Explanation
Mayor Ginther’s vision for Columbus, America’s Opportunity City, is to create access to a high-quality pre-kindergarten education for every 4-year-old. Addressing early childhood learning means bringing awareness and resources to a critical learning stage in childhood development. Children who come to school ready to learn are more likely to succeed academically and in life.
Children who participate in high-quality pre-kindergarten experiences significantly improve their early literacy, language, and math skills. Ample evidence shows that children who enter school unprepared fall farther and farther behind. Students who get a poor start in their earliest years are likely to struggle in high school and subsequently, fail to graduate.
Through Early Start Columbus (ESC), the Office of Education provides high-quality pre-kindergarten services to children throughout the City. ESC is however, only one of many efforts working to increase the kindergarten readiness scores of children in Franklin County.
Early Care and Learning, Inc, (ECAL) operates the Caring Communities, a birth to age three program that utilizes mixed-age group classrooms to provide a continuity of care approach to center-based early learning. The program operates in 17 centers across the city, all of which are ESC centers. The program is expanding into ten (10) additional classrooms across the city this year and has plans to continue that expansion over the next several years.
This contract will be entered into in compliance with relevant procurement provisions of the Columbus City Codes Section 329.30.
FISCAL IMPACT: This ordinance authorizes an expenditure of $45,000.00 from the 2023 Office of Education’s General Fund operating budget.
Title
To authorize the Director of the Office of Education to enter into a contract with Early Care and Learning, Inc, (ECAL), a non-profit organization that specializes in creating continuums of early education; and to authorize the expenditure of $45,000.00 from the General Fund. ($45,000.00)
Body
WHEREAS, kindergarten readiness is essential for the success of children in school, and in life; and
WHEREAS, research shows that mixed age classrooms lead to higher kindergarten readiness scores; and
WHEREAS, the Director of Education desires to enter into a contract with Early Care and Learning, Inc, (ECAL) to increase the number of mixed-age classrooms in Early Start Columbus providers to increase the number of mixed age classrooms in Early Start Columbus providers, and to increase the kindergarten readiness of children in Franklin County; and
WHEREAS, the goal is that all children in Franklin County will be kindergarten ready; and
WHEREAS, funding was budgeted in the General Fund within the Office of Education’s operating budget for this purpose; and
WHEREAS, this contract is being awarded to ECAL pursuant to Section 329.30, as the City does not supply the kind of services provided by ECAL; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
SECTION 1. That the Director of the Office of Education be and is hereby authorized to enter into an educational service contract with Early Care and Learning, Inc., a non-profit organization that specializes in creating continuums of early education to increase the number of mixed age classrooms in Early Start Columbus providers.
SECTION 2. That the expenditure of $45,000.00 be and is hereby authorized as follows:
Dept/Div: 40-06 | Obj Class: 03 | Main Account: 63050 | Fund: 1000 | Sub-fund: 100010 | Program: ED001 | Amount: $45,000.00
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 ordinance.
SECTION 4. That the funds necessary to carry out the purpose of this ordinance are hereby deemed appropriated, and the City Auditor shall establish such accounting codes as necessary.
SECTION 5. That this ordinance shall take effect and be in force from and after the earliest period permitted by law.