(announcer) The following presentation was made possible by PNC.

(Describer) A young child puts pegs in a board.

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(host) Social and emotional learning. It's the curriculum early childhood education is made of. Their play is their learning.

(host) Tonight, we explore the challenges our region faces when providing quality early childhood programs and resources, as well as solutions to ensuring the wellbeing of our most vulnerable learners, on this "Living St. Louis" special.

[children cheering]

(Describer) Excited children jump in a classroom. Lines divide the screen into angular shapes containing images from around St. Louis. The Gateway Arch at night. A neon glowing Ferris wheel. A person pushing two children through snow on a sled. Bright sunlight illuminating a city street. Title: Living STL.

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Early childhood education, the time from birth to kindergarten when our youngest learners develop critical social and emotional skills, lays the groundwork for lifelong learning and wellbeing.

(Describer) Constance Gully.

(speaker) There are things that develop in children very early on that you cannot catch up with later. When we talk about cradle to career opportunities, early childhood has to be included in that continuum of care and development of humans.

(all) One, two, three.

(Describer) Outside, children hold a play parachute.

(leader) Woo! Throw it up.

(host) Despite the clear evidence supporting this, the significant long-term benefits of early childhood education, education for our region's earliest learners has had longstanding issues of inequities. Look at my pine-cone prints.

(host) For parents, access to affordable and quality early childhood programs are few and far between. For educators, well-paid and well-respected teaching positions are just as rare. Teachers are not making, like, early childhood is not making two grand a month,

(Describer) Maegan Hamrick.

which is sad.

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(Describer) Young children rock on a teeter totter.

(host) On average, early childhood educators, those caring for and educating our young children, make $10.72 an hour. Parents can't afford to pay more, and teachers can't afford what they make now.

(Describer) Denise Carter.

My teachers work really hard. They work harder than anybody I know, and when you think about what we pay them compared to what some of the school districts pays or some of the other, you know, programs pays, you know, you think about the benefits that we try to offer, you know, we're doing a lot. Zero to five is when 90% of the children's brain develops, so that's where their investment really need to be. In the United States, preschool is not as valued as or invested in as part of public education. In fact, in Missouri, school districts are only mandated by law to offer and fund half-day kindergarten. Even then, kindergarten is a choice. Pre-kindergarten programs and childcare providers are private businesses or nonprofits. They're funded by tuition paid by families, or subsidized by funds raised by the schools. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the city of St. Louis has just over 22,000 kids under the age of six. There are less than 12,000 spots in approved centers, at-home day cares, head start programs and preschools in the city, resulting in a service gap of 47%. In our first story tonight, Brooke Butler introduces us to a program that expands early education opportunities and care for children whose families are unable to afford it.

(Describer) Two young girls play at a table.

I'm not even looking at the camera. I'm not looking at the camera, too.

(Brooke) These are some typical activities you would find in a preschool classroom at an early childhood learning center. On the surface, these activities look like fun ways to pass the time until their parents come and pick them up at the end of the day, but the details that go in to carefully planning these activities will engage the children in skills that will last a lifetime. Making patterns with beads is a small-motor and an early-math skill, scooping and pouring practices hand-eye coordination, and this parachute activity works large muscles and shows cooperation and perceptual skills. This particular early childhood learning center is one of the programs provided by Unleashing Potential, a nonprofit working to close the opportunity gap for children through early childhood education, afterschool programs and youth and enrichment programs.

(Describer) Carter.

(Denise) Kids don't jump out their parents' belly at five years old, so you need to start investing in the six-week-old baby. Everybody needs an opportunity. It would be great if we had opportunities for high-quality early childhood programs as moms and dads, depending on your socioeconomic status and, especially in St. Louis, the zip code you live in. You know, your choices are limited.

(Brooke) Located in the St. Louis zip code with the highest rate of child abuse and neglect, and with 100% of families receiving financial assistance to cover the cost of tuition, Unleashing Potential understands the obstacles that these families face in meeting their child's developmental needs. Denise Carter has been the center director for the past 10 years, and has put a lot of focus on parent engagement.

