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Skip to Content Skip to navigation Site map Facebook Instagram Mail Pinterest RSS Twitter Youtube * Districts A-G * Byron Center * Caledonia * Cedar Springs * Comstock Park * East Grand Rapids * Forest Hills * Godfrey-Lee * Godwin Heights * Grand Rapids * Grandville * Grand Rapids Community College * Districts H-Z * Kelloggsville * Kenowa Hills * Kent City * Kent ISD * Kentwood * Lowell * Northview * Rockford * Sparta * Thornapple Kellogg * Wyoming * Education Everywhere * Profiles * Grads with Grit * Meet the Future * Meet Your Administrators * Powered by Parents * Rockstar Teachers * Student Leaders * Why I Teach * Your Dream is Our Dream * Arts & Academics * Career Exploration * Making Math Add Up * Project STEM * State of the Arts * The Road to Reading * Issues in Education * Classrooms for All * Guest Commentary * Homeless, with Homework * How Schools Work * Places of Refuge * School 2.0 * Special Education * Student Voices * The Burden of Poverty * Youth Mental Health * Video * Podcasts Search Search School News NetworkA Window into Your Public Schools * About School News Network * Our Team * Contact Us * Get our Headlines * Become a Sponsor Facebook Instagram Mail Pinterest RSS Twitter Youtube School News NetworkA Window into Your Public Schools - Sponsorship - * Districts A-G * Byron Center * Caledonia * Cedar Springs * Comstock Park * East Grand Rapids * Forest Hills * Godfrey-Lee * Godwin Heights * Grand Rapids * Grandville * Grand Rapids Community College * Districts H-Z * Kelloggsville * Kenowa Hills * Kent City * Kent ISD * Kentwood * Lowell * Northview * Rockford * Sparta * Thornapple Kellogg * Wyoming * Profiles * AllGrads with GritMeet the FutureMeet Your AdministratorsPowered by ParentsRockstar TeachersSNN 10th AnniversaryStudent LeadersWhy I TeachYour Dream is Our Dream Caledonia INSPIRED BY TAYLOR SWIFT, SHE WANTS TO BE ON STAGE Kentwood WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A ‘GRAD WITH GRIT’ Godfrey-Lee SOPHOMORE PROVES TO HERSELF AND OTHERS: ‘I CAN DO ANYTHING’ Forest Hills NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP WINNER PLANS CAREER IN MEDICAL FIELD * Arts & Academics * AllCareer ExplorationMaking Math Add UpProject STEMState of the ArtsThe Road to Reading State of the Arts 00:00:44 DID YOU HEAR THE NEWS? LONGTIME DIRECTOR LEADS FINAL SHOW State of the Arts 00:00:43 PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN DISTRICT AND CHURCH CREATES OPPORTUNITY IN THE ARTS Kentwood HEALTHCARE LEADERS ASK STUDENTS FOR IDEAS, SOLUTIONS Godwin Heights INVENTION THE FOCUS OF SUMMER CAMP * Issues in Education * AllClassrooms for AllHow Schools WorkSchool 2.0Special EducationStudent VoicesThe Burden of PovertyYouth Mental Health Cedar Springs ‘RED HAWK RIVALS’ EPISODE 4: PERCUSSION All Districts STUDENTS LEARN TODAY — AND ALSO LEAD TODAY Kentwood WHAT DO TEACHERS THINK OF AI IN SCHOOL? Wyoming DUNE RIDE CAPS LEARNING FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE BIOLOGY STUDENTS * Education Everywhere * Videos * Podcasts SearchSearch HomeAll Districts All Districts KENT COUNTY VOTERS TO CONSIDER EARLY CHILDHOOD MILLAGE RENEWAL Millage fills funding gap for early childhood education By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma July 15, 2024 A family participates in Bright Beginnings, a program funded through the Ready by Five Early Childhood millage All Districts — Funding from the Ready by Five Early Childhood millage helped the Great Start to Quality Kent Resource Center, which is operated through Kent ISD, launch a pilot program to provide real time, up-to-date information to families on openings at licensed child care providers. If voters Tuesday, Aug. 6, approve a no-tax increase renewal of .25 mill for Ready by Five, the Great Start to Quality Kent Resource Center plans to seek a second grant to continue its child care navigation work. Early childhood organizations have to apply for grants or respond to requests for proposals to receive funding from the Ready by Five millage. Kent Resource Center Director Jaimie Mueller said funding for the child-care navigation project has been its biggest hurdle. “We’re super thankful for the Ready by Five funding — that it’s allowed us to start on this work that we have known has needed to happen for several years and we just haven’t been able to do anything about it,” Mueller said. The .25 mill, six-year renewal would generate about $8.8 million in its first year and be used to expand access to early childhood programming. According to Ready by Five, the cost to an owner of a home valued at $300,000 would be about $37.50 per