in pre-Kindergarten. Im
going to learn from you and call it pre-Kindergarten, as best I can
remember to do so.
So 100 percent participation is not our goal. But we do aim to
increase our participation above the current level, and Ill talk
about that in a couple of minutes.
As I said, the statewide voluntary program was started in the
20078 school year. The enrollment in 201213 was 21,400 students. One of the interesting aspects of our program is that we
didnt want to force local areas to reinvent the wheel, so if there
was an existing preschool programsorryprekindergarten program in the area, a school district was eligible to partner with that,
provided that they met the quality standards established in the
State program. Some districts have taken up that option and are
partnering with nonprofit groups or even for-profit preschools in
the State.
The funding currently is about $3,060 per student per year.
Thats for the current fiscal year. It is tied to the per-student formula in statewide, so its going to go up a little bit if we do allow
the growth each year. The total currently is about $66 million for
the current school year.
The quality standards that I mentionedit is a minimum of 10
hours per week. The people that we talked with up in Ames on Saturday are offering 12 hours per week. The State requires a licensed
teacher, and the program must meet one of three established quality standards. So this is not glorified babysitting. This is real early
childhood education with qualified teachers and certified programs.
Thats a summary of what were doing with that program.
Let me talk about some of the results. Here, the best results
have been reported by the Child and Family Policy Center. Charles

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6
Bruners and Anne Dischers report of last yearand a copy was
submitted with my testimonycalled, Universal Preschool in Iowa
Steps Needed to Ensure Equity and Access. They have looked at
our own programs here in Iowa, and it combines all of the programs here. But they have looked at kids who have and have not
gone through that pre-Kindergarten program in terms of their
reading proficiency in third grade.
They have several important findings. First of all, all kids from
all groups benefit. They looked at the population in its entirety,
and they also looked at certain demographic subgroups. In every
case, there was gain. Kids who had gone through the pre-Kindergarten program in third grade had higher reading proficiency than
the group of kids who had not.
Now, let me make one qualification here, because Im going to
talk a little bit about some of those subgroups. What Im talking
about here is statistic, not stereotype. We always have to be careful
when we talk about various subgroups. There is a lot of variation
within each group. Within each and every group, there are some
kids who do fantastically well, and within each and every group,
there are some kids who fall behind.
That being said, it turns out that the percentage of kids showing
reading proficiency in third grade is lower for kids from low-income
backgrounds, as indicated by eligibility for the Federal free and reduced price lunch program. Thats the usual indicator. The same is
true for African-American kids and kids from Hispanic families and
Native Americans. For those three ethnic groups, on average, the
reading proficiency at third grade is lower.
Each and every subgroup, though, gains. And one of the things
that jumped out at me from the data is for the African-American
kids and the Hispanic kids, their gains in terms of percentage point
increase for reading proficiency in third gradetheir percentage increase was among the highest. So these are the kids who were
more likely to be behind, and yet they gained the most from the
program.
But then theres the downside. The kids who gain the most, kids
from those backgrounds, are the kids who are least likely to participate. Were not doing as good a job as we need to in reaching
out to kids from low-income backgrounds and racial minorities to
get them to participate. They are the ones who need it the most.
They are the ones who benefit the most. But they are the ones who
we are doing the least good job at reaching.
Ill just comment very briefly on a bill that we are working on
in the State Senate. It has passed the Education Committee. It is
in the Appropriations Committee, because theres an appropriation
required. You understand about that legislative process. But we
want, over the next 3 years, to create an incentive program for
local districts to increase their enrollments.
Were using a baseline enrollment over the past 3 years, and increases above and beyond that will generate funding, not just the
normal funding for the student participation, but a bonus funding
as well of about an additional $1,300 per student. Thats intended
to help school districts increase their capacities.
There are a number of school districts that have waiting lists. In
other districts, they dont bother to keep waiting lists. They just

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7
turn kids down. We dont have enough seats to meet the demand.
The information is getting out there. The parents are learning.
Weve got to do a better job at getting even more parents interested
in getting their kids signed up. But we also have to help the school
districts to have the capacity to meet the demand.
So we have a cash incentive there for them to increase their enrollments over the next 3 years. Were also addressing some of the
restrictions on the use of those funds. Transportation is one of the
issues that we keep hearing about, and wraparound services.
I think you know that when we provide 10 or 12 hours a week,
theres a lot of the rest of the time that the kids have totheir
time has to be accounted for someplace, especially if parents are
working. And, of course, Iowa has a very high percentage of twoparent families where both parents are working. There has to be
transportation to child care, or there has to be child care onsite. We
need to address those issues as well.
I think Ive probably exhausted my time. Id be happy to take
any questions.
[The prepared statement of Senator Quirmbach follows:]
PREPARED STATEMENT

OF

HERMAN C. QUIRMBACH

SUMMARY
Programs in Iowa

Percent of
4-year-olds served

Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program (SVPP) ..................................................................................

Shared Visions, Early Childhood Special Education ............................................................................
Head Start ............................................................................................................................................
Early Childhood Iowa (formerly Empowerment) ...................................................................................

48
4
9
NA

THE IOWA STATEWIDE VOLUNTARY PRESCHOOL PROGRAM (SVPP)

Initiated 20078 school year.

Enrollment in 201213: 21,402.
Offered by 314 of 348 school districts.
Local district can partner with private provider.
Funding: $3,060/student. Total: $66.1M (201314).
Hours: minimum of 10 hrs/wk.
Requires licensed teacher.
Must meet one of three sets of recognized quality standards.
SVPP RESULTS

The following table appears in Universal Preschool in IowaSteps Needed to Ensure Equity and Access, by Charles Bruner and Anne Discher, Child & Family Policy Center of Iowa, December 2013.

Parent-Reported Preschool Participation and Third Grade Reading Proficiency, 201112

All students
Tested

Total ............
FRL ..................
No FRL .............
Wht ..................
Blk ...................
Hisp .................
Asian ...............
NAm .................
IEP ...................

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Attended pre-k

Proficient

36,006
13,515
22,491
30,497
1,882
2,703
777
147
2,190

PO 00000

Pct profic
[percent]

27,607
8,646
18,961
24,253
1,028
1,589
641
96
1,056

Frm 00011

76.7
64.0
84.3
79.5
54.6
58.8
82.5
65.3
48.2

Tested

Proficient

26,597
8,689
17,908
23,445
1,038
1,531
497
86
1,635

Fmt 6633

21,027
5,709
15,318
18,940
633
971
428
55
785

Sfmt 6621

No pre-k
Pct profic
[percent]

79.1
65.7
85.5
80.8
61.0
63.4
86.1
64.0
48.0

Tested

9,409
4,826
4,583
7,052
844
1,172
280
61
555

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Proficient

6,580
2,937
3,643
5,313
395
618
213
41
271

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Pct profic
[percent]

69.9
60.9
79.5
75.3
46.8
52.7
76.1
67.2
48.8

8
Parent-Reported Preschool Participation and Third Grade Reading Proficiency, 201112
Continued
All students
Tested

ELL ...................

Attended pre-k

Proficient

2,094

Pct profic
[percent]

1,177

Tested

56.2

Proficient

986

606

No pre-k
Pct profic
[percent]

61.5

Tested

1,108

Proficient

571

Pct profic
[percent]

51.5

Source: Iowa Department of Education.

Comparisons of the data show:

A higher percentage of third graders are reading proficient in total and for almost all demographic subgroups among students who have attended preschool than
among those who have not.
Low-income (FRL=Free & Reduced Lunch eligible), black, Hispanic, and Native
American students show lower percentages of reading proficiency than non-FRL and
white and Asian students.
Black and Hispanic student groups show larger percentage point differences in
proficiency between preschool and non-preschool subgroups than do whites.
Moreover, students from several Iowa demographic groups who were furthest behind and had the most to gain were least likely to attend. According to the CFPC
data, while 44.8 percent of non-FRL students participated in SVPP, only 38.8 percent of FRL students did. 44.7 percent of white students attended, but only 35.5 percent of Hispanics and 26.7 percent of African-Americans attended.

In Iowa several State and Federal programs for early childhood education are offered, including Early Childhood Iowa (formerly Empowerment), Shared Visions,
Early Childhood Special Education, Head Start, and the Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program (SVPP). My testimony today will focus mainly on the SVPP program, which is the largest and newest.
A number of supporting documents are provided with this testimony, with additional details on SVPP and information on the other programs. Most of the factual
information reported here is derived from these supporting documents.
THE STATEWIDE VOLUNTARY PRESCHOOL PROGRAM (SVPP)

Initiated by the State of Iowa in the 20078 school year, the SVPP serves 4-yearold students from all backgrounds. It is currently voluntary from both the participant and provider sides: families are not required to enroll their children, and public
school districts are not required to offer pre-kindergarten. In fact, however, in 2012
13, SVPP was offered by 314 of 348 school districts statewide, a 90 percent participation rate. In 201011, the enrollment was 19,799 or roughly 48 percent of all 4year-olds. In 201213, enrollment increased to 21,402 4-year-olds.
At the start of the SVPP, the State awarded each participating school district a
startup grant in the districts inaugural year of offering pre-kindergarten. Subsequently, funding was provided under the general State school funding formula.
Funding is provided each year based on the enrollment count of the previous year.
Since the pre-kindergarten program requires only a minimum of 10 hours per week
of programming, each child in SVPP was originally funded at 0.6 of the funding for
a full-time (e.g., first-grade) student. In 2011, that ratio was reduced to 0.5. For the
201314 school year, in general that translates to $3,060 per pre-K student. Total
State funding in 201213 was approximately $60 million.
School districts may offer their own pre-kindergarten programs, or they may partner with existing non-profit or for-profit preschool providers, or they may combine
the two modes. In any case, all State funds are directed through the local public
school districts, and all SVPP offerings must meet certain quality standards. In particular, each SVPP program must offer at least 10 hours per week and be run by
a teacher with an early childhood license. The adult-to-child ratio is to be 1-to10,
with a maximum class size of 20. Each program must also meet at least one of three
approved program standards: the Iowa Quality Preschool Program Standards, the
National Association for the Education of Young Children Program Standards and
Accreditation Criteria, or the Head Start Program Performance Standards.

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SVPP RESULTS

Two recent reports indicate positive results for students who have participated in
SVPP classes. A May 2013 Fact Sheet from the Iowa Department of Education on
the SVPP (provided with this testimony) states,
DIBELS [the Dynamic Indicators or Basic Early Literacy Skills assessment
tool] shows that proficiencies among all kindergarteners who attended the State
preschool were 12 percentage points higher than those who did not. Even more
impressive, the DIBELS results show only 33 percent of the children who attended the preschool program are at-risk while 44 percent of their counterparts
are at-risk for achieving the necessary skills to become a successful reader.
The Fact Sheet also indicates that far fewer students of poverty who attended
the State preschool will require intensive intervention.
A December 2013 report from the Child & Family Policy Center (CFPC) entitled
Universal Preschool in IowaSteps Needed to Ensure Equity and Access by
Charles Bruner and Anne Discher (also provided herewith) presents information on
the third-grade reading proficiency of students who had and had not attended preschool. (These data lumped together both SVPP participants and participants in
other preschool programs.) Of the Iowa third graders who had attended preschool,
79.1 percent were proficient in reading on the Iowa Assessments, while only 69.9
percent of third graders who had no preschool were proficient.
The CFPC report also presents demographic breakdowns for subgroups in Iowa.
The usual indicator used to identify a student from a low-income background is eligibility for the Federal Free & Reduced-Price Lunch (FRL) program. Among FRL
students, about 5 percent more in the subgroup who had attended preschool were
reading proficiently in third grade than were doing so in the FRL subgroup who had
not attended preschool. Similarly, among non-FRL students, the percentage of students showed reading proficiency was about five points higher for those who had
attended preschool over those non-FRL students who had not. The FRL subgroup
who had attended preschool was about 20 percentage points behind non-FRL subgroup who had attended, and similarly for the FRL and non-FRL subgroups who
had not attended.
The contrast between racial groups was dramatic. While white students who had
attended preschool showed a five-point advantage in reading proficiency over whites
who had not, the African-American and Hispanic students who had attended preschool had an advantage of 11 to 14 points over their counterparts who had not.
Overall, 79.5 percent of whites were proficient, while only 54.6 percent of AfricanAmericans and 58.8 percent of Hispanics were proficient.
In other words, these data showed that while third graders from every group had
gained from having had preschool, those subgroups that were further behind (lowincome, African-American, Hispanic) gained at least as much if not more from preschool.
SVPP PROBLEMS

Given the evidence of educational gains from preschool, the most obvious problems of the SVPP have to do with students who do not attend. In 201213, 34 districts (10 percent) still did not participate in SVPP at all. Of those that did, numerous districts did not meet all of demand. It is hard to know just how many 4-yearolds were denied access. Some districts maintained waiting lists, but some districts
may simply have turned excess students away. (The term waiting list is certainly
a misnomer. It seems likely that few students get into preschool off a waiting list.
The rest just wait for kindergarten, having been denied a preschool experience.)
To my knowledge no statewide data were compiled on the number of 4-year-olds
who wanted to participate in SVPP but who were denied access. Overall, in 2010
11 it appears that 35 percent of 4-year-olds did not attend SVPP or any other publicly supported preschool, though some may have attended private preschool and the
parents of others may have chosen not to have their children attend at all.
Moreover, students from several Iowa demographic groups who were furthest behindand therefore had the most to gainwere least likely to attend. According to
the CFPC data, while 44.8 percent of non-FRL students participated in SVPP, only
38.8 percent of FRL students did. 44.7 percent of white students attended, but only
35.5 percent of Hispanics and 26.7 percent of African-Americans attended.
Additional and/or coexisting barriers to preschool attendance were presented by
transportation issues and lack of wrap-around services. For example, for a parent
who works full-time, facilitating a child attending a part-day preschool program
probably requires leaving the job in the middle of the workday to transport the child
between preschool and day careassuming, that is, that the parent even has the

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flexibility to leave work and that convenient, appropriate, affordable day care even
can be found.
CURRENT LEGISLATION

To address some of the problems just discussed, the Iowa Senate Education Committee has recently proposed and passed Senate Study bill 3155. The bill, now designated Senate File 2268 (SF 2268), has been referred to the Senate Appropriations
Committee before going to the Senate floor.
Under SF 2268, participation in SVPP would still be voluntary for both the school
district and for the individual student. However, the bill would set a goal to eliminate pre-kindergarten waiting lists by the start of the 201718 school year. Just as
all school districts must provide a seat for every first-grade student who registers,
so will every school district have to find a seat for every pre-kindergarten student
who registers.
Financial incentives are provided to each local school district to meet the goal of
eliminating waiting lists. The bill establishes a baseline SVPP enrollment period of
the 3 school years from 201112 through 201314. The average SVPP enrollment
in a district over those 3 years is the districts base enrollment over which to calculate any enrollment increase. (A zero would apply for any year in which a district
did not offer SVPP.) Then, for the 3 school years beginning with 201516, for any
increase in SVPP student numbers, a district would receive a 0.7 weighting, instead
of the usual 0.5. A district would thus get about $4,500 per student instead of the
usual $3,200 per student for each increase in the number of SVPP students. The
$1,300 per student difference is the capacity incentive.
The bill allows such additional aid to be used to help cover the costs of expanding
capacity. The bill increases the percentage of the SVPP funding that can be used
for administrative overhead from 5 percent to 10 percent. The bill clarifies that the
costs of outreach activities and rent of space not owned by the school district are
allowable administrative expenses. It also explicitly allows schools to transport preschool students to SVPP activities along with other children.
To qualify for the incentive aid, a school district would have to develop an approved expansion plan. Among other requirements, such a plan would have to specify how the district would reach out to solicit more participation, with special emphasis on low-income families, non-English speaking families, and families from ethnic
and racial groups that were underrepresented in the schools SVPP program.
The CHAIRMAN. That was very good. Thank you very much, Sen-

ator Quirmbach.
Now, Susie Guest, welcome. And, again, thank you for all that
you have done and are doing for early education in Des Moines.
STATEMENT OF SUSAN GUEST, DIRECTOR OF EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAMS, DES MOINES PUBLIC SCHOOLS, DES
MOINES, IA

Ms. GUEST. Thank you for having me this morning.

Des Moines Public Schools is the largest school district in the
State of Iowa. It is home to approximately 32,000 students, and of
those, approximately 2,000 are preschool students. As a district, we
exist so that graduates possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities
to be successful at the next stage of their lives. For the Early
Childhood Department, this equates to kindergarten readiness.
The majority of children attending preschool in Des Moines are
funded through the statewide voluntary preschool program. The
grant requires a minimum of 10 hours of instruction per week.
However, Des Moines provides 13 hours per week at no additional
charge to the parents. Classrooms are located throughout the district in early childhood schools, such as here at Mitchell, comprehensive elementary buildings, as well as partnerships with
faith-based schools and private daycare settings.
Achieving high-quality preschool programming is accomplished
through certified teaching staff, ongoing professional development,
research-based curriculum and instruction, and regular analysis of

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data. Recent data indicates children who attended preschool in the
201112 school year outperformed their kindergarten peers on initial assessments in the 201213 school year, and they continued to
outperform their peers on the spring kindergarten assessments.
Beyond the classroom, what are other components of a high-quality program for young children? Family and community partnerships are key to providing quality programs. Family engagement
begins at the time of enrollment and continues through conferencing, home visiting, resource and referral, and family educational
opportunities. The Des Moines early childhood program is actively
involved in community planning to encourage strong communication, cooperation, and the sharing of information between partners
to improve recruitment and the delivery of services for students in
our community.
The State of Iowa has invested in early childhood education. The
statewide voluntary preschool program is a part of the States efforts to provide more opportunities for 4-year-old children to access
quality preschool and enter kindergarten ready to learn.
Children who participate in high-quality preschool settings exhibit better language and math skills, better cognitive and social
skills, and better relationships with their classmates. Children who
attend quality preschools are less likely to drop out, repeat grades,
or need special education.
Des Moines Public Schools has successfully accomplished this
most important mission of readying the children we serve for kindergarten. We have done so by making preschool a priority and
braiding funding whenever possible. We have also created marvelous partnerships throughout the community. These partners are
as committed to providing early childhood services as we are.
Two examples illustrate these successful partnerships. As a district, we are able to provide our families the services of school social workers through funding from the United Way Womens Leadership Connection. We are also able to provide case management
and home visiting services through the financial support of Polk
County Early Childhood Iowa. Such partnerships are essential for
us to be able to do our jobs of educating the whole child.
However, the fact remains that we are only serving approximately 50 percent of the students enrolled in a Des Moines Public
Schools kindergarten program. Significant barriers remain for families and districts. For the families that work, the 13 hours of preschool per week is not enough. For others, transportation is not
available, and a preschool may not exist within walking distance.
For districts, the needs of our families require more than 10
hours per week of funding for preschool. In Des Moines Public
Schools, with 70 percent of families qualifying for free and reduced
lunch and 16 percent of families identified as English language
learners, their needs for comprehensive services are great. Currently, only 29 percent of our preschool slots are designated for
families at 200 percent of poverty or below.
With any new early learning legislation, consideration should be
given to policies to improve access and to expand enrollment of atrisk children in full-day preschool programming. Doing so will provide our neediest children with expanded services in all areas of
development.

