Neighborhood Partners: Models of Success

June 6, 2013

Play Learn Grow Meeting

Each year for the past three and a half, First 5 Alameda County's "Neighborhood Partners" have served over 1,000 young children and their families, a majority of whom had not experienced formal child care programming. These six Neighborhood Partners - Alameda Recreation and Park Department and Alameda Free Library; City of Berkeley Recreation Division; Hayward Public Library; Oakland Public Library and Union City Leisure Services - gathered at First 5's new conference room in Alameda on May 14 to celebrate achievements in kindergarten readiness programming and to share lessons learned.   

Parental Involvement and Community Building

Participants noted a number of successes serving children and families living in low income communities and attending schools with low API scores. Staff and families reported positive changes in children's school readiness skills, including their ability to work and play cooperatively with peers and to stay focused during activities. Families reported taking more time to read with their children as a result of the program, as well as spending more time playing together. Many successes were attributed to effective collaborations within and across agencies, community building, integration of services and approaches, involvement of parent partners and a focus on sustainability in programming. These lessons were of great interest to representatives in attendance from other library and park/recreation systems in the county, who came to learn from their colleagues' experiences.  

 Another Round of Support

To build on these successes, First 5 Alameda County approved another round of Neighborhood Partnership grants at its May 23 Commission meeting. Grants were made to six city and county departments: Alameda County Library; Hayward Area Recreation and Park District; Livermore Area Recreation and Park District; City of Oakland Office of Parks & Recreation; San Leandro Public Library and San Leandro Recreation Division. These grants will provide more than funding for programming for young children and their families who have little access to other services. They will also provide the onsite and offsite support and training needed to integrate promising practices in kindergarten readiness into city and county institutions, with the goal of improving services for children and families for years to come. 

First 5's new Neighborhood Partners will be ramping up programs to begin serving children and families in September 2013. To learn more about the Neighborhood Partnership or any of our partners, please contact Janice Edwards, Community Grants Administrator, at 510-227-6933 or email Janice.Edwards@first5alameda.org.

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