Yale Bulletin and Calendar

February 18, 2005|Volume 33, Number 19

Child Study Center wins grant for
early care program in Arkansas

In support of the Yale Child Study Center's School of the 21st Century (21C) in Arkansas, the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation (WRF) has awarded the center a $2.9 million grant.

The goal of the Arkansas 21C Program is to ensure that children and families throughout the state have the benefit of high-quality preschool and other services in their communities.

The WRF gave an initial five-year grant in 2002 to create the School of the 21st Century in Arkansas. Developed at Yale in 1988, the 21C model is a school-based, early care and education, and family support program, which provides an innovative range of services to address the needs of children and families in their communities. The schools become year-round multi-service community hubs dedicated to the healthy growth and development of children beginning at birth, creating a platform for success in school and beyond.

The program has proven successful in urban, rural and suburban areas, as well as in affluent, middle-class and low-income communities. To date, over 1,300 schools around the country are involved in 21C.

"Rather than simply being satisfied with this success, WRF decided to build on the initial effort," says principal investigator of the Arkansas 21C Program, Matia Finn-Stevenson, professor in the Child Study Center at the School of Medicine.

"The second WRF grant will expand the effort to include more schools and to develop the infrastructure to sustain its continued growth," says Finn-Stevenson. "The fact that the second grant was given while the first is still in effect is indicative of WRF's commitment to Arkansas children and families and their confidence in our work."

Finn-Stevenson adds: "In Arkansas, the effort has been successful beyond all expectations. Over 30 schools have implemented 21C. The lieutenant governor, state agency officials and local and state policymakers are supportive of and involved in the effort. Preliminary evaluation results indicate that the program is making a difference."

Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee says, "As we prepare for another legislative session that will focus on education reform, there's a great deal we can learn from
21C schools. We're in a position to make Arkansas a leader in early care and education."

Children who participate in 21C are more likely than others to enter school with essential learning and development skills, and also are more likely to succeed academically once in school.

"We are grateful to WRF's board and, especially, to its president, Dr. Sybil Hampton, for their foresight and support," says Finn-Stevenson. "This grant enables us to move beyond a demonstration mode. It means that we can develop the effort to be self-sustaining and long-lived, and it places Arkansas as a leader among states' efforts in early education."

In 1974, the trustees of Governor Winthrop Rockefeller's estate endowed the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation to continue the work of The Rockwin Fund. Rockefeller, who served as governor of Arkansas from 1967 to 1971, set up The Rockwin Fund in 1954 and, every year from 1956 until his death in 1973, funded projects and programs he believed were important to improving quality of life in Arkansas.

The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation is a private, non-profit foundation whose mission is to improve the lives of Arkansans by funding programs and projects that improve education, economic development and economic, racial and social justice. During the past 29 years the foundation has awarded over $77 million in grants. Additional information about the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation can be found on its website, www.wrfoundation.org.

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