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Additionally, funding for family and instructional support services has to be part of the equation. Preschool is not just about academic instruction. Although extremely important, it is just one
piece of the puzzle. Early childhood education has the greatest impact when programming is comprehensive and responsive to the
needs of our families and our children.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Guest follows:]
PREPARED STATEMENT

OF

SUSAN GUEST

SUMMARY

Childrens experiences in their first years have a profound impact on the course
of the rest of their lives. Evidence now proves not only the dynamic learning potential of children when they are in responsive, nurturing, stimulating environments,
but also the detrimental effect to children when they are deprived of these opportunities. There has been a dramatic shift in this country in the past 50 years and
more 3- and 4-year-old children are attending preschool. These changing demographics speak both to the tremendous need and opportunity for research-based,
practice-proven early childhood education.
Des Moines Public SchoolsDes Moines Public Schools (DMPS) is a leader and
innovator in public education, offering families more educational choices than any
place in Iowa. High quality preschool programming is one of the many choices offered by the district with a goal of readying all children for kindergarten.
DMPS Early Childhood ProgramsAchieving high quality preschool programming is the goal of our programs. Our certified teaching staff participates in ongoing professional development supported with instructional coaching which are indicators of high quality programs. Further, our curriculum, instruction and assessment are developmentally appropriate and research based. In addition to analyzing
data at the classroom level, data is also analyzed at the district level to ensure our
preschools students are ready for kindergarten.
Family and Community PartnershipsFamily partnerships begin at the time
of enrollment and continue with parents after enrollment to ensure the best possible
preschool experience for the children and families we serve. Through strong relationships with parents and community partners we work together toward the goal
of having all children ready for kindergarten. We support families through home
visiting, by providing resources and referrals to support services, and providing families with educational opportunities. The DMPS Early Childhood Program is actively
involved in community planning to encourage strong communication, cooperation,
and the sharing of information between partners to improve the delivery of services
for students in the community.
Benefits of Preschool in IowaThe State of Iowa has invested in early childhood education. The Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program is a part of the States
efforts to provide more opportunities for 4-year-old children to access quality preschool and enter kindergarten ready to learn. The SWVPP along with other State
and federally funded preschool programs and community partners in Iowa make up
Iowas system for delivering preschool programming.
Future PrioritiesDes Moines Public Schools has successfully accomplished
this most important mission of readying the children we serve for kindergarten. We
have done so by making preschool a priority and braiding funding whenever possible. We have also created marvelous partnerships throughout the community.
However, the fact remains that we are only serving approximately 50 percent of the
students enrolled in a DMPS kindergarten program. Significant barriers remain for
families and districts.
With any new early learning legislation, consideration should be given to policies
to improve access to and expand enrollment of at-risk children in full-day preschool
programming. Doing so will provide our neediest children with expanded services
in all areas of development. Additionally, funding for family and instructional support services has to be part of the equation. Preschool is not just about providing
academic instruction. Although extremely important, it is just one piece of the puzzle. Early education can truly endow children with the necessary foundation for future learning. Early childhood education programs can and do play a pivotal role
in providing crucial learning experiences for children and their families.

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A childs first years are a time of amazing growth. Young children set out as eager
explorers seeking to understand the world and their place in it. For children to succeed in kindergarten and beyond, their natural tendency to learn needs to be supported and actively engaged in powerful learning experiences. Research is dramatically revealing just how much complex knowledge children can master at much earlier ages than previously thought. Childrens experiences in their first years have
a profound impact on the course of the rest of their lives. Evidence now proves not
only the dynamic learning potential of children when they are in responsive, nurturing, stimulating environments, but also the detrimental effect to children when
they are deprived of these opportunities.
There has been a dramatic shift in this country in the past 50 years. The 2011
Current Population Survey of School Enrollment finds that 48 percent of all 3- and
4-year-old children attend a classroom-based program in child care, Head Start, or
preschool. By choice or by necessity, more children than ever before in our Nations
history spend significant amounts of time in an out-of-home environment. At the
same time, the requirements for childrens school readiness upon entering kindergarten have risen considerably, as spelled out in our State standards. These changing demographics speak both to the tremendous need and opportunity for researchbased, practice-proven early childhood education.
DES MOINES PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Des Moines Public Schools is the largest school district in the State of Iowa. It
is home to approximately 32,000 students and 5,000 employees. For more than 100
years Des Moines Public Schools (DMPS) has provided an outstanding education for
students of our community. Today, our school district is a leader and innovator in
public education, offering families more educational choices than any place in Iowa.
One of the great strengths of Des Moines Public Schools is its diversity: the people,
the programs, and most of all the opportunities for our students. The strengths and
benefits which result from that diversity are reflected each and every day in the accomplishments of our students and staff. As a district we exist so that graduates
possess the knowledge, skills and abilities to be successful at the next stage of their
lives. For the early childhood department this equates to kindergarten readiness.
Des Moines Public Schools was awarded the Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program (SWVPP) grant in the 20078 school year. The program started with 1,046
students. Our current SWVPP serves 1,352 students with another 562 students
served by other funding sources for a total of 1,914 students. Head Start funds 424
students and the remaining approximately 138 students are funded through State
Shared Visions, Early Childhood Iowa, or a Prairie Meadows grant. Each funding
source is accountable to a different but similar set of standards or guidelines. We
have created consistency throughout our district early childhood classrooms by raising the standards of all our rooms to the highest level possible given differing levels
of funding and requirements. Even though the funding and required standards from
one classroom to another may be different, the academic expectations for every preschool classroom across the district are the same. With a high mobility rate, consistent expectations ensure quality.
The Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program serves the majority of DMPS students. The grant requires a minimum of 10 hours of instruction per week. However,
DMPS provides 13 hours per week at no additional charge to parents. Classrooms
are located throughout the district in early childhood schools, comprehensive elementary buildings as well as partnerships with faith-based schools and private
daycare settings. We offer a continuum of services including half-day free preschool
programming, full-day programming for qualified families, and integrated special
education services.
DMPS EARLY CHILDHOOD CLASSROOMS

According to Websters dictionary quality is a degree of excellence. I am frequently

asked, what makes our Des Moines Public Schools early childhood program excellent? In contemplating this question many things come to mind, but one answer far
outweighs the rest, in fact, it is the key to all the rest. What makes our program
excellent is our staff. We have outstanding certified teachers that lead each classroom and are supported in their work daily by our invaluable teacher associates.
It is the awesome job of our certified teachers to bring all the components of our
program together and carry out all of the program requirements in a way that is
developmentally appropriate, meaningful, and fun for children. Without our highquality certified staff leading the program Im confident our students would not
leave our classrooms as prepared for kindergarten as they are today. All early childhood teachers have, at minimum, a bachelors degree with an endorsement in early

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childhood education. All classroom associates have child development certifications
or other qualifying degrees.
A growing body of evidence now points to the key role of the educator in how
much a young child learns. In fact, according to research by Darling-Hammonds
and associates, the knowledge and skills of the teacher account for a greater difference in academic achievement than any other single factor.
In a Spring 2010 article in American Educator titled, The Promise of Preschool
the co-directors of NIEER, the National Institute for Early Education Research, describe 10 research-based benchmarks for quality early childhood education. No. 1 on
the list is that teachers should have a bachelors degree and specialized training in
preschool education. In addition they should receive the same salaries and benefits
as other public school teachers.
The professional development of teachers has also been shown to be highly correlated to the quality of early childhood programs and thus the overall effect of
those programs in having a positive outcome for children. As our staff can attest
our district and early childhood department have a strong commitment to ongoing
quality professional development that keeps pace with current guidelines, research
in the field, and resulting best practice. All early childhood staff receives professional development to enhance their skills in the delivery of instruction, progress
monitoring, and making instructional accommodations to meet individual needs.
The program professional development plan is based on individual staff needs as
well as program evaluation and student data and is written and shared with staff.
The following subjects are also included in annual professional development: ethics,
policies & procedures, curriculum/instruction/assessment, teaming, family engagement. Current professional development initiatives include Response to Intervention, Math Strategies, Curriculum Scaffolding and Differentiation, and Cognitive
Complexity and a Rigorous Curriculum.
We also offer instructional coaching support for classroom teachers. Coaching ensures effective implementation of required instructional strategies in all classrooms.
Coaching services may include but are not limited to: classroom observations with
feedback/reflection, identification of coaching focus, collaborative planning, modeling
instruction and discussion of available resources. The instructional coaches have all
completed specialized training in coaching strategies.
Beyond the classroom teacher, what are other components of a high-quality program for young children?
In these early years curriculum should be developmentally responsive and attend
to childrens social, emotional, and physical, as well as cognitive growth. All DMPS
early childhood programs implement a planned, organized and consistently implemented curriculum supporting child development. The curriculum strategies are
research-based, developmentally appropriate and include all domains of learning.
The Pre-K curriculum used is aligned with the literacy curriculum used districtwide in our elementary schools. This consistency is a great support for our students
as they transition from preschool to kindergarten.
We also take seriously the research that self-regulation is a stronger predictor of
elementary school success than IQ. This is good news because we can more easily
effect self-regulation than we can IQ. Given this important finding many of our instructional strategies are designed to promote self-regulation as well as other early
literacy and cognitive skills. Our instructional strategies allow children to develop
abstract thinking, verbal and social skills along with self-regulation. In our program, learning experiences actively build new knowledge on childrens existing understandings, in part through purposeful play and exploration.
In Des Moines Public Schools, 16.3 percent of students are English Language
Learners. In fact over 80 different languages are spoken in DMPS classrooms. This
is also the case in preschool. However, preschool students are not included in the
ELL funding formula at the State level and students are not identified until kindergarten. In turn, as a department, we have addressed the need for ELL support by
implementing a department-wide English Language Acquisition Plan. Professional
development has been provided to the teaching staff in the implementation of culturally and linguistically appropriate instructional methods to support ELL students. Identified strategies are an expectation of all classrooms.
In a quality program, appropriate assessment both formal and informal, should
be ongoing and always inform instruction. In this aspect, as in all aspects of childrens learning, strong connections and partnerships with childrens families are
vital. We provide developmental and social/emotional screening as well as comprehensive health screening for all children in the program. The screenings have a
strong parent component and so begin the year by opening the conversation and beginning the partnership between the teacher and the family that will grow through-

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out the year. We also use a comprehensive assessment tool to assess childrens
progress across all domains of learning. The tool also helps guide the teaching staff
in planning for developmentally appropriate next steps to scaffold each childs learning. Differentiation of instruction occurs as a result of analysis of formative/
summative data which directs instruction. Gender, culture, language, ethnicity, family composition and parent input are all areas of respected individualization.
In addition to analyzing data at the classroom level, data is also analyzed at the
district level to ensure our preschools students are ready for kindergarten. A comparison was completed between children who attended a 2011/2012 DMPS preschool
program with children who did not attend preschool and their progress on fall and
spring district-wide kindergarten assessment during the 201213 school year. Although all children who attended DMPS preschool outscored their non-preschool
peers, of special interest was a comparison of the 73 percent of children who were
eligible for Free/Reduced Price Lunch. The results indicate that children eligible for
Free/Reduced Priced Lunch academically benefited from attending a DMPS preschool program. Their academic advantage was not only evident on the fall kindergarten assessments but continued into the spring on the kindergarten standardsbased math and reading assessments. On the math assessment, 80 percent of the
DMPS preschool children were proficient vs. 72 percent of the children who did not
attend preschool. On the reading assessment, 86.4 percent of the DMPS preschool
program children were proficient vs. 76.6 percent of the children who did not attend
preschool.
FAMILY AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS

Family partnerships begin at the time of enrollment. Preschool enrollment is completed at one central location, The Des Moines Public Schools Enrollment Center.
Centralizing the enrollment process has assisted families in determining the type
of programming that will best meet their needs. A specialist in the area of preschool
enrollment meets with families and takes into consideration full/part-day programming needs, income verification, and program location. Applications can be completed on-line or in person at the Enrollment Center if assistance is needed. A comprehensive recruitment plan has been established to provide information to families
and increase awareness of our programs. Yard signs and flyers are used to advertise
in the community as well as advertisements in the local papers and radio stations.
Customized enrollment events have been held at local apartment complexes of high
need. Recruitment materials are translated in many languages.
Family partnerships continue with parents after enrollment to ensure the best
possible preschool experience for the children and families we serve. Through strong
relationships with parents and community partners we work together toward the
goal of having all children ready for kindergarten. We support parents as they identify and work toward family goals, by providing resources and referrals to community resources, and providing families with educational opportunities. Multiple parent engagement opportunities help foster a positive home/school relationship and
positive child outcomes. A variety of opportunities are available for parent and
teacher engagement on a regular basis throughout the school year. Parents are welcome to visit at any time throughout the school day and are encouraged to participate as least weekly in classroom activities through a program called Parent and
Child Together time. In addition, home visits and parent/teacher conferences are
held throughout the school year to enhance the knowledge and understanding of
both staff and parents of the educational and developmental progress and activities
of children at home and in the classroom. Further family engagement activities include district-wide and regional family events, family lending libraries, monthly
newsletters and transition to kindergarten support. Services to support families are
provided by a comprehensive team of professionals including nurses, school social
workers and home visiting case managers.
The DMPS Early Childhood Program is actively involved in community planning
to encourage strong communication, cooperation, and the sharing of information between partners to improve the delivery of services for students in the community.
The DMPS Early Childhood Advisory committee meets monthly and includes community stakeholder representatives including Drake University Head Start, Early
Childhood Iowa, United Way of Central Iowa, Statewide Voluntary Preschool Partners, the Area Education Agency as well as DMPS ELL, Health, and Assessment
departments. In addition, the DMPS Early Childhood Program participates in community focus groups including the Urban Core, Preschool Advisory Committee,
Project Launch, Iowa Department of Education Early Childhood Network, and the
Urban Educator Network.

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Through the Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program grant, DMPS has also established partnerships with local faith-based schools and day care centers to provide
preschool programming at their sites. All Iowa Quality Preschool Program Standards must be adhered to and program monitoring is provided by DMPS.
BENEFITS OF PRESCHOOL IN IOWA

There are approximately 2,000 days between birth and the first day of kindergarten. Research illustrates that the first 2,000 days of a childs life can have a profound and lifelong impact on physical and emotional well-being, readiness to learn
and succeed, and the ability to become a productive employee and citizen. Research
tells us that we need to start at the earliest age, birth to age 5. During this time
childrens brains develop 90 percent of their capacity, which lays the foundation for
academic skills and behavior traits that will last a life time. Research also tells us
that:
By age 3, children of low-income families know only half as many words as children of more advantaged families.
Children who do not get a good start can arrive in kindergarten already 18
months behind.
Children who arent ready for kindergarten are half as likely to read proficiently by third grade.
Children who are not reading proficiently by third grade are four times as likely
to drop out of high school.
For all the above reasons, the State of Iowa has invested in early childhood education. The Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program is a part of the States efforts
to provide more opportunities for children to access quality preschool and enter kindergarten ready to learn. The SWVPP along with other State and federally funded
preschool programs and community partners in IowaHead Start, Shared Visions,
Early Childhood Iowa, and Early Childhood Special Educationmake up Iowas system for delivering preschool programming.
FUTURE PRIORITIES

Is Iowas system for delivering preschool programming enough? Is it a comprehensive system?

Unfortunately, the answer is no. It is a good start but the SWVPP does not go
far enough. The program offers a minimum of 10 hours per week of quality preschool instruction. And districts receive only half of the funding that is provided for
K12 students. In turn, funding does not go as far as needed and families have
more needs than ever before.
Family Barriers to Enrollment
10 hours a week of programming is not enough for families with parents that
work or are full-time students. Wrap around (before and after) care is costly.
Transportation to and from preschool is not provided and many families do not
have transportation. Preschool programs may not be within walking distance of the
family residence.
The first-come, first-served universal access of the SWVPP does not give our
low-income families any priority in enrollment.
In districts with a high ELL population, language can be a barrier to enrollment.
School District Challenges to Providing Preschool Programming
Funding for physical plant growth/building costs is not allowable. In Des
Moines, we have created early learning centers where multiple classrooms are
housed under one roof. Currently we have three such centers, soon to be four. The
creation of early learning centers was essential to expanding preschool programming
because additional space is not available in our comprehensive school buildings.
Food is not an allowable cost under the SWVPP grant. With 70+ percent of students qualifying for free and reduced lunch, providing a daily snack is essential for
learning.
Transportation to/from preschool is an allowable expense; however, it is a considerable expense and providing transportation would severely limit the number of
preschool slots we could provide.
Securing interpretation and translation services (80+ languages in DMPS) to
support families is expensive and services are limited. The early childhood department uses the district ELL services whenever possible; however, frequently we have
to secure the services of private companies at a cost of $47 per hour.

