Explanation
Mayor Ginther’s vision for Columbus, America’s Opportunity City, is that every child is ready for kindergarten. Kindergarten readiness is a multidimensional construct reflecting young children’s preparedness for instruction in areas related to both academic and social-emotional skills. Children who arrive to kindergarten with limited readiness in one or more of these areas face challenges in the transition into the kindergarten setting, and are susceptible to academic achievement over time.
Participation in quality early childhood education can provide an important mechanism for developing children’s school readiness; likewise, certain intentional parenting practices, such as shared book-reading and numeracy discussions, also can support school readiness. However, not all children have access to quality early learning programs and/or intentional parenting practices.
Because of this, the City has previously partnered with the Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy at Ohio State University on the Summer Success program, a four-week intensive summer readiness ‘camp’ for children without prior ECE experience and those who may not have sufficient support at home for developing key readiness skills.
This year, as in 2022, the Office of Education is partnering with the Crane Center to develop and distribute summer at-home toolkits to enhance the kindergarten readiness of rising kindergarteners. Children will be led through activities that include language and literacy development; print awareness, numeracy, and social-emotional skills. Stage completions are incentivized. Participation, and eventual kindergarten readiness test scores, will be tracked and analyzed. Children will be enrolled via a partnership with Nationwide Children Hospital’s Pediatric Primary Care network, with a priority on Linden and Whitehall children. 95 percent of children in this program are Medicaid-eligible.
Ordinance 1323-2022, approved by Columbus City Council on June 14, 2022, provided $144,499.00 in funding for this program last summer. Of this, the Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy at Ohio State University, has an unspent balance of $56,027.00. No new funding is requested. The program runs from May 1, 2023 to September 30, 2023.
Therefore, the Office of Education requests permission to contract with the Crane Center to use the unspent funding from 2022 to provide this crucial work.
FISCAL IMPACT: There is no new funding associated with this ordinance
EMERGENCY DESIGNATION: Emergency designation is requested to ensure that Ohio State may begin to plan and implement the program that began on May 1, 2023 as on as possible to meet their family engagement goals during the crucial summer months.
Title
To authorize the Director of the Office of Education to enter into a contract with the Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy at the Ohio State University for the 2023 Summer Success Program, to enhance the kindergarten readiness of entering kindergarteners through educational summer materials; to authorize the use of unspent funds from a 2022 contract; and to declare an emergency. ($0.00)
Body
WHEREAS, Mayor Ginther’s vision for Columbus, America’s Opportunity City, is that every child is ready for kindergarten; and
WHEREAS, participation in quality early childhood education can provide an important mechanism for developing children’s school readiness; and
WHEREAS, not all children have access to quality early childhood education and/or intentional parenting practices; and
WHEREAS, the Summer Success program assists children that have not participated in early childhood education and may not have developed key readiness skills; and
WHEREAS, the Office of Education and the Crane Center seek to enhance the kindergarten readiness of entering kindergarteners through educational summer materials expand the Summer Success program, which runs from May 1, 2023 to September 30, 2023; and
WHEREAS, funding was budgeted in the general fund within the Office of Education’s operating budget for this purpose; and
WHEREAS, an emergency exists in the usual daily operation of the Office of Education in that it is immediately necessary to authorize the Director to enter into contract with the Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy at the Ohio State University to ensure that Ohio State may begin to plan and implement the 2023 Summer Program as soon as possible to meet their family engagement goals during the crucial summer months, all for the preservation of public health, peace, property, and safety; now, therefore:
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
SECTION 1. That the Director of the Office of Education is authorized to enter into a contract with the Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy at the Ohio State University for the implementation of the 2023 Summer Success program that is from May 1, 2023 to June 30, 2023.
SECTION 2. There is no new funding associated with this ordinance.
SECTION 3. That the City Auditor is authorized to make any accounting changes to revise the funding source for all contracts or contract modifications associated with this legislation.
SECTION 4. That for reasons stated in the preamble hereto, which is hereby made a part hereof, this ordinance is hereby declared to be an emergency measure and shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage and approval by the Mayor or 10 days after passage if the Mayor neither approves nor vetoes the same.