A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n

Achieving the Goals: Goal 1--All Children in America Will Start School Ready to Learn

U.S. Department of Education

New Jersey Early Childhood Program -- Jersey City

Jersey City's school district based early childhood initiative has expanded from an initial state-funded program for 150 children to a program serving 400 children, with the majority of resources provided from local education agency funds. The program has thrived during a period of state imposed takeover of the school district operations and budget.

Organization

The school district uses resources from the state Goodstarts Program and local district resources to implement prekindergarten programs in elementary school buildings. All families in the community are eligible to enroll their children in the locally funded classrooms. Two administrators share responsibility for program management, staff development for prekindergarten and primary grade staff members, and teacher evaluations.

Funding

A total budget of approximately $2.75 million per year includes an estimated contribution of $1.8 million from local school district resources as well as funding from federal (Even Start, Chapter 1), and state department of education programs.

Services for Children

The faculty-student ratio is 2 to 15 in the 3- and 2 to 18 in the 4-year-old classes. The after-school program runs from 8:00 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. and emphasizes education activities such as music, dance and drama. Jersey City has adopted a developmentally appropriate framework for classroom practice and professional development from prekindergarten through second grade, an approach which enhances continuity for young children and their families. Most children move from prekindergarten classes into kindergarten classes in the same schools, thus easing the transition for both student and their families.

Early Education Program for Children with Disabilities

This program provides support for experimental, demonstration, outreach, research, training, and technical assistance and dissemination activities for children with disabilities from birth through age 8. Individual project grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts are funded through this program.

Jim Hamilton
Acting Division Director
Division of Educational Services
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
U.S. Department of Education
Room 4611 Switzer Building, SW
Washington, DC 20202

(202) 205-9084

Even Start -- State Educational Agencies

This program funds family-centered education projects to help parents become full partners in the education of their children, to assist children in reaching their full potential as learners, and to provide literacy training for their parents. These grants a state formula grants from which local education agencies are subgrantees.

Donna Campbell
U.S. Department of Education
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
Room 440 Portals Building
Washington, DC 20202

(202) 260-0996

Even Start -- Indian Tribes and Tribal Organizations

This program provides funds for family-centered education projects to help parents become full partners in the education of their children, to assist children in reaching their full potential as learners, and to provide literacy training for their parents. These grants are discretionary, funding individual projects.

Donna Campbell
U.S. Department of Education
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
Room 440 Portals Building
Washington, DC 20202

(202) 260-0996

Even Start -- Migrant Education

This program is designed to establish and improve programs to meet the special educational needs of migratory preschool children and their parents by integrating early childhood education and adult education into a unified program.

Regina Kinard
U.S. Department of Education
Office of Migrant Education
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
Room 4100 Portals Building
Washington, DC 20202

(202) 260-1335

Title I

The new Title I has one overriding goal: to improve the teaching and learning of children in high-poverty schools to enable them to meet challenging academic content and performance standards. To accomplish this goal, Title I supports new roles for schools, districts, states and the federal government. Schools will decide how to spend their Title I resources and have more leeway in combining their resources to support comprehensive reform through schoolwide programs. The new provisions (1) ask school districts to coordinate and integrate Title I services with other educational services, including Even Start and Head Start, and to the extent feasible, and where necessary, with other agencies providing health and social services to children; (2) allow Title I schools to work with the community to provide health, nutrition, and other social services that are not otherwise available to the children being served; and (3) require districts and schools to address the transition needs of children, particularly as they move from pre-school to school.

Mary Jean LeTendre or William Lobosco
U.S. Department of Education
Office of Compensatory Education Programs
Room 4400, Portals Building, SW
Washington, DC 20202-6132

(202) 260-0826

Program Development Implementation Grants

This program makes grants available to develop and implement new comprehensive, coherent, and successful bilingual education or special alternative instructional programs for limited English proficient students. Programs may include early childhood education, K-12 education, gifted and talented education, and vocational and applied technology education.

Petraine Johnson
Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs
Room 5627, Mary E. Switzer Building, SW
Washington, DC 20202

(202) 205-8766

Services for Children with Deaf-Blindness

This program provides services to benefit infants, toddlers, children, and youth with deaf-blindness including demonstration activities; technical assistance to agencies, institutions, or organizations providing educational or early intervention services; preservice or inservice training to personnel; assistance to agencies in facilitating the transition of youth with deaf-blindness to adult services including assistance related to independent living and competitive employment.

Charles Freeman
600 Independence, SW
Switzer Building, Room 4617
Washington, DC 20202

(202) 205-8165
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[U.S. Department of Health and Human Services]