(Describer) Carter.

(Denise) Parent education, parent engagement, as we call this, is what sets us apart from all programs, but our parent engagement looks a little different than other people's parent engagement. We like to think about what resources and support you need. Okay, everybody at some, need a home to live in, so, okay, what type of home do you want to be in? You know, do you want home ownership? Do you need information on financial literacy? How do we provide that? So if a mom is good at budgeting, okay, how do we teach other families how to budget? If a mom is good at nutrition, okay, you can come in, present to all of the other families on what you know about nutrition and, you know, so that we all can learn from you, from it, so that our babies can learn.

(Brooke) Providing parent education opens the door for continuing the nurturing environment that these children receive at school into their homes.

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Dr. Kenneth Haller, pediatrician at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital, explains the important effect that nurturing environment will have on a child's health.

(Kenneth) The amount of cognitive development that's going on in terms of language, in terms of emotional development, in terms of the ability to move the body in space, you know, kinetic learning, all of this stuff, is taking place very soon after birth and even before birth. So one of the things that there's a greater appreciation for is, what sort of environment is a child growing up in? What sort of stimulation are they getting and how are they reacting to it? If those developmental milestones are not met effectively, that can lead to chronic illness, not just psychological, not just emotional, but physical illness for the rest of a person's life. It's not uncommon for us to see children who have been in environments that have been impoverished physically or emotionally have these stressors put on them. That can affect their immune system so that they're more prone to infections later in life. It can also affect their immune system in that it becomes hyperreactive, and that leads to what we sometimes call the "allergic triad," which is allergies, asthma, and eczema. On top of that, this can lead to long-term problems, a lifetime with both type one and type two diabetes, with obesity, with heart disease, with lung problems. You know, all of these things get set up early in life.

(Brooke) Meeting those basic needs of housing, nutrition and safety are necessary for creating a secure learning environment, but Denise doesn't stop there. It's as important for the kids here, for them to see things beyond their four-block radius, so I started taking the two to the five-year-olds to college every year. So think about a two-year-old. It's really not about the college experience for the two-year-olds at that time, but this is about putting into the heads of parents that, hey, I'm expecting these two-year-olds to go to college. We had a parent who was actually enrolled in one of the nursing programs at the college, and that day, we pulled up on site with our bus and our van, and all of the kids got out, and, you know, they got to meet the chancellor, sit at the desk and things, and the mom was like, you know, "I'm just now getting to college, "and the fact to see my three-year-old get off the van "and go into a classroom and, you know, "do an activity with somebody and meet the chancellor, "things of that nature, you know, "it's like I'm driven now to really complete my schooling so that, you know, my baby can be here in a couple years."

(Brooke) Paving the pathway to a successful life of learning is exactly why early education is necessary. But what about the teachers who make that learning possible? The same colleges that these two to five-year-olds visit are the same places that some of their teachers received a degree or training to become an early educator. But even with that higher education, early learning caregivers and teachers with a bachelor's degree earn nearly half the salary of other individuals with bachelor's degrees. 97% of early education teachers are women, which widens the gap in pay equality even further.

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This pay rate qualifies some teachers with families for the same government assistance as the low-income families that attend the schools where they teach. Most of my teachers, we train them really well, and then they leave because of pay. It's not because they're not passionate about what they do, but at some point, you know, you have to think about, as an individual, you know, am I going to stay with my passion, or am I going to think about the traditional-- do I want to own a home or a car? Things of that nature. And what we pay in early childhood, can't compete with the larger corporate world out there. We know the return on investment for this age group, and when people really spend time and realize that you're doing more than babysitting, nobody in early childhood now has a TV in front of the children. You're learning about, you're helping them learn all about their socio-emotional, you're working with them on nutrition, you're working with them on self-regulation. The skills that we're teaching now in their early childhood are the things that they need in the workforce, those soft skills, so if I'm able to self-regulate at two, I'm able to conflict resolve when I'm in the workplace.

