Randi Miller, County Commissioner:

On behalf of Commissioners Wilbert Collins and Bob Dick, I want to thank you all for showing the interest and taking the time to be here this morning. Tulsa County’s Board of Commissioners realizes that early childhood development and school readiness issues are crucial building blocks to a healthy, vibrant community in the future. We fully support this effort and look forward to working with all of you here to achieve the goal that every child in Tulsa County will be ready to learn when they start school.

Mayor Bill LaFortune:

Welcome to the Tulsa County Partnership for Early Childhood Success and its first project, JumpStart, an initiative that is going to help "jump start" the best possible future for our young children and our communities, getting more and more of them ready to begin school and ready to be successful.

Last October, I convened a community conference on the latest research on early brain development and the work of the Tulsa community to respond. At the conclusion of the conference I made several personal commitments to help further our local efforts, including helping to convene us today.

Meanwhile, other cities around the country have discovered what we already know. And they are beginning to follow the course we have taken. In fact, the National League of Cities has designated the week of October 19 as "Little Kids, Big Plans Week" and communities across the country will convene town hall meetings and community summits to focus attention on early care and education … just as we have done in Tulsa.

This Partnership takes Tulsa’s efforts in this arena to a new level. It brings together leaders from all sectors and groups in our community who will be supported in going forth to engage others in their respective sectors to accomplish specific tasks and outcomes advancing improved school readiness. Together, at the end of the two-year JumpStart campaign, the entire county, from parents to lawyers, to mental health workers, to local government officials and others will all be contributing more effectively to assuring the early and sustained success of our children ... yes, all Tulsa's children will be entering school healthy and ready to succeed. That is our goal.

Recently, our community came together to support a vision for a better future for our families, our neighbors and ourselves. Vision 2025 dealt mostly with the physical development of our community. The effort you are initiating today will embrace the human side of the equation. While we build the bricks and mortar amenities that our community needs to grow, we also need to make sure we build the human capital that yields strong families and a strong workforce.

Your efforts truly will yield a brighter Tulsa ... for ourselves and our future generations.

Bill Doenges, Chair of Tulsa's Metropolitan Human Services Commission (MHSC):

MHSC is Tulsa County's health and human services policy and resources planning consortium with participation from the City of Tulsa, Tulsa County, Tulsa Area United Way, Tulsa City-County Health Department, Tulsa Public Schools, and the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. There also are representatives of the business and religious communities.

In 1998, Early Childhood Development and School Readiness became one of three top MHSC priorities. Building on earlier work of the Chamber of Commerce and Community Service Council, we became convinced that this goal must be the cornerstone of any community's human capital investment.

MHSC has been instrumental in initiating, supporting, and coordinating some of the major early childhood initiatives in Tulsa that have emerged in the last several years. This includes Children First nurse home visitation program, Tulsa Alliance for Families, reorganization of the Head Start Program, United Way's Success By 6 effort to enhance quality child care, the public school four-year-old program, and the Healthy Start initiative to reduce infant mortality.

MHSC recognized in the late 1990's, in reviewing other communities' experiences, that leadership at the state level was critical to local success. In 2000, largely through MHSC member Bob LaFortune's efforts, we encouraged Governor Keating to establish a Task Force on Early Childhood Education. When he did, MHSC staff helped support the Task Force. The Task Force Report and follow-up efforts by the Oklahomans for School Readiness led to passage earlier this year of House Bill 1094 creating the new Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness. Bob LaFortune and I from MHSC have been very involved at the state level, as well as many others from Tulsa and around the state to help establish this new state leadership.

Governor Brad Henry has just finished his appointments and the new group will begin its organizational phase this fall.

Our local Tulsa County Partnership will coordinate with the state group and look to it for leadership on state policies, resources, program coordination and other areas. We also will work closely with other local partnerships around the state - now in 13 communities and supported largely with funding from Bank of America Success By 6, local United Ways, and state community mobilization grants.

