Indicator: Early Childhood Educational Opportunities
Schools are meant to provide educational opportunities for all children, to enhance their chances to succeed and learn, regardless of a child's
needs for support. For children with special learning-related needs, being ready to enter school and to succeed in school partly depends upon
having had early intervention and perhaps having ongoing supports in place at the time of school entry for the child and family.
- Opportunites for Expanded Day Kindergarten
- Availability of Quality Childcare
- Teachers with Early Childhood Certification
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Why This is Important
Schools are meant to provide educational opportunities for all children, to enhance their chances to succeed and learn, regardless of a child's needs for support. For children with special learning-related needs, being ready to enter school and to succeed in school partly depends upon having had early intervention and perhaps having ongoing supports in place at the time of school entry for the child and family.
Where We Stand
The Maine Department of Education monitors the number of children who had received early intervention services but who no longer require special education upon their entry into kindergarten. For the 2004-2005 school year, 454 such children exited to regular education, a distinct rise since the 1996-1997 school year, with a slight decline from 2003-2004. These children are entering school more developmentally ready.
Data Source and Context
The source of this data is the IDEA Child Count, information collected each December 1st by the Division of Special Services, Maine Department of Education, http://www.maine.gov/education/speced/EFS05/public_reports.htm.
Why This is Important
Access to child care is important because it enables parents to work and child care arrangements can have strong implications for the well-being and development of children in care. Choosing child care is one of the most important decisions a parent will make. It sets the stage for lifelong learning, stimulates healthy brain growth, builds social competencies, provides stable, stimulating environments for ‘children at risk’, and offers intervention for children with special needs. Maine has many different child care options to meet the various needs of families: child care centers, family child care homes, nursery schools, legal-unlicensed child care, head start programs, school age programs, summer programs, public school pre-K programs, and in-home care.
Where We Stand
According to data compiled by Maine Roads to Quality, licensed child care programs in Maine include 921 centers, 203 nursery schools and 2,496 family child care programs. Maine Roads to Quality (funded by Maine DHHS, Office of Child Care and Head Start) is an Early Care and Education Career Development Center that promotes and supports professionalism in the early care and education field.
According to the Maine Child Care Advisory Council’s report, Early Care and Education In Maine, 2007 and Beyond, approximately 46,000 Maine children under age five (of whom 8,800 are infants) need child care while their parents work, and only 27,000 spaces in licensed child care programs for children under five. The table below lists the number of children who are on a wait list.
Access to child care is particularly problematic for infants and young toddlers. According to the 2006 Workforce Report, the number of children on waiting lists for center-based and family child care is over 5,000 and almost half of the children on wait lists are infants and young toddlers.
Data Source and Context
Early Care and Education in Maine, 2007 & Beyond, Maine Child Care Advisory Council.
http://mainegov-images.informe.org/dhhs/ocfs/ec/occhs/early_childhood_education.pdf
Maine Child Care Workforce Climate Report and Market Rate Analysis 2006 http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/ocfs/publications.shtml
Maine Roads to Quality website: http://muskie.usm.maine.edu/maineroads/pages/aboutcenter.htm
Why This is Important
Having a strong background in early childhood education may help elementary teachers in the primary grades plan and adjust their instruction to their learners’ needs. School boards and administrators that support professional development efforts and hiring criteria that encourage more elementary level teachers to have this special level of certification are demonstrating a way to make schools readier for children.
Where We Stand
Teachers who hold Early Childhood Education Certificates have completed coursework and training specific to the developmental needs of young children (ages 0-8). While 298 Maine teachers have this certification in the 2005-2006 school year, this is only 2% of the public and private elementary school classroom teachers in Maine. Furthermore, of those individuals that now hold such a certificate, only 63 are employed in a school setting.
Data Source and Context
The data source is the Division of Certification, Maine Department of Education, 2006.
Why This is Important
Having a strong background in early childhood education may help elementary teachers in the primary grades plan and adjust their instruction to their learners’ needs. School boards and administrators that support professional development efforts and hiring criteria that encourage more elementary level teachers to have this special level of certification are demonstrating a way to make schools readier for children.
Where We Stand
Teachers who hold Early Childhood Education Certificates have completed coursework and training specific to the developmental needs of young children (ages 0-8). While 298 Maine teachers have this certification in the 2005-2006 school year, this is only 2% of the public and private elementary school classroom teachers in Maine. Furthermore, of those individuals that now hold such a certificate, only 63 are employed in a school setting.
Data Source and Context
The data source is the Division of Certification, Maine Department of Education, 2006.