(Describer) Title: Living STL. Anne-Marie Berger, producer.

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We can't leave out the importance of early childhood education when it comes to the health of our region's workforce and economy. Studies show children who are engaged in early learning programs are more likely to graduate from high school and find pathways to careers, and when parents can place their children in safe early education programs, they can go to work, support their families, and contribute to the growth of our economy. This directly affects employers and their ability to attract and retain a skilled workforce. Due to COVID-19, many day cares permanently closed this past year, forcing parents with young children out of the labor force. The Center for American Progress found that about two thirds of those parents who left their jobs were mothers. But even before the pandemic, the cost of childcare was forcing women out of the workforce.

(Michelle) I'm Michelle, and my husband's Phil. This is our daughter, Azalea. She's six months old. And this is Maggie, and she's two years old. So I am a full-time stay-at-home mom. -[Maggie whimpers] -Oh. Do you need a kiss? -Uh-huh. -Yeah? Mwah. So, when I got pregnant, I was working full-time at the daycare, and we started looking at the numbers and how much it was going to cost to enroll our child full-time, because that would be what we'd have to do, we don't have any family that could watch her. And I would basically be giving my entire paycheck back to the daycare where I worked. So for us, it just wasn't feasible to do that. I mean, I was definitely excited, because I was, you know, going to get to stay home with my baby and everything, but at the same time, just, you know, the stress of being a family with one parent working. I've always wanted to be a teacher and do that, and I'm just kind of afraid that being out of the workforce for so long will hurt my chances at getting a good job.

(Describer) Title: Living STL. Berger.

Early childhood education is voluntary, so it can look different from family to family. Some families want to take their child to a center or school. Some, especially a parent like Michelle, who has a background in early education, are well equipped to provide a learning environment at home. Others may want to bring someone into their home to provide those supports, and that's exactly what this next story is about.

(Describer) On a video call, a mother and her young daughter talk to a blonde young woman.

I have it. Stop clicking the button. -Oh. -Oh. Hold on. That's okay. Do not click the phone. But see how, like, I'm trying to talk to you? -Yeah. -[child screaming] Aubrey-Lynn. Are you still there? -Are you still here? -Yeah.

(Brooke) Any parent of a young child can surely relate to this situation. No matter how much attention you give, they seem to demand more as soon as you shift your focus to something other than them. Like I mentioned a little bit ago that she is in the egocentric phase, -so she, like, thinks... -Yes. ...that the whole world revolves around her. Hundred percent. Yeah, you have to set that boundary. You have to allow yourself to set that boundary with your child, too, because I know you, and I know that you have mom guilt [laughs].

(Brooke) Guilt-- another relatable feeling that so many parents have struggled with over the past year in dividing their attention between virtual learning, working from home, and just the state of the world. This communication you see between a mom struggling to create boundaries and a parent educator providing guidance and support is just one of the many benefits provided by the program Parents as Teachers. Using what they refer to as an evidence-based home visiting model, Parents as Teachers engages with parents and caregivers to increase their involvement and understanding in their child's development.

(Describer) Gully.

It's so important to invest in early child development, because even from prenatal to age three, that rapid brain growth is happening, those neurons and wires are connecting. Children are these magical sponges that are absorbing all of the great things that are happening around them, so for a parent and the role of Parents as Teacher is helping them understand task and strategies that they can perform with their child and also understand what the developmental milestones are.

(Brooke) The Parents as Teachers home visiting model involves four components. Personal visits, or home visits, although it doesn't necessarily need to be at your home, involve a parent educator engaging in educational activities with the child and caregiver. Group connections are when multiple families gather for a shared learning experience, and also to encourage social connections. Resource networking provides families with necessary information on medical, educational, and social services in their community. Child screenings performed by the parent educator show a record of general health, along with developmental milestone progress. The Parents as Teacher home visiting model has been tested in numerous peer-reviewed studies and has proven results in improved parent knowledge and practices, early detection of developmental and health delays, preventing child abuse and neglect, and increasing kindergarten readiness. But with the past year of restrictions due to the pandemic, in-person home visits, a major component of the model, were put on hold. Luckily, they were already well on their way to implementing a virtual home visiting option for families.