During these past several years, Oklahoma and Tulsa have made great progress in improving and expanding early learning. However, we're still at the beginning of this long and critically important effort. MHSC is committed to staying the course, for we still have lots to do to close the readiness gap. We greatly appreciate your help.

Steven Nell, Chief Financial Officer, BOK Financial Corp.:

First, let's talk about why the investment in early childhood success makes good sense... that is, sense with an "S."

On October 3, 2000, the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine of the National Academies released its milestone report, "From Neurons to Neighborhood: The Science of Early Childhood Development."

Operating under the auspices of these two groups subjected this report to an extraordinary high standard of scientific review. This high standard permitted the study committee to state, with clear authority, "This is the current state of the science of early childhood development."

The study concluded several "take-home" messages, including:

1. The traditional "nature versus nurture" debate is simplistic and scientifically obsolete.

Yes, early childhood success is more complicated than we would like it to be.

2. Early experiences clearly influence brain development, but a disproportionate focus on "birth to three" begins too late and ends too soon.

Yes, we have got to start before birth and extend into the early years of formal schooling.

3. Early intervention programs can improve the odds for vulnerable young children, but those that work are rarely simple, inexpensive, or easy to implement.

Yes, success will requires us to know what we are doing and invest our resources wisely.

Now, lets talk about why the investment in early childhood success makes good cents ... this time, cents with a "C."

In January of this year, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis published a report titled "Early Childhood Development: Economic Development with a High Public Return." The report is a comprehensive review of the economic benefits to the public of effective early childhood initiatives as compared to most common economic development investments. It concluded,

"For better returns on public investments in education, health care, to lower public spending on crime and many social problems, early childhood development is the best investment."

Similarly, in May 2003, the Business Roundtable released a statement encouraging business leaders nationwide to become leaders in improving early learning opportunities for all children as that is the best approach for assuring a strong workforce for tomorrow. David Lawrence, former publisher of the Miami Herald, agrees, and he travels the nation saying so. In a speech in Charlotte, North Carolina, to more than 600 people attending a national meeting on community engagement, Mr. Lawrence observed:

"If you had asked me back when my children were young to define 'education in America', I would have given you the pretty typical, semi-standard definition ---kindergarten through senior high, then perhaps college. And I would have told you that 'real education' whatever that is, begins in kindergarten or first grade. How little I knew. How wrong I was.

"I did know, of course, how important it is to build great elementary and secondary schools. I did now how important it is to build a world-class higher education system. What I did not know then, but came to know is that greatness can never fully emerge from classrooms whose students get off to a lousy start in school. What I came to know is that the wisest resources we could spend would be time and money on the front end of lives of children from before birth to age 5. What I came to believe is that Florida's future - indeed, the future of all states - literally depends on children getting off to a strong start in life."

Nancy McDonald, former president and long-time member of the board of the Community Service Council of Greater Tulsa and a long-time volunteer in Tulsa’s efforts to improve school readiness:

You are here today because you all are identified leaders among your peers, professions, and sectors in the community. We are calling on you to put your leadership to work.

Many of you have already demonstrated an interest and leadership on this issue. But now we will join together to, hopefully, eventually change the culture of our community.

Here is what we are asking from you:

• Be informed catalysts and advocates for change and action.
• Recruit new partners and leaders, in your "areas" and throughout the community
• Identify and support "best practices" for action within your "areas" and in the community
• Facilitate change and effective action within your "areas" by use of tools and other measures you will have access to.
• Help monitor the work of your "areas" and report back to the Partnership and the community on your progress, new opportunities for action, and need for further help.

Also, we are asking you to be an active participant in this Local Partnership...which will keep us organized, on task, and accountable.

Steve Kennedy, chair of the Early Childhood Community Engagement Committee:

Thanks to all the committee members for planning the initiation of this Partnership and developing the JumpStart public engagement concept.

