Benefits of Community Outreach
“Programs are an important part of a community; they not only support and enrich the community but also are aware of and take advantage of its resources” (NAEYC, n.d., p. 9). There are a number of ways that early education institutions can work with the larger community.
Section 8.5 Teachers, Caregivers, and the Community CHAPTER 8
Section 8.5 Teachers, Caregivers, and the Community CHAPTER 8
Section 8.5 Teachers, Caregivers, and the Community CHAPTER 8
As you read about them, imagine what your own role as teacher or caregiver might be.
One Washington state early care and education center has made extensive use of local agencies and organizations as a way to maintain and expand its building and playgrounds (Ekdahl, 2011). Banks, for example, have been generous with both time and money. Make a Difference Day in 2011 found Key Bank employees building a playhouse for the preschoolers. The Alcoa Corporation had their own Day of Caring when they redecorated the bathrooms. Four different Rotary clubs have contributed carpets, blinds, and computers. The Kiwanis replaced a temporary wall between two classrooms with a solid one. Karen Ekdahl, the center’s director keeps a constant eye out for store displays that might be useful when they are done. “You have to let people know you have needs,” she says. “It’s just talking and talking and talking.” In turn, this center gives back to the community when it can, as well, with such activities as celebrations and open houses. While resources may differ from place to place, this director provides examples of the kinds of opportunities that are in almost any community.
In Florida, a Kiwanis club was responsible for a totally different community activity (Drew, 2007).
Building relationships within the community sets a good example for early learners, and can benefit your center or school. Here, volunteers paint the pavement in a playground improvement project.
| Members of the local high school’s Key Club (sponsored by Kiwanis), are trained to lead play sessions for young children after school. Materials for creative play are collected through a recycling program. Cooperative learning skills are emphasized. Many other service clubs can be found in local high schools and colleges, offering collaboration opportunities to centers and schools.
A number of museums partner with early education, sometimes as resources and at times by housing learning centers or schools in their own buildings. Their themes are as varied as their neighborhoods and the themes of the museums themselves. For example, the school districts surrounding the Long Island (New York) Children’s Museum contains a high percentage of children with limited English proficiency. The program this museum has established is designed to help these children make the transition from home to kindergarten, help their parents see how to play a key role in their children’s education, and “encourage families to use the resources of the museum for their children’s lifelong learning” (Mangan, 2007, p. 38). Another children’s museum, this one in Pittsburgh, used funding from Head Start and a state block grant to create two early childhood classrooms within the museum (BaroneMartin, 2007). Although the children spend time in the classrooms, the entire museum is considered their educational environment. |
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Museum programs for children are a great way to get students and the community together. Exhibits like this one offer opportunities for children to learn through sight and touch.
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While a few museums will have their own classrooms such as those just described, most will instead have outreach programs available to educators. Checking into such availability will no doubt prove helpful.
It is, of course, possible that there will be no convenient museums available, but one organization that will be there for both you and your children’s parents is the local Resource and Referral Agency. This national agency has community-based offices throughout the United States and its central purpose is leading parents to quality child care sites. However, each community’s version may be somewhat different depending on local or state needs. An agency may partner, not only with child care centers and preschools, but also with health professionals, social workers, and local business leaders.
One California Resource and Referral Agency (Simmons, 2007) created focus groups and took parent and provider surveys to identify and respond to local needs. The results included finding state and county funds to recruit and train new child care providers when it was determined that there weren’t enough, and increasing help for children with special needs who seemed to have no child care centers to attend.
One other agency that is important to know about is your community’s Child Protective Services. This is the governmental agency that receives, and acts on, reports of child abuse or neglect. It is in true emergencies, of course, that a school or child’s relative will use this resource, and each center or school will have policies in place that you should make yourself aware of.
A number of national organizations for early childhood professionals provide extensive and helpful resources. You will learn about these in Chapter 9.