How proposed pre-K program would work
As a long-time professor and researcher, it has been gratifying to work with Santa Fe educators, parents, early childhood experts and other stakeholders for the past year. Together, we developed the policy and implementation plan for Pre-K for Santa Fe, which will bring affordable, high-quality early childhood education to 3- and 4-year-olds currently locked out of the system.
We had lots of help. Dozens of Santa Feans worked on the plan, drawing from research; input from local early childhood experts, foundations, school district leaders and community members; economists; national early childhood researchers; and the experience of other cities.
If approved at the May 2 special election, Pre-K for Santa Fe will be funded by a 2-cents-per-ounce tax on distributors of sugary beverages.
Over the past months, I’ve had conversations with dozens of Santa Feans. Most have heard a lot about the soda tax, but they want more information about the pre-K program, and how the city will ensure quality, efficiency and accountability. I’ve been happy to share the detailed 5-part plan and implementation guidelines that will be set into motion as soon as voters approve.
The first order of business will be for the City Councilors to establish a citizen’s Early Childhood Commission that will set policy, oversee implementation, conduct annual audits, and report to the City Council and the public. The Commission will be comprised of parents of preK children from each area of the city, educators and early childhood experts.
The Santa Fe Community College’s (SFCC) Center for Early Childhood Excellence will administer the program, drawing on its vast pre-K expertise and institutional
infrastructure. SFCC is recognized nationwide for its high-quality training of early childhood educators and its outstanding laboratory school, the Kids Campus. By design, the Community College will ensure quality and accountability at every step.
To ensure the money is spent well, SFCC will request proposals from early childhood providers and lead a competitive review. Bids will likely come from Santa Fe Public Schools, Head Start Centers, and nonprofit and private centers in the city. To compete, providers must specify how they will 1) help meet the city’s need for 966 additional early childhood seats; 2) ensure high quality; 3) prioritize the neediest families and neighborhoods; and 4) establish an affordable fee structure that makes pre-K free to children from the lowest income households and sets a graduated co-pay system that supports working families. And more. No promises have been made; the competition will be stiff.
SFCC will package its recommendations on providers to the Commission, which will approve the package and report to the City Council. The plan is to keep decisions about what entities receive funds entirely meritbased and non-political.
The program will coordinate its funding with federal, state and other revenue sources that support early childhood education. That will ensure that the city is not duplicating services and that the public’s money will be used only to supplement what’s already available.
Nobody will get public funds without participating in a welldesigned evaluation and accountability system. The Commission and SFCC will specify outcomes, metrics and tools to assess program quality and effectiveness. They will set benchmarks for program quality, and children’s learning and conduct annual program, and budget reviews of each funded program.
Because the preparation of early childhood educators has the biggest impact on children, the Commission and SFCC will expand and strengthen high-quality educator preparation and professional development. They will convene a Workforce Development Board (composed of experts) that will lead policy development around licensure, career ladders and compensation.
SFCC will provide “navigation” support to help families find good programs for their children, and educate parents on brain development and early learning.
There’s more, of course, but this should give a flavor of the plan. I urge voters to pass the ballot measure on May 2 so that we can put this excellent plan into action.
Jeannie Oakes is senior fellow at the Learning Policy Institute, presidential professor in Educational Equity emeritus at UCLA, former director of education at the Ford Foundation and immediate past president of the American Educational Research Association. She lives in Santa Fe and has been an unpaid consultant for the pre-K program proposed to be financed by