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A minimum of 10 hours is required by the SWVPP; however, DMPS provides
13 hours per week at no additional cost to the family. Charging fees for registration
or additional hours are allowable expenses, but ones that our families would not be
able to afford.
Funding is limited for administrative costs (5 percent) which do not cover expenses for program oversight, enrollment, and management.
Funding for social work, nursing and coaching support staff are allowable costs
but such positions do not generate funds. Support positions are key to providing
quality services.
70.6 percent of DMPS families are eligible for Free/Reduced Priced Lunch and
only 27 percent of enrollment slots are designated for low-income children (nonSWVPP slots) 200 percent of poverty or below.
There are sufficient half-day slots for preschool students; however, it is difficult
to fill all of them due to the barriers listed above.
In 20078 when the original grant was awarded to DMPS, we received .6 of the
K12 per pupil funding for each preschool student. In 201112, the amount of funding decreased from .6 to .5 of the K12 per pupil funding for each preschool student.
Revenue decreased but expenditures of teacher salaries and benefits increased as
they do each year.
Even in view of the many barriers to providing exemplary preschool services to
families, Des Moines Public Schools has successfully accomplished this most important mission of readying the children we serve for kindergarten. However, the fact
remains that we are only serving approximately 50 percent of the students enrolled
in a DMPS kindergarten program. We have done so by making preschool a priority
and braiding funding whenever possible. We have also created marvelous partnerships throughout the community. These partners are also committed to providing
early childhood services. Two examples illustrate these successful partnerships. We
are able to provide families the services of school social workers using the Mental
Health Consultation Model through funding from the United Way Womens Leadership Connection. We are also able to provide Case Management and Home Visiting
services through the financial support of Polk County Early Childhood Iowa. Such
partnerships are essential for us to be able to do our job of educating the whole
child.
With any new early learning legislation, consideration should be given to policies
to improve access to and expand enrollment of at-risk children in full-day preschool
programming. Doing so will provide our neediest children with expanded services
in all areas of development. Additionally, funding for family and instructional support services has to be part of the equation. Preschool is not just about providing
academic instruction. Although extremely important, it is just one piece of the puzzle. There is clear and quantitative documentation of the positive effect of high-quality preschool programs. Early education can truly endow children with the necessary foundation for future learning. Early childhood education programs can and
do play a pivotal role in providing crucial learning experiences for children and their
families. Extensive research firmly establishes that high-quality programs for young
children have a long-term, positive effect on childrens well-being and academic success.
The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much.

Now well turn to Barbara Merrill, executive director of the Iowa

Association for the Education of Young Children.
Barb, welcome.
STATEMENT OF BARBARA MERRILL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,
IOWA ASSOCIATION FOR THE EDUCATION OF YOUNG CHILDREN, DES MOINES, IA

Ms. MERRILL. Good morning, Senator Harkin. I am honored by

this opportunity to be here with you today. All of us would like to
acknowledge you and all of the work that you have done throughout your career in Washington and, in particular, for introducing
the Strong Start legislation.
Im a new grandmother of two infants, and I watch my children
and their spouses doing all the right things as they nurture their
childrens growth, health, and learning. And yet they also must depend on extended family, healthcare providers, child care providers,

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and many others to support them. Many hands and many hearts
are helping my children raise my grandchildren.
Many of Iowas children do not have these circles of support immediately surrounding them, even if we all wished that they did.
Its up to us to ensure that all children, beginning at birth, are
given every opportunity to be healthy and successful. At Iowa
AEYC, our mission is to serve and act on behalf of the early childhood education profession and the role played by high-quality, educated, and competent professionals in the lives of very young children.
Research has shown us that the qualifications of the teacher and
the interactions between those adults and the children in their care
is one of the primary indicators of a high-quality preschool or child
care experience for our youngest children. We must make sure that
we have a high-quality early education workforce.
Do you know that the child care workforce is traditionally among
the poorest paid workforces in our country? According to Iowa
Workforce Development, only fast-food cooks, dishwashers, and
store clerks make less per hour than child care center staff and
family child care providers.
Iowas Center and Family Child Care Wage Study in 2010 found
these caregiving and teaching staff averages between $8.50 and
$10.75 per hour, depending on their specific job role. The workforce
is mostly women, many mothers, often single heads of households,
more often women of color, earning well under the poverty level as
they care for our most precious possessions, our children.
We talk about three workforces impacted by early childhood education today: the parents and families who can work today because
they have child care; the workforce of the future, todays children
who benefit from high-quality early childhood education today; and
todays early childhood educators who are working directly with
children every day.
In Iowa, we estimate that the child care workforce numbers over
20,000. Consider 20,000 taxpaying citizens earning mostly poverty
level wages as they provide care and developmental learning opportunities with Iowas young children, sometimes for 10 hours a day.
Often, these teachers have to rely on one or more forms of public
assistance just to support their own families. We estimate that 60
percent of this workforce do not hold a college degree in early childhood education or a closely related field.
We cannot pass the cost of educating and increasing compensation for this workforce on to todays young families. Parents of children ages birth to 5 are at the beginning of their careers, often not
taking home significant paychecks yet themselves. We must ensure
that State and Federal child care assistance is adequate to allow
programs to pay fair wages, and that programs such as Iowas
Quality Rating System require adequate wages and educated staff
if they are to be considered quality programs.
Our State struggles to make decisions on spending limited Federal funding, trying to balance the need for quality supports for the
programs and the workforce with enough quantity of child care assistance to serve low-income working families. We need clear direction from the Federal Government to the States about the use of
Federal funding to ensure both needs are met adequately.

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We also must support child care as we continue to support preK. Before first grade, many children spend 10,000 hours in a child
care program. Children and families deserve comprehensive services within each program and should not be forced to piece together
a 10-hour week preschool with child care wraparound at a different
location and family, friend, and neighbor care filling in the gaps.
We understand the importance of continuity of care for infants,
toddlers, and young children. What is inappropriate is to expect
young children to adjust to two, three, or even more early education environments every week when one comprehensive, fulltime, well-supported program incorporating preschool and the familys need for child care is best for the child and the family.
We want to see a requirement that all early childhood programs
meet a quality standard and have educated, qualified teachers. We
applaud that the Strong Start bill would make it possible to use
funding to support the current workforce to earn a degree in early
childhood education. I suggest you require the States to target
funding this way, earmarking some of the money specifically for
the purpose of workforce education and compensation.
States should be required to use funding to improve child care
provider compensation when this workforce earns their degrees and
become highly effective teachers. As is occurring in New Jersey and
North Carolina, we should consider supporting teachers who are
currently in classrooms as they work toward earning their degrees,
allowing programs meeting a quality standard to use pre-K funding, but then requiring enrollment in a degree program if the
teacher does not have a degree and ensure that full compensation
parity happens when degrees are completed.
The T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood program has been improving the
education, compensation, and retention of the early childhood education workforce all across the country. Following a national model,
State nonprofits in 24 States and the District of Columbia are licensed by Child Care Services Association North Carolina to deliver these scholarships that include a broad array of support, including a counselor; support for tuition, books, and transportation;
and paid substitute time. Compensation initiatives are mandated
in every model.
Iowa has been a proud T.E.A.C.H. State for over 10 years. We
have viewed our efforts as having multi-generational impact in
three different ways. No. 1, we create a more knowledgeable and
skilled teacher. We know that the young children in her classroom
are getting better outcomes. Each year, a new group of children in
these classrooms reap the benefits of a better educated, more effective teacher. We also know that parents are able to be more productive at work if they feel comfortable about their childs caregiver.
The second way is by going to college, these teachers, often firstgeneration college students, raise their expectations for their own
children. They now expect their own children to go to college. We
hear stories of mothers and children doing their homework together.
The third way is by earning degrees, these teachers realize upward career mobility, earning more money and having more professional opportunities in the field. This, in turn, benefits her family

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economically, moving some of these teachers and their children out
of poverty.
Every year across the country, T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood
reaches 20,000 recipients who complete over 100,000 college credits
and have grade point averages well in excess of 3.0. Teachers complete 13 or 14 credit hours annually, on average, and continue to
work full-time. Their annual earnings increase from 5 percent to 8
percent. They remain in the field, and with a field typical turnover
of 40 percent, T.E.A.C.H. turnover is always less than 10 percent.
This year, we began offering pilots in Iowa for a compensation
supplement program called WAGE$. T.E.A.C.H. scholarships and
Wage supplements help the early childhood workforce become better educated, compensated, and more consistent, as they strive to
meet the higher standards associated with pre-K, Head Start, and
Quality Rating Systems.
While attending college, teachers basic language and math literacy skills improve, as well as their knowledge of childrens cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development. Targeting a direct investment to the current workforce means quality can be
raised without burdening parents with additional costs.
In Iowa, child care, family child care, preschool, Head Start, and
family support teachers and administrators can access T.E.A.C.H.
T.E.A.C.H. is funded by the Child Care Development Fund, by the
MIECHV grant Federal funding, by United Way, and by State
funding through Early Childhood Iowa. Our WAGE$ pilot is supported by United Way of Central Iowas Womens Leadership Connection.
We do not have funding for T.E.A.C.H. targeted for our statewide
voluntary preschool program, although the demand from that sector is great, and we have many folks on that program who work
in State pre-K. We buy local. Every Iowa-based college offering
early childhood degree programs is eligible to accept T.E.A.C.H.
tuition payments.
To support the current workforce with appropriate higher ed, we
talk about quality, accessibility, and affordability of college for
child care providers. We must support the higher ed career pathway for this workforce as well.
Is the quality of higher education meeting the demands of a future teaching workforce? Despite an ever-increasing online option,
is appropriate and quality higher education available for all
throughout rural Iowa? And for a workforce earning an average of
$10 an hour, how do we keep it affordable? This workforce should
not be taking out student loans if they wont be able to pay them
off.
Articulation continues to be a problem. Will the credits completed at a local community college be recognized when the child
care teacher works to earn a bachelors degree and an Iowa teaching license at a university? We call this earning credits with currency, and like training hours, college credits stay on one transcript
forever. But they have to be recognized at the next level of ones
education to be meaningful.
Community college credits should be of high enough quality to be
accepted to meet the requirements of the public universities. And
all our publicly funded institutions must consider the needs of the

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adult learner as these students work to support their own families,
spend time with their own children, work, and complete college
credits.
Low education, poor compensation, and high turnover are national child care workforce issues. Its time to address them on a
national level. Tomorrows workforce, our most precious resource,
our children, are depending on us.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Merrill follows:]
PREPARED STATEMENT

OF

BARBARA MERRILL

SUMMARY

Research has shown us that the qualifications of the teacher, and the interactions
between those adults and the children in their care, is one of the primary indicators
of a high quality preschool or child care environment and experience for our youngest children. We must make sure that we have a high quality early childhood workforce.
Three workforces are impacted by early childhood education: The parents and
families who can work TODAY because they have child care; the workforce of the
future, todays children who benefit from high quality early childhood education; and
todays early childhood educators, working directly with children every day.
The quality of early care and education is directly linked to teacher education and
compensation. We cannot pass the costs of educating and increasing compensation
for this workforce on to todays young families. Parents of children ages birth to 5
are at the beginning of their careers, often not taking home significant paychecks
themselves. We must ensure that State and Federal Child Care Assistance is adequate to pay fair wages, and that programs such as Quality Rating Systems require
adequate wages and educated staff if they are to be considered quality programs.
To support the current workforce with appropriate higher education, we talk
about the quality, accessibility and affordability of college for our child care providers. We must support the higher education career pathways for this workforce
as well.
T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood is a national model and has been on improving the
education, compensation and retention of the early care and education workforce
child care, PreK, and family supportacross the country for nearly 25 years. When
we target the direct investment to the current workforce we will raise quality without burdening parents with additional costs. When we improve the quality of the
workforce, we can improve the quality of the programs, so that these communitybased child care programs can be appropriate sites for birth through age 5 comprehensive early education experiences for all of our children.

Good afternoon Senator Harkin and other honorable guests. My name is Barbara
Merrill and I am the executive director of the Iowa Association for the Education
of Young Children, Iowas State affiliate for NAEYC. I also manage the T.E.A.C.H.
Early Childhood program for the State of Iowa, and work to support the Early
Childhood Iowa comprehensive system building efforts for services for children ages
birth to 5 and their families. I am honored with this opportunity to be here with
you today. All of us would like to acknowledge the work of Senator Harkin throughout his career in Washington, and in particular for introducing the Strong Start legislation.
As a new grandmother of two infants, I see my children and their spouses doing
all the right things as they nurture their childrens growth, health and learning.
And yet, they also must depend on extended family, health care providers, child care
teachers, and many others to support them: It takes a village to raise children.
Many of Iowas children do not have these circles of support immediately surrounding them, even if we all wish they did. It is up to us to ensure that all children, beginning at birth, are given every opportunity to be healthy and successful.
At Iowa AEYC, our mission is to serve and act on behalf of the early childhood
education profession, and the role played by high quality, educated and competent
professionals in the lives of young children.
Research has shown us that the qualifications of the teacher, and the interactions
between those adults and the children in their care, is one of the primary indicators
of a high-quality preschool or child care environment and experience for our young-

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est children. We must make sure that we have a high-quality early childhood workforce.
Do you know that the child care workforce is traditionally among the poorest paid
workforces in our country? According to Iowa Workforce Development, only fast food
cooks, dishwashers, and store clerks make less per hour than child-care center staff
and family child-care providers. Iowas Center and Family Child Care Wage Study,
in 2010, found these caregiving and teaching staff average between $8.50$10.75
per hour, depending on their specific job role. This workforce is mostly women,
many mothers, often single heads of household, more often women of colorearning
well under the poverty level as they care for our most precious possessions, our children.
We talk about three workforces impacted by early childhood education: The parents and families who can work TODAY because they have child care; the workforce
of the future, todays children who benefit from high quality early childhood education; and todays early childhood educators, working directly with children every
day. In Iowa, we estimate the child care workforce to number over 20,000. Consider
20,000 tax-paying citizens earning mostly poverty-level wages providing care and
developmental learning opportunities with Iowas young children, sometimes for 10
hours a day. We estimate 40 percent of this workforce do not hold a college degree
in early childhood education or a closely related field.
We cannot pass the costs of educating and increasing compensation for this workforce on to todays young families. Parents of children ages birth to 5 are at the beginning of their careers, often not taking home significant paychecks themselves. We
must ensure that State and Federal Child Care Assistance is adequate to pay fair
wages, and that programs such as Quality Rating Systems require adequate wages
and educated staff if they are to be considered quality programs.
Our State struggles to make decisions on spending limited Federal funding, trying
to balance the need for quality supports for the programs and the workforce with
enough quantity of child care assistance for low-income working families. We need
clear direction with any Federal funding, to ensure both needs are met adequately.
We also must support child care as we continue to support Pre-K. Before first
grade, many children spend 10,000 hours in a child care program. Children and
families deserve comprehensive services within each program, and should not be
forced to piece together a 10-hour a week preschool with child care wrap around at
a different location, and family, friend and neighbor care filling in the gaps. We understand the importance of continuity of care, for infants, toddlers, and young children. What is inappropriate is to expect young children to adjust to two, three or
even more early education environments each week, when one comprehensive, fulltime, well-supported program, incorporating preschool and the familys need for
child care, would be preferred. We want to see a requirement that ALL early childhood programs meet quality standards and have educated, qualified teachers.
We applaud that the Strong Start bill would make it possible to use the funding
to support the current workforce to earn a degree in early childhood education. I
suggest you require the States to target the funding this way, earmarking some of
the money specifically for the purpose of workforce education and compensation.
States should be required to use some of the funding to improve child care provider
compensation as this workforce earn their degrees and become highly effective
teachers. As occurred in New Jersey, we should consider supporting these teachers
as they work toward earning their degrees, allowing programs meeting a quality
standard to use the PreK funding, but requiring enrollment in a degree program,
and ensuring full compensation parity when degrees are completed.
T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood has been on improving the education, compensation
and retention of the early care and education workforce across the country. Following a national model, State nonprofits in 24 States and the District of Columbia
are licensed by Child Care Services Association, North Carolina, to deliver these
scholarships that include a broad array of support including a counselor, support for
tuition, books and transportation, and paid release time. Compensation incentives
are a mandated part of every model. Iowa is a proud T.E.A.C.H. State, for over 10
years. We are provided with support from CCSA to insure model fidelity, accountability, uniform data collection and integrity, ongoing technical assistance and strategy development.
We have viewed our efforts as having multi-generational impact, in three ways:
1. By creating a more knowledgeable and skilled teacher, we know that the young
children in their classrooms are getting better outcomes. Each year a new group of
children in these classrooms reap the benefit of a better-educated, more effective
teacher. We also know parents are able to be more productive at work if they feel
comfortable about their childs caregiver.

