Full Article:Early Learning Ventures (ELV), a non-profit organization founded by the David and Laura Merage Foundation, is spearheading an effort in Colorado to launch ELV Alliances- community-based partnerships comprised of small, independent child care providers working together to deliver services in a more streamlined and efficient way.
ELV is proud to announce a partnership with a new Alliance: Mile High Montessori Early Learning Centers in Denver, Co. Mile High Montessori (MHM) is one of the oldest and largest providers of subsidized quality early childhood care and education, serving thousands of Denver’s vulnerable children every year since 1970.
ELV’s mission to strengthen the child care industry by developing innovative tools and business operating systems to help providers improve the quality of care, increase efficiency and expand access to affordable care for families aligns with the mission of MHM - to provide quality early childhood education for low-income children to prepare them for school. MHM is committed to offering a high-quality education program; partnering with parents to support the education and development of their children; employing highly skilled staff and providing ongoing staff development; and ensuring adequate resources to sustain long-term financial viability.
Utilizing the Montessori method of instruction, MHM offers a comprehensive early childhood development program to support the cognitive, emotional, physical and social development of young children ages 2 months – 5 years. MHM provides a range of services and programs designed to foster healthy development in low-income children and families. To meet the full spectrum of a young child’s developmental needs, MHM collaborates with numerous community partners, including Early Learning Ventures.
During the 2008-2009 academic year, MHM provided full-day, year-round comprehensive early childhood education and development program for 633 children from 503 families. The families served by MHM are struggling to raise their children on poverty-level wages. This past year over 96% of children served in the six core centers were living below 130 % of the federal poverty level.
Currently, there are 9 active Alliances with potential to reach over 9,000 children. By creating a centralized operations hub for small child care businesses, Alliances achieve economies of scale to support the delivery of high-quality services. Utilization of these services saves child care providers a significant amount of time and money. Affiliated child care providers are then required to reinvest these reclaimed revenues and time savings back into their ECE programs through quality improvement initiatives such as an investment in nutritious meal options, curriculum, or staff benefits.
Over 40 years of research has demonstrated that quality early childhood programs have substantial and measurable economic benefits for individuals, families, schools and communities:
- Students who participated in quality preschool programs show immediate IQ gains, a positive impact on language skills and behavior, and lower rates of participation in remedial education.
- Adults who received a high-quality preschool education are more likely to graduate from high school, be employed, have higher median annual incomes and own their own homes.
- For every $1 spent on quality early childhood education, between $4 and $17 are saved over time on costs associated with remedial education, health care, welfare and criminal justice.
- In the state of Colorado, subsidized child care enables working poor families to earn $111 million per year.
- The total economic impact of early childhood care and education spending on the Colorado economy exceeds $1 billion annually.
For more information, please contact Judy Williams at
jwilliams@earlylearningventures.org.