The Playing Field
The Mission
The Playing Field is partnering with local agencies to open a child care and early education program in Madison. We seek to create a unique model that will educate children experiencing homelessness right alongside children from more advantaged backgrounds. We believe this model will be a step toward minimizing the disparity between white and minority children and have amazing benefits for children from both groups.
The truth is that segregation starts in our child care centers. High quality early education programs are out of reach for many families. Even with subsidized child care, the rates at many centers are simply too high for struggling families. The sad result is this— children most in need of quality early education are not able to access it.
The Value
| “Early childhood development programs are rarely portrayed as economic development initiatives, and we think that is a mistake. Such programs, if they appear at all, are at the bottom of the economic development lists for state and local governments. They should be at the top. Most of the numerous projects and initiatives that state and local governments fund in the name of creating new private businesses and new jobs result in few public benefits. In contrast, studies find that well-focused investments in early childhood development yield high public as well as private returns.”– Rolnick and Grunewald |
The first five years create the foundation from which a child will operate throughout her lifetime. From the first day of life to the first day of kindergarten, a child grows and develops at a phenomenal pace. The brain is literally being built by her early experiences. This growth is unique to her earliest years and unmatched in any other time of life. The value of enriching early childhood programming and secure attachments with caregivers can not be overstated.
Findings show children who receive early intervention services have greater earning potential over the course of their lifetime. They are more likely to complete high school, pursue higher education, own a home and avoid prison. Investment in early education has been shown to have societal benefits as well. These include reduced costs for school districts on special education services.
Community Need
| “In today’s economy, when having both parents in the workforce is an economic necessity for many families, we need affordable, high-quality childcare more than ever. It’s not a nice-to-have — it’s a must-have. So it’s time we stop treating childcare as a side issue, or as a women’s issue, and treat it like the national economic priority that it is for all of us.” – President Obama |
Those outside the field of early education may not fully understand the markers of a high quality child care. There may be questions about the expense related to providing a high level educational program as opposed to the cost of basic daycare services. Some indicators of a high quality program include:
• Degreed, Experienced Teachers
• Low Staff Turn Over
• Low Teacher to Child Ratios
• Developmentally Appropriate Curriculum Based on the Individual Child’s Needs and Interests
In considering the number of hours a child spends in child care between birth and age five, there is no place for anything less than high level care. For a family that can afford it, Madison offers a variety of wonderful early educational settings, where children are nurtured and engaged in meaningful activities. Yet for many Madison families, there is a large gap between what they want for their child and what they can afford. Cost should not be the deciding factor as a family selects an early education setting for their child.
Our Model
| For African-American children seeking a better future, no state looks worse than Wisconsin. A new national report shows that children of color face enormous barriers to educational and financial achievement — with Wisconsin ranking last in the disparity between white children and their non-white peers. – Mike Ivey, The Capital Times |
The Playing Field aspires to be much more than a safe, clean place for children to wait while their parents work. We plan to be the beginning step in reducing the disparity that exists between the youngest citizens of Madison. We do not seek to become a program that serves children from poor families in isolation. We desire to become a program that educates children in the context of the economic and racial diversity that is our city.
By employing an educated and experienced teaching staff, implementing an exemplary early childhood curriculum, and creating a safe, nurturing school family, we will draw children from varied backgrounds and move forward as a community of learners.
