CAAAE Garners a $200,000 Grant from the Kellogg Foundation!
In 2010, the Kellogg Foundation launched a $75 million America Healing Initiative. One of its main goals is to abolish structural racism. There were approximately 1,200 applicants, but only 119 were funded. The CAAAE submitted a grant in partnership with the East Side Union High School District. Although we were not funded, we cultivated a relationship with the Vice President who created the initiative.
Fast forward. The CAAAE submitted a grant to seek general operating support so that we can move forward with the Consortium to Advance Equity in Education (CAEE) mentioned in this column a few months ago. We are excited about this support and will be reaching out to CAEE members in thenext few weeks to outline future plans!
CAAAE Highlights
About the Foundation
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation was established in 1930 by breakfast cereal pioneer W.K. Kellogg, who defined its purpose as "…administering funds for the promotion of the welfare, comfort, health, education, feeding, clothing, sheltering and safeguarding of children and youth, directly or indirectly, without regard to sex, race, creed or nationality.…" To guide current and future trustees and staff, he said, "Use the money as you please so long as it promotes the health, happiness and well-being of children."
The foundation receives its income primarily from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Trust, which was set up by Mr. Kellogg. In addition to its diversified portfolio, the trust continues to own substantial equity in the Kellogg Company.
A recent RAND study of who is attending high-quality preschool in California showed that only 5% of African Americans do (14% of Latinos, 13% of low-income children, 12% of children whose mothers have high school diplomas or less).
High-quality preschool is one where teachers promote language development and higher-level thinking (in addition to being engaging and emotionally-supportive). These indicators are linked to school performance. The RAND study has shown that California has a school-readiness gap. This gap is the difference between children who have the pre-reading, pre-math, and social skills that help them enter kindergarten ready to learn—skills that a high-quality program helps develop—and those who do not. By the early elementary grades, the RAND study found that significant percentages of all children were falling short of state standards. According to 2007 STAR test results released by Superintendent O’Connell’s office, almost two thirds of third graders did not meet state standards in English-language arts and more than 40 percent did not meet standards in math.
The data are even worse for children of African descent. On those same tests, 70% were below proficiency in language arts and nearly 60% were in math. The most damaging data showed that white economically disadvantaged students performed better on the 2007 STAR tests than all in the African American sub-group. That is the racial achievement gap that O’Connell has made a priority to close in California’s schools.
In a longitudinal study of Chicago Public School’s large-scale program, preschool participants performed better on reading and math achievement tests through ninth grade, they were less likely to be held back a grade, less likely to be placed in special ed and more likely to graduate from high school.
Finally, a High/Scope Perry Preschool study that followed participants in a high-quality program for more than 40 years found that, in comparison to kids who did not attend preschool, Perry participants were more likely to be employed and own their homes and less likely to be arrested more than five times.
The CAAAE was awarded a Packard Foundation grant to develop a Preschool Initiative unapologetically focused on African American families of preschoolers. Our goal is to educate those families about high-quality preschool and encourage their enrollment in such programs. Even if their children did not begin life in a nurturing womb, they can still catch up before they enter kindergarten. I am convinced that if they do, we will see a gradual eradication of the racial achievement gap in the state of California.
The CAAAE is pleased to partner with Preschool California and other entities around the state to focus on culturally relevant teaching and the importance of Transitional Kindergarten (TK). Check back on this page for more detailed information about TK and the current fight to save it from Governor Jerry Brown's budget ax.