(Describer) Gully.

(Constance) So for four years, we piloted delivering Parents as Teachers through interactive video conferencing. All four components of the model, all were done through video conferencing. What that did for us, it was an efficacy study to see if parents were, one, receptive, and if there were benefits still to delivering home visiting in that way. Because of the learnings from that pilot, when we shut our office down in March of 2020, we immediately got guidance out to our entire network of affiliates and professionals, so to support them in delivering virtual visits, we never stopped, we never closed.

(Describer) On a video call.

Hi, Chris. Are you ready? Okay, we're gonna do picking up pompoms today.

[gasps] Do you got your tweezers?

(Brooke) Megan Maier is a parent educator with the Ferguson-Florissant Parents as Teachers program, where she can serve up to 65 families at a time.

(Megan) People don't quite understand what we do. You know, sometimes my daughter says, "You're not a real teacher, are you, Mom?" And I'm like, "Oh, thank you," you know, but we don't go into a classroom and the kids come and then the kids turn around and leave, we're on 24/7. Like, if that family texts you, we respond, you know? Like, "Hey, I need diapers. Do you have diapers?" "Yep, I'll bring them tomorrow." It could be 8 o'clock at night. Zoom is great for if we're feeling sick or if a family's feeling sick, and we don't have to necessarily cancel our visit, but we kind of see so many concerns right now with some of that early intervention that we're missing because we're not there, and parents, you know, may have the speech concerns or they are concerned their kids are tip-toe walking or maybe they have some sensory issues, and when if we're not there to see it and see if it's progressing or it's not progressing, it's a lot harder.

(Brooke) Megan became a parent educator while using the Parents As Teacher program for her own children. She especially saw the importance of the program when determining if her son could benefit from early intervention with his speech development. With a consistent parent educator tracking developmental progress, Megan was able to receive the feedback and resources she needed instead of seeking outside help. From 2019 to 2020, almost 37,000 children in the Parents as Teachers program were identified with potential delays as a result of child screenings. Without the parent educators, caregivers might not know how to recognize developmental delays and then how to address them, and without early recognition and intervention, those potential delays could develop into lifelong learning or health challenges.

(Describer) A graphic shows childhood development milestones from six months to four years old.

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Vanessa Arnold is one of the moms that has benefited from Megan's awareness of early intervention. She has given me so many tools, because especially in this pandemic, you know, you could be ready to pull your hair out of your head if you don't have activities that are benefiting the child. Especially with my son, I mean, he has not been around anybody in this last year, and her being able to tell me like, "Yes, he is on track," or "No, he needs to do this," or, you know, "This activity would help him a little bit more in progressing in this way." There was one point in time that, you know, he didn't talk a lot, and so I was concerned. I'm like, "Is he going to talk?" Before he turned three, I'm like, "He's not going pee on the potty," and I'm like, "Selena was going pee on the potty at 18 months. What am I doing wrong?" You know, she gave me those encouraging words to know that it's okay, and, you know, you're still developmentally on track. You know, things might be a little bit behind because of the circumstances, but you can get through this.

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(Describer) Gully.

When a parent looks at their child, we see joy, so to have a professional to kinda support things that you may not necessarily be looking for or understand how to look for, and just to help you see them and say, I see this, you may not see it. Let's see if we can get some support for this. And I think that is the powerful thing about home visiting. It's not a replacement for a childcare or child development center. We want more families to have access to high quality childcare. A combination of early home visiting and high-quality childcare is where the most powerful outcomes are for children and families and making sure that children are healthy, safe, and ready to learn.

(Describer) Title: Living STL. Berger.