year, or $3.13 per month. FILLING IN GAPS Puppeteer Kevin Kammeraard, who is part of the KDL engagement team, participates at the Laugh and Learn program hosted by Kent ISD early education programs and funded through the Ready by Five Early Childhood millage The Great Start to Quality Kent Resource Center is one of 18 community-based organizations the Ready by Five millage has provided funding to since approved in 2018. Those organizations support 32 different early childhood programs providing prenatal support, developmental screenings, home visits, play and learn groups, elimination of hazardous substances, intensive therapy for children dealing with behavioral health issues and books to support reading at home. Along with the Kent Resource Center, Kent ISD has received Ready by Five funding for Bright Beginnings, which serves families with children from prenatal to the time they begin kindergarten and for Help Me Grow Kent, which connects parents of young children (up to age 5) with local child development resources. Help Me Grow Kent is overseen by the Great Start Collaborative. “The early childhood millage is really designed to fill in gap areas,” said Jennifer Headley-Nordman, president of First Steps Kent, which administers the millage for Kent County. The millage does not duplicate funding or replace programs, but rather strengthens the entire early childhood ecosystem, Headley-Nordman said, so parents and children really get the most benefit before the children enter kindergarten. “We know that birth to 5 is the time period that there’s really the most cognitive growth,” Headley-Nordman said. CONNECTING PROVIDERS AND FAMILIES Great Start to Quality, a free resource, has two main focuses: helping licensed child care providers improve the care they give to children and helping families find the best licensed child care, preschool or afterschool program for their children, ages 0-12. The statewide program has 10 resource centers. The Kent Resource Center is the only center covering just one county. Kent Resource Center’s navigation system project is an example of working to strengthen programs. Headley-Nordman said the improved system helps meet parents’ needs in today’s lifestyle because parents can find what they need right on their phones. “So many times, resources have relied on a laptop or someone having to have access to a computer. We know that our parents are on the go, and we really are heavily reliant on our phones and so to be able to have something that really is meant for that type of operating system makes a lot of sense,” Headley-Nordman said. Ready by Five data has shown that students who participate in programs funded by the millage have had higher reading and math scores when they get to third grade The center’s $486,000 Ready by Five grant funded research which led to the creation of a child care navigation team. Now, families that reach out to the Kent Resource Center are connected to a navigator who provides support in connecting the family to a provider that has openings and other resources if needed, Mueller said. A child care navigator then follows up with the family to make sure they have connected with providers and other services. The center worked with the Early Childhood Investment Corporation, which oversees the statewide Great Start to Quality website, on the project. “We have had really positive feedback from families that we’ve supported through navigating child care and other community resources, and we’ve gotten really great feedback from the providers that are participating and texting us their openings,” Mueller said. HELPING FUTURE STUDENTS BE SCHOOL READY In 2023, more than 14,000 children and expectant parents in every zip code of Kent County participated in programs funded by the Ready by Five Early Childhood millage. A small cohort of students who participated in those programs entered kindergarten last fall, Headley-Nordman said. Headley-Nordman said children who have participated in some of the programs, such as Bright Beginnings, have higher reading and math scores when they get to third grade and take the M-STEP. They have also seen a reduction in preterm and low birth-weight babies and an increase in the number of families accessing assessments to determine if their child has a potential delay or disability. KDL Caledonia branch manager Audrey Barker reads during a Laugh and Learn program hosted by Kent ISD early education programs and funded through the Ready by Five Early Childhood millage “We’re seeing that we are catching more children earlier so they’re able to take advantage of different types of therapy, so when they get to kindergarten, often