EDUCARE DC

Programs

1. Early head start and head starteducare runs an early head start (infant-toddler) and head start (pre-kindergarten) program for children ranging in age from 6 weeks to 5 years across two Educare DC school sites. Our infant-toddler program, for children ages 6 weeks to 3 years, is designed to provide children with high-quality interactions and caring attention from their teachers. The pre-kindergarten program uses a play-based curriculum to ensure the 3-, 4- and 5-year-old students are ready to learn and succeed in kindergarten and beyond. Teachers design learning units based on the children's interests. The philosophy behind this curriculum, which is aligned with the district of columbia early learning standards for pre-kindergarten (see schedule o)and the district of columbia common core early learning standards, is that young children learn best by doing; positive interactions and relationships with adults are critical foundations for successful learning; social-emotional skills are significant factors in school success; the physical environment affects the quality of learning interactions; and teacher-family partnerships support development and learning. To accomplish these…

   $10,569,807 spentof which $440,420 as grants$135,538 earned by the program
   69% of program spending

2. Comprehensive services:comprehensive health and wellness services are a critical component of our work. Children must be healthy to learn and develop well and, in turn, a quality early learning experience results in better long-term health. Educare DC offers vital health and wellness support to our children and families including: developmental screenings, assistance enrolling in medicaid and wic, management of chronic conditions, on-site therapeutic services, on-site hearing, vision, and dental screenings, coordination with medical providers for immunizations and well-baby checks, and referrals to specialists when needed. The comprehensive health philosophy is infused through educare's program with daily health checks of each child conducted (see schedule o) by classroom teachers, three healthy meals each day designed in consultation with a nutrition specialist, and a school garden as a source of food and learning for children and families.in addition, our comprehensive services team uses formal evaluations and ongoing teacher and parent observations to identify children who may have a developmental delay or would benefit from individualized health or mental/behavioral health…

   $2,101,126 spent
   14% of program spending

3. Family engagement services:family engagement is a critical component of Educare DC's programming. Educare DC's family engagement team works with families to build mutually respectful, goal-oriented relationships that support family wellbeing. This approach is based on the principle that our school can only address a child's needs within the context of the entire family. This two-generation approach enables parents to see and believe in themselves as community leaders, skilled advocates, and the primary drivers of their children's education at Educare DC and beyond. To achieve this goal, our faculty and staff build supportive relationships through intensive, frequent, and (see schedule o) intentional interactions with parents/families. We also collaborate with parents as partners in the education of their children and support them in developing strong, nurturing relationships with their children. This support includes increasing parents' knowledge of healthy parent-child relationships, child development, and expectations for school readiness. Educare DC also shares data on children's progress to support further learning both at school and at home. To further support parents as they…

   $1,466,963 spent
   10% of program spending

4. Advocacy:Educare DC works to leverage our strength as a demonstration site, early learning practitioner, and research organization. By design, Educare DC is uniquely positioned at this intersection of practice, policy, and research. We feel it is our responsibility as a leader in the field to advocate for better policy and identify areas where improvements can be made for better funding and better quality for children.research:Educare DC extensively utilizes data to track program progress and outcomes to ensure that our program is achieving its intended results and reaching our annual quality goals. To support this work, Educare DC works with a local evaluation partner (lep), headed by zachary price of towson/bowie state university. The lep team conducts a series of 12 assessments throughout the school year, collecting data to document child outcomes and classroom quality, which informs classroom practice, family engagement work, advocacy, and more. Our data is also shared with the frank porter graham child development institute at the university of north carolina at chapel hill (fpg), which services as the national evaluation partner (nep) for the 25-school educare learning…

   $1,288,547 spent
   8% of program spending

The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $15,426,443.