Greetings Partners in Education,
After weeks of discussion with Porter-Leath officials and several of their supporters and funders, Shelby County Schools (SCS) has been unable to reach an agreement on the terms of a contract. Porter-Leath requested a substantial increase in funding to provide fewer services to Pre-K students at a higher cost which could jeopardize the SCS Head Start grant by putting the District out of compliance with federal requirements.
The annual Porter-Leath contract provides direct Pre-K services to 1,520 children out of approximately 5,600 Pre-K students served by the District. SCS has opted to bring the remaining Pre-K services in-house. Under the Head Start grant and in partnership with other Pre-K providers across the city, there will not be a disruption of services or support for students and families.
FAST FACTS
- SCS and Porter-Leath have been unable to reach an agreement on the terms of a contract for Pre-K services.
- The annual Porter-Leath contract provides direct Pre-K services to1,520 children out of approximately 5,600 Pre-K students served by the District.
- SCS has opted to bring the remaining Pre-K services in-house after unsuccessful negotiations.
- Porter-Leath requested a substantial increase in funding to provide fewer services to Pre-K students at a higher cost which could jeopardize the SCS Head Start grant by putting the District out of compliance with federal requirements.
- There will not be a disruption of services or support for students and families.
- Up to $3 million in educational cost savings has been identified by the District to strengthen services and program expansions.
- The SCS Human Resources team will share details in the coming days about career opportunities for early childhood educators and staff impacted by this transition.
REIMAGINING PRE-K AND COST SAVINGS
Superintendent Dr. Joris M. Ray recently announced a Reimagining 901 proposal to offer universal Pre-K access to all students in Shelby County. Although unanticipated, the move of bringing Pre-K services in-house is consistent with that goal.
“Our Early Childhood Director Divalyn Gordon has identified up to $3 million in educational cost savings to provide services to SCS families,” said Superintendent Ray. “Rather than paying increased administrative costs to Porter-Leath, SCS aims to apply these cost savings to strengthen services and program expansions.”
SCS PRE-K GROWTH AND SUCCESS
- SCS has layers of systems in place to drive decisions with data. Key Performance Indicators presented in April 2021 show:
- 69% of Kindergarteners who attended an SCS Pre-K program in 2019-20 were considered Kindergarten ready in reading compared to only 40% of students who did not attend an SCS Pre-K program.
- Students attending SCS Pre-K consistently outperform their peers on measures of kindergarten readiness, even after the pandemic.
- SCS Early Childhood classrooms have exceeded or maintained comparable scores to the 2019 Office of Head Start national average. SCS classrooms are scoring 1 point above the national average in Instructional Support.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
As part of our Reimagining 901 plan and capital improvement projects, our mission is to enhance academic instruction and establish 21st century learning environments. To support these efforts, SCS will be engaging a number of local community partners as we bolster economic development. Additionally, the District’s Human Resources team will share details in the coming days about career opportunities for early childhood educators and staff impacted by this transition.
PATH FORWARD
A fundamental principle of the District’s Reimagining 901 plan is rethinking the way we service children and families as we ensure the most effective and efficient delivery of teaching and learning.
SCS is grateful to Porter-Leath for their service to the children of Memphis and Shelby County and thanks their employees for their commitment to the work which will continue.
