Spotlight: Early Learning Gets a Big Lift Issue | Background and Discussion | Conclusion | Findings | Methodology |

As of 2015, approximately 50 percent of the county’s third graders were not reading at grade level. For English learners, racial minorities, and economically disadvantaged children, that percentage decreases dramatically.

Children who are not reading proficiently by third grade have difficulty with later school success and are four times more likely to drop out of high school than peers who maintain grade level achievement.

The Big Lift is an early learning initiative that incorporates evidence-based teaching approaches and learning strategies called “the four pillars:” (1) high-quality preschool, (2) summer learning, (3) reduction of chronic absenteeism, and (4) family engagement to support learning. These strategies are included in the program throughout its duration.

The Peninsula Partnership Leadership Council (PPLC), comprised of the County Board of Supervisors, the San Mateo County Office of Education, and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, developed the Big Lift initiative to improve reading proficiency of participating third graders to 80 percent.

The 2017 BELL assessment showed that grade K-2 who attended Big Lift summer learning programs demonstrated a net gain of up to 3.5 months in pre-reading/reading skills.

The RAND assessment found that Big Lift preschoolers were significantly more likely than demographically similar children, who went to no preschool at all, to score in the kindergarten-ready range.

In June 2018, San Mateo County and the Big Lift were recognized by the Learning Policy Institute as a model for the state for their efforts to improve early childhood education. Official from San Mateo County Office of Education: interview by the Grand Jury 68 Official from Silicon Valley Community Foundation: interview by the Grand Jury 69 Official from San Mateo Office of Education: interview by Grand Jury

The Big Lift is funded by several sources. The County of San Mateo has pledged a total of $20 million in Measure K sales tax monies, $7.5 million has been received from the Social Innovation Fund (along with matching funds from participating school districts), and individuals, corporations and non-profits have donated approximately $2.2 million in other grants. Big Lift funding is now secured through Summer 2018, but another $11.4 million must be raised to support the pilot program to completion in 2020.

Planning for the continuation of the Big Lift beyond 2020 must begin now. It will take at least two years to extend and expand the program if/when the proof of concept is evidenced.

