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TOGETHER, WE CAN CREATE REAL Opportunities FOR YOUTH

Some Sobering Numbers

Unfair disparities between Delaware children based on poverty and race begin before those children even enter kindergarten. The percentage of low-income students entering kindergarten in Delaware who are recorded as “accomplished” on kindergarten entrance evaluations in language ranges from 44% to 47%; students who do not live in poverty range from 57% to 60%. Low-income students scoring “accomplished” in mathematics range from 32% to 34%; students who do not live in poverty range from 48% to 50% (Delaware Department of Education Office of Early Learning). Similar inequities exist with respect to race.

These unfair disparities continue into elementary school, particularly at schools where extraordinarily high percentages of the students live in poverty. At Warner Elementary School, where 74.3% of the students are classified by the state as low income, 7% of the students met or exceeded state proficiency levels in math in the 2018-2019 school year, and 14% in English Language Arts. The district-wide numbers for the Red Clay School District were 40% in math, and 51% in English Language Arts. The numbers ranged as high as 53-61% in math and 59-63% in English Language Arts for Red Clay students attending the Red Clay elementary schools with the fewest students classified as low income. Similar disparities are found in Christina School District. At Bancroft School in 2018-2019 (where 77.8% of the students are classified as low income), 14% of students tested proficient in English Language Arts, compared to a district-wide percentage of 39% and percentages that ranged as high as 60-63% in Christina elementary schools with lower percentages of students classified as low income. (Delaware State Report Card, 2020)

Over eighty percent of the juveniles released from Delaware’s Level 4 and Level 5 juvenile detention facilities are re-arrested within eighteen months of release. (Delaware Statistical Analysis Center)

Action for Delaware’s Children Proposes Solutions Based on Sound Evidence

1. The Redding Consortium’s recommendation for quality, full-day Pre-K for three- and four-year-olds in feeder patterns for high-poverty elementary schools is supported by a wealth of research. National research demonstrates that early intervention can increase favorable outcomes for students facing barriers of race and poverty. Formal, center-based early childhood education has proven to be particularly effective in improving students’ experiences in kindergarten and beyond. (School Psychology Review)

2. Research shows that implementation of quality outside-school-time programs will improve performance among students living in poverty, and help diversify Delaware’s teaching ranks. The unmet need for outside-school-time programs is higher among students facing barriers of race and poverty. (After-School Alliance) There is robust research showing that well-designed programs that provide programming to students outside the traditional school day have a variety of benefits, particularly for students living in poverty. (American Journal of Community Psychology) Studies have also noted, however, that to have a tangible impact – whether measured through graduation rates, homework completion, math and reading assessments, or overall health and well-being – programs must be thoughtful, comprehensive, and well-designed. (National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing) Outside School Time programs also provide schools with a means to more quickly diversify the population of adults who are educating and interacting with Black and Hispanic students. The Delaware Department of Education’s statewide statistics indicate that in 2019, 81.97% of public school teachers were white. (Delaware Department of Education) By contrast, 42.7% of the state’s public school students were white. (Delaware Department of Education) There are multiple studies showing the benefits of receiving instruction from Black teachers for both academic and non-academic outcomes among Black students. (The Growing Out-Of-School Time Field, Past, Present and Future) Although efforts to diversify the ranks of the state’s teachers are critical and should be enhanced, “because they are more flexible and less bureaucratic than traditional schools, OST programs can more immediately provide youth of color with high-quality teaching and mentoring staff who reflect their diversity.” (The Growing Out-Of-School Time Field, Past, Present and Future)

3. Research also demonstrates the importance of school-based wellness centers for low income students. (Global Pediatric Health)

4. Additional research supporting the Redding Consortium’s recommendations can be found in the Consortium’s interim report to the Delaware General Assembly and Governor. (Redding Consortium)

5. Multiple studies support the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy and vocational training in reducing recidivism among juveniles who have committed prior offenses. (Georgetown Center for Juvenile Justice Reform)