those children may need no special education services or may need less special education services than they would have if they wouldn’t have accessed the therapies and services that they did in advance,” Headley-Nordman said. Basis Policy Research, a Grand Rapids-based research organization that is reviewing Ready by Five data, recently found positive trends related to kindergarten readiness for children who participated in Ready by Five programs, Headley-Nordman said. Two groups showing promising results have been children learning English and those who are African-American. As more students who have participated in Ready by Five-funded programs enter and move through the K-12 system, Headley-Norman said they expect the data to be more robust. “I really want (people) to remember that the program is about ensuring that we have dedicated and sustained funding to support children between birth and kindergarten, because we know that research shows that those children that participate in early childhood programs and services are healthier,” Headley-Nordman said. “They’re more ready for kindergarten, which means they’re going to be more ready for school in general.” Read more: • KDL seeks one-year, non-renewal ‘gap’ millage • Training on high-end scenarios offered to bus drivers - Sponsorship - Joanne Bailey-Boorsma Joanne Bailey-Boorsma is a reporter covering Kent ISD, Godwin Heights, Kelloggsville, Forest Hills and Comstock Park. The salutatorian for the Hartland Public Schools class of 1985, she changed her colors from blue and maize to green and white by attending Michigan State University, where she majored in journalism. Joanne moved to the Grand Rapids area in 1989, where she started her journalism career at the Advance Newspapers. She later became the editor for On-the-Town magazine, a local arts and entertainment publication. Her eldest daughter is a nurse, working in Holland, and her youngest attends Oakland University. Both are graduates from Byron Center High School. She is a volunteer for the Van Singel Fine Arts Advisory Board and the Kent District Library. In her free time, Joanne enjoys spending time with her family, checking out local theater and keeping up with all the exchange students they have hosted through the years. Read Joanne's full bio LATEST ARTICLES Rockford COLLABORATION IS AT THE HEART OF NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Why I Teach ‘THOSE KIDS DESERVE YOUR BEST, ALL THE TIME’: MEDIA TEACHER TALKS 21ST-CENTURY EDUCATION State of the Arts 00:00:44 DID YOU HEAR THE NEWS? LONGTIME DIRECTOR LEADS FINAL SHOW State of the Arts 00:00:43 PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN DISTRICT AND CHURCH CREATES OPPORTUNITY IN THE ARTS RELATED ARTICLES WITH UNBRIDLED ENTHUSIASM, SCHOOL NEWS NETWORK FOUNDER SHOWED ‘OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS WORK’ All Districts STUDENTS LEARN TODAY — AND ALSO LEAD TODAY All Districts SCHOOL SAFETY AND SECURITY EXPERT FOCUSES LARGELY ON PREVENTION All Districts Load more - Sponsorship - ISSUES IN EDUCATION ‘RED HAWK RIVALS’ EPISODE 4: PERCUSSION School News Network Cedar Springs Superintendent Scott Smith learns the basics of percussion in this episode of the “Red Hawk Rivals” podcast. MAKING HEADLINES WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A ‘GRAD WITH GRIT’ School News Network In this episode of “Study Hall,” recent graduate JB Barnes and his dad, Kevin Barnes, talk about life together, their mutual love of cars and never giving up. - Sponsorship - MEDIA PARTNERS SUSTAINING SPONSORS Join these sponsors School News NetworkA Window into Your Public Schools ABOUT US School News Network reports on the 20 public school districts in Kent ISD, which enroll more than 102,000 students. Founded in 2013 as an initiative of Kent ISD, we are supported by local districts and community sponsors, and powered by an experienced team of reporters, editors and multimedia journalists. We specialize in covering classroom teaching and learning, analyzing the many issues facing students and highlighting the education magic that happens each day in our public schools. Contact us: snn@kentisd.org FOLLOW US Facebook Instagram RSS Twitter Youtube OUR SCHOOL DISTRICTS Byron Center Caledonia Cedar Springs Comstock Park East Grand Rapids Forest Hills Godfrey-Lee Godwin Heights Grand Rapids Grandville Kelloggsville Kenowa Hills Kent City Kent ISD Kentwood Lowell Northview Rockford Sparta Thornapple Kellogg Wyoming © Kent ISD | 2930 Knapp NE | Grand Rapids MI 49525 Privacy Policy FacebookTwitterLinkedInPrintEmailTeilen FacebookTwitterLinkedInPrintEmailTeilen ✓ Danke für das Teilen! AddToAny Mehr…