This blog is part of a series on a community-driven approach to develop an early learning roadmap and strengthen a local early learning system. Missed the others? Here's the first installment and the second installment.
The Isabella Project is a community-driven initiative focused on creating a responsive and equitable early childhood education system in the small, predominantly Latino/x community of Santa Paula, California. In 2023, the Ventura County Community Foundation engaged VIVA to facilitate a community-centered process with the aim of building a comprehensive Roadmap for Equitable Access to Early Care and Education. This effort has engaged local families, early care and education professionals, and numerous community partners both in Santa Paula and across Ventura County.
Over the course of our series we have shared some of the rich learnings that came out of thoughtfully engaging local families in Santa Paula. Now, we want to share some of the exciting ideas and strategies that were a direct result of engaging the community as thought partners and co-designers of this Roadmap.
A highly trained, experienced, and culturally responsive workforce is critical to ensuring that children are receiving a high quality early learning experience. The community members we engaged in Santa Paula recognized that the best way to obtain such a qualified workforce is to cultivate a pipeline of local residents who understand the community and are invested in Santa Paula children’s success, and to start this pipeline as early as possible.
Through localized knowledge and community insight gathering, we learned that the local high school has a career training program for students interested in early childhood education that includes field internships with local care and education providers. We also learned that there are institutions of higher education that offer certificates and degrees in child development that are accessible to emerging students in Santa Paula.
As a result of these insights, the Isabella Project Steering Committee was able to ideate and generate several strategies focused on cultivating an early education pipeline that leverages these efforts and initiatives. Without the localized insights of partners and community members, the Roadmap could have overlooked some of these opportunities to build upon existing community assets.
There continues to be emerging research that demonstrates how providing the workforce with access to child care and early education increases a business’s productivity. Through listening to community members, the Isabella Project Steering Committee identified a set of strategies aimed at encouraging the private sector to promote accessible early care and education. Some examples include creating a recognition program for employers that offer early care and education for their workforce, and supporting efforts for businesses to co-locate early care settings at their place of business.
Families already have so much on their plate, and not all families have the same access to information, resources, and support to navigate finding and enrolling in child care. By listening to the lived experiences of families and early educators, the Isabella Project Steering Committee prioritized strategies that will make the process of finding and enrolling in care easier for families. Some of these activities include community events that promote a range of care options to families, creating a centralized application and eligibility list so that families don’t fall through the cracks, and developing outreach campaigns.
These and many other strategies included in the Early Learning Roadmap for Santa Paula were made possible through authentic engagement and partnership with the community. By listening and learning from those closest to the issues, the Isabella Project now has a strategic focus that is truly reflective of the community and responsive to their needs and experiences. Furthermore, the list of community members that are invested in the Isabella Project’s success continues to grow, increasing their likelihood of success in executing these strategies and achieving their goals.