6. Mentoring in schools has been demonstrated to reduce symptoms of depression among students being mentored, and improve academic attitudes and grades. (MDRC)

HIGH-QUALITY PRE-K FOR CHILDREN LIVING IN POVERTY

The Redding Consortium noted in December, 2020 that the state’s Early Learner Survey had made clear the economic and racial disparities in how students are prepared to enter kindergarten. The Survey divides students’ assessment scores into two categories: “accomplished” (above a numerical threshold) and “emerging” (below that threshold). Statewide, the percentage of white incoming kindergarten students assessed as “accomplished” for language ranged from 59% to 62% between 2016 and 2019; the equivalent statistics for Black students ranged from 50% to 51% and for Hispanic/Latino students from 39% to 43%. The percentage of white students assessed as “accomplished” for mathematics ranged from 50% to 52%; the equivalent statistics for Black students ranged from 37% to 40% and for Hispanic/Latino students from 29% to 31%. Similar disparities were detected for low-income students. Low-income students scoring “accomplished” in language ranged from 44% to 47%; other students ranged from 57% to 60%. Low-income students scoring “accomplished” in mathematics ranged from 32% to 34%; other students ranged from 48% to 50%. (“Early Learner Key Findings,” Delaware Department of Education Office of Early Learning, March 2019)

As the Redding Consortium also noted, early intervention can increase favorable outcomes for students facing barriers of race and poverty. (Fantuzzo, Rouse, McDermott, & Sekino, “Early Childhood Experiences and Kindergarten Success: A Population Based Study of a Large Urban Setting,” 34 School Psychology Review 571 (2005). Formal, center-based early childhood education has proven to be particularly effective in improving students’ experiences in kindergarten and beyond. (Fantuzzo, Rouse, McDermott & Sekino) That is why Action for Delaware’s Children supports the Redding Consortium’s efforts to increase funds targeted at providing quality, full day Pre-K services to children who are in the feeder patterns for the elementary schools in Delaware with the highest percentages of children living in poverty.

EXTENDING THE SCHOOL DAY AND SCHOOL YEAR FOR LOW INCOME CHILDREN

Delaware should provide more educational and support services for its low income students before and after the school day, and during the summer months. Providing at risk children with a safe, supportive environment that augments their regular school schedule is a good use of state funds that will show real benefits in the lives of the state’s at risk children.

Recent comprehensive studies have documented that well-designed “outside school time” programs, which provide services for students before school, after school, and in the summer months, have a demonstrable impact on student performance and achievement. Outside school time funds in Delaware have never met demands, and unfortunately outside school time funding was significantly reduced in Delaware (along with most other discretionary state expenses) during the fiscal crisis that followed the stock market crash of 2009. Approximately $10.8 million in “extra time funds” were eliminated from the state’s public education budget, and the Delaware Department of Education estimates that at least 80% of those funds (i.e. over $8 million per year) came from OST programs.

When Action for Delaware’s Children began its work, state funding for after-school programs in Delaware came primarily from three programs: the 21st Century Community Learning Center program, which has awarded $500,000 to $2 million per year; a $2.25 million/year competitive grant program overseen by DSCYF; and slightly more than $2 million in the annual grant-in-aid bill.

The State of Delaware also made available approximately $20 million per year in “Opportunity Grant” funds to Delaware public schools, distributed roughly according to the number of low-income and English as a Second Language students in each school district. Those funds can be used for Outside School Time programs. However, with the exception of the Colonial School District, it does not appear that a significant amount of these funds are being used by the largest recipients for outside school time programs.

In the last two years, with the advocacy of Action for Delaware’s Children, the Redding Consortium on Educational Equity, and interested elected officials, the state has invested over $12 million in new, continuing funding for high-poverty schools to implement quality expanded school day, expanded school year, and student health center services. There is more to do, but this represents a sea change in the state’s commitment to wraparound services for students in high-poverty schools.