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2. By going to college, these teachers, often first generation college students, raise
their expectations for their own children. They now expect their children to go to
college. We hear stories of mothers and children doing their homework together.
3. By earning degrees, these teachers realize upward career mobility, earning
more money and having more professional opportunities in the field. This in turn
benefits her family economically, moving some of these teachers and their children
out of poverty.
Each year, across the country, T.E.A.C.H. reaches nearly 20,000 scholarship recipients. They complete well over 100,000 college credit hours, with grade point
averages in excess of 3.0 at both the associate and bachelor level. Teachers on an
Associate or Bachelor Degree scholarship complete an average of 1314 credit hours
annually, while working full-time. Their annual earnings increase from 58 percent.
And they remain in their classrooms and in the field. In a field with typical annual
turnover nearly 40 percent, our turnover is always less than 10 percent.
This year, weve begun offering pilots in Iowa for a compensation supplement program called WAGE$. T.E.A.C.H. scholarships and wage supplements help the early
childhood workforce become better educated, compensated and more consistent as
it strives to meet the higher standards associated with pre-kindergarten, Head Start
and Quality Rating Systems. While attending college, teachers basic language and
math literacy skills improve, as well as their knowledge of cognitive, social, emotional and physical development. And targeting the direct investment to the current
workforce means that quality can be raised without burdening parents with additional costs.
In Iowa, child care, family child care, preschool, Head Start, and family support
teachers and administrators access T.E.A.C.H. scholarships. T.E.A.C.H. is funded by
the Child Care Development Fund, by the MIECHV grant funding, by United Way,
and by State funding through Early Childhood Iowa. Our WAGE$ pilot is supported
by United Way of Central Iowa. We do not have funding especially targeted for our
statewide voluntary preschool program, although the demand from that sector is
great. We buy local, with every Iowa-based college offering early childhood degree
programs eligible to benefit from T.E.A.C.H. tuition payments.
To support the current workforce with appropriate higher education, we talk
about the quality, accessibility and affordability of college for our child care providers. We must support the higher education career pathways for this workforce
as well. Is the quality of the higher education meeting the demands of the current
and future teaching workforce? Despite the ever-increasing on-line options, is appropriate and quality higher education available to all throughout rural Iowa? And for
our workforce earning an average of $10 per hour, how do we keep it affordable for
all, without requiring this workforce to take out student loans that might be difficult to pay off?
Articulation continues to be a problem. Will the credits completed at a local community college be recognized when the child care teacher works to earn a bachelors
degree and Iowa teaching license at a university? We call this earning credits with
currency: unlike just training hours, college credits stay on ones transcript forever.
But they have to be recognized at the next level of ones education to be meaningful.
Community college credits should be of high enough quality to be accepted to meet
requirements at the public universities. And all of our publicly funded institutions
must consider the needs of the adult learner as these students work, support and
nurture their own families, and earn college credits.
Low education, poor compensation and high turnover are national workforce
issues. It is time to address them on a national level. Tomorrows workforce, and
our most precious resource, depends on it.
The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Barb.

And now well turn to Christi Regan, director of Head Start for
HACAP, Hawkeye Area Community Action Agency over in Cedar
Rapids.
STATEMENT OF CHRISTI REGAN, HEAD START DIRECTOR,
HAWKEYE AREA COMMUNITY ACTION PROGRAM, INC., HIAWATHA, IA

Ms. REGAN. Good morning, Senator Harkin. Thank you for your
work, dedication, and commitment to young children birth to age
5 and their families in Iowa. Thank you also for this opportunity
to discuss with you and other leaders in early childhood how to in-

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crease and improve the programming and services provided to
young children in Iowa.
Head Starts approach to school readiness means that children
are ready for school, families are ready to support their childrens
learning, and schools are ready for children. Assessment data from
the 2013 Iowa Head Start Association Annual Report shows that
close to 90 percent of 4-year-old Iowa Head Start children were proficient in the domains of language, literacy, and cognitive development prior to kindergarten.
Our countrys top economists and researchers acknowledge that
investments in high-quality early childhood development and learning programs, especially for low-income children, are the best education and economic investments we can make for the future of our
Nation. By investing in early childhood and Early Head Start, you
are investing in tomorrows workforce.
Strategies for improving early childhood include, No. 1, increase
the availability of and investment in evidence-based programs and
practices which includes Head Start, Early Head Start; support efforts to attract, educate, and retain high-quality early childhood
professionals; and, third, invest in Early Head Start services and
programs to serve pregnant women and children birth to age 3.
High-quality early education has been proven to lead to less
abuse and neglect, better performance in school, fewer high school
dropouts, and, ultimately, fewer crimes committed and a reduction
in the number of prisoners. The path we set children on in their
earliest years can make a difference as they proceed through school
and beyond.
We need efforts to support, educate, and retain high-quality early
childhood professionals. Research clearly shows the importance of
teacher retention and education for the successful growth and development for young children and the role that compensation plays
in quality care. Educated teachers who have earned a bachelors
degree tend to have more positive interactions with children, have
a greater sensitivity to their needs, and provide a richer linguistic
experience.
If we want Iowas children to be successful in becoming employable adults for the future workforce, we need to provide them a
solid foundation from quality early childhood experiences with educated, high-quality early care and education providers. Expansion
of Early Head Start will provide children and families access to
high-quality early learning experiences that will support working
families by providing a full-day, full-year program so that our vulnerable children have the healthy and enriching early experiences
they need and parents have the opportunity to work and go to
school to better their own lives and the lives of their families.
Expanding Early Head Start will provide comprehensive services
that benefit children, families, and communities. By doing this, we
will be providing more health, developmental and behavioral
screenings; have higher health, safety, and nutrition standards;
and increase parent engagement opportunities.
Collaborations and partnerships are crucial for the successful implementation of increasing high-quality early childhood programs.
At Hawkeye Area Community Action Program, we have strong collaborations with both State and local stakeholders and depend on

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them to assist in our successful operations delivery. Partnering
with schools and other high-quality early childhood programs allows HACAP Head Start to serve as many children and families as
possible in their own communities.
Successful partnerships take time to develop and form lasting relationships. Achievement of the goals and objectives of collaborative
agreements requires commitment from all levels and persons involved in the program. Head Start expects commitment from our
partners to the Head Start goals and compliance with the Head
Start Act and all policies, regulations, and guidelines.
Head Start standards do not always align with our partners policies and procedures. So together with our partners, they must be
willing and able to invest in Head Start performance standards.
Senator Harkin, as a strong supporter of Head Start, you recognize and value Head Start as our Nations premier provider of developmental and educational services to pregnant women, infants,
toddlers, preschoolers, and their families who live in poverty and
struggle to meet the basic needs of life. I assure you and our Federal, State, and local leaders that Head Start/Early Head Start will
continue to play a key role in the transformation of education in
America.
We will bring our long record of success in working with the
most challenging young children and their families to our partnership with those in education and family services. Together, Iowa
Head Start Association and the 19 Head Start/Early Head Start
and migrant seasonal Head Start programs in Iowa will deliver on
our Nations promise that all of our young children and families
have the opportunity to succeed.
Thank you for your time and attention, Senator Harkin.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Regan follows:]
PREPARED STATEMENT

OF

CHRISTI REGAN

SUMMARY

Senator Tom Harkin, thank you for your work, dedication and commitment to
young children and their families in Iowa.
Head Start is our Nations premier provider of developmental and educational
services to pregnant moms, infants, toddlers, preschoolers and their families, who
live in poverty and struggle to meet the basic needs of life. Head Start will continue
to play a key role in the transformation of education in America. We will bring our
long record of success in working with the most challenging young children and
their families to our partnerships with those in education and family services. Together we will deliver on our Nations promise that all of our young children have
the opportunity to succeed.
Head Start is successful and is shown through performance and outcome measurements, staff professional qualifications, and initiatives that promote school readiness and parent family community engagement. Head Start is able to extend and
serve families and communities through a variety of wraparound funding to provide
full-day, full-year services. Head Start has established and is continually growing
partnerships with local child care centers and public school to reach as many ageand income-eligible children and families.
The goals and priorities of Head Start and the Early Childhood field is to expand
and provide more opportunities for infant/toddler care; funds to recruit and retain
high quality childhood professionals with competitive compensation and investment
in funding early childhood that provide comprehensive services to young children
and their families. Healthy physical and social-emotional development is essential
to success in school and life.
Thank you for your time and continued work to promote and build upon early
childhood in Iowa for success in home, school, work and life.

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Senator Harkin, thank you for your work, dedication and commitment to young
children birth to age 5 and their families in Iowa. Thank you for this opportunity
to discuss with you and other leaders in early childcare how to increase and improve
the programming and services provided to the young children in Iowa. Iowa Head
Start and early childcare partners are excited with the recent signing of the Omnibus Agreement and your work on Strong Start For Americas Children Act that supports high quality early learning. The support and investment in Head Start Early
Head Start and high quality early childhood programming, will restore sequestration reductions, provide more services for low-income children and invest in the future of young children.
As a supporter of Head Start you recognize and value Head Start as our Nations
premier provider of developmental and educational services to pregnant women, infants, toddlers, preschoolers and their families, who live in poverty and struggle to
meet the basic needs of life. Head Start will continue to play a key role in the transformation of education in America. We will bring our long record of success in working with the most challenging young children and their families to our partnerships
with those in education and family services. Together Iowa Head Start will deliver
on our Nations promise that all of our young children have the opportunity to succeed.
Decades of research show that a high quality pre-kindergarten program experience has lasting effects, particularly for our most at-risk children. Together we must
ensure that children birth to age 5 is provided accessible, intensive comprehensive
services. Investing in Head Start, Early Head Start and early childhood programs
expands on high quality early childhood programs.
Head Start Early Head Start provides comprehensive child development services
for children ages birth to age 5. Through strong collaborations with agencies at the
local and State level, the Iowa Head Start Association and the Iowa Head Start Collaboration Office, we contribute to the common vision for Iowa that every child is
healthy and successful. Our comprehensive services ensure that Iowa children are
receiving services that include health, dental care, mental health and nutrition; preschool education; parent support services; services for children with disabilities; and
child care.
The mission of Iowa Head Start Association is to build the skills of its members
to promote and advocate for a wide variety of quality services for all Iowas children
and families. Iowa Head Start Association supports, coordinates and develops Head
Start communities across Iowa with the end goal of fulfilling the vision of a State
in which all children have the opportunity to succeed. In Iowa, 14 Early Head Start,
18 Head Start and one Migrant and Seasonal Head Start grantee served 9,525 children and their families in the 201213 program year. Federal funding of about $56
million supported these programs.
School readiness lies at the core of what Head Start is all about. Yet children who
come from low-income families often start out behind their peers, a gap that occurs
sometimes as young as 9 months of age. In the words of the Head Start Act of 2007,
The purpose of Head Start is to promote the school readiness of low-income children by enhancing their cognitive, social and emotional development. According to
the national Office of Head Start,
The Head Start approach to School Readiness means that children are ready
for school, families are ready to support their childrens learning and schools are
ready for children.
Office of Head Start regulations requires Head Start programs to create school
readiness goals for all children in partnership with their parents. Assessment data
shows that around 90 percent of 4-year-old Iowa Head Start children were proficient
in significant domains such as language, literacy, and cognitive development prior
to kindergarten.
In recent years, critics of Head Start have based their arguments on the Head
Start Impact Study, which seemed to show a so-called fade out effect among Head
Start students; that is, the gains made by children in Head Start disappear by third
grade in relation to their non-Head Start peers. However, this is not the case in
other legitimate and longitudinal measures which have shown sustained effects such
as participating in special education, graduation rates, grade retention and overall
academic success. And in a variety of measures, a consistent fade out effect was not
found among subsets of the population (e.g., those who had 2 years of Head Start
and those from higher risk backgrounds).
Families are central to the purpose of Head Start. Services address the unique
needs of each family as well as the needs of their children. Head Start works with
families based on the Parent, Family and Community Engagement Framework in
seven key outcome areas: family well-being, parent-child relationships, families as

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lifelong educators, families as learners, families involved in transitions to kindergarten, families connected to peers and community, and families as advocates and
leaders. Every family shares the goal that they want what is best for their children,
a goal that Head Start shares and works to achieve. By supporting parents and families, Head Start impacts those most responsible for the health and successful development of a child; his or her family. Parents who engage with Head Start have access to services that can make them healthier, better educated, and more prepared
for parenthood. Head Start forges these partnerships with parents so that their children may develop well and gain a good foundation for the rest of their lives.
There are approximately 2,000 days between birth and the first day of kindergarten. Research proves that the first 2,000 days of a childs life can have a profound and lifelong impact on physical and emotional well-being, readiness to learn
and succeed, and ability to become a productive employee and citizen. By investing
in early childhood, you are investing in tomorrows workforce. Business leaders report that many employees are not equipped with the skills and attitudes they need
to be successful. Research tells us that the foundation for these skills begins in the
first 2,000 days of life.
Strategies for investing in the foundation of tomorrows workforce include:
A. Increase availability of, and investment in, evidence-based programs and practices.
a. Family support and home visitation.
b. Quality early learning programs for low-income and high-needs children.
c. Promote healthy physical and social/emotional development.
B. Support efforts to attract, educate and retain high-quality early childhood professionals.
C. Invest in Early Head Start services and programs to serve pregnant women
and children birth to age 3.
Investing in high-quality early childhood education is the soundest step to support
our young children. Strong Start for Americas Children Act provides young children
with the strong start they need to be successful in school and life. Our countrys
top economists and researchers acknowledge investments in high quality early childhood development and learning programs, especially for low-income children, are the
best education and economic investment we can make for the future of our Nation.
High quality early education has been proven to lead to less abuse and neglect,
better performance in school, fewer high school drop-outs and ultimately, fewer
crimes committed and a reduction in the number of prisoners. The path we set children on in their earliest years can make a difference as they proceed through school
and beyond.
Head Start employs high quality staff to serve the children and families with
whom they work. Compensation, education and retention are the three most important factors in the quality of the early childhood workforce. Compensating teachers
better increases morale and decreases turnover. Educated workers are better prepared and more skillful in all industries, early childhood included. And, having consistent teachers is beneficial to any childs development.
We need efforts to support, attract, educate and retain high-quality early childhood professionals. Research clearly shows the importance of teacher retention and
education for the successful growth and development for young children and the role
that compensation plays in quality care. Inadequate compensation has been shown
to be a strong predictor of turnover. Educated teachers who have earned a bachelors degree tend to have more positive interactions with children, have greater sensitivity to their needs and provide richer linguistic experiences. If we want Iowas
children to be successful in becoming employable adults for the future workforce,
they need a solid foundation from quality early childhood experiences with educated,
high quality early care and education providers. Substantial investments in training, recruiting, compensating and retaining a high quality workforce must be a top
priority for society. The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University.
Early Head Start only serves about 4 percent of eligible children. Expansion of
Early Head Start will provide children and families access to high-quality early
learning experiences that support working families by providing a full-day, full-year
program so that vulnerable children have the healthy and enriching early experiences they need and parents have the opportunity to work/go to school to better
their own life and the life of their family.
Expanding Early Head Start will provide comprehensive services that benefit children, families and communities by providing health, developmental and behavioral
screenings; higher health, safety and nutrition standards; increased professional development opportunities for teachers and increased parent engagement opportunities.

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Collaborations and partnerships are crucial for the successful implementation of
increasing high-quality early childhood programs. Head Start relies on a variety of
partnerships to support our delivery system. At Hawkeye Area Community Action
Program Head Start we have strong collaborations with State and local stakeholders and depend on them to assist in our successful operations delivery. Working
together, we have a common goal to ensure the healthy growth and development
of young children in the context of their families.
State stakeholders provide wraparound funding that allows Head Start to provide
full-day, full-year services for working/going to school parents and families. A collaborative and comprehensive partnership brings integration of an early care, health
and education system in Iowa to improve the outcomes of young children. Shared
Visions funding (Iowa Department Education) allows children to be enrolled in a
full-day program and parents are able to work and/or go to school knowing their
child is enrolled in a high-quality program. Iowa Department of Education is able
to include essential data to measure growth and development of enrolled children
in the State of Iowa. Program performance measures the success of a program and
the activity and growth of the population served. By partnering with Head Start,
the Iowa Department of Education is able to collect and report statewide indicator
data to quantify and track progress toward statewide results.
Local partnerships with public schools, early childhood programs and funding
sources also provide wraparound services. Partnering with schools and other highquality early childhood programs allows Head Start to serve as many age- and income-eligible children and families as possible in their communities. The partnerships allow Head Start to expand into rural communities where otherwise families
would not be able to receive the services. Head Start children are served in the
same classroom as the school or early childhood programs enrolled children. The
local partner provides the teacher, space and supervision of the employees. Head
Start provides health services and family services and financially supports the Head
Start enrolled children. In many cases children are provided a full-day preschool
classroom through the blending of Federal Head Start dollars and local dollars.
More time at school and more time in appropriate instruction produce results reflecting developmental gains. Families and children are able to make smoother transitions from Head Start to public school. Together partners and Head Start are
meeting the needs of children and families.
Successful partnerships take time to develop and form lasting relationships.
Achievement of the goals and objectives of collaborative agreements requires commitment from all levels and persons involved in the program. Policies, regulations
and guidelines contribute to the effective and efficient process necessary goal attainment. Head Start expects commitment to the Head Start goals, and compliance with
the Head Start Act and all policies and regulations, and guidelines of the Department of Health and Human Services/Administration for Children and Families.
Head Start Standards do not always align with partners policies and procedures,
so our partners must be willing and able to invest in Head Start Performance
Standards.
Why do we need Head Start and other high-quality early childhood programs?
A. Invest now, benefit laterhigh quality early childhood care, education and
family services pay off in a myriad of benefits to children, their families and society
as a whole.
B. Comprehensive programsresearch demonstrates that academic readiness and
social/emotional development all affect a childs readiness for school.
C. Research shows first years criticalresearch shows that childrens experiences
have a dramatic effect on how they approach life in later years.
D. Patterns form earlybrain research indicates that 90 percent of the brain develops by age 3, and concepts of compassion, conscience and personal responsibility
are established by age 4.
Without Head Start Early Head Start and other high-quality early childhood programs, low-income children would miss the opportunity to learn and grow in preschool and would be at a greater risk for academic and social difficulties later in
life.
Senator Harkin, thank you for your efforts and we look forward to working with
you and our Federal leaders on the implementation of Strong Start for Americas
Children Act to improve early learning opportunities for children birth to age 5.
The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Christi, and for coming all

the way over from Cedar Rapids.

Gabriela Gallentine runs an interesting early education center
that Ive got to go see.

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Welcome and please proceed.
STATEMENT OF GABRIELA GALLENTINE, DIRECTOR OF HISPANIC EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES, CONMIGO EARLY EDUCATION CENTER, DES MOINES, IA

Ms. GALLENTINE. Good morning, and thank you, Senator Harkin.