You all have heard references to the JumpStart Campaign this morning and you are probably asking yourself, "What is JumpStart?" In short, JumpStart is a community engagement campaign. Its purpose is to educate our citizens as to the critical importance of early brain development and how each citizen can participate. Over the next weeks and months, you should hear more about this initiative through the media.

The objectives of JumpStart are (1) to identify and train advocates for early childhood development and school readiness, (2) to provide the resources for key messages to be delivered to all sectors of the community, and (3) to stimulate advocacy and action across the community to insure that young children are ready for school.

YOU are critically important to this process.

At the end of the program today, you will be given two resource materials – a loose-leaf binder and a video tape.

The binder contains articles and information with background on why early childhood matters and a history of local efforts in this arena, background on the Partnership and JumpStart, differing views on the importance of early childhood development, developing key messages, and, finally, roles for community leaders like yourself.

The 57-minute video is compilation of five other videos presentations that we think bring home critical issues dealing with early childhood success. It includes:

• Early Findings on Brain Development...Diane Sawyer, ABC Report
• Latest Research on Early Brain Development...Dr. Bruce Perry
• Leadership Makes the Difference...Rob Reiner and National League of Cities Presentation
• One Community Responds...The Tulsa Perspective
• Special Issue...The Importance of Quality Child Care and Early Learning

We ask that you review these materials over the next few weeks and then attend a 2-hour orientation session to go over this material in more detail. You will be contacted after today’s program to choose one of several orientation sessions that will be scheduled. Through this effort, you will understand in greater detail and be more comfortable talking about early childhood development and school readiness issues. Our hope is that this information will help you serve as effective catalysts and leaders.

On October 29, there will be a wonderful opportunity for you to see much of what we’re talking about "up close and personal." Oklahoma First Lady Kim Henry will come to Tulsa on October 29 to help raise awareness of the Success by Six child care enhancement program and other school readiness efforts in Tulsa. Through the morning, she will visit several schools and early childhood programs – and you are invited to come along. You will hear more about that – and how you can participate – in coming weeks.

In November and December we plan to begin making presentations to groups across the community. Target audiences will include students, pregnant women, new parents, newlyweds, child care providers, pediatric care providers, families, community leaders from business, education, faith organizations, health care, and government, and the media. Cultural audiences will include African Americans, European Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans. After the JumpStart Campaign is fully launched, the Partnership will hold sessions to develop plans for specific initiatives among these major audiences.

Some quick reminders:

• Be sure and sign up for one of the orientation sessions.
• Begin identifying others in your areas of work or civic roles to assist you in leadership responsibilities.
• Identify specific information helpful to your area of concern and specific tasks to undertake with your area.
• Plan to participate in First Lady Kim Henry's Tour on October 29^th.
• Please take a look at the new JumpStart website – at www.jumpstarttulsa.com.

Pete Churchwell, President of AEP/PSO:

I had the honor to chair the Governor's Task Force on Early Childhood Education and then become a founding member of Oklahoma Foundation on Early Childhood Success. Thanks, Tulsa, for the leadership you have provided for these efforts!

Keys to our future success will include:

• Informed and committed leaders and advocates for the long haul
• Parents and other caregivers more knowledgeable and skilled in fostering early learning and development
• Policy makers and funders committed to increased and coordinated support
• A strong statewide infrastructure, with professional and volunteer leadership working together in communities around the state to engage all local resources in improving school readiness most effectively
• All sectors of society doing their part ... what JumpStart in Tulsa is all about
• JumpStart will lead to "everybody talking about it, and wondering what they can do and how they can help"
• When that happens, great things will happen for all our children.

Mayor LaFortune led a question-and-answer session; invited everyone to join Janet McKenzie for a tour of the early childhood program at Kendall Whittier; thanked all the planners, partners, dignitaries, and participants; and adjourned the meeting.

Enjoy photos from the kick-off event!

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