The table below illustrates the disparity in the daily experiences of children across our city:
| A Day in the Life | ||
| Marshal | Alice | Anthony |
| Marshall attends an enriching early education program. He has a strong attachment to his teacher because he has been in her classroom for two years. Marshall receives a lot of individual attention because the teacher to child ratio is low.His degreed teacher has a great knowledge of child development. This allows her to observe his development and plan age appropriate activities that keep him interested and engaged.There are always new things and new ideas to explore. His teachers read a lot of books to him. He and the other children have interesting conversations with each other and with their teachers. Marshal looks forward to school each day. | Alice attends a community center. It isn’t what her family wanted for her but it is affordable. The staff turnover rate is high so, Alice has had a few different teachers this year.There are twenty children in the classroom with the two teachers. The teachers work very hard but they just can’t give the children individual attention. Alice feels stressed when no one is available to comfort her.Her teachers have minimal qualifications for teaching. They are paid hourly and they sometimes feel frustrated because they would make more money waiting tables. The days get very long for Alice- and for her teachers. | Anthony is experiencing homelessness. His family is trying very hard to find a place to live. It has been three months since they had a real home.He and his mom sleep in the car outside the office building where his dad works as a night custodian. When it gets really cold, they sleep in the local shelter.Every day is different for Anthony. Some days he is hungry. Every day he is tired. He is often shuffled from place to place throughout the day. He has few opportunities to run, play or explore. The adults in his life don’t have time to read to him or have conversations with him. |
“What the best and wisest parent wants for his own child, that must the community want for all its children.” – John Dewey |
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Early Head Start Partnership
Our local Early Head Start (EHS) office is in the final stages of negotiation for an expansion grant. Part of this grant requires a partnership with community agencies such as The Playing Field. We have agreed to serve a total of 16 children with a focus on those zero to three who are experiencing homelessness. We will offer transportation to children experiencing homelessness in a vehicle provided by EHS.
| A child from a low-income family hears an average of eight million fewer words per year than a child from a wealthier family. That’s more than 30 million fewer words by the time the child turns four. This phenomenon is known as the 30 million word gap, and research suggests it is one of the key factors in the achievement gap between high- and low-income students. And here’s the kicker: By the time a child enters kindergarten, this language gap may be irreversible.– Newman and Kratochwill |
This grant provides an annual amount of nearly $14,000 per child. This amount is adequate for the provision of a part day educational program. However, working families of Madison are in great need of full day child care. The cost of providing full day programming and family support services will require an additional $10,000 per child. Some of these additional costs will be offset by child care subsidy. The majority of these families will qualify for funding through Wisconsin Shares. However, the challenge is in estimating what percentage of families will secure and maintain this funding.
In addition, Early Head Start is able to support many of our start-up costs. These costs include: building renovations, playground equipment, and classroom furnishings. We are in the process of obtaining bids for needed building renovations and for playground work.
Please contact us if you would like to be involved in the creation and development of The Playing Field. You can follow our progress on our Facebook Page. You can also get more information by emailing Abbi Kruse.
Our Location
Bethany United Methodist Church has housed the University of Wisconsin Preschool Lab since the fall of 1998. The university has recently decided to merge their two Preschool Lab locations to the on-campus location, leaving the building at 3910 Mineral Point Road available for The Playing Field.
The church will not administrate the program. However, they are eager to see the space used to serve the community. They have offered us three years at a greatly reduced rental rate to ensure that The Playing Field can grow and thrive. The rental amount includes utilities as well as custodial and snow removal services so, the church will be incurring a loss to subsidize the early days of The Playing Field.
Additionally, the church will serve as a temporary fiscal agent for The Playing Field. This will allow us to receive tax-deductible donations while we move through the process of filing for nonprofit status.
Our Needs
The Playing Field needs additional partners who are committed to the value of early education for all children. We are in the process of recruiting and selecting a governing board as well as an advisory board. The Early Head Start grant requires we begin serving at least sixteen children by August 1, 2015. Therefore, our process needs to move quickly.
The 2015-2016 school year will be a time of growth. We have the capacity to serve 52 children and we anticipate continued enrollment throughout this period. As our enrollment increases, we will continue to recruit, hire and train qualified staff members.
We anticipate the need to raise funds and/or donations for about $100,000 in startup costs. This will include furnishings as well as playground and building improvements.
We also hope to raise scholarship funds. This will allow us to offer a sliding fee scale to families and afford many children the opportunity to attend The Playing Field. Our current projections are for two thirds of our children to receive scholarships of up to $3500 per year. This is a lofty goal adding $150,000 to the amount we need to raise. However, we know that the value to these children and to our community is immeasurable.
Get Involved
| “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”– Dr. Seuss, The Lorax |
Please contact us if you would like to be involved in the creation and development of The Playing Field. You can follow our progress on our Facebook Page. If you would like to donate to The Playing Field, you can do so on our Giving Financially page (click on the Give online and enter an amount in the “Other” category). You can also get more information by emailing Abbi Kruse.