Thank you for this opportunity, and I thank you for your work related to early childhood. Im Gabriela Gallentine, the executive director of Hispanic Educational Resources and the director of
Conmigo Early Education Center here in Des Moines, IA. I thank
you for this opportunity to share my program with you and how we
support children from low-income families to ensure kindergarten
readiness.
Our agency provides educational programming for children and
families, with a tradition of serving the needs of the Latino community in the Des Moines area. Our primary program is focused on
early learning, and its called Conmigo Early Ed. We provide highquality bilingual early childhood experiences for children ages 2 to
5. Our mission is to position children to thrive in school, community, and life.
Our Conmigo program is a full-day program, which is 11 hours
a day Monday through Friday and a year-round program as well.
We serve an average of about 120 families living in 15 different zip
codes in the Des Moines area. This program has been in existence
for 18 years and is State licensed. Typically, about 89 percent of
our families qualify for child care assistance through Iowa Department of Human Services, and 88 percent of our students speak
Spanish as the primary language in the home.
Our efforts include parent involvement, as we do require parents
to participate in conferences twice each year, parent meetings, family literacy eventsall of these to learn the necessary skills to support their childs emerging literacy skills. Conmigo currently participates in Iowas Quality Rating System and has reached the
highest level of quality, earning five stars this year. Yet we will
continue to seek ways to improve the service that we provide to
these children.
Our teachers are required to complete professional development
training. Half of our teachers have completed either a CDA or have
a bachelors degree in early childhood. Funding from programs such
as T.E.A.C.H. scholarships through IAEYC has helped our teachers
meet those professional development goals. We also participate in
the Child and Adult Care Food Program to offer quality, nutritious
meals, with support also from Iowa State University Extension to
provide access to nutrition education for our families.
Our center is part of the United Way of Central Iowa Childhood
Coalition and benefits from many supports from United Way of
Central Iowa and Womens Leadership, in particular. Some of those
supports include the ability to provide developmental screenings for
all of our children enrolled, screenings such as lead, dental, and vision screenings. Were also able to provide consultations with developmental therapists from Orchard Place and Childrens Therapy
Services. We also are able to offer consultations and receive the
services of a child care consultant from Visiting Nurses Services.

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The children in our center benefit from the use of a researchbased Creative Curriculum in the classrooms, and we monitor and
assess progress using Creative Curriculums Gold Assessment. This
is the same assessment piece that is used by Des Moines Public
Schools. Conmigo also partners with Des Moines Public Schools to
offer universal pre-Kindergarten at our center, and we share our
student assessment data with Des Moines Public Schools and Early
Childhood Iowa.
Our program addresses the needs of dual language learners by
collecting home language surveys when children are enrolled and
providing all written materials for parents in both English and
Spanish whenever possible. We provide vocabulary development in
English and Spanish for students, allowing them to transition
gradually to mostly English in the universal pre-K classroom.
Parents are provided with consultations as needed or determined
by teachers as well as requested by the parent. Translation services are always provided if they are needed. Some children in our
program require special language supports, which are provided onsite. In addition, we see some language needs specific to our program because of the difference in the language spoken in the home
and the possible lack of English support for those students in their
homes. These issues require specialized training for our teachers,
and consistent attendance is a must for these students as well.
Quality early childhood provides opportunities for the child to develop the necessary phonemic awareness to make sense of their
second language. Phonemic awareness is an essential skill to connect sounds of words to written text. This is a prerequisite skill for
reading. This is especially important for the population that we
serve, because most of our childrenlike I said, better than 70 percentdo not have an English language model at home to provide
support for them.
The developmental screening that we provide for our children
also helps us to determine if there are other issues that the child
may be dealing with. There may be speech delays, fine or gross
motor development delays. There may be behavioral or social-emotional delays that need to be addressed. The child may have had
an adverse childhood experience, or the whole family may have
been dealing with a traumatic event.
In addition, the majority of these students come from low socioeconomic backgrounds. As Senator Quirmbach indicated, many of
these children have several disadvantages even before they start
school. So a quality early learning program is essential for them,
in particular.
Id like to talk to you a little bit about phonemic awareness and
why thats important to children who are learning English. Phonemic awareness primes children in preparation for reading. This
is particularly important for them, especially those children in our
population at our center, because they dont have a model at home.
These children also are not hearing the kind of language they
need to develop those sounds or phonemes required in the English
language. Theyre not developing the auditory skills to distinguish
English sound fragments or patterns in words. These phonemes are
not necessarily the same in Spanish or perhaps any other lan-

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guage. These phonemes are not inherently obvious, and these have
to be taught.
So when our children are coming to us in increasing numbers
and do not have a background in English, do not have a model at
home, their needs are particularly high for a quality early learning
experience. Phonemic awareness is a strong indicator, a strong predictor of children who will experience early reading success.
A quality early childhood program exposes children to phonemic
awareness, music, rhymes, poems, and language patterns that they
are going to need to make sense of their second language. Students
have to grasp this concept before they can make the connection to
written text or reading.
Delivered introduction of vocabulary and speech and language
services are critical for children at this age. Therefore, it is my recommendation to this committee that children of low socio-economic
backgrounds or dual language learners have access to quality early
childhood or preschool experiences that include these supports.
Other issues that we see in my particular center are the matters
of attendance and eligibility. Those are directly tied, because many
of our families rely on support from Department of Human Services
Child Care Assistance. The support that they receive is typically a
6-month contract, although we are seeing variations to those contracts, which may be anywhere between 3 weeks to 6 months.
At times, parents can see a gap in their coverage, and they are
faced with a dilemma. Will they pay a full rate, a private pay rate,
for their child to continue their education until their contract is renewed, or will they have to pull their child out because theyre not
able to pay that rate?
Were seeing issues in attendance with children. Attendance is
critical for these children that are learning English because they
need to build on those skills on a day-to-day basis. I implore you,
please consider funding for child care assistance that takes into account the needs of the child.
A year-long contract would be most beneficial for a child and, obviously, for the families, because its a challenge for them in many
ways when they see those gaps. For us, being able to provide services throughout the day, an 11-hour program is essentially very
useful for them.
Being able to provide those supports for their children, whether
its speech therapy, occupational therapy, or having a consultant
from Childrens Therapy Services come in to work with their child
onsite, is very important and very beneficial for these families because theyre not able to take the time off work to go pick up the
child, take them to therapy, take them back to the center, back to
workthats quite a dilemma for a family to face. And very often,
they have to forego those benefits for their child.
We are fortunate to be able to offer that onsite. And I highly recommend that you please consider that as a necessary component
for high-quality programs.
I invite you and any other members from the committee, as well
as any of our distinguished guests, to visit Conmigo Early Ed. I
also invite you, Senator, if you would like, to use our center as a
venue for making announcements or getting in touch and commu-

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nicating with the Latino community. Id be happy to welcome you
there.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Gallentine follows:]
PREPARED STATEMENT

OF

GABRIELA GALLENTINE

SUMMARY

Good afternoon Chairman Harkin, Ranking Member Alexander, and members of

the committee. I am Gabriela Gallentine, executive director of Hispanic Educational
Resources and director of Conmigo Early Education Center in Des Moines, IA. I
thank you for the opportunity to share my program with you and how we support
children and families from low-income to moderate-income to ensure kindergarten
readiness.
Our agency provides educational programming for children and families with a
tradition of serving the needs of the Latino Community in the Des Moines area. Our
primary program is focused on early learning and is called Conmigo Early Education Center where we provide a high quality, bilingual early childhood learning
experience for children ages 25. Our mission: We are a premier Latino early childhood learning center specializing in bilingual, culturally affirming educational programming and experiences for children and families. We position children to thrive
in school, community, and life. Our Conmigo program is a full-day program open
to the public regardless of primary language and we serve 120 families living in 15
different zip codes in the Des Moines area per year. This program has been in existence for 18 years and is a State-licensed child care center. Typically, 89 percent of
our families qualify for Child Care Assistance funding through Iowa Department of
Human Services, 88 percent speak Spanish as the primary language in the home.
Our efforts include parent involvement as we require parents to participate in conferences twice each year, parent meetings and Family Literacy Events to learn the
skills that support their childs emerging literacy skills.
Conmigo currently participates in Iowas Quality Rating System and has reached
the highest level of quality earning 5 stars this year yet we will continue to seek
ways to improve the service we provide. Our teachers are required to complete professional development trainings and half of our teachers have completed either a
CDA or have a bachelors degree in early childhood. Funding from T.E.A.C.H. scholarships through IAEYC have helped our teachers meet professional development
goals. We participate in the Child and Adult Care Food Program to offer quality,
nutritious meals and with Iowa State University Extension to provide access to nutrition education for our families. Our center is part of the United Way of Central
Iowa Early Childhood Coalition and benefits from many supports or comprehensive
services for our children and families. Some of those supports include a developmental screening for every child enrolled, lead, dental, and vision screenings as well
as consultations with developmental therapists from Orchard Place or Childrens
Therapy Services to address any possible behavioral or developmental delays. The
children in our center benefit from the use of the research-based Creative Curriculum in the classrooms and we monitor and assess progress using Creative Curriculums Gold Assessment. Conmigo also partners with Des Moines Public Schools
to offer Universal Pre-Kindergarten at our center. We share our student assessment
data with Des Moines Public Schools and Early Childhood Iowa.
Our program addresses the needs of dual language learners by collecting a Home
Language Survey when children are enrolled and providing all written materials for
parents in both English and Spanish whenever possible. We provide vocabulary development in English and Spanish for students allowing them to transition gradually to mostly English in the UPK class. Parents are provided with consultations
as needed or determined by the teacher or requested by the parent and translation
services are always provided if needed. Some children in our program require special language supports which are provided onsite. In addition, we see language
needs specific to our program because of the difference in the language spoken in
the home and the possible lack of English support for our students in their homes.
These issues require specialized training for our teachers and consistent attendance
is a must for our students.
Quality early childhood provides opportunities for the child to develop the necessary phonemic awareness to make sense of their 2d oral language. Phonemic
awareness is an essential skill to connect sounds of words with written text. This
is a pre-requisite skill for reading.
Consistent attendance can be a challenge for some of our families because of
changes in their Child Care Assistance funding or lapses in coverage. This can be
problematic for a childs progress in kindergarten readiness when their family can-

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not ensure regular attendance. Providing parents with access to quality early childhood programs and funding support that takes into consideration the learning needs
of young children is a great need in our community and State.
In conclusion, I would like to encourage members of this committee to continue
to seek out alternatives to address the learning needs of our youngest and most vulnerable population. The investment and efforts we make in early childhood have
long-term implications. I have had the pleasure of meeting several graduates of
our agencys early childhood program and I am pleased to hear the stories from
their parents of how well their child performed in school following their experience
in our preschool and gave me details about their high grades or scholarships to
Iowas colleges or universities. These are the kinds of success stories that we foster
in a quality early childhood setting.
Thank you all for your efforts on behalf of Iowas children and all children in this
country. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today.
Good afternoon Chairman Harkin, Ranking Member Alexander, and members of
the committee. I am Gabriela Gallentine, executive director of Hispanic Educational
Resources and director of Conmigo Early Education Center in Des Moines, IA. I
thank you for the opportunity to share my program with you and how we support
children and families from low-income to moderate-income to ensure kindergarten
readiness.
HER & CONMIGO BACKGROUND

Hispanic Educational Resources, Inc. (HER) is a well-respected, non-profit leader

in bi-lingual education providing resources and educational programming that encompasses the entire family unit. We strive to position Latino families for life-long
success. HER is derived from the first nonprofit Latino community center in Des
Moines originally named the United Mexican-American Community Center
(UMACC). The UMAC Center was founded in 1983 by a small, dedicated group of
Mexican-American families and community leaders. These founders worked steadily
to build support even re-financing their homes to raise the funds to purchase the
building on Scott Avenue. The goal of these founders was to create a community
center that focused on the needs and interests specific to the Latino community and
maintaining the culture and language of the Latino community. The UMAC Center
achieved 501(c)3 status late in 1983. In 1999 the center changed its name to Hispanic Educational Resources, Inc. (HER) in response to becoming a more diverse
and inclusive community center representing several Latino cultures and languages.
The governance of HER is provided by a volunteer board of directors representing
a variety of sectors of the Hispanic and non-Hispanic community.
HER PROGRAMS

Our programming includes Conmigo Early Education Center, a child care/preschool, the Summer Enrichment Program (SEP) for school-age children, adult literacy classes offered in the Plaza Comunitaria, and Family Development through
Family Literacy Events, informational workshops or classes for parents as well as
community outreach and case management. The services are available to anyone in
the Des Moines community to fulfill our agencys mission:
Empowering Our Community Through Quality Education and Advocacy
HER also serves as a community resource by hosting the Mexican Consulate and
informational meetings open to the general public (example topics have included:
Immigrants Rights, Gambling Abatement Resources, Lions Club Membership and
Benefits, and Conversational English for adults). HER has also partnered with Visiting Nurses Services to provide H1N1 Vaccine Clinics and Child Safety Seat Installation, Iowa State University to provide a Health and Nutrition classes for adults
as well as United Healthcare for an informational meeting for seniors regarding
Medicare Options. HER and Conmigo also participate in two community events
throughout the year by providing childrens activities for the Des Moines Arts Festival in June and the Latino Heritage Festival in September. HER also serves as
a host site for the Metro Arts Alliance Jazz in July Series providing a family friendly festival-type event including live music, cultural dance groups, ethnic food vendors and childrens activities supervised by our skilled teachers.
CONMIGO PROGRAM HISTORY: (FORMERLY XOCHIPILLI CHILDRENS CENTER)

Conmigo Early Education Center is an early childhood learning center specializing in bilingual, culturally affirming educational programming and experiences for

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children and families. In 1995, Hispanic Educational Resources, Inc. received funding via the Community Development Block Grant to make necessary structural
modifications that would accommodate the needs of our new center. A Community
Needs Assessment was completed and a strategic plan was constructed to make our
center a reality. In October 1995 the Childrens Center was opened by utilizing
grant moneys from the Department of Education. Finally, in 1997 the center was
officially named Xochipilli; a Mayan word meaning A garden where the children
flourish. The centers name was officially changed to Conmigo Early Education
Center on July 1, 2011 as part of a business improvement grant from First Childrens Finance that also provided the new signs visible on the property today. The
word conmigo means with me in Spanish and was chosen because the term demonstrates the cultural approach of an inclusive family setting we offer. It was also
chosen to represent the diverse population of children and families we serve.
Our mission: We are a premier Latino early childhood learning center specializing in bilingual, culturally affirming educational programming and experiences for
children and families. We position children to thrive in school, community, and life.
Our Vision: Our vision is to be leaders in and for our community by promoting
success through learning and achievement.
Our Conmigo program is a full-day program open to the public regardless of primary language and we serve 140 families living in 15 different zip codes in the Des
Moines area per year. This program has been in existence for 18 years and is a
state-licensed child care center.
Conmigo currently participates in Iowas Quality Rating System and has reached
the highest level of quality earning 5 stars this year, yet we will continue to seek
ways to improve the service we provide.
Our teachers are required to complete professional development trainings and half
of our teachers have completed either a Child Development Associate or have a
bachelors degree in early childhood. The rest of our teachers are making progress
toward completion of the Child Development Associate credential. Funding from
T.E.A.C.H. scholarships through IAEYC have been an incredible opportunity that
has helped our teachers meet professional development goals.
Our center is part of the United Way of Central Iowa Early Childhood Coalition
and benefits from many supports or comprehensive services for our children and
families. Some of those supports include a developmental screening for every child
enrolled, lead, dental, and vision screenings as well as consultations with developmental therapists from Orchard Place or Childrens Therapy Services to address any
possible behavioral or developmental delays. The children in our center benefit from
the use of the research-based Creative Curriculum in the classrooms and we monitor and assess progress using Creative Curriculums Gold Assessment. Conmigo
also partners with Des Moines Public Schools to offer universal pre-kindergarten at
our center. We share our student assessment data with Des Moines Public Schools
and Early Childhood Iowa. We participate in the Child and Adult Care Food Program to offer quality, nutritious meals and with Iowa State University Extension
to provide access to nutrition education for our families.
Our program addresses the needs of dual language learners by collecting a Home
Language Survey when children are enrolled. We also provide all written materials
for parents in both English and Spanish whenever possible. We provide vocabulary
development in English and Spanish for students allowing them to transition gradually to mostly English in the UPK class. All our assessment of kindergarten readiness is completed in English. Our students also benefit from the United Way Book
Buddy program where volunteers come in twice a week to read to our 4- and 5-yearold students. Book Buddy volunteers are trained by Des Moines Public School specialists in reading readiness and the focus of the program is to develop those basic
concepts about print. We collect pre-test and post-test data on our students to evaluate effectiveness and plan for further training each year. Parents are provided with
consultations, as needed or determined by the teacher or requested by the parent,
and translation services are always provided if needed. Our efforts include parent
involvement as we require parents to participate in conferences twice each year,
parent meetings and Family Literacy Events to learn the skills that support their
childs emerging literacy skills.
DEMOGRAPHICS

We serve an average of 120 children per year ages 25 and an additional 50 children ages 610.
The average family income for our families is $20,000 per year.
The average family size 4.6 and 92 percent of families being 2-parent households.

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Eighty-three percent of our children served qualify for Free and Reduced Lunch
Program and Child Care Assistance funding through the Iowa Department of
Health and Human Services.
Ninety-two percent WhiteHispanic.
Five percent WhiteNon-Hispanic.
Three percent African-American.
Eighty-eight percent speak Spanish as the primary language in the home.
Ninety-six percent of the children were born in Iowa while four percent were born
in other U.S. States.
POSSIBLE SPECIAL NEEDS OF CONMIGO STUDENTS

Most students in our program are learning English as their second language,
there may be speech delays, or delays in fine and gross motor development. There
may be behavioral or social-emotional developmental delays. The child may have
had an adverse childhood experience or the whole family may be dealing with a
traumatic event. Finally, the majority of our students come from low socio-economic
backgrounds.
A developmental screening is completed for all children. Of those screened, 11 percent are referred for additional screening or evaluation. Approximately 9 percent of
students will qualify for additional services like speech therapy, occupational therapy or behavior modification supports. Our students receive these services onsite.
Not only is this convenient for parents but is extremely effective in addressing
learning or developmental needs on a consistent basis. Students are able to progress
rapidly through therapies and exit out parallel to their peers who did not receive
such therapies. HER has a Family Development Coordinator who works with providers, family, and insurance to ensure children have access to those supports.
The Conmigo director ensures a comprehensive, collaborative process is followed
to identify, discuss and establish a plan of action for each child that includes teachers, parents, specialists and the Family Development Coordinator. Information and
forms are provided in English and Spanish as much as possible for parents/guardians. Ongoing monitoring of progress and regular reports are provided to the parents to reinforce the need for them to remain actively involved in their childs education. Based on the results of our CC Gold Assessment data I highly recommend
this approach as our data demonstrates that students are able to make substantial
progress when those needs are addressed at the age of 2, 3 or 4.
WHY ARE THESE SUPPORTS NECESSARY?

