Notre Dame Urban Education Center
,
Early Learning
Grant Application:
Notre Dame Urban Education Center's Early Learning Program addresses needed pre-reading and kindergarten readiness skills among under-served children in Kenton, Campbell, and Boone Counties, with a long-term goal of improved educational attainment. NDUEC uses an evidence-based curriculum for pre-literacy, numeracy, and cultural enrichment for pre-k children.Goals/Objectives:
Through the Early Learning Program, Notre Dame Urban Education Center seeks to expand its capacity to serve families in poverty. We plan to extend educational programming to a new population, namely families of pre-kindergarten children. Because the program will occur during the school day, the Center will also expand its building to serve others. Through the program, the Center will collaborate with other literacy efforts and social service programs in the Covington urban core. In short, our goal is to provide a broader range of services to meet better the needs of this portion of Covington's population.
Our Early Learning Program's primary outcome is to increase kindergarten readiness for underserved little scholars in Northern Kentucky. The following performance measures were established to achieve this goal.
Performance Measures:
• Increase program enrollment to 12-15 students
• 68% of participating children are assessed as kindergarten ready by the end of the academic year via the Scholastic kindergarten readiness assessment.
Grant Evaluation Report:
We provide our students with the academic foundation that predicates so much of future success, starting with quality early childhood education. Our Early Learning program helps to narrow the educational gap and better prepare the Little Scholars in our community for kindergarten, making them less likely to repeat a grade and better prepared academically for later grades. We hope to see gains throughout our students' lives, all stemming from the benefit of participating in our top-notch program.
Results:
Our little scholars are given the Preschool Process Screening (PPS) twice a year. This screening is designed to report developmental milestones, drive classroom instruction, and preliminarily identify children who may need additional support services. The Scholastic Kindergarten Readiness Test follows the PPS to help us monitor the program's effectiveness on a continuum.
Our most recent cohort of Little Scholars was given the PPS twice during FY22. The results of both screenings demonstrate an average improvement score of 12 points (Screening A's average was 73, and Screening B's average was 85). In addition, we are happy to announce that the Scholastic Kindergarten Readiness Test results indicate that all our students tested "average" or "above average" regarding kindergarten readiness. In conclusion, 100% of participating students were assessed as kindergarten ready.
Amount: $25,000
Date: June 2022