San Mateo County stands to benefit from the full completion of the five-year Big Lift pilot program in 2020. METHODOLOGY The Grand Jury reviewed: ● Early childhood education (ECE) studies and articles ● National, state, and local programs for ECE, including Head Start, the Big Lift, Raising a Reader, and First 5 California ● Longitudinal data from standardized achievement tests in San Mateo County school districts, including demographic data across the county ● Reports on challenges facing the county’s South Coast residents ● Evaluation studies of the Big Lift, 2017 ● California CAASPP test results The Grand Jury interviewed: ● Officials from the school districts in Cohorts 1 and 2: superintendents, principals, school board members, and teachers ● San Mateo County Office of Education officials ● Board of Supervisors representatives ● Silicon Valley Community Foundation Big Lift officers ● Raising a Reader representatives ● Community Non-Profit Service program staff representatives BIBLIOGRAPHY Ansell, Susan. “Achievement Gap.” Education Week. August 3, 2004. https://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/achievement-gap/index.htm BELL Building Educated Leaders for Life. “The Big Lift Impact Report 2017.” https://static1.squarespace.com/static/553e9c6ee4b0ee77fad23968/t/5a14aba7652dea2e1a98db85 /1511304406156/The+Big+Lift+Impact+Report+2017_FINAL.pdf BELL Building Educated Leaders for Life. “Grade Level Reading.” https://www.experiencebell.org/grade-level-reading BELL Building Educated Leaders for Life. “Measurement.” https://www.experiencebell.org/our- results/measurement The Big Lift website. “Funding.” http://www.thebiglift.org/funding/ - funding-02 (Last accessed, June 26, 2018.) The Big Lift website. “Overview.” http://www.thebiglift.org/overview#overview-02 (Last accessed, June 26, 2018.) The Big Lift website. “Our Plan, Overview.” http://www.thebiglift.org/our-plan#our-plan-01 (Last accessed, June 26, 2018.) The Big Lift website. “Press Release – RAND and BELL studies find the Big Lift children are making promising gains.” http://www.smcoe.org/about-smcoe/news/2017/11/press-release-rand- and-bell-studies-find-the-big-lift-children-are-making-promising-gains.html California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress. Report: Test Year 2015. Test Results for English Language Arts/Literacy and Mathematics: All Students. https://caaspp.cde.ca.gov/sb2017/ViewReport?ps=true&lstTestYear=2015&lstTestType=B&lstG roup=1&lstCounty=41&lstDistrict=00000&lstSchool=0000000 California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress. Understanding California Assessment of Student Progress and Performance: CAASPP Summary Reports. https://caaspp.cde.ca.gov/sb2017/UnderstandingCAASPPReports California County Superintendents Educational Services Association (CCSESA) COE Spotlight, 09/19/16 article. “The Big Lift SMCOE.” http://ccsesa.org/the-big-lift-san-mateo-county-office- of-education/ Campaign for Grade Level Reading. “Summer Learning Loss.” http://gradelevelreading.net/our- work/summer-learning-loss. Annie E. Casey Foundation. Baltimore, Maryland. “Double Jeopardy, 2012.” http://www.aecf.org/m/resourcedoc/AECF-DoubleJeopardy-2012-Full.pdf. Annie E. Casey Foundation, Baltimore, Maryland. “Early Warning Confirmed, A Research Update on Third-Grade Reading.” 2013 Erickson, Martha Farrell & Karen Kurz-Riemer. Infants, Toddlers and Families: A Framework for Support and Intervention. New York: The Guilford Press, 1999 Celia J. Gomez, Jill S. Cannon, Anamarie Whitaker, and Lynn A. Karoly, Big Lift Participation and School Entry Indicators: Findings for the 2016–2017 Kindergarten Class. RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA. 2017. https://www.Rand.org/ pubs/ research_reports/RR2131.html Heckman, James J. “The Economics of Inequality: The Value of Early Childhood Education.” American Educator v35 n1 p31-35. Spring 2011 Hernandez, Donald J., “Double Jeopardy: How Third-Grade Reading Skills and Poverty Influence High School Graduation.” Albany, New York: Annie E. Casey Foundation, April 2011. http://www.aecf.org/m/resourcedoc/AECF-DoubleJeopardy-2012-Full.pdf HighScope Perry Preschool Study through age 40. Ypsilanti, MI, HighScope Press. 2004 Insight. “Self-Sufficiency Standard Tool for California.” https://insightcced.org/tools- metrics/self-sufficiency-standard-tool-for-california/ Robert S. Johnson Foundation. County Health Rankings and Roadmaps. County Health Rankings Report: California. http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/sites/default/files/state/downloads/CHR2018_CA.pdf Sarah Kinahan, Consulting, San Mateo County Childcare and Preschool Needs Assessment, San Mateo County Office of Education, 2017. http://www.smcoe.org/assets/files/learning-and- leadership/child-care-partnership-council/Needs%20Assessment %202017/CCPC_Full_Report_Needs_Assessment_11-17.pdf, Learning Policy Institute, “Building an Early Learning System that Works.” https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/building-early-learning-system-california-brief National Center for Education Statistics. “Achievement Gaps.” https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/studies/gaps Peninsula Partnership Leadership Council, “Bill of Rights for Children and Youth of San Mateo County, 2008” https://www.siliconvalleycf.org/docs/ppcyf/pplc-bill-of-rights.pdf Arthur J. Reynolds. Success in Early Intervention: The Chicago Child-Parent Centers. Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press, 2000 Art Rolnick and Rob Grunewald. “Early Childhood Development: Economic Development with a High Public Return.” The Region. 2003 https://minneapolisfed.org/publications_papers/studies/earlychild/abc-part2.pdf The San Mateo County Partnership Council. 2017 San Mateo Child Care Needs Assessment. http://www.smcoe.org/assets/files/learning-and-leadership/child-care- partnershipcouncil/Needs%20Assessment %202017/CCPC Full_Report_Needs_Assessment_11- 17.pdf School Ratings. California School Ratings: San Mateo County. http://www.school- ratings.com/counties/San_Mateo.html Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Big Lift. Inspiring Summers will help low-income children stay on track in San Mateo County. SVCF (blog). https://www.siliconvalleycf.org/blog/recent-events/big-lift-inspiring-summers-will-help-low- income-children-stay-track, July 21, 2016 Statistical Atlas. “Household Income in San Mateo County California.” https://statisticalatlas.com/county/California/San-Mateo-County/Household-Income U.S. Census Bureau. “State and County QuickFacts. 2016” https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045217 U.S. Census Bureau. “Income in the past 12 Months.” 2015 American Community Survey. https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=bkmk U.S. Department of Education. 2015. “A Matter of Equity, Preschool in America.” https://www2.ed.gov/documents/early-learning/matter-equity-preschool Issued: August 2, 2018 County of San Mateo Inter-Departmental Correspondence Department: COUNTY MANAGER File #: 18-959 Board Meeting Date: 10/23/2018 Special Notice / Hearing: None__ Vote Required: Majority To: Honorable Board of Supervisors From: John L. Maltbie, County Manager Subject: Board of Supervisors’ Response to the 2017-2018 Civil Grand Jury Report, “Spotlight: Early Learning Gets A Big Lift.”