Phonemic awareness is essential to learning to speak English and to read English

for our population of students. English Language Learners are disadvantaged because they may not have an English language model at home. At Conmigo, 70 percent of our students have little or no English support in their home. These children
are not hearing the kind of language needed to develop the sounds/phonemes required in the English language. They are not developing the auditory skills to distinguish English sound fragments or patterns in words. Phonemes produced in
English are not necessarily the same in Spanish. For example, the word brisa in
Spanish: b-r-i-s-a is the word breeze in English but the way the phoneme for r
is not produced the same as b-r-ee-ze. Some phonemes in English do not exist in
Spanish. For example, the word thing has the digraph/phoneme th at the beginning and the digraph/phoneme ng at the end. Neither of these exists in Spanish.
In addition, the one to one correspondence of letters to sounds isnt necessarily consistent in English which presents a challenge to learners of English.
A quality early childhood program exposes children to the phonemic awareness,
music, rhymes, poems, and language patterns needed to make sense of their 2d oral
language. Students have to grasp this concept before they can make the connection
to written text or reading. Deliberate introduction of vocabulary and speech and language services are critical for young children learning English for all of these reasons. Therefore, it is my recommendation to this committee that children of low
socio-economic background or dual language learners have access to a quality early
childhood or preschool experience that includes these supports.
ACCESS TO QUALITY CHILD CARE AND PRESCHOOL

All the services provided at HER and Conmigo are family-centered. We coordinate
with other community service providers to help parents access supports. Child Care
Assistance Funding is critical to families of low socio-economic background. Families
need this funding to maintain a job and steady employment is a way of achieving
financial stability for their families. The challenge for many families is the shortterm contracts of funding provided for their children. Some families receive funding

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for small segments of time ranging from 2 weeks to 6 months. Some parents have
lost their funding because of the course of study they are involved in. One example
was a parent who had to complete a field practicum to complete her nursing certificate. Because she was not employed during this time she was disqualified for assistance despite the fact that her practicum required her to work in a nursing setting
full-time. Another example was a parent finishing his bachelors degree in elementary education. His funding was canceled because he was not employed during his
final term that he had to complete his student teaching. This issue contributes directly to the variation in our enrollment throughout the year as parents typically
pull their child out of the center during those times that they do not have funding.
This is not conducive to consistent development of the childs emerging literacy
skills and can be very unsettling to a young child whose brain development and psyche are in need of consistency at this time in their lives. Children frequently demonstrate regressive behavior, separation anxiety and difficulty making appropriate
choices. One childs stressful behavior potentially affects other children in the class
as well. It is my recommendation to this committee that child care assistance be
provided on an annual basis to take into consideration the learning needs of the
child. Children in our program who maintain enrollment demonstrate more consistent rates of progress according to our CC Gold assessment data while those
whose attendance is inconsistent may plateau for months at a time rendering the
child at-risk for not meeting age-appropriate expectations or kindergarten readiness
according to the evaluation tool.
CONCLUSION

In conclusion, I would like to encourage members of this committee to continue

to seek out alternatives to address the learning needs of our youngest and most vulnerable population. The investment and efforts we make in early childhood have
long-term implications. I have had the pleasure of meeting several graduates of
our agencys early childhood program and I am pleased to hear the stories from
their parents of how well their child performed in school following their experience
in our preschool and gave me details about their high grades or scholarships to
Iowas colleges or universities. It was exciting to have met a young woman last October during a volunteer event for United Way and discovered that she graduated
from our preschool. She recalled being a student at our center and recognized a
sta es mi
photo of her teacher who is still teaching with us. She exclaimed E
escuelita! and translated immediately for the rest of the group This was my
school! She also shared with me that she loved school from the moment she started
school with us and had completed a bachelors degree from Iowa State University.
It was rewarding to meet a person whose life was an example of our mission: to
position children to thrive in school, community and life. These are the kinds of success stories that we foster in a quality early childhood setting.
I welcome you, Chairman Harkin, Ranking Member Alexander and members of
the committee to visit Conmigo Early Education Center to witness our family-centered approach to building reading readiness in young children. I will gladly work
with your staff to coordinate the visit. I welcome you as well Chairman Harkin to
use HER as a venue to make any announcements or to connect to the Latino Community of central Iowa.
Thank you all for your efforts on behalf of Iowas children and all children in this
country. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today.
The CHAIRMAN. Ill take you up on it. Thank you very much,

Gabriela.
General Pierce, welcome. Tell us about Mission: Readiness.
STATEMENT OF DOUGLAS M. PIERCE, BRIGADIER GENERAL,
U.S. AIR FORCE (RETIRED), MISSION: READINESS, NORWALK,
IA

General PIERCE. Thank you, Senator Harkin. People may wonder

what a retired Air Force General is doing at a hearing on early
childhood education. But the reality is that how we prepare our
youngest kids to learn and succeed in school has a profound impact
on our military readiness.
The alarming fact is that an estimated 75 percent of all young
Americans between the ages of 17 and 24 cannot qualify for mili-

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tary service. People are shocked when they hear this, and they
should be. It means that the vast majority of our young people are
losing out on the opportunity to serve this country. It also means
that our Nation could be in jeopardy when it comes to military
readiness.
We tend to think about our military today in terms of fast jets,
powerful ships, smart weapons, and tanks. But the most powerful
tool for our armed forces is still our people, our women and men
in uniform. The more than 400 retired admirals and generals of the
national security organization, Mission: Readiness, are focused on
how to grow the pool of eligible recruits.
There are three key barriers to enlistment that comprise this 75
percent figure. Our young adults are either unprepared academically because they lack a high school degree or cant pass the militarys entrance exam, they are too overweight to handle the physical tasks that the military service demands, or they have a serious
criminal record.
What is especially startling is that many of those who do earn
a high school diploma and try to join the military are both disappointed and surprised to learn that they do not have the literacy,
math, and problem solving skills we require. These academic deficits have a direct impact on the Nations military readiness. In
Iowa, 12 percent of all high school students do not graduate on
time, and 19 percent of those who do graduate and try to join the
Army cannot score high enough on the militarys exam for math,
literacy, and problem solving to be able to enlist.
Fortunately, we know from research that high-quality pre-K can
improve student performance, boost graduation rates, deter youth
from crime, and even help reduce obesity. Mission: Readiness has
often cited two long-term studies to make our case for high-quality
pre-K, the Chicago Child-Parent Centers program and the Perry
Preschool Program in Michigan. But we are very excited about new
research that shows that high-quality programs, like those in New
Jersey, can successfully be brought to scale through State pre-K
programs.
The members of Mission: Readiness are in good company when
it comes to recognizing the value of high-quality pre-K. Parents
around the Nation try their best to make it available for their children. Educators around the Nation point to their own personal experiences with children who have benefited from it. Policymakers
around the Nation from both sides of the aisle are making strong
commitments to it. And a growing coalition of leaders from the
military, law enforcement, business, and faith communities have
joined those in support of high-quality pre-K.
These moves come at a pivotal time for pre-K in America. Right
now, more than half of our States serve 30 percent or fewer of their
4-year-olds. We need public investments from State and Federal
sources to help families afford pre-K. States like Iowa have been
shouldering that burden alone and making progress. But its such
an issue of national interest that it needs to be a State and Federal
priority.
Fortunately, help is at hand. The Strong Start for Americas
Children Act introduced by Senator Harkin would create and fund
the State-Federal partnership that would enable States across the

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country to provide high-quality pre-K for 4-year-olds from every
low- and moderate-income family in the Nation.
This legislation can help address all three of the major barriers
to enlistment that the military faces. This legislation could put
more children in Iowa on the path to high school graduation and
the college and career opportunities that become available because
of that, including the military if they so choose.
It will reduce crime rates and the number of kids being convicted
of felonies or serious misdemeanors, which are disqualification for
military service. Senator Harkins bill also puts an emphasis on
pre-K programs, including nutrition services and education, physical activity, and obesity prevention programs. Getting our kids on
the right path when it comes to their health and wellness will also
ensure our potential recruits are physically fit to serve.
Next fall, our recruiting class of 2028 either will or will not start
a quality early education program. The decisions we make today
have a profound impact on our ability to continue to staff an increasingly technological all-volunteer military down the road.
Thats why military leaders are standing beside policymakers
who are acting in a bold and bipartisan manner to ensure that
every child has a fair chance to succeed at whatever they choose
in life. Thats what this important preschool legislation will do, and
our national security depends on it.
Thank you, Senator Harkin.
[The prepared statement of General Pierce follows:]
PREPARED STATEMENT

OF

DOUGLAS M. PIERCE

SUMMARY

You may wonder what a retired Air Force general is doing at a hearing that is
focused on early childhood education, but the reality is that how we prepare our
youngest kids to learn and succeed in school has a profound impact on our military
readiness.
The alarming fact is that an estimated 75 percent of all young Americans between
the ages of 17 and 24 cannot qualify for military service. This is primarily due to
three key barriers to enlistment: our young adults are either unprepared academicallybecause they lack a high school degree or cant pass the militarys entrance
exam; they are too overweight to handle the physical tasks that military service demands; or they have a serious criminal record. This means that the vast majority
of our young people are losing out on the opportunity to serve their country.
It also means our Nation could be in jeopardy when it comes to military readiness. We tend to think about our military today in terms of fast jets, powerful ships,
smart weapons and tanks, but the most powerful tool for our armed forces is still
our peopleour women and men in uniform. The more than 400 retired admirals
and generals of the national security organization Mission: Readiness are focused
on how to grow the pool of eligible recruits.
Mission: Readiness has often cited two long-term studies to make our case for
high quality pre-Kthe Chicago Child-Parent Centers program and the Perry Preschool Program in Michigan. But, we are very excited about new research that
shows that high quality programs, like those in New Jersey, can successfully be
brought to scale through State pre-K programs.
The members of Mission: Readiness are in good company when it comes to recognizing the value of high quality pre-K, as a growing coalition of leaders from law
enforcement, business, and faith communities have expressed support for high quality pre-K. They join parents and educators from across the Nation, and policymakers from both sides of the aisle, in making strong commitments to early education.
Next fall, our recruiting class of 2028 either will or will not start a quality early
education program. The decisions we make today have a profound impact on our
ability to continue to staff an increasingly technological, all-volunteer military down
the road. Thats why military leaders are standing beside policymakers who are act-

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ing in a bold and bipartisan manner to ensure that every child has a fair chance
to succeed at whatever they choose in life. Thats what this important pre-K legislation will doand our national security depends on it.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak here today.
Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member, members of the committee, and Related Agencies: You may wonder what a retired Air Force general is doing at a hearing that
is focused on early childhood education, but the reality is that how we prepare our
youngest kids to learn and succeed in school has a profound impact on our military
readiness.
The alarming fact is that an estimated 75 percent of all young Americans between
the ages of 17 and 24 cannot qualify for military service. People are shocked when
they hear thisand they should be. It means that the vast majority of our young
people are losing out on the opportunity to serve their country.
It also means our Nation could be in jeopardy when it comes to military readiness. We tend to think about our military today in terms of fast jets, powerful ships,
smart weapons and tanks, but the most powerful tool for our armed forces is still
our peopleour women and men in uniform. The more than 400 retired admirals
and generals of the national security organization Mission: Readiness are focused
on how to grow the pool of eligible recruits.
There are three key barriers to enlistment that comprise that 75 percent figure:
Our young adults are either unprepared academicallybecause they lack a high
school degree or cant pass the militarys entrance exam; they are too overweight
to handle the physical tasks that military service demands; or they have a serious
criminal record.
What is especially startling is that many of those who do earn a high school diploma and try to join the military are both disappointed and surprised to learn that
they do not have the literacy, math and problem solving skills we require. These
academic deficits have a direct impact on the Nations military readiness.
In Iowa, 12 percent of all high school students do not graduate on time and 19
percent of those who do graduate and try to join the Army cannot score highly
enough on the militarys exam for math, literacy and problem solving to be able to
enlist.
Fortunately, we know from the research that high quality preschool can improve
student performance, boost graduation rates, deter youth from crime, and even help
reduce weight gain.
Mission: Readiness has often cited two long-term studies to make our case for
high quality pre-K.
These studieswhich focused on the Chicago Child-Parent Centers program and
the Perry Preschool Program in Michiganfollowed the participants for decades and
found that the experience significantly boosted high school graduation and success
in the workforce while reducing involvement in crime.
But, we are very excited about new research that shows that high quality programs can successfully be brought to scale through State pre-K programs. This research also refutes the argument that the academic gains of pre-school are destined
to fade-out as children move on through elementary school.
In fact, by the 4th or 5th grade, those who attended high quality pre-K in New
Jersey were three-quarters of an academic year ahead in math and two-thirds of an
academic year ahead in literacy compared to those who did not attend.
They were also 40 percent less likely to be held back in school and 31 percent
less likely to need special education services.
Our research also documents outstanding results from other States, including Arkansas, Michigan, New Mexico, and West Virginia. These results ranged from gains
in literacy and math to reductions in the number of children who are held back in
school, to reductions in the number who became involved in crime in later years.
With all this in mind, it is easy to see why parents across the country want to
get their children into high quality pre-school programs. Unfortunately for many,
high quality pre-K is as out of reach as college tuition. Early learning programs that
meet high-quality benchmarks costs an average of $9,000 per child, per year, depending on the State. That can be as much as in-State tuition at public universities,
which is way beyond what many working families can afford for their preschoolers.
Here in Iowa, our State pre-K programs served 52 percent of the States 4-yearolds in 2012. Unlike most States, State per-child funding for preschool in Iowa increased slightly in 201112. We must continue this trend and increase the number
of children served by high-quality early education programs in Iowa.
This is important not only for the children who need quality pre-Kbut also for
the children who are already in quality pre-K programs.

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Why? Because elementary school teachers tell us time and again that all children
in a classroom are affected when just a few children in that classroom are not ready
to learn when they start school. The behavioral problems and other issues they face
affect the teachers ability to give all children the attention they need.
The members of Mission: Readiness are in good company when it comes to recognizing the value of high quality pre-K:
Parents around the Nation try their best to make it available for their children.
Educators around the Nation point to their own personal experiences with children who have benefited from it.
Policymakers around the Nationfrom both sides of the aisleare making strong
commitments to it.
And a growing coalition of leaders from the military, law enforcement, business,
and faith communities have joined those in support of high quality pre-K.
These moves come at a pivotal time for pre-K in America. In 2012, more than half
of our States serve 30 percent or fewer of their 4-year-olds. Another 10 States have
do not even have State pre-school programs.
And while policymakers, educators and parents in many States would love to see
quality pre-K offered to more children, virtually all face financial challenges that are
making that very difficult.
We need public investments, from State and Federal sources, to help families afford pre-K. States like Iowa have been shouldering that burden alone, and making
progress, but its such an issue of national interest that it needs to be a State and
a Federal priority.
Fortunately, help is at hand.
The Strong Start for Americas Children Act, introduced by Senator Tom Harkin,
would create and fund a State-Federal partnership that would enable States across
the country to provide high quality pre-K for 4-year-olds from every low- and moderate-income family in the Nation. It would also expand access to high-quality early
development programs from birth through age 3.
This legislation can help address all three of the major barriers to enlistment that
the military faces. This legislation could put more children in Iowa on the path to
high school graduation and the college and career opportunities that become available because of thatincluding the military if they choose to serve.
It will reduce crime rates and the number of kids being convicted of felonies or
serious misdemeanors, which are a disqualification from military service.
Senator Harkins bill also puts an emphasis on pre-K programs including nutrition services and education, physical activity, and obesity prevention programs. Getting our kids on the right path when it comes to their health and wellness will also
ensure our potential recruits are physically fit to serve.
Whats also important is the financial wisdom of this. Independent analysis of numerous research studies shows that quality early learning programs produce an average net benefit to society of $22,000 for every child served.
Next fall, our recruiting class of 2028 either will or will not enroll in a quality
early education program. The decisions we make today have a profound impact on
our ability to continue to staff an increasingly technological, all-volunteer military
down the road. Thats why military leaders are standing beside policymakers who
are acting in a bold and bipartisan manner to ensure that every child has a fair
chance to succeed at whatever they choose in life. Thats what this important preK legislation will doand our national security depends on it.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak here today.
The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, General. And, again,

thank you for your lifetime of service to our country and for continuing to be involved in this important aspect of our readiness as
a nation in terms of educating our kids.
Before I get into questions, I asked Mario Cardona, who does all
of our staff work on this, to bring these two books along with me.
Ive been waving this book since 1992. Its called The Unfinished
Agenda: A New Vision for Child Development and Education. It
was put out by the Committee for Economic Development.
This came out of a charge by thenbefore he left officePresident Reagan. He had brought together the business community to
chart a new course for education in America. President Reagan
wanted the business leaders of America to investigate and have
hearings to come up with suggestions for what we need in edu-

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cation. He didnt want any of these college professors and stuff like
that. He wanted hard-headed business people to tell us what we
needed to do in education.
So they put together this committee. It was headed by Jim
Renier, who was the chairman and CEO of Honeywell. And when
you look at the roster of the people that were on this committee,
they were basically the CEOs of some of our largest corporations,
Ciba-Geigy, Sun Company, Aetna, Con Ed, Tulane University,
Northwestern Mutual Life, Smuckers Company, Arco Chemical
you get the idea.
They met for 4 or 5 years. Finally, in 1991it started in 1985
and by 1991, they came out with this report. I was on this committee, but I was clear down at the end. I was also at the same
time the chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee that funded the
Department of Education.
In 1991, Jim Renier made an appointment to see me. I didnt
know who he was. I had forgotten all about this committee. So he
brought me their findings, their book, and he wanted to meet me
and talk to me about their findings. So heres this big, hard-headed
business community, all these CEOs of the biggest corporations in
America, and their basic finding was weve got to do more in early
childhood education.
Thats what this whole book is about, and thats where I picked
up the phrase that education begins at birth and the preparation
for education begins before birth. That comes from here. Thats the
business community of America, 1991, telling us weve got to put
more into early education.
Well, the years go by, and we tried to do this and tried to do that
and tried to focus more on early education. Three years ago, again,
as chairman, I was invited down to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
for their rollout of their suggestions for what we need to do in education. Again, heres the business community of America 20 years
laterthis is the report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce 20
years later, Why Business Should Support Early Childhood Education. Heres the business community telling us over a span of 20
years weve got to put more into early education.
We hear from our State people, like Senator Quirmbach and others, saying that weve got to do more of that. And now weve got
the military leaders of our country, admirals, generals, retired, telling us weve got to do more of this. What dont we get? Sometimes
people say, Well, we dont know if our kids are learning well
enough. Well, Im not certain adults are learning well enough.
Youve got the data, and youve got the support out there, and
yet we cant quite seem to move the ball forward in really getting
comprehensive, universal preschool for all of our kids. As I said in
my opening, Iowa has done pretty darn well. The access is good,
but still when its only 2 hoursnow, you do 3 hours or 13you
do 3 hours a day at Ames, I think, right?
Senator QUIRMBACH. Twelve a week.
The CHAIRMAN. Twelve a week. Its 12 a week rather than 10 a
week. And then someone else had 13.
Ms. GUEST. Its 13.

