News Release – For Immediate Release

Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation Builds on the Success of Early Childhood Programs
Grant will Enable the Arkansas 21C Network to Spread Its Proven Model to More Schools in the State

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (November 15, 2011) – The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation (WRF) Board of Directors approved a $50,000 grant to the Arkansas School of the 21st Century (Arkansas 21C) Network to strengthen and expand its successful early childhood care and education programs.

The Arkansas 21C Network is a nonprofit organization that has enabled over 160 schools across the state to transform themselves into year-round multi-service centers that provide:

• high-quality, year-round child care for preschoolers
• guidance and support for parents
• professional training for child care providers
• information, health education, and referral services

Evaluations confirm that the Arkansas 21C model leads to significant increases in literacy skills, school attendance rates, and appropriate behavior. Schools with well-established 21C programs have almost 10 percent more students reading at grade level than their counterparts and almost 50 percent fewer cases of excessive absenteeism. Far fewer students in mature 21C schools engage in serious misbehavior, as indicated by a 50 percent drop in school-based suspensions and a nearly 75 percent drop in out-of-school suspensions. 

“Since 2001, WRF has invested over $6 million in the implementation of this model across the state,” said Dr. Sherece Y. West, president and CEO of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation. “This new grant will enable the Arkansas 21C Network to provide training and support for additional schools that are eager to adopt its model, and to organize and advocate for the full integration of 21C programs into the state’s early child care and education system.”

WRF recognizes the Arkansas 21C Network as being a key partner in the Arkansas Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, which is committed to ensuring that all children achieve age-appropriate reading skills by the end of the third grade. “A high-quality preschool education sets children on the path to literacy,” remarked Dr. West. “The Arkansas 21C Network understands that for children to read at a proficient level by the end of the third grade, we need to give them ample care and educational enrichment long before they enter school.”

(October 27, 2011) – The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation (WRF) Board of Directors approved a $75,000 grant to Catholic Charities Immigration Services (CCIS) to support naturalization services for families in Arkansas.

CCIS is the only nonprofit provider of immigration services in Arkansas that has been accredited by the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. The organization helps immigrants to start the citizenship process, and it provides referrals for workforce readiness training, ESL (English as a Second Language) classes, and other critical supports. By preparing immigrants to become economically successful members of our society, CCIS serves WRF’s overarching goal of reducing the number of families in Arkansas that live in poverty.

“One of the most effective ways to reduce poverty in Arkansas is to help immigrant families to become better integrated into our communities and the workforce,” observed Dr. Sherece Y. West, president and CEO of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation. “WRF is committed to making life better for all of our state’s residents.”

Arkansas’s immigrant population is rapidly increasing. The state had the fourth-fastest-growing immigrant population nationwide between 1990 and 2000, and had the fastest growing Latino population nationwide between 2000 and 2005.

“As more immigrants move to Arkansas, CCIS helps them navigate the citizenship process and connect with needed services,” explained Frank Head, the director of CCIS. “Our ultimate goal is to support immigrant families as they strive to improve their economic and educational levels.”

About the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation

For over 35 years, the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation has helped to build and sustain the organizations that serve and strengthen Arkansas. Through grantmaking and strategic partnerships, we are working hard to help close the economic and educational gaps that leave too many Arkansas families in persistent poverty. For more information on the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, please go to www.wrfoundation.org

About the Arkansas 21C Network

The Arkansas School of the 21st Century (21C) Network has been developing early child care and education programs in the state since 1992. Initially an offshoot of Yale University’s School of the 21st Century program, this independent nonprofit organization is governed by a Leadership Council that is comprised of members representing the Arkansas 21C community. The Arkansas 21C Network’s fiscal agent is Clinton School District No. 1, which was one of the early members and proponents of the 21C Initiative.

Contacts

Mr. Cory Anderson
Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation
(501) 376-6854
canderson@wrfoundation.org

Ms. Deborah Swink
Clinton School District No. 1
(501) 745-6058
swinkd@clinton.k12.ar.us

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