Early learning advocates, community leaders, childcare providers and educators, and funders were recently invited by Childcare Resources of Indian River to hear from Rep. Erin Grall, who provided insight into House Bill 419, “Early Learning and Early Grade Success.” Wanda Lincoln, a steadfast champion of early childhood education, hosted the discussion, which took place in the Quail Valley River Club Boathouse.
The bill, co-introduced by Rep. Grall and Rep. Vance Aloupis, passed the Florida House and Senate unanimously, and Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the legislation this past May on the campus of Childcare Resources.
Grall, a former Childcare Resources board chair, said the bill is meant to improve early education and better prepare children for kindergarten. She walked attendees through the legislative process, highlighting ways the new law will impact the lives of young children and their families.
The mission of Childcare Resources has always been to promote the highest quality childhood development and education in Indian River County, especially among working families that are economically challenged. The board is currently exploring three areas of focus: mental health, program expansion and advocacy.
“Since 1994, Childcare Resources has been focused on Indian River County and elevating and promoting high-quality early childhood education,” said executive director Shannon McGuire Bowman. “The board wanted to explore our possible role of expanding and elevating high-quality early education beyond our borders.”
That advocacy component, said Bowman, prompted the gathering.
Katy Block Healy, a board member and advocacy committee lead, noted that “advocacy is taking action to create change. It is our intention to continue to educate ourselves on the needs of our children, family, community and educators, as well as the best practices in our early learning community; all in the name of affecting positive change for the early learning community.”
Grall said that it was her involvement with Childcare Resources that made her aware of the importance of a child’s early education.
“It was long before I ever ran for office that Childcare Resources showed me the importance of this time in a child’s life, and it was long before I had my own children,” she said.
Grall explained that much of the conversation at the state level was about the definition of a quality education.
“We’re spending a tremendous amount of money, a tremendous amount of taxpayer dollars, and there really weren’t parameters around quality,” she said.
Statewide, some 175,000 children participate annually in the Voluntary Prekindergarten program, which is supported through a $400 million annual taxpayer investment. Despite that, 43 percent of Florida children are not deemed ready for kindergarten.
Grall shared details about portions of the 190-page bill, which is meant to level the playing field.
Among them, transitioning the Office of Early Learning to the purview of the Florida Department of Education; developing performance standards for early learning coalitions; stricter Gold Seal accreditation oversight; VPK accountability; statewide consistency in screening and progress assessments; VPK educator education requirements; and developing childcare resources and referral tools for parents.
“There are still things that aren’t there yet. This framework and the groundwork that has been done is so that we can really address the funding formula on the state level; to understand the cost of care in our communities,” said Grall.
The evening concluded with a Q & A session with questions organically centered on how the community can channel its efforts toward supplementing the work being done at the state level.
County Commissioner Peter O’Brien said that at the local level, the Board of County Commissioners recently voted unanimously to put the Children’s Trust Initiative on the November 2022 ballot. If passed, this property tax increase would fund a Children’s Trust, with a goal toward increasing children’s services.
“To make a countywide district, we need all five of our sister municipalities to approve it: the Town of Indian River Shores, Orchid, Fellsmere, Sebastian and Vero. That’s something we can do here,” said O’Brien.
He encouraged supporters to attend meetings about funding the initiative, which would take children’s education to the next level, tying nicely into this new bill.
“Then we’re working together to get the funding we need to serve the kids,” said O’Brien.
For more information, visit childcareresourcesir.org.
Photos by Brenda Ahearn
