The work that’s being done by the Early Childhood Coalition is done by a team of experts in a variety of fields, who are passionate about making sure that Noble County has a solid foundation of high quality and affordable child care and early learning facilities. Here is the story of BrightPoint’s Tammy Pifer, in her own words.

Question: How did you get into Early Childhood Education?

Tammy: I am a Social Worker by training and have my Bachelor’s degree in that field.  Even as I went through that program I knew that I wanted to do community work and not have my own practice. During the summers I worked at Easter Seals ARC’s special needs childcare and interned with their First Steps Developmental Therapists.  That was my introduction to working with small children and their families.  I fell in love with the family services pieces and became passionate about working with families with small children.  After school I started working with Healthy Families and then Early Head Start. I have now been working in early childhood programs for over 20 years. During that time as well I decided that I am passionate enough about early childhood education that I got my Master’s degree in Education with a focus on Early Childhood Education.

Question: Why are you passionate about it?

Tammy: I am passionate about working with families with infants and toddlers because I know the importance of those early years.  Programs can only do so much, we have to partner with parents to help them be able to support their child’s growth and development. 

Question: Tell us about your career advancement?

Tammy: I started working with children in my pre-teen years as a babysitter.  I worked at a special needs childcare during summers of college.  After college I worked in a community childcare facility.  I started working at Brightpoint 22 years ago in the Childcare Voucher program as an Intake Specialist.  I then worked as a Coordinator for a program that helped childcare providers receive funding to help them move up levels in the Paths to Quality program.  When that program ended, I became a Home Visitor for the Healthy Families program. I moved into a Quality Assurance Supervisor position, then to a Program Supervisor, and eventually to the Program Manager.  When Brightpoint received the Early Head Start program in 2010, I became the Program Manager for that program. I am currently the Monitoring Analysis & Compliance Manager where I help the program analyze data from the program to make program decisions.  This year I also was asked to be an Adjunct Instructor for Ivy Tech Community College. 

Question: Tell us a little about those Ivy Tech Classes.

Tammy: This semester I am teaching two 8-week accelerated courses in Child Growth & Development.  This is a 100 level class to get students familiar with the basics of child development from prenatal to age 8. Being a lifelong learner is something that is also very important to me and I want to help students also gain that love of education and early childhood.  We are also facing an extreme shortage of teachers and staff in early childhood so I want to do my part to help bring more people into this field.  I think my experience can help students see the importance of caring for little ones beyond what’s in a text book.

What do you hope for the future of Early Childhood Education in Noble County?

My hope for Early Childhood Education in Noble County is that the entire community understands the need to have a strong Early Childhood Education system and bands together to provide that for all our children. I would love to see us be a Center of Excellence that other communities look to for an example of how to do it.

Question: Anything else you want to add?

Tammy: As a part of my passion for learning, early childhood, and working with families I have also taken every opportunity I can to build skills for myself and that would benefit others.  While I worked for Healthy Families I was a Certified Peer Reviewer. I am a PITC (Program for Infant Toddler Care) Trainer, I am a Certified Family Development Instructor through the University of Connecticut, and I am a Home Visitor CDA Professional Development Specialist.  These things allow me to help us create the best programs for children and families that we can.

When do people develop resiliency? According to Stacey Gagnon, founder of Lost Sparrows, it is the time that they are in utero up until age 2.

During this time, implicit memories are lodged in the brain, and even these memories can create adverse behaviors in adults.

As babies form attachments – when they are soothed if they are fussy or cuddled when they are lonely – that innately tells them “I am loved. I am worthy,” said Gagnon.

Babies who don’t have that care, who face difficult childhoods all the way through age 18 are at higher risk of pulmonary and cardiovascular damage, experience broken marriage, or deal with mental and emotional challenges throughout their lives.

Gagnon says all this can be tracked through an ACE study. ACE stands for Adverse Childhood Experiences. Those include characteristics like feeling unloved, dealing with a parent who had a drug or alcohol addiction, being a victim of molestation, coming from a split family, and more. A high ACE score is considered 4 and above out of 10. If you’ve experienced at least four out of the ten Adverse Childhood Experiences listed, then you are at risk.

We know that the ages of 0-5 are critical to a child’s healthy development. Millions of neural pathways are created every minute. Very young children who experience these ACEs – trauma before age 2 – can actually have their neural networks adversely restructured, said Gagnon.

The good new is that the brain can always learn, change and form new pathways. This is why Lost Sparrows was formed…to help children and adults who experienced trauma at an early age get back on the right path. To make better choices, to live healthier lives.

Learn more at www.lostsparrows.org.

Recently, the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration released the results of two studies that show children are part of the On My Way Pre-K program are better prepared for school and that the benefits continue well into elementary school.

This news comes as no surprise to East Noble Assistant Superintendent Becca Lamon, who was instrumental in launching the East Noble School Corporation’s Preschool program, one of two programs in Noble County to accept On My Way Pre-K grants for families.

“There is long standing research to support that high quality learning experiences affect life long outcomes for students,” said Lamon. “High quality preschool experiences provide students with a higher rate of vocabulary acquisition and the building blocks for future success.  Preschool programs that have obtained a PTQ 3 or 4 rating help facilitate this student success by ensuring that the health and safety of students has been addressed and have also examined the instructional strategies and curriculum choices that aid in student learning.”

With just ten families in Noble County taking advantage of the program in the current school year, Noble County’s Early Childhood Coalition Coordinator, Jenna Anderson, knows there is room for improvement. She heads Noble Thrive by 5, which is focused on capacity, affordability and quality of child care and preschool programs in Noble County.

