Supporters of Project Enlightenment aren't giving up hope they can restore the funding cuts that the Wake County school board made to the early childhood program.
The school board had reduced funding for Project Enlightenment and laid off all nine of the program's parent counselors as part of the budget proposal adopted in April. The fight has moved to the county commissioners but it's uncertain how much they can really do to restore the program.
Citizens for Project Enlightenment e-mailed to commissioners last week a petition with more than 660 signatures from parents, pediatricians and educators in the community requesting that they allocate funds to reinstate parent counseling and education services to Project Enlightenment.
Aylett Colston, a leader in the group, said that County Commissioner Stan Norwalk told them they can't dictate how the school system spend its money. But they're hoping that the commissioners can do something to help because it does provide money to the school system.
Colston said school administrators have told the school board and community groups that Wake County Human Services can duplicate the services offered by the people who were fired. But she said that's not the case.
We'll see how much Project Enlightenment is discussed at today's budget work session. Commissioners plan to adopt the budget next week.
Comments
Misunderstood Program
Tue, 06/15/2010 - 09:03 — bbarkoFrom all the comments, given in good spirit, it is obvious that people do not understand what Project is all about...How many times have we heard complaints that teachers shouldn't be the main disciplinarians for our kids? Guess what - many many parents are leaving that up to the teachers, whether we want to think it true or not...they are...just ask any teacher in public school...
So much so that the current WCPSS BOE is calling for parents to be more involved...
Well, that is exactly what Project does - it teaches parents how to be involved in their children's school life in a positive way.. the lessons learned just happen to carry over into home life and help parents as well - a very good thing. Project is all about early intervention, teaching kids and families the positive skills that you cannot get anywhere else, skills that get kids ready for kindergarten (Grade K = public school)...
Teachers at Project do not scream, ever. They do not raise ugly voices for discipline, there is no yelling , no pointing fingers - they calmly teach our kids and parents how to respectfully communicate, resolve conflicts and learn... it is amazing to see how 24 kids, previously labeled unruly and uncontrollable by teachers, parents or caregivers, can function in a DPS Kindergarten environment or a PE Workshop and within 30 minutes be as calm and happy and compliant as can be...the kids simply see a better way... they hear adults talking to them with respect abotu choices and consequences when discussing a "rule", and realize that is how you should behave. When a PE 4 year old can resolve conflict better than an adult who has never seen such a program, well...that is what PE is all about...and for all that say hogwash to any of this, i say... go see it in person - you will not believe your eyes and ears...
...what a concept to teach future generations how to thrive on positive words rather than cut down with negatives...so that they are ready for school, entering Grade K as eager to learn, eager to please young children, great students for teachers so teachers can teach, not discipine. And oh yes, these kids become great role models for their peers at age 5 - I have seen my 5 year old use the skills he's learned with his friends on the playground - with great success - even against bullys (and bullying is one of the top crisis in our Public schools today...)
What PE teaches saves our school system and community many many dollars as these kids enter K-12...this money saved is $ and resources that the system doesn't have to waste on problem kids and problem parents once they are in the system. Every dollar spent on early prevention saves up to $17 per child (RAND Study) ...
It is money well spent by the WCPSS to prevent more money from having to be spent later on...and it is all about Grade K-12...
Most people that blog here
Tue, 06/15/2010 - 13:17 — DrActualFactualMost people that blog here are quite capable of fully understanding many of today's programs and budget constraints. Project Enlightenment was funded fully and started in 1969. It has expanded over the years and provided adequate service along the way. I am sure that staff has been added to do so and would like to remain employed and continue service to the public but that may not be possible under funding from WCPSS. P.E. gets 70% funding from WCPSS and 30% from outside grants. Anyone that googles P.,E. grant funding can see what has been proposed for cuts and they seem reasonable.
The demonstration model preschool you operate is great and I hope that teachers have come to observe what techniques they can incorporate into their classrooms. I hope you noted the various Supts. (incl. Wake's interim-Hargens) report on cuts to the system including no textbooks, cuts to janitorial, teachers, office staff,arts, electives, AP courses dropped, etc. which will continue into the coming year if General Assembly cuts continue. I hope the outside funding you get can be increased or supplemented by other grant sources.
I don't think some people
Tue, 06/15/2010 - 09:40 — danofncI don't think some people understand (or admit they understand) that programs like Project Enlightenment can help break a cycle.
The very parents that those people are demanding more involvement from are often the children of parents who didn't know how to help, so they don't have any examples to draw from. A program like PE can give them the ability to help their children succeed, which would then allow those children to not need a program like PE when they are adults.
So...
Tue, 06/15/2010 - 09:27 — Bob_SconceI'm not familiar with Project Enlightenment, so I'm just going by your description -- it sounds like a fantastic program.
The problem, though, is that it's a very tight budget year, and something had to be cut. If it wasn't Project Enlightenment, it would have been something else, and then supporters of that program would have talked about how necessary it was. The PE supporters' position would be stronger if they identified other places in the budget to cut. [And, please, don't trot out the 'well, if the board hadn't spent money on X, then....' That's just griping and not an actual attempt to find alternate places to cut.]
However, I suppose you're doing the next best thing -- trying to get the Commissioners to restore the funding. Unfortunately, it appears that Stan Norwalk is unwilling to do that, although he'll claim to be sympathetic.