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The CHAIRMAN. You have 13. Well, lets start with you, Susie.
You get the minimum of 10 hours under this program. How do you
afford to do 13?
Ms. GUEST. The district supports that.
The CHAIRMAN. The Des Moines Public School District?
Ms. GUEST. Des Moines Public Schools.
The CHAIRMAN. The Des Moines Public School District supports
that.
Ms. GUEST. Yes, so that cost doesnt go back to the parents.
The CHAIRMAN. Christi, what about Cedar Rapids? What about
that school district? Whats it like there?
Ms. REGAN. In Cedar Rapids, the school district, there are about
12 to 15 hours a week.
The CHAIRMAN. How much?
Ms. REGAN. Twelve to 15 hours a week.
The CHAIRMAN. Theyre doing 12 to 15 in the school district.
Ms. REGAN. Yes. At HACAP Head Start, we offer anywhere from
15 hours a week to 80 hours a week.
The CHAIRMAN. Say that again. I didnt hear that.
Ms. REGAN. At HACAP Head Start, we provide services for a
minimum of 15 hours, up to 80 hours a week.
The CHAIRMAN. Fifteen to
Ms. REGAN. Eighty.
The CHAIRMAN. In preschool?
Ms. REGAN. Yes, through wraparound services.
The CHAIRMAN. Oh, I see. But Im talking just about the educational services for preschool15 hours?
Ms. REGAN. Yes. That would be our part-day program.
The CHAIRMAN. So this varies around the State, it seems like. So
what should it be? Should the States set higher minimums? Rather
than 10 hours a week, should it be more than 10 hours a week?
And then, of course, how do we pay for it? Thats always a problem.
One of the things were trying to do in this legislation that some
of you have talked about and General Pierce talked aboutStrong
Startis to get more funds to go to States so you can have more
than 10 hours, or 2 hours a day. I just noticed when I drove up
here this morning to Mitchell all the parents coming here dropping
their kids off. And I think you said they had staggered times here.
But theyre here for 312 hours?
Ms. GUEST. Three hours and fifteen minutes.
The CHAIRMAN. Three hours and fifteen minutes, and then someone has to come pick them up.
Ms. GUEST. Correct.
The CHAIRMAN. What happens when youve got two parents that
are working, which is probably the case? What happens?
Ms. GUEST. As I indicated in my testimony, that is probably one
of the biggest barriers for our families, and I think what happens
is that the kids dont come to school. Theyll find in-home daycare
that may be quality daycare, but then it may not be, either. They
come up with alternatives.
The CHAIRMAN. Am I off on my thinking? Should we be thinking
more of full-day preschool?
Ms. GUEST. Yes. And in your Strong Start, I know that you
talked about matching funds for States that already provide part-

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day, that there would be matching funds from the Federal Government for the other part of that day. That would be a beautiful
thing.
The CHAIRMAN. Well, I got off a little bit, but I wanted to ask
oh, Susie Guest, you mentioned in your testimonylet me just find
it, because I didnt understand it when I read it over the weekend.
You said here, We also take seriously the research that selfregulation is a stronger predictor of elementary school success than
IQ. Explain that to me.
Ms. GUEST. Self-regulation is the ability of a child to be able to
regulate their emotions. So when the teacher says, Its time to
clean up, they cleanup, or When walking in line, here are the
rules. So its really about following rules, and a child is able to
control their impulses.
The CHAIRMAN. So you say thats a better predictor of success
than what their IQ may be.
Ms. GUEST. Yes. And when our kids have preschool, those are the
types of skillsand in my testimony, I indicated that academics,
yes, is a huge piece of the puzzle, but there are so many other
pieces, such as self-regulation. If you talk with any kindergarten
teacher, theyll be able to pick out which students have attended
preschool, not only because of their academic skills, but also their
ability to self-regulate their impulses. And we also have specific
strategies that we use in our preschool classrooms to teach those
self-regulation skills.
The CHAIRMAN. There are two or three things I want to cover
transportation, facilities.
Senator Quirmbach, I know youre doing a lot of work on this.
I congratulate you for your leadership on this. But physical capacity can be an issue when expanded access. Its one of the things
that we hear about from different areas of the country, about physical capacity.
So the work that youre doing here in Iowaif this measure that
were talking about here becomes law, what do we do to address
the issue of facilities?
Senator QUIRMBACH. Senator, that certainly is one of our concerns. We have language in the bill that loosens some of the restrictions on how the State money can be used, and, specifically, we
indicate that its acceptable to use that money for the rental of additional space. If the capacity issue is that they just dont have the
classroom space, and building new school buildings or building additions is a longer term project, we make it clear that they can use
some of that money for renting additional space.
We also make it clear that they can use some of that money for
transportation of students, and we broaden the amount of money
that can be used for administrativesort of a general catch-all. We
kept hearing from districts that they couldnt use the money to pay
for toilet paper and cleaning supplies and other things that are essential to running any kind of institution with children around. We
wanted to make sure that we didnt restrict districts too much
there.
One thing that I would point out is when we initiated the program, our funding, which is based off of the State per pupil funding, we had started at 60 percent of the funding for a full-time stu-

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dent for the part-day program. When there was a change of administration 3 years ago, there was an attempt on some peoples part
toon the Governors partlets be clearto cut it back to a
voucher program that would be limited only to low-income students. In the Senate, we insisted that, no, it has to be universal,
because, like I said, the data show that every group gains, everybody gains, so everybody should participate.
But as sort of a compromise, we ratcheted down the funding level
from 60 percent down to 50 percent. We talked with school superintendents before we did that, and there was some frowning, and
they said, Well, OK. We think we can still make a go of it. But
Im not so sure that we shouldnt revisit that issue. I think its a
good idea to also visit the issue of whether we should provide more
hours.
The emphasis, though, in our current effort is to just get more
kids in the door. Were at about 65 percent of 4-year-olds. Wed like
to get it up to about 85 percent of 4-year-olds. But there are other
issues that we can address down the line.
The CHAIRMAN. If anybody wants to jump in on that, they can
just jump in.
Go ahead, Barb.
Ms. MERRILL. The other thing to think about is can we use our
community-based child care partners as locations. Iowa has one of
the highest percentages in the country of children where one or
both parents are in the workforce, meaning if they only have one
parent, its the one parent. These children are being served in child
care settingsmany, many, many of our 4-year-olds.
How can we work together between our public schools and our
child care settings to use the existing facilities that are out there,
which would allow for much more consistent care for the children,
where they might have preschool there in the morning, and then
have the wraparound child care for the rest of the day, as in Gabis
center.
The CHAIRMAN. This Mitchell school herethis is fantastic. Its
great. And the one I saw up in Ames is great. I assume there are
others around the State, too, now, and I guess there are some
preschools that are comingled with elementary schools in different
places, too.
But, again, if were going to do this, I just dont know how much
it will cost and what we can do. I dont know what kind of facilities
are available to take care of this. If we go from 65 percent to 85
percent of kids, youve got to have capacity. Youve got to have
some place for them to go.
Ms. GUEST. Des Moines Public Schools currently partners with
three of our daycare settings, Conmigo being one of them, and
Oakridge Child CareOakridge Academy, and then Capitol Park
Child Care Center, where we do just that. We provide the universal
pre-K funding, and they provide the teacher and follow all the Iowa
Quality Preschool Program standards.
The CHAIRMAN. Well, Gabriela, do you have capacity for more
students?
Ms. GALLENTINE. I could potentially fill another classroom. Yes,
I do have room in my center. I could potentially provide another
classroom.

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The CHAIRMAN. You have room to expand.
Ms. GALLENTINE. I do.
The CHAIRMAN. Christi, did you want to weigh in on this?
Ms. REGAN. No. I was going to say that I can speak on behalf
of Head Start across the State, that manyall of us, actually, do
rely on partnerships with either a local school district or another
quality early childhood program to provide those Head Start services. By doing that, we are meeting the needs of the families in
their own communities.
If you look at some of our smaller, rural towns, to put in a classroom of 16 Head Start services, were not going to be able to fill
those classrooms. But if we partner with the school district or another childhood program that is already in that town, we can meet
those needs of everybody so that those families can access those
quality services and we can meet the families where they are. If
they have older children, siblings, attending school, its a one-stop
place for that family.
Maybe the child care center is located in their community. Head
Start does a fantastic job of going into those neighborhoods and
communities where we can serve those families, but we cant be everywhere all the time. So we do rely on those partnerships to provide those services.
Then through Head Start fundsand as we talked about before
coming in here, getting your mind around that whole wraparound
of how can both these partners work together in providing those
funds to provide a full-day experience, because education happens
throughout that whole day. It happens as the parents are dropping
off their children. It happens at meal time.
Susan talked about the wholejust learning their self-regulation
and how those social-emotional skillseducation is happening from
the time theyre dropped off until the time that they are picked up.
So providing a 10-hour day of services is going to be the most beneficial for children.
The CHAIRMAN. You raised some thoughts also aboutwhat do
you do in rural Iowa, small towns and communities? Thats got to
be a unique challenge there for transportation, especially. But so
many of our small towns and communitiesI can tell you, I know
it very wellare kind of bedroom communities, and you have twoparent families, and theyre both off to work. One goes one way and
one goes the other way to a nearby larger community to do work,
and theyve got children.
So, No. 1, theyre looking for daycare. Thats always a problem,
good daycare. But then if you really want those children to be involved in early learning programs, it has to be partnered with the
elementary schools some way for transportation. And then we need
to partner with some entities for the wraparound services.
If youve got two parents working, and theyre working 20 miles
away, they cant come pick up the kid at noon or 2 oclock or 3
oclock. So theres got to be someI think youre rightthe partnership aspect of this to provide the additionalwe keep using
that word, wraparound, but just supporting the child until the parents actually come home from work. Thats what I call it.
Youre involved with the Community Action Agency. They do a
great job in the State of Iowa. Youre a Head Start recipient.

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Ms. REGAN. Yes.
The CHAIRMAN. Now, help me out in this thinking. In the District of Columbia, we have a blended Head Start model. Thats just
where the Capitol is. Ive looked at that. They offer universal voluntary preschool. The district uses Head Start funding to supplement their per-pupil money. They offer high-quality preschool to almost all 4-year-olds and most 3-year-olds. The classrooms meet
Head Start standards. But theyre a grantee, and they have a dedicated funding formula.
Why couldnt a school district or a community action agency like
HACAP do the same thing here? Can you do that same thing? Can
you put that money together in that dedicated funding formula for
kids?
Ms. REGAN. We do that already. Through our Head Start, we are
utilizing wraparound funding with Shared Visions from the Department of Education. Early Childhood Iowa funds support our
programs. United Way supports programs, and then also DHS
wraparound services provide. Where we partner with schools and
other local child care partners
The CHAIRMAN. So you can do that.
Ms. REGAN. Yes, we can do that.
The CHAIRMAN. But a school district cant, can you?
Ms. GUEST. Yes.
The CHAIRMAN. You can use Head Start money that way? Youre
not aare you a Head Start grantee?
Ms. GUEST. We are a delegate. Drake University is the grantee.
The CHAIRMAN. Oh, you get it from Drake.
Ms. GUEST. Yes, we get funding through Drake, so were considered the delegate. We serve 424 Head Start students. And next
year, we will be providing more full-day programming by braiding
the funding where well have universal preschool half the day, and
Head Start will extend that day to a full-day program.
Ms. REGAN. And many Head Start programs do that as well. In
the case with HACAP, where we have children enrolled into a local
school district, Head Start will provide a core program hours, and
then that school district will supplement the remainder of that
school day with voluntary preschool or Shared Visions funding.
And then we just partner together to make sure that those services
are provided. So it is a case of braided funding.
The CHAIRMAN. Well, thats encouraging, because one of the
things I said to you earlier before we started the hearing is that
Ive been involved in this a long time, and just when I think I understand it, then I figure out I dont understand all of the different
funding streams and how that money comes in and crosses this and
goes over here. Its justits almost like spaghettiall these different funding things.
One of the things I hope were trying to do in our bill is to somehow streamline and simplify that some way, aside from raising
quality and providing money. So Id like any help you can give me
on how your job would be made better, easier, more efficient by figuring out how we do these different funding streams.
As I said before, and Ill say this openly, every time we start a
programI assume its true on the State level, too, but its true on
the Federal level. We start something to meet a need. Theres a

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distinct need in society, so we establish something. Then that goes
on, and then we see a different need, and we provide something for
that, and it goes on.
Then what happens is pretty soon, you have all these different
streets and roads out there that are trying to meet certain needs.
And then at some point, you say, Wait a minute. Cant we put
these together in some way to make it more efficient, less confusing?
Again, Ill just offer this upand I would take any comments to
the contrarythat if we had universal preschool for all children,
and you didnt have to worry about how much money your family
made or income status or anything like that, wouldnt that make
it a lot easier?
Ms. REGAN. Oh, yes.
The CHAIRMAN. Ive been involved in school lunch and school
breakfast programs in my service on the Agriculture Committee all
these years. And we basically have shown in the past that rather
than setting up all of these things for free and reduced price
lunches and all the paperwork you have to go throughif somebody makes a little bit more in a month, then they have to go off
it, and then they have to come back on it again. That costs a lot
of money.
If you just said for everybody theres free breakfast and lunches,
it just doesnt cost that much more money, and its just very
streamlined. Thats what I think about in terms of early childhood
education. Why dont we just kind of start biting the bullet and
saying, Look, what is so magic about the age of 5 and kindergarten? That was started some time ago.
But thats when one parent worked and one parent was home.
It was different times. As nostalgic as we may beand we might
wish we had thattimes have changed. So whats so magic about
that? I mean, why is it that we just think ofwell, kids at the earliest possible time90 percent of your brain development is before
youre age 5.
So why arent we thinking about kids starting school when
theyre born? It seems to me we could knock off a lot of the confusion, and I think perhaps even someI dont want to say wasteful
spending, but inefficient spending by streamlining it that way. It
might cost more money in the long run. I dont know. Probably so.
But theres a lot of inefficient spending in education today. Need
I mention the amount of moneytaxpayers money, your money,
my moneythats being siphoned off for the for-profit schools in
higher education, and how many billions of dollars every year go
to hedge fund managers on Wall Street, and people making $20
million a year as the head of one of these? And yet the highest default rate among students who borrow money to go to college is in
the for-profit school business.
So it seems to me that maybe changing that around and taking
some of that billions and billions of dollars and putting it into early
childhood education might be money better spent in education in
this country. Well, those are just my thoughts on that. But I guess
Im still looking for advicesince were not there yeton universal
preschool. What can we do to at least make the funding streams
better, more logical perhaps, easier to access? Im still looking for

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suggestions, not that you have to do it here, but if you have any
thoughts on that that you want to convey to me or my committee,
let me know.
Senator QUIRMBACH. Senator, if I could, it is certainly a lot less
headaches if we didnt have to sort through the paperwork and all
of the form filling out and who is eligible and who is not eligible.
We could save a lot of money there that would be better invested
in educating the kids.
The other benefit from universal access is that we get all these
kids into the same room together, and before they get old enough
to focus on differences, they learn that they have more in common.
You saw that in that classroom, and you were wonderful with those
kids on Saturday. You were just terrific.
But you saw kids in Ames from all different kinds of backgrounds, different ethnicities, different income levels. Theyre all
learning to play together. They all learn that they have much more
in common than what they have separating them. Thats at least
as important as any paperwork saving.
The CHAIRMAN. Well, Im preaching to the choir here, but these
kids are like sponges. I mean, they want to learn. You just see it
in them. And I go to these little classrooms like I just did here, the
one in Ames or others Ive been to, and, boy, theyre just anxious.
And you get a good teacher, a good qualified teacher thats well
trained, coachedboy, these kidsthey just learn so fast. And to
deny kids that opportunity when their brains are growing at this
rapid rateits just a shame.
General, I think what youre saying is that we pay for it later
on. If we dont pay for it now, were paying later on.
When I introduced my bill, the Strong Start billwas it a month
ago, 2 months agoNovember. Well, time goes by. But one of the
persons at the rollout of the bill was the sheriff of Hennepin County, MinnesotaMinneapolis, Twin Cities. I didnt know this individual. I think he was asked to come by the police organization or
sheriff s organization.
I spoke, George Miller spoke, and different people spoke as we
introduced our bill at a press conference. Then he was the last person to speak, and he said, Let me introduce myself. I am the guy
you pay later. I thought that was very profound. He said, If you
dont do this, Im the guy youre paying later to lock them up, take
them to the criminal justice system, juvenile court system.
I just thought thatsort of like youre saying. We should be
doing this now rather than trying to pay the court system later on.
And I think we have enough data. We have a lot of data, General,
to show that if these kids are deniedthe data shows that those
that have good preschool are less likely to be involved in the juvenile justice system later on.
General PIERCE. Ill just add to what youre saying, Senator, and
this has been over several years now. Our graduation rates from
high school in the United States are25 percent of our students
dont graduate from high school. Thats across the Nation.
The CHAIRMAN. Twenty-five percent.
General PIERCE. Iowas doing greatwell, a lot better. Theyre
like 92 percent graduation. But if 25 percent of your students
arent graduating from high school, when 80 percent of your jobs