“We know that a high-quality preschool program is important to a child’s development, not only in the short-term but over the course of their lives,” said Anderson. “We also know that there are struggling families in Noble County who could use these grants to provide their children with a great foundation for success.”

Kendallville Day Care Center and the East Noble Preschool Program (housed in Avilla School) are the only two providers in Noble County that accept On My Way Pre-K grants. Approved programs may be in a public or private school, licensed childcare center, licensed home or registered ministry as long as that program meets the quality requirements and is registered as an On My Way Pre-K Provider.

Providers interested in learning more about becoming an On My Way Pre-K program can contact Anderson at jenna@noblethriveby5 or through the Community Foundation of Noble County at 260-897-3335.

About the On My Way Pre-K Studies:

The first study released by FSSA is a multi-year longitudinal study demonstrating that children who attend the On My Way Pre-K program have stronger school readiness, language and literacy skills than their peers with similar family incomes who attend lower quality childcare or prekindergarten programs. On My Way Pre-K allows 4-year-old children of low-income families to attend high-quality early education programs for a year before entering kindergarten. The study was conducted by Purdue University researchers from the Center for Early Learning. The study revealed that the pattern of On My Way Pre-K children outperforming their peers continued through the third and fourth grades, as measured in standardized Math and English/Language Arts scores.

Additionally, On My Way Pre-K children from the 2020-2021 school year matched up positively compared to national norms established for all prekindergarten children in the first annual Kindergarten Readiness Indicators assessment, conducted by the University of Chicago.

Results of both the Purdue study and the University of Chicago study are available here.

“The studies show that Indiana’s investment in high-quality early education for the children of lower-income families is helping our youngest learners achieve at their greatest potential for years to come,” said Gov. Eric J. Holcomb. “Giving children a good start on their education pathway delivers a more well-prepared student and ultimately a ready to go workforce, both key elements to our state’s future growth and opportunity.”

Noble County child care providers received a total of $359,601.00 in Build, Learn, Grow Stabilization Funds.

Funded by a portion of Indiana’s appropriation of the American Rescue Plan Act, Build, Learn, Grow Stabilization Grants are non-competitive and designed to provide short-term funding to early childhood and out-of-school-time programs that have faced increased costs because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Providers must meet eligibility criteria and agree to use grant funds to stabilize their operations and build capacity for the future, including spending at least 25% of the grant funding on increasing staff wages and benefits. Dollars can be used across six categories of allowable expenses ranging from personnel costs and facility fees to mental health supports for children and staff.

Grant awards are calculated using a cost estimation formula which considers each provider’s licensed program type, average attendance, staffing costs, quality level and geography to arrive at an estimated funding level.

“Access to these funds means so much to the child care providers in Noble County,” said Jenna Anderson, coordinator for Noble Thrive by 5. “We know that some of them will be able to retain staff and hire new staff due to increased wages, bonuses and benefits. It will also allow many providers to update their facilities and provide more quality early learning experiences for our youngest residents.”

Additionally in the four county area, Dekalb County providers received $419,500, Steuben County providers received $582,386.00, and LaGrange County providers received $169,954.00.

“Noble County children will benefit from those funds, as well,” said Anderson. “Because Noble County’s child care capacity is smaller than the need, many families have to go outside of the county to find child care.”

She noted that a portion of the $423,181.00 given to Whitley County, too, will benefit providers who care for Noble County children.

The applications for a second round of Build, Learn, Grow Stabilization Grants will open on Monday, January 17 and continue through April 15. Providers who previously applied for funding in 2021 can apply again, once they complete their Round 1 Grant Report.

In addition to funding for providers, Build, Learn, Grow Family Scholarships have been extended. Families who are in a child care program and have at least one parent working in an essential field can apply through June 2022. This funding can cover all or a percentage of child care costs, depending on income.

Anyone with questions about this funding, or any questions related to child care and early learning in Noble County can reach Anderson at 260-445-3369 or jenna@noblethriveby5.org.

We believe every child can thrive by 5…in fact, it’s in our name! But don’t take our word for it. Here’s a pretty incredible seven-year-old to tell you how to make it happen.

One of the things Molly said really resonated with us…

Kids are hard-wired to seek out meaningful connections.

The Developmental Assets® Framework created by the Search Institute has identified 40 positive supports and strengths that young people need to succeed. Many of them focus specifically on supportive relationships. The Search Institute believes children need to be surrounded by people who love, care for, appreciate, and accept them.

• Family support—Family life provides high levels of love and support.
• Positive family communication—Young person and their parent(s) communicate positively, and young person is willing to seek parent(s) advice and counsel.
• Other adult relationships—Young person receives support from three or more nonparent adults.
• Caring neighborhood—Young person experiences caring neighbors.
• Caring school climate—School provides a caring, encouraging environment.
• Parent involvement in schooling—Parent(s) are actively involved in helping young person succeed in school.

According to the Search Institute, those developmental relationships need to do five things:

1. Express Care
2. Challenge Growth
3. Provide Support
4. Share Power
5. Expand Possibilities

These five things aren’t hard to do…and in fact are often done every day without even thinking of it. Simply listening to your child – putting down your device and listening when you are together – can show you care. To challenge growth, let your kids try new things. They can do more than you think they can! They can help you with dishes, fold laundry, join in cooking or baking, and will love every minute of it. Support them by giving them a hand if they try to do too much and standing up for them when it’s needed. Share your power by working with children to solve problems and let them have a say in decisions that affect them. Simply by introducing them to new people and experiences, you can expand their possibilities.

You’re there for your children, and Noble Thrive by 5 is here for you. We can connect you with local resources to give your family a bright future. Visit us online at www.noblethriveby5.org.