IMPROVING RE-ENTRY SERVICES FOR JUVENILES LEAVING CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES

Although the population of Delaware’s juvenile correctional facilities has dropped significantly since 2014, the rate of recidivism remains stubbornly high. Almost 80% of the youth released from a juvenile detention facility in Delaware committed a new criminal offense within 18 months of release. A quarter of the youth committed new felony offenses within twelve months of release. This is disappointing but not entirely surprising. Many of these young people are returning to the same homes, neighborhoods, and acquaintances that they had just before they committed offenses serious enough to receive a sentence to a detention facility.

Delaware provides focused mentoring for students released from its secure correctional facilities through the Delaware Youth Advocate Program. However, national studies have suggested that additional benefits can accrue to juveniles leaving correctional facilities from cognitive behavioral therapy. In fact, a preliminary study just released by the University of Chicago crime lab showed a 38% reduction in violent offenses over an 18 month period among juveniles who participated in a trauma-informed cognitive behavioral therapy program that accompanied Chicago’s Youth Advocate Program.

In addition to cognitive behavioral therapy, Delaware Youth Advocate Program mentors have told their supervisors that the largest unmet need among the juvenile offenders they oversee is vocational training.

We propose that the state make competitive grant funds available to complement its existing Youth Advocate Program in order to provide cognitive behavioral services and vocational training to youth being released from juvenile correctional institutions.

EXPANDING COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

We believe that in Delaware, there are many Delawareans who are eager to roll up their sleeves and help our public schools, at the same time that those schools could desperately use the help. Years ago, volunteer mentoring in our public schools was a highly visible priority in Delaware. Today, especially with the impact of Covid on in-person volunteering, the state’s level of support has subsided.

We believe that it is time for the state to reinvigorate its efforts to bring the community back into our schools, this time with the benefit of decades of knowledge about best practices and with the benefit of better technology that will allow mentoring to be more convenient and accommodating for community volunteers. We wish to work with the state to create a national standard mentoring program in our schools, initially focused on those schools with the highest level of academic need, that includes structured involvement of teachers with mentors, opportunities for parental involvement, and robust training of mentors and support for those mentors as they begin their tasks.

We plan to work with the state to begin building back up the state’s school mentoring program, including:

Robust support at the school level for mentoring programs, that will allow for ongoing involvement of teachers, staff, and parents in the mentoring that takes place for individual children.
Direct state involvement in reducing the barriers to community mentors, including streamlining of screening requirements, opportunities for remote training, automated renewal of mentors between school years, and automated notification of mentors when the students they mentor are not in school.
Heightened support for community organizations that perform training of mentors in order to accommodate heightened demand.
Statewide coordination of performance requirements for school-based mentoring personnel and recruitment of mentors. Opportunities for volunteers to work in schools in areas other than traditional mentoring, such as assisting with extracurricular activities or administrative functions.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Action for Delaware’s Children worked with the Redding Consortium and supportive legislators to create new state funding for full-day Pre-K programs for children in the feeder patterns for high-poverty elementary schools, with enhanced salaries for front-line staff to ensure that those programs would be able to recruit and retain outstanding employees. Kingswood Community Center, Latin American Community Center, A Leap of Faith Child Development Center, and St. Michael’s School and Nursery have all been awarded competitive grant funds under this new program.
Action for Delaware’s Children worked with the Redding Consortium and supportive legislators to create new state funding for high quality expanded school day, expanded school year, and wellness center programs in elementary schools with high populations of children living in poverty. Bancroft Elementary School, Kuumba Academy, and Towne Point Elementary School have received three year competitive grants under this program, and more awards are yet to come.
Action for Delaware’s Children worked with supportive legislators to create a new state program designed to provide focused re-entry services to juveniles leaving the state’s juvenile detention facilities. This program is up and running, and is providing services to juveniles leaving the Ferris School and lower security facilities on the Ferris School campus.