Breaking Down Barriers & Building Resiliency in our Children
Child’s Path serves almost 400 children annually at one of our four Early Education Centers. Most of our children come from families who are income-restrained and asset-limited. To address this need Child’s Path uses the majority of our donations to provide financial assistance to these children, alleviating the financial barrier to early education. However, their attendance at our Centers is just the beginning of their experience with Child’s Path where we work to build resiliency in each of our children.
Many early childhood educators are likely to encounter young children who have experienced trauma on a daily basis, and the effects can be profound. Studies suggest that trauma-related symptoms interfere with childhood development and later functioning in life. 26% of children experience some form of trauma and because of the population we serve at Child’s Path, many of our children represent that 26%.
Early childhood settings must be safe, trauma-sensitive spaces where teachers support children in creating positive self-identities. In cooperation with some of our community partners, teacher education training, and curriculum delivery we work every day to overcome childhood trauma through focusing on resiliency.
Children who are resilient can recover from setbacks and can actively focus on growth and development. When children overcome setbacks and problems, it builds their confidence and helps them feel more capable the next time a problem occurs.
Our Results
- We utilize Conscious Discipline which uses teachable moments to equip children with the social-emotional and communication skills needed to manage themselves, resolve conflict and develop healthy behavior.
- We use Reggio Emilio curriculum which delivers a student-centered and self-guided curriculum that uses self-directed, experiential learning in relationship-driven environments.
- Last year, 100% of Child’s Path students improved their performance against age-appropriate developmental milestones.
- 83% of pre-kindergarten students assessed as “kindergarten-ready” by the FL Dept. of Education Kindergarten Readiness Screener – 30 points above the state average of 53%.
- National early educator teacher retention rates are between 26% and 40%. Child’s Path’s teacher retention rate is 53% which provides a more stable environment for our children.
The Impact of your Donation:
- ·$50 will provide a child with the supplies needed to participate in Baby Doll activity which builds resiliency through teaching connection, cooperation, self-regulation and social play.
- · $100 will provide support to a child with 15 nutritious lunches which builds resiliency by overcoming food insecurities and providing children the nutrition and energy needed to engage in learning.