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in the next 10 years are going to require some education beyond
high school, you wont have an employable kind of citizen, and
theyre not productive citizens for the United States of America.
Theyre going to probably be minimum wage kind of folks.
Theyre not qualifying for the military. Theyre not qualifying for
what our business community needs in the United States. If you
project that out year after year after year, that 25 percent non-high
school graduate rate, it becomes a real burden on society to generate the incomes which leads to the criminal record because they
cant survive with that non-high school education. So my opinion
is if you can fix education, well fix a lot of problems in the United
States of America.
The CHAIRMAN. Theres been some data that theyve rolled out
about Head Start not being that effective because you get fade-out,
that by third grade, all that support kind of fades out by then. One
of you talked about that. Was that you? Who talked about the fadeout. Can you explain that at all, Christi, about this fade-out that
people talk about?
Ms. REGAN. There have been some studies completed that are
stating or showing that by the time a child that has been enrolled
in Head Start reaches third grade, those benefits have already gone
away. Now, as a Head Start community, we will say thats not accurate and thats not a true reflection of the population that we
serve.
We are serving families that are at or below 100 percent of the
Federal poverty guideline. They are considered at-risk. They have
a lot of barriers that are in front of them. For a lot of our families,
its a case of: How am I going to feed my family today? How am
I going to get away from a partner who is assaulting me on a daily
basis?
So as we talk about with Head Start, we are providing those
comprehensive services. Yes, we are concerned about the education
of young children, but we also recognize that a child who is coming
to school every day hungry is not ready to learn. A child who has
not gone to the dentist and has a toothache is not ready to learn.
A child who is not getting adequate sleep or nutrition on a daily
level is not ready to learn. So were working with that family very
extensively to overcome those barriers.
As I said, we pride ourselves on that whole comprehensive aspect. Were providing them with family support workers. Were providing them with the teachers. Were providing them with all those
social services that we recognize. We can work to assist those families.
Then, not to downgrade our public school systems, but when you
come to the public school systems, theres not the family support
workers. Theres not all those services that are there. Some do, yes.
But for the most part, it is a case of thenwe all hear about having to reach those levels of skills for children. So I think sometimes
that comprehensive aspect is taken away from the families.
So through Head Start, were really working on that family to become also that advocatethat theyre asking those questions: How
is my child learning? How is my child growing? So when they leave
Head Start and go into the public schooland not even when
theyre in kindergarten, but as they go through all of the school,

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those parents are actively involved in that childs life, because we
know that an active, involved parent is going to result in a child
who is going to be ready to succeed.
The CHAIRMAN. Well, I see Im running out of time. Im going to
open it up to the audience. All I would ask is that you identify
yourself for the recorder who is recording this, and if your name
is not Smith or Jones, maybe you should spell it out so she can get
it right.
Charlie Bruner.
Dr. BRUNER. Bruner, B-r-u-n-e-r. Thank you. We want to have effective services, Senator Harkin. But I think we also have to recognize for every dollar our society invests in school-age kids, in K
12 education, we invest about 25 cents in young childrens education and development in the preschool years and 7 cents in the
birth-to-3 years.
The brain development research and the early childhood adversity research in toxic stress says those first 3 years of life are just
critical for cognitive development, social development, physical development, and emotional development. I really want to commend
Strong Start for having the funding in for the early childhood partnerships and expanding Early Head Start, which is probably the
premier program at the Federal level for dealing with the birth-to3 population.
We have to recognize that that serves 1 percent of kids today in
the birth-to-3 years. And the half billion dollar expansion is really
important and I think will add to that. Home visiting serves about
half of 1 percent of kids. We really have to focus, yes, on universal
preschool, but also on those birth-to-3 years and strengthening the
families that are there.
Were celebrating the 50th year anniversary of the War on Poverty. Thats the right term. But between 1964 and 2014, 50 years,
weve reduced senior poverty by 70 percent. It was 30 percent in
1964. Its less than 9 percent today. Child poverty has gone up
from 18 percent to 20 percent.
We may not be able to immediately reduce child poverty. But we
have to give those kids a chance, a much better chance, for achieving the American Dream, and that does mean the Strong Start program. But it really also means: How can we strengthen and support these families in those first 3 years of life?
One thing I would ask you to doand I know youre already
doing thisbut I think that theres one area where we dont need
congressional action. We already have the tools in the Federal administration, and that is with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. They have funding available, and weve been promoting with the American Academy of Pediatrics and nurse practitioners and the whole contingent of Iowans for a Federal opportunity announcement specifically on young children and their
healthy development and working to strengthen families in those
birth-to-5 years.
Theres $5.5 billion left in their budget. The difficulty in securing
that has been that, historically, CMMI has looked for returns on
investment of 3 years. When youre talking about young kids, you
need a longer timeframe.

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But I think that theres an opportunity for putting funding into
a Federal opportunity announcement and gearing up people like
Deb Waldron and Cheryl Jones and Rizwan Shah and Chris Atchison here in Iowa to really push for comprehensive approaches in
terms of those first 3 years of life and the role of the child health
practitioner. That child health practitioner universally sees those
kids and has an opportunity to be that first responder.
The CHAIRMAN. Charlie, let me ask you this. CMMIIm very familiar with it. Youre right. Theyve got about $5 billion. They get
funded every 10 years, and they get $10 billion. So this is 2014.
Theyve gone through about half of the money, but some of it was
siphoned off, and dont get me started on that.
But are you sayinghave you applied, or do you knowhelp me
think. You have applied for some funding from CMMI to do some
innovative type things on this birth-to-3?
Dr. BRUNER. We have encouraged and pushed for CMMI to create a Federal opportunity announcement like theyve done in innovations for chronic health diseases, but this time focusing upon
young children and a healthy start in life, and draw on evidencebased models, like Help Me Grow and Child First and Reach Out
and Read, to really create that.
Were not applying ourselves. They have to create, in effect, a
grant program. And weve talked with Dr. Conway, Patrick
Conway, who is the head of the CMMI. I think theyre receptive
about it. We think it fits in with your agenda and the Presidents
agenda.
The sticking point has been that kids are not cost drivers of the
healthcare system. But theyre ultimately cost solutions. If we get
them on a healthy trajectory and reduce their early childhood adversity, we know that thats going to create gains. So we need a
longer time horizon and a push around that. I think that the President and you and other Members of Congress could be very instrumental in promoting a half-billion-dollar Federal opportunity announcement around young kids through CMMI.
The CHAIRMAN. I just asked Mario to followup on this. Have you
talked to Adrienne Hallett on my staff at all about this?
Dr. BRUNER. I talked with Nick and
The CHAIRMAN. Jenelle.
Dr. BRUNER. Yes, Jenelle Krishnamoorthy.
The CHAIRMAN. Well, I want to get my appropriations people also
involved. How long ago did you talk to them about this?
Dr. BRUNER. Oh, I think about a
The CHAIRMAN. I mean, about using CMMI for this.
Dr. BRUNER. Right, right.
The CHAIRMAN. Thanks very much, Charlie. Thank you for your
leadership on these issues for so many years here in the State of
Iowa. We appreciate it.
Anybody else? Somebody back here?
Ms. WALTER. Good morning. My name is Stacey Walter, and I
just wanted to speak on behalf of community child care. It seems
that when we have conversations around birth-to-5, it always ends
up landing on that 4-year-old preschool and pre-K education.
I happen to work in the coalition that Gabi is a part of, and Im
a community partner with Susie in the Des Moines Public School

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District and oversee three of the programs. What I wanted to say
was as we talk about expanding access for those 4-year-olds, keeping in mind that in community child care, its the 4-year-olds that
make or break that child care program, because the way that a
ratio works in State child care, infants are served at a ratio of 1
to 4, while preschoolers are 1 to 12. So, obviously, thats where they
make their money.
So just taking into considerationif we are trying to increase access to that statewide preschool program and increase to 85 percent
of our children being served in that program, remember that in
community child care, then, were going to take away that potential
income. What will happenwhen it takes two to three preschool
children to support an infant program in community-based child
care, we would essentially be eliminating some possible infant slots
in community-based child care if that would happen to be the case,
and expanding those community partnerships.
Also remembering that, currently, the way the funding works in
a community partnership, those funds are limited to just that
classroom and the personnel in that classroom. It doesnt go into
the general fund of the community child care program. Hence, you
still need to be serving 4-year-olds on top of the statewide voluntary 4-year-old children in the program, so that you, in turn, can
continue to serve your infants and toddlers.
So just something to keep in mind is that in communities, especially those rural areas where were really struggling to provide
quality community child care, if we start to really eliminate those
4-year-old opportunities in the business sense, it will start to have
an impact, then, on the bottom line of the overall program.
Thank you.
The CHAIRMAN. I understand that.
Anybody else have something they wanted to add?
Ms. DAVIS. Judy McCoy Davis. Hi, there, Senator. I serve as
chair of Polk County Early Childhood and previously served as the
chair of Early Childhood Iowa. I want to commend you for doing
this work and being such a strong supporter of early childhood efforts.
But I want to encourage you that whenever you meet with business people, that you ask them what theyre doing to support it, because while the studies all show business gains greatly when early
childhood is supported, if you really look at what theyre doing legislatively, were not high on their priorities. When I speak to Rotary Clubs and others, I say this is a time when I can combine my
business background and my passion. But we really need more
business people in forums like this.
The CHAIRMAN. Well, as I said, Judy, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce just came out with a report saying: this is what weve got
to be doing. So I would hope the business communityand I think
the Iowa Business Council has been very strong on this, havent
they, Herman?
Senator QUIRMBACH. Yes. Elliott Smith has come to talk to the
Senate Education Committee from the Iowa Business Council. We
have some real standout supporters, Principal Insurance, for example. I should not just list one or two, but, generally speaking, some

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people speaking out have been very supportive from the business
community. Of course, we could always use more support.
The CHAIRMAN. Thats true. And it does all come downnot all,
but most of it comes down to resources, money. Are the people of
Iowa willing to use their tax money for this? Are the people of Des
Moines or different school districtsare they willing to step up?
Because what were talking about is, as I said earlier, pay now or
pay later, and when you pay later, you pay in very detrimental
ways.
But people have to understand that if we want this, were going
to have to pay for it. Its not free. And if you want high-quality
I mean, you can get education on the cheap, and then youve got
cheap education.
But if you want high-quality early childhood, especially in that
early birth-to-3, and you want really good daycare, and you want
qualified people with those kids, and you want good home visits
and parental involvement and making sure kids get their dental
work, and their other healthcare is attended to, and nutrition, and
sociability, and then making sure they get the right intellectual
stimulus between ages 0 and 3, it costs money.
We all wish we had those two-parent families and someone at
home who would do that at home. But thats not the society were
in right now. We just dont have that. So were going to have to pay
for that.
Anybody else?
Ms. LOWERY. My name is Kameka Lowery. Its K-a-m-e-k-a. I
just wanted to say that there is support in Central Iowa. I am a
director of Womens Leadership Connection, which is a part of
United Way of Central Iowa. Youve heard it a couple of times here
today. I am a part of and help represent over 600 women in Central Iowa thats dedicated just this past year over $1.6 million specifically to this area, and it has accumulated to almost $20 million
in the past 11 years.
So there are people who are very vested in this and do see the
outcomes, and that is the purpose of these over 600 women coming
together and filling in those gaps and trying to help make up the
difference that really does show those measurable outcomes. So
there is definitely passion within the State and dedication toward
this particular area.
The CHAIRMAN. Thats very impressive. I didnt know that.
Anything else? Weve got one right here. Go ahead.
Ms. BURNS. Good morning, Senator Harkin. Im Ellie Burns from
Iowa TRIO. I just wanted to say thank you for the work that youre
doing with early childhood. TRIO programs start working with students in sixth grade, and if we can work with students who have
been told since theyre 4 years old that they can be successful in
their education, its just helping our advocacy efforts that much
more. So thank you.
The CHAIRMAN. Well, thank you for those kind words.
Ms. RUSSELL. Im Judy Russell, and I work for Drake University
Head Start. I moved here from a different State, a State that has
defunded most of their early childhood programs. So coming to
Iowa was a breath of fresh air, because we really do know how to
do it here. We are really a model.

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Someone once told me if we had the Great Lakes in Iowa, we
would call them the Really Pretty Good Lakes. Well, people should
come and look at what happens here, what happens at school districts, what happens in Head Start, what happens in child care
centers, because, truly, Iowa really does have it together. And my
view from the very cheap seats, not being a native Iowan, is that
a lot of it is because of your leadership.
So thank you for what youve done for early childhood in Iowa
and the Nation. And send your people here to look at Iowa, because
its really exceptional. Thank you.
The CHAIRMAN. Well, youre nice to say that. Thank you. Ill have
to spread that around. Herman and Charlie Bruner have been
workingtheres so many here in Iowa who have been working on
this for a long time and on both sides of the political aisle, too, I
might add. And the business community has been very good in
Iowa. Weve had good support.
I guess sort of the old thing about being an Iowan is that we do
some good things in this State, and this is one of them. But how
do I say this? Yes, were OK. But we can be a lot better. I guess
thats what Im trying to say. Weve got a good floor on this. Weve
got a good establishment out there. Now we just need to go from
what, 65 to 85, or whatever that is, and then we have to do what
Charlie Bruner said. Weve really got to focus on that 0 to 3 age
group. So lets not rest on our laurels. Lets keep pushing Iowa to
higher and higher standards.
But youre right. From my standpoint of chair of this committee
and looking at the rest of the country, we are very fortunate here
in this State. Weve got good leadership here, both political leadership and civic leadership around the State, and our various organizations have been very good.
So I guess I could say were so good we dont have to do anything
else. But thats not quite right. What Im trying to do with this legislation is get this nationwide, all over the country.
Any last thing that I need to do before I gavel this thing to a
close? I dont have a gavel, but
Ms. GALLENTINE. Senator Harkin, if I may
The CHAIRMAN. Oh, Im sorry.
Ms. GALLENTINE. Gabi, right here.
The CHAIRMAN. Oh, Im sorry, Gabriela.
Ms. GALLENTINE. I beg your pardon. If I may, first of all, I want
to thank you for including the language regarding comprehensive
services for children and families, because it does take parental involvement for children to succeed, and as much as possible, that
needs to be included. Home visitation andif you would, please remember to consider that those kinds of support services need to be
provided as closely located to where the children are receiving their
services, if not onsite.
We see tremendous growth in children who are served onsite.
Many of them are able to exit out of speech and occupational therapy before they move on to the 4-year-old room. So that is of critical importance for that birth to age 3. And I thank you for including that language regarding comprehensive services and parental
involvement. That is key.

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The CHAIRMAN. We didnt talk much about that today, and Im
ready to close this hearing down. But we all knowI mean, its
sort of intuitive, but we know it from data, too, that these kids do
a lot better when you get the parents involved, not just in dropping
them off, but being involved in the whole aspect, and that is especially true in that 0-to-3 age group.
But youre right. Weve got to continue to have parental involvement, coaching, mentoring, things like that to help these parents,
because they want to do the right thing. A lot of times, they just
dont know what to do, and they have busy lives. Theyre working
all the time, and they just dont know what to do a lot of times.
So they need that kind of help and support. So thanks for mentioning that before we close up here today.
I want to thank our witnesses for sharing their expertise and
views and providing their insight and for the work that youre
doing right now. I thank my colleagues. I especially want to thank
Senator Alexander, our Ranking Member, for his partnership on
this hearing. Again, I request that the record remain open for 10
days until March 24th for people to submit statements and additional questions for the record.
If theres nothing more to come before the committee, the committee is adjourned. Thank you very much, everyone.
[Additional material follows.]

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ADDITIONAL MATERIAL
MARCH 19, 2014.
DEAR SENATOR HARKIN: Thank you for coming to Des Moines to hold your hearing
on the bill you are sponsoring, Strong Start for Americas Children Act.
Pre-School is now being offered in a patchwork, fragmented manner and is not
covering the need of many of our young children. We need to provide all day preschool, for all 4-year-olds, especially kids living in poverty. There needs to be a
streamlined funding source that is consistent and reliable. The Des Moines District
is currently receiving funding from five different funding sources, all with different
rules and regulations. The time to braid all of the funding sources and then apply
them to the children we serve could be better spent.
Some suggestions I would like you to consider:
1. Head Start should cover the children 03Head Start would provide the
services and the programs geared to 0-3 age bracket. It could be kept under HHS.
2. Move all 4-year-old pre-school programs to the Department of EducationPreK programs should be geared for academics and is a better fit if it would be under
the Department of Education.
3. Review all dollars being spent in the area for children of 05 and re-allocate
based on best practices and research. One example of dollars not reaching the students is the following:
Head Start allocates money to the Grantee and then they award dollars to the
DelegateIn the case of Des Moines, Drake is the Grantee and DMPS is the Delegate. We serve 50% of the students and receive around 33 percent of the dollars.
Head Start sends a team of people out every few years to evaluate the program;
this must cost the government thousands of dollars. Let the dollars be allocated to
where the needs are, not in administrative bureaucracy. I am sure there are other
examples of programs that have been set up for years and exist because they always
have.
I applaud the work you are doing on this very important issue, if we are going
to improve educational outcomes for children in this country we must provide them
with the start they deserve.
Sincerely,
CONNIE BOESEN,
Des Moines School Board.

[Whereupon, at 11:07 a.m., the hearing was adjourned.]

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