The achievement gap that frustrates us with shockingly high dropout rates and drepressingly low test scores is an opportunity gap rooted in the earliest years of life. The gap can be documented as eary as 18 months of life, and even before.
Each Educare is a program based on what science shows very young children and their families need to learn and thrive.
Educare Omaha at Kellom Elementary School has 15 classrooms serving 183 infants, toddlers, preschoolers and their families. Educare Omaha at Indian Hill Elementary School has 16 classrooms serving 191 infants, toddlers, preschoolers and their families.
That includes: individualized care; small group sizes; stable relationships over several years with teams of well-educated teachers and well-trained social workers; classrooms that are rich with language and literacy-building opportunities; safe, fun and nurturing outdoor play spaces; and more.
Each Educare also participates in a national evaluation project, overseen by independent researchers at the University of North Carolina who work in conjunction with local evaluators. The local evaluation partners for Educare Omaha are from the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Parents play an active part in the life, teaching and governance at Educare, even as they learn to balance the demands of school and work with those of parenting.
