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SRQ DAILY Jul 2, 2016

"High quality early education opportunities prepare children to succeed in academics as well as life, and ultimately strengthens the economy."

- Amy Farrington, Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce
 

[Community]  Investing in Summer Learning
Roxie Jerde, roxie@cfsarasota.org

For many of us, summer brings back childhood memories of backyard barbeques, summer camps, days spent by the sand and water, escapes to museums or road trips to new places. Yet, summer is often anything but a vacation for millions of students from low-income households in the United States. Instead of a time to explore new interests and locations, it’s often a period when children and families struggle to afford basic necessities and opportunities to enrich learning.

Lack of access to stimulating learning activities leads to a phenomenon called summer learning loss, when young people lose academic skills during their time away from school. This loss contributes many debilitating effects to a young person’s personal achievement and success in school. Summer learning loss is also a key reason why many children from low-income households experience an achievement gap between their peers from medium and high-income households.

As these children in our communities fall behind, the gap grows ever wider. Recent studies show the achievement gap between children from high- and low-income families is roughly 30 to 40 percent larger among children born after 2001 than among those born twenty-five years earlier.

Fortunately, there is hope. Support and collaboration from the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, and the Sarasota County School District produced multiple programs with an array of partners to offer engaging and enrichment summer learning opportunities for the most vulnerable youth in our region. Not only are academic activities offered, but food and other assistance for the students and their families as well. These programs have proved to improve academic skills, school engagement, motivation and relationships with adults and peers.

One of my favorite young people, who I met at the Lee Wetherington Boys & Girls Club of Sarasota County, is a shining example of the amazing accomplishments these programs can make. When I first met her, kindergartener Roxanna’s (you know I love her name!) English comprehension was weak, she shied away from people, and quickly fell behind her peers. Over the years I witnessed her grow through the summer programs offered at BGCS. Now getting ready to enter second grade, Roxanna is reading above grade-level, has a passion for learning, and confidently introduces herself to all those she meets. It just goes to show the power of a safe, enriching, and engaging place for a young person to learn, when they otherwise would not have one available!

After learning that the average ratio of age-appropriate books per child is 1 for every 300 in low-income neighborhoods compared to 13 books for one child in middle-income neighborhoods, we decided to change the odds. Thanks to funding from a donor, the Community Foundation was able to purchase 42,000 children’s books with the plan to distribute them to children from low-income households on July 14th, National Summer Learning Day, an annual national advocacy day led by the National Summer Learning Association to highlight the importance of keeping kids learning, safe and healthy every summer.

Roxie Jerde is president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. 

[Chamber]  Investing In Our Youngest Residents
Amy Farrington

I am a proud mom to a precocious five-year-old who is registered and ready to head off to kindergarten this August. As we move towards this next phase of our lives, I look back at our experiences with early learning and am once again struck with how important quality early education is not only to us as a family, but “us” as a community.

Early childhood education is the development and education of children from birth to age five. This time in a child’s life is as critical in terms of brain growth as it is for social, cognitive and emotional development. In fact, eighty-five percent of a human’s brain growth happens by age three. So it’s no wonder that investments made at this critical time in a child’s life yield the highest return rates to society. The later investments are made, the lower the return on that investment. 

High quality early education opportunities prepare children to succeed in academics as well as life, and ultimately strengthens the economy. Because my son had excellent early educational opportunities, statistically he will be more likely to graduate from high school, maintain a job, own a home and positively contribute to society. He is also statistically less likely to be arrested or develop drug or alcohol problems.  

Participation in early education directly addresses the achievement gap and empowers children to avoid certain academic disadvantages as they enter kindergarten. While early learning benefits all children as a whole, the greatest impact can be seen in children of low-income families. When all children have the opportunity to reach their full potential, we all benefit.

The strength of our workforce is the key to a stronger economy that generates more growth and higher profits. An early investment in children most positively creates a strong workforce for tomorrow. Today, access to reliable, quality care for children helps working parents increase employment and earnings. This translates into better long-term earnings that will not only benefit the entire family, but the employer, who will see reduced parental absenteeism and a decrease in related expenses.   

The early learning industry plays a critical role in the Sarasota economy. Sarasota has about 175 early care and educational facilities with most teaching less than 50 children (five sites serve over 100). These small businesses have the capacity to serve around 8,500 to 9,000 children. Collectively they employ 1,100 teachers, directors, aides and other workers. These same employees spend those earnings locally and are an integral part of our communities.

So what can we do? Continuing to raise the quality, availability and accessibility of local early educational institutions is critical. Developing and maintaining a mix of public, private and nonprofit programs allows the flexibility needed for families.  Providing for additional resources and greater teacher training allows for new and innovative solutions in the classroom. 

