Educare is coming to Santa Clara County

Elpidio Estioko, San Jose Education Examiner
July 25, 2011
San Jose, CA (July 25) -- The Educare Model, making sure all children are ready for school which was piloted in Chicago, Miami, and Denver, is coming to Santa Clara County.

Educare of California at Silicon Valley is seeking to bring the renowned national model for early education to the county with three other partners, raising more than $3.8 million to build a state-of-the-art age-5 early learning facility in the area. It will serve disadvantaged children and families in Silicon Valley.

First 5 California, the commission created by California voters to provide education , health care, and other services to California young children, made the initial commitment to build the facility.

The David and Lucille Packard Foundation also agreed to commit $2.5 million over five years to build Educare of California at Silicon Valley.

First 5 Santa Clara County, on the other hand, committed $1 million toward developing the facility. Also, First 5 California committed $100,000 annually for three years for staffing to support implementation.

The public and private supporters are committed to the goal of ensuring that all children in Santa Clara County are ready for school. Those who likewise committed to the program are the Franklin-McKinley School District, the Santa Clara County Office of Education, and the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.

The facility will be located adjacent to Santee Elementary School in the Franklin-McKinley School District. Most of the students at the district are English learners and qualify for reduced-price lunches. With the commitments in place, the proponents of the project has launched a campaign to raise the balance of approximately $16 million to complete the facility.

The distinguishing features of the Educare national model include not only an integrated, high-quality approach to serving children most in need of early learning education, but also the commitment to serve as teaching and learning centers for policy-makers and education experts.

First 5 Santa Clara County Executive Director Jolene Smith said, "Educare is an unprecedented opportunity for Santa Clara County to be a part of a nationally recognized model. This state-of-the-art building will serve as a beacon to communicate the importance of investing in high-quality early care and education for the children in our community".