Year Four Accomplishments:

• We contributed to an increased awareness of quality childcare within the Alliance community. 

• In August 2006 (inception of ECEA), Alliance had one center out of six that was star-rated in Ohio’s Quality Rating System (Step-Up to Quality).  Today we have five out of six centers that are star-rated.  The sixth center has recently applied for their first star.  The centers are: 

• One-Star Centers:  Alliance YMCA; Union Avenue Preschool
• Two-Star Centers:  Alliance Head Start; First Baptist Preschool
• Three-Star Centers:  Stuckey Family Interfaith Child Development Center
• NAEYC Accredited Sites:  Alliance Early Learning School, Alliance Head Start, Stuckey Family Interfaith Child Development Center
• NAFCC Accredited Sites:  Callie Wilson; Tracey Dalo

• ECEA and the Early Childhood Resource Center provided an Early Childhood Training Series (all Step-Up Approved) in Alliance.  We had more than 150 participants attend the four sessions. 

• The Early Childhood Education Alliance, Inc. has partnered with the Alliance Family YMCA to address the need of infant and toddler care in our community.  Collectively, the two agencies are pursuing options to better serve families in the Alliance community. 

•  In May 2010, we hosted our Fourth Annual Family Fun Night featuring the Tenny Shoe Bunny Bop Band and the   Northside Drama Club.  We had over 350 children and families in attendance. 

• Through our SPARK program, we successfully transitioned 47 children into Kindergarten for the 2010-2011 school year.

• In September 2010, ECEA, the Alliance Early Learning School, and the Stuckey Family Interfaith Child Development Center hosted the “First Annual Night with the Stars” Fundraiser.  Thanks to community support, we raised over $8,300 for the three early childhood programs.  Plans are underway now for the Second Annual Collaborative Fundraiser. 

• ECEA received a “Summertime Kids Grant” from the Stark Community Foundation to provide a weeklong field trip to the Huston-Brumbaugh Nature Center for the children attending First Baptist Preschool and the Stuckey Family Interfaith Child Development Center. 
• We are participating in a SPARK Replication Chronicling Research Study with Dr. Sharon Lynn Kagan from Columbia University.      

<>
• Alliance Early Care and Education providers now have access to a Resource Lab within our community!  The Alliance Rotary Club provided the necessary funds to open the production lab at the AELS to the area centers and family child care providers.  Informal mentoring is also offered.

• Since 2006, the Early Childhood Education Alliance, Inc. has levied nearly $1,000,000 to support early care and education in the Alliance community. 

• All four of the elementary school principals developed a ready schools plan and through SPARK we provided a $2,000 implementation grant to each of the schools.  We have two of our schools (Northside and Rockhill) participating in the Stark County Ready Schools project funded by the Sisters of Charity Foundation and headed by our very own Jan Webler.

• Featured numerous times in The Alliance Review.

Future Plans - What We Know...

• Alliance has 2306 children under the age of five.
  

• 561 preschool children (3-5 years) are being served in Alliance centers.
  
• 45 infant/toddler children are being served in Alliance centers.
  

• 1132 children under the age of 4 are receiving services from SCDJFS.
• 70% of the families in the Alliance City School district received free or reduced lunch.
  

• A single parent heads 34% of the families in Alliance.
• Ohio Median household income - $44,473; Alliance median household income - $34,051.
• Quality child care is an immediate need.
• In this economic climate, it will be difficult to raise the $4.5 million needed to build a new center.
• We need to maintain our existing quality early childhood programs.
• We are exploring possible collaborations with existing programs to build child care capacity (especially infant/toddler programming).
• We know the success of the SPARK program.  We are exploring funding opportunities in a collaborative manner with the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton as well as within the Alliance community to sustain the SPARK program.

"Children are everyone's responsibility.  The Early Childhood Education Alliance is working diligently to replace poverty and despair with hope and opportunity.  The only thing we need to accomplish our goal is the will to make a difference.  Collectively, we will get it done!"

  

Alliance Early Learning School One of First in Nation To Earn Accreditation

The Alliance Early Learning School is the result of the Alliance School Board deciding in August 2006 to move all kindergartens into one building -- South Lincoln. The purpose was to have all resources under one roof in order to concentrate on preparing students for first grade. There are also 150 three- and four-year-olds in a day care at the facility.

The Alliance Early Learning School is one of the first schools in the nation to earn accreditation from the nation's leading early childhood education organization. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is dedicated to improving the well-being of all young children, with particular focus on the quality of educational and developmental services for all children from birth through age eight.

School Principal Sheila Billheimer said, "We're proud to have earned the mark of quality from NAEYC and to be recognized for our commitment to reaching the highest professional standards. NAEYC accreditation allows families in our community to know their children are getting the best care and early learning experiences possible."

To earn the accreditation, the Alliance Early Learning School went through an extensive self-study process, measuring the program and its services against the ten new NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards and more than 40 related accreditation criteria. For example, the first standard deals with relationships, as NAEYC believes "positive relationships are essential for development." Warm, sensitive and responsive interactions help children develop a secure, positive sense of self and encourage them to respect and cooperate with others. Positive relationships also help children gain the benefits of instructional experiences and resources.

To read the January 29, 2007 Review article on the Early Learning School, click here.