As one report from the US Chamber noted, “the future success and prosperity for all of us is dependent on the education we provide our children today.” While it is becoming a national focus, early childhood education takes place locally. We as a community, individuals and businesses, need do everything we can to support the early learning industry here in the greater Sarasota area.

Amy Farrington is vice president of Public Policy and Sarasota Tomorrow Initiatives for the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce. 



[SCOOP ]  HSSC Reduces Adoption Fees for Large Dogs

Find your woof-tastic best friend by adopting a shelter dog. The Humane Society of Sarasota County (HSSC) has set adoption fees at $45 for all dogs 45 pounds or more for the entire month of July. The adoption fee include a comprehensive medical exam, vaccinations, spaying or neutering, deworming, a free 30-day pet insurance policy, microchipping and a complimentary first exam at the brand-new Animal Clinic of the Humane Society of Sarasota County. 

The Humane Society of Sarasota County

[SOON]  Christmas in July Extravaganza

Start your Christmas shopping early by joining Selah Freedom for the Selah Vie Christmas in July Extravaganza on Tuesday, July 19. Purchase handmade Christmas ornaments created by Selah Freedom survivors, G.L.A.M. ware, Kintsugi plates, vases and more. The entire boutique will be 24 percent off (excluding all Exclusive Survivor Art Collection).  

Selah Freedom

[SOON]  Sarasota Contemporary Dance Prepares for Summer Dance Program

Brought back by popular demand after its launch last summer, Sarasota Contemporary Dance is pumped up for its Kids & Junior Summer Dance Program on July 11–15. The week long program from 9am–1pm is for children ages 6–13 held at the New College of Florida Campus in their fitness center. Students will experience kids hip-hop, contemporary, acro, creative movement and choreography led by SCD artists Rick Levine and Melissa Coleman. The program will end with an informal performance where the kids show off what they have learned throughout the week at the New College of Florida Black Box Theater on Friday, July 15 at 12:30pm. 

Sarasota Contemporary Dance

[SCOOP ]  Goodwill Manasota Supporter Turns Mont Blanc Climb Into Fundraiser

In mid-July, Goodwill Manasota Ambassador Nick Altier’s Mont Blanc climb will raise funds for Goodwill through pledges made on the organization’s website. Altier, who was born in Sarasota and has lived here most of his life, works at Brown & Brown Insurance. He caught the climbing bug during open climb nights at the Lee Wetherington Club of the Boys & Girls Clubs. He has climbed the Six Sister Mountains but Mont Blanc will be his first true mountain-climbing experience. To train for the adventure, Altier, who has lost 30 pounds since October, climbs numerous stairwells throughout the city and also treks back and forth over the Ringling Bridge. He trains with an acclimation mask which restricts his breathing, thus limiting the amount of oxygen he can take in. 

Goodwill Manasota

[SCOOP]  Manatee Memorial Announces First Recapturable Heart Valve

Now offering the latest, cutting-edge heart valve replacement technology, Manatee Memorial Hospital announced its first two implant procedures of the approved recapturable, self-expanding CoreValve Evolut R System. The first and only recapturable and repositionable device available in the United States, the Evolut R System is approved for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) in patients with severe aortic stenosis who are at high or extreme risk for surgery. Untreated, aortic valve stenosis can lead to serious heart problems including heart failure and even death.   

Manatee Memorial Hospital

[SOON]  PINC. Sarasota 2016 Returns

The conference dubbed "the most creative day of the year" returns to Sarasota for its third annual conference. PINC.Sarasota 2016, a one-day/all day event, will showcase exceptional international speakers, astounding artistic intermezzos and culinary delights at the Sarasota Opera House on Thursday, December 8. 

PINC. Sarasota

[KUDOS ]  Sarasota Memorial Verified as Level II Trauma Center

Sarasota Memorial Health Care System has successfully completed the application process to become a Level II Trauma Center, receiving full designation from the Florida Department of Health. The state’s approval is the culmination of an intensive process that began in early 2015 with a unanimous vote by the Sarasota County Public Hospital Board to commit the finances, resources and personnel necessary to support the new trauma center. This is the first and only trauma program in Sarasota County. The trauma designation ensures that critically injured patients in Sarasota County can be transported to their local hospital rather than a trauma center in another community.  


 

Sarasota Memorial Hospital

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SRQ DAILY is produced by SRQ | The Magazine. Note: The views and opinions expressed in the Saturday Perspectives Edition and in the Letters department of SRQ DAILY are those of the author(s) and do not imply endorsement by SRQ Media. Senior Editor Jacob Ogles edits the Saturday Perspective Edition, Letters and Guest Contributor columns.In the CocoTele department, SRQ DAILY is providing excerpts from news releases as a public service. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by SRQ DAILY. The views expressed by individuals are their own and their appearance in this section does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. For rates on SRQ DAILY banner advertising and sponsored content opportunities, please contact Ashley Ryan Cannon at 941-365-7702 x211 or via email

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