The support the state of Missouri offers early educators and families with young children will operate a little differently moving forward. The new Office of Childhood, operating out of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, was recently announced. Dr. Pam Thomas has been named the Chief of Early Learning. I sat down with Dr. Thomas to discuss her new role and what this means for our youngest learners. In January, he's combining multiple offices that address early education into one office that's gonna be run out of DESE. Can you explain that, and why the consolidation will improve what the state can do to Missourians, -for Missourians? -Yeah. I think many of us in the early childhood system have, for years, talked about this. We've talked about, through needs assessment activities, through conversations, through meetings, and heard our stakeholders tell us that our system is fragmented. Families don't know where to go to get information, professionals often don't know where to go in order to be able to find the kinds of training that they need. And so I think the most important thing for us to be able to recognize is we, at the state level, need to be able to provide that coordination and consolidation so that we can then have a more streamlined, efficient and effective operations for services that families are seeing at the local and regional levels. Is this office just streamlined, or are you gonna have more funding in the budget? The current budget, as some of you may be following, has been set for fiscal year '22. Those budget books were completed before the office announcement, and so that funding has been set, and it is pretty much moving the different programs and offices, budgets and staff and activities into the one office, but we do hope, through our streamlining and consolidation, that we are able to be more efficient. And we do hope that we will be able to grow the programs and services and be able to produce meaningful outcomes and really show what the effect and impact of a high-quality early learning program can do for children. Will this be something that the office will address, that, you know, preschool is not something that's readily available to everybody without having a cost associated to it? That access to preschool education? Yes, a variety of early learning opportunities. One of the things that has been high on our list here for State Board of Education, one of their legislative priorities for a couple of years has been thinking about how we can have voluntary universal preschool opportunities for a person, for families who want that for their children and across the state. So I think that one of the important things is to look at how we can not only use our schools and our public partners, but also our private providers and our community-based programs. One of the priorities for this office is to strengthen those partnerships at the local and regional level. I know some people say, well, why don't they just make preschool a part of public education, so it doesn't start at kindergarten or first grade, but-- 'cause kindergarten's not even mandatory-- -Correct. -In our public education in Missouri. Why isn't preschool part of that system? Wouldn't that be an easy solution? It is a conversation. We get this question a lot, and it is a conversation, and there's a really strong desire, not just from our department, but from a lot of stakeholders, families, schools, childcare providers, to really think about how we can grow that, and to do that, I think we first have to figure out how to coordinate everything into this office and then start laying out a very strategic plan for where we can increase capacity and where we will be able to grow those services. And preschool, voluntary universal preschool is one of those that we want to grow. And one of the things I hear a lot from directors and teachers themselves is that retaining early education professionals, teachers, people who have qualifications to not babysit kids, but to actually educate them, is a struggle. And basically, that comes down to money. Is that something that the state will address? I'm not sure when and how, but yes, it is another priority for this office is to really look at the workforce for a birth-to-five system. And we can do better. We know that we are asking for these professionals to serve our most vulnerable, most youngest learners, and we have to be able to really package early childhood as a viable system and a viable career for professionals who want to serve families. And so I think the workforce is something that we've got to really coordinate as well. We know that our professionals are so passionate about this field, and they also are just critical. They are absolutely critical. If we don't have professionals, educators, providers, helping children and families, we don't have programs, and so we've got to really elevate early childhood as a profession, and find a way for those who want to work in that field to find the place that they can start and grow, and really not limit their potential and their capabilities in whatever field that they want to work in.

(Describer) Title: Living STL. Berger.

That's all the time we have tonight. To learn more about what Nine PBS is doing to support early learning, visit ninepbs.org/learningtoolkit. Thanks for joining us.

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(announcer) "Living St. Louis" is made possible by the support of the Betsy & Thomas Patterson Foundation, the Mary Ranken Jordan and Ettie A. Jordan Charitable Trust, and by the members of Nine PBS.

(Describer) Titles. Producers: Jim Kirchherr. Anne-Marie Berger. Ruth Ezell. Kara Vaninger. Gabrielle Hays. Executive producer Jim Kirchherr. Copyright 2021. Nine PBS. NinePBS.org. Accessibility provided by the US Department of Education.

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Accessibility provided by the U.S. Department of Education.

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(Describer) Title: Nine PBS.