TULSA EDUCARE INC

A MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENT THIS YEAR WAS EXTENDING OUR EDUCARE SCHOOL HOURS FROM 8 TO 10 HOURS PER DAY FOR ALL CHILDREN. THIS EXTENSION HAS PROVIDED CRUCIAL SUPPORT FOR FAMILIES, HELPING THEM BETTER BALANCE WORK, SCHOOL, AND CAREGIVING RESPONSIBILITIES. HOWEVER, THIS IMPLEMENTATION CAME WITH CHALLENGES, AS ADJUSTING STAFF SCHEDULES TO COVER THE EXTENDED HOURS SOMETIMES CONFLICTED WITH EMPLOYEES' PERSONAL LIVES, MAKING IT HARDER FOR SOME TO MANAGE THEIR WORK-LIFE BALANCE. ADDITIONALLY, THIS SHIFT DEMANDS MORE OVERSIGHT AND CAREFUL MANAGEMENT OF SCHEDULING BY LEADERSHIP TO ENSURE SMOOTH OPERATIONS. WE ALSO PRIORITIZED FAMILY GOAL-SETTING, RECOGNIZING ITS IMPORTANCE IN FOSTERING ACHIEVEMENT AND A SENSE OF PURPOSE. FAMILY GOALS RANGED FROM READING MORE WITH THEIR CHILDREN TO COMPLETING A GED TO ENROLLING IN ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE COURSES. THROUGH REGULAR FOLLOW-UPS AND SUPPORT TO OVERCOME OBSTACLES, WE SAW STRONG ENGAGEMENT. AS A RESULT, NEARLY ALL FAMILIES PARTICIPATED IN GOAL SETTING AND THE PERCENT OF FAMILIES WHO COMPLETED A GOAL INCREASED FROM 49% IN 2022-23 TO 65% IN 2023-24.OUR COMMUNITY INITIATIVE, EARLY LEARNING WORKS (ELW), EXPANDED ITS OUTREACH TO THE HISPANIC COMMUNITY THIS YEAR. A TOTAL OF 23 EVENTS AND PROGRAMS WERE DELIVERED IN SPANISH AT VARIOUS LOCATIONS ACROSS TULSA. ELW ALSO LAUNCHED AN EXCITING NEW PROGRAM AIMED AT ENCOURAGING HISPANIC INDIVIDUALS TO PURSUE CAREERS AS LICENSED CHILD CARE PROVIDERS. IN RESPONSE TO COMPETITIVE PRESSURES AROUND EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION, WE PROACTIVELY APPLIED FOR AN ENROLLMENT REDUCTION TO THE OFFICE OF HEAD START. THIS ENABLED US TO INCREASE TEACHER PAY AND MAKE OUR COMPENSATION MORE COMPETITIVE. IT ALSO HELPED US BETTER MANAGE RISING OPERATIONAL COSTS. WHILE WE DECREASED OUR HEAD START SLOTS FROM 436 TO 372, WE MAINTAINED OUR ENROLLMENT USING ONE-TIME FUNDING FOR THE SLOTS NO LONGER FUNDED BY HEAD START WITH THE HOPE OF SECURING NEW HEAD START FUNDING IN THE FUTURE.FINALLY, TULSA EDUCARE ADOPTED CORE MEASURES THIS YEAR. THESE KEY METRICS ALLOW US TO QUANTITATIVELY TRACK OUR PROGRESS YEAR OVER YEAR. GIVEN THE ABUNDANCE OF DATA WE HAVE, THIS PROCESS HELPS US SHARPEN OUR FOCUS AND DIRECT OUR EFFORTS WHERE THEY ARE MOST IMPACTFUL.