9/23/2009 6:00:00 AM Program aims to enhance early education Funding comes from tax on cigarettes
ERIN TAYLOR/Miner
Children play in the toddler room at the Little School child development center in the campus of Kingman High School. The center is one of three child care providers in Kingman to be selected for the Quality First initiative from the La Paz/Mohave Regional Partnership Council of First Things First.
KINGMAN - By age 3, roughly 85 percent of a child's brain is developed.
It's a statistic educators say demonstrates the importance of early childhood intervention.
Three childcare providers in Kingman have been selected to participate in the statewide Quality First initiative, which aims to increase the quality of education for children in the first few years of life.
The program provides support by the way of financing, coaching, health consultations and scholarships for teachers.
By 2010, the program hopes to establish quality star ratings for childcare providers, similar to the ratings used in hotels and restaurants.
"That's very important because parents don't always know what to ask a provider, and there is a large spectrum of quality of care," said Gaye Lynn Fisher, a Quality First coach supervisor.
The centers chosen in Kingman for the program's inaugural year are the Gingerbread House, Nikki Knees childcare and the Little School child development center on the campus of Kingman High School.
The Mohave/La Paz region experienced a 46-percent increase in the number of children ages 5 and under between 2000 to 2006. That translates to roughly 16,000 children between the two counties.
Low wages don't help when parents are faced with choosing childcare. La Paz County has the lowest average wage in the state. Mohave County is the fourth lowest. With the Quality First program, childcare providers will be provided with funds and assistance to help bridge the gap.
The Little School at Kingman High, for example, will receive $10,000 in financial incentives for participating in the program, along with coaching, consulting and two scholarships for staff to attend the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood Arizona program.
The program is funded by Proposition 203, an 80-cent tax on cigarettes passed by voters in 2006.
Fisher said that in addition to financial support, the program helps educators focus on the specialized education that developing youngsters need, like engaging them in conversations that require more than a yes or no answer and having teachers work with kids at their eye level rather than hovering above them.
Around 27 home-and center-based childcare providers in the Mohave/La Paz region applied to be a part of the new program.
In addition to the three chosen in Kingman, four were chosen in Bullhead City and one was selected in Mohave Valley.
There are also two Quality First providers in the Colorado River Indian Tribe region in Parker and one provider in the Hualapai region in Peach Springs.