Semantics
Mon, 06/14/2010 - 20:21 — Dove314If funding for Project Enlightenment is shifted from WCPSS to the county, in all likelihood, the county would lower the WCPSS budget by an amount equivalent to the Project Enlightenment line item. Don't see how that would help and don't see how you can assume the County would hold the WCPSS budget AND take on the costs of Project Enlightenmnet along with all the other things like legal expenses WCPSS is trying to pass off to them.
Where does the
Mon, 06/14/2010 - 15:11 — woodstockWhere does the responsibility of a school system end? With Project Enlightenment and other special services, WCPSS has taken on the responsibility of caring for and educating children and young adults from birth to age 21 in some cases. That is outrageous. If Project Enlightenment is worthwhile find the funds elsewhere, but it is not a legitimate part of a K-12 public school system.
I am amazed that given the current economic crisis, that has led to cuts in teaching positions, that supporters of Project Enlightenment would continue to insist that their special programs be funded through our school system.
Doesn't that sword cut both
Mon, 06/14/2010 - 15:47 — danofncDoesn't that sword cut both ways?
Wouldn't AP classes, magnet courses, honors courses, and everything else provided to some kids be "special programs funded through the school system"??
The situation becomes simply a matter of whether or not you think those kids that need a little extra help just to be at the same level as many of their peers are worth a little extra effort.
You have claimed that the new majority is committed to improving the ED graduation rate and ED performance throughout the system. If Project Enlightenment helps, shouldn't it be funded? Is this "go get grants" sentiment a precursor to what will happen when we need "special programs" to help the performance of kids at a high poverty school?
If Project Enlightenment is funded by the county and uses WCPSS buildings, why wouldn't it be funded by WCPSS?
Wouldn't you say that "AP
Mon, 06/14/2010 - 16:42 — woodstockWouldn't you say that "AP classes, magnet courses, honors courses," etc. fit rather appropriately with a K-12 public school system?
Mr. Sconce has it right below, "project creep" kills budgets and often leads to inefficiencies. If Project Enlightenment is worthy, it will find funding. However, it seems that some of the issues Project Enlightenment deals with may not necessarily be something tax payers should be involved in. After all, we are not a socialist society ...yet.
Uh...
Mon, 06/14/2010 - 16:12 — Bob_SconceI think Woodstock's point is one of scope creep. There are a lot of things that might impact the ED graduation rate and, in turn, allow many of those ED kids to be productive members of society. Maybe pre-natal nutrition would help. Or, drug counseling for some of their parents. Better foster care in some cases. In other cases, good childhood nutrition or vaccines.
All of those things might help. And some of them might be worth doing. But, they're outside the K-12 mission of the school district and, thus, outside of its expertise. The county already has a lot of experience helping ED families -- why wouldn't it be the better place for Project Enlightenment?
So...
Mon, 06/14/2010 - 13:15 — Bob_SconceNorwalk's right that the commissioners don't have fine-grained control over how the district spends money. But, they can call up the school board and say "Hey, if we add this, would you please use the money for Project Enlightenment?"
While I'm absolutely in support of Project Enlightenment...
Mon, 06/14/2010 - 13:05 — midtownmomI'm not sure it should be funded with wcpss funds. I think that it would be good for the community if the county funded it with some other type of money because I do think they provide a wonderful service, but I've always wondered why project was part of our K-12 school system.
funding
Tue, 06/15/2010 - 18:04 — turnerk1The attitude that "this is great -- but someone else should fund it" is the sort of thing that will kill the good aspects of the Community Schools model. The whole idea is that vulnerable children & families will have services brought to them in the school building. But, creating the kind of cooperation between agencies and finding the funding for this sort of model is very difficult. I'm sure that is one reason that it took years to plan the opening of the school in St. Paul that JT used as example recently in one of his committee meetings. In the end, the school ends up providing services that are not traditionally found in a public school -- which is a great thing, but could easily end up costing quite a bit. If the board can't find outside funding for its ideas and the school system doesn't have the money to provide those services ... well, then all we have is a school with lots of needs and no services to meet those needs.
Additionally relying on grants and the good will of other agencies makes for a house of cards that could easily fold. Grants run out and may not be renewed, in fact many are designed only to get a program started but other sources of funding have to be found for the long term. And, just as Project Enlightenment can be viewed as an ancillary program that is not central to WCPSS's mission, a program in a school funded by an agency that typically doesn't work in a school could easily be seen as a low priority and the school system would have no recourse in the event the program was cut.
Get grant funding.
Mon, 06/14/2010 - 14:46 — DrActualFactualProject Enlightenment does some wonderful things but I agree with midtownmom, it should not be funded by WCPSS. Project Enlightenment should be grateful for the funding they have received to date from WCPSS, but their pre-K services should not be paid for out of K-12 money from the school system. Project E. needs to use its status and get outside grant funding instead of relying on funds from WCPSS. Frankly, when they tell you that your child needs a stable school environment and then DOES NOT inform you of the frequent reassignment circumstances that have prevailed in WCPSS for decades what good is their advice. Perhaps their advice regarding the school system would have been more open if they had not been FUNDED by that same system. No one wants to bite the hand that feeds them and IMO it stifles their ability to perform their job to the best of their ability if they are in a position to be beholden to the employer.