Children Mind & Body

Research by leading universities has established the following seven key areas impacting the achievement gap. [Note: Recognition for each fact will be clearly displayed in the body of the document, and a link will be provided.}
1. When Children Learn: Critical leaning years are from birth to 3-year-old.
2. How Children Learn: The most effective learning method during this time is called serve and return. The baby shows interest in something (serving), and the responsible adult returns an answer. Core life skills are also learned early in life.
3. What Impedes Development: Elements impeding learning are toxic stress, Chronic neglect, Caregiver substance abuse or mental illness, exposure to violence, accumulated burdens of family economic hardship without adequate adult support.
4. What Segment of Society It Exist In: The achievement gap is economically driven; impoverished families need support from the state.
5. Self-regulation skills are learned and should start to show by age three.
6. State funding in this sector has a significant payback.
7. Parental Knowledge: Parents across all economic segments would benefit from education on best practices of parenting their children.

How to improve outcomes for children and families
• Support response relationships with responsible adults
• Strengthen core life skills (i.e., resist impulsive behavior, ability to focus, etc.)
• Reduce toxic stress

Minnesota Issues in Public Education

Summary
• Minnesota has a significant problem with the Achievement Gap, in 2016 approximately 884,000 students were enrolled in the school system approximately 166,000 will not graduate high school in 4 years.
• It appears state government struggles to understand the problem is poverty. Numerous researchers have determined the problem is poverty. Of the 166,000 that will not graduate 80,000 are white.
• Kindergarten Readiness statistics are critical to understanding the problem. Providing kindergarten readiness stats is the law in Minnesota. It cannot be determined if the Department of Education will provide quality information at this time.
• Currently, there is a two-prong approach.
o ‘Scholarships” to some impoverished families
o Universal Pre-Kindergarten (4-year-olds) is being pushed by Governor Dayton and Minnesota Education (the teacher’s union)
 UPK, if implemented would cost between $500 & $700 million.
 Based on current research UPK has little impact on the Achievement Gap.

UPK in Minnesota will waste $500 million.

Applying that same amount of money to help impoverished families with high-quality daycare will solve the problem. It will also affect the following:
• Lower the cost in the school systems
• More kids will graduate from high school and become taxpayers.
• Reduce crime
• Reduce prison costs
Pay now or pay later, the return on the dollars invested in this program has been determined to be between $7 & $16.

Pick the low hanging fruit first!
From a Study published in July 2018!

Provide education to every new family with a baby, in the form of a best practice information.

“Compared to parents with limited knowledge of child development, those with more knowledge engage in higher-quality parent-child interactions, use more effective parenting strategies, and participate in more developmentally supportive activities with their children