Correction: This story originally contained an incorrect spelling of the last name of Don Millican, chief financial official of Kaiser-Francis Oil Co. It has been corrected.
Tulsa will be making the case for early childhood programs with two of four people set to testify in a congressional hearing on Thursday representing local organizations.
Featured on the panel will be Steven Dow, executive director of the Community Action Project of Tulsa, which administers the federal Head Start grant, and Don Millican, chief financial official of Kaiser-Francis Oil Co., who will speak on behalf of the George Kaiser Family Foundation.
U.S. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., will oversee the hearing as chairman of the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies. It is responsible for making decisions on the allocations to those agencies.
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These hearings allow for agency secretaries and people outside the agencies affected by the policies and decisions to speak to lawmakers. It is a way for elected officials to gather information.
Actress Jennifer Garner, of television’s “Alias” and films such a “Juno” and “Dallas Buyers Club,” will be talking about her work with Save the Children.
The other expert set to testify is Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, professor of child development and education at Columbia University.
“I am honored to have the opportunity to share with members of Congress how we in Tulsa have made education of very young, at-risk children a top community priority,” Dow said.
“Through a combined effort of many people, the prudent use of federal, state and local taxpayer dollars, and the extraordinary generosity of the George Kaiser Family Foundation, Tulsa has developed a reputation as a national leader in preparing very young children with the skills they need to succeed in school and life.”
During the past 20 years, Tulsa has developed a unique model for early education programs for low-income families, led in large part by philanthropists and nonprofits.
When the state education department in the 1990s expanded volunteer 4-year-old programs in public schools, Tulsa’s Head Start arranged partnerships with local school districts to leverage funding. This allows for more children to be served in those pre-K programs with more resources.
The goal is to eliminate duplication of services and provide what families need in one location.
At the same time, philanthropist George Kaiser led the effort to build Educare Centers to offer comprehensive early education programs as a poverty intervention. These centers start at infancy and include parent self-sufficiency supports.
Both programs include a mix of federal Head Start grants, federal department of agriculture free- and reduced meals programs, state funding and private donations.
The University of Oklahoma-Tulsa launched its Early Childhood Education Institute a decade ago to promote research in the field, evaluate the programs and prepare professionals for the field.
All of these aspects work together to form Tulsa early childhood education community.
The initial — and continuing — support has come from the business community, which has championed many of the initiatives to prepare for a better workforce.
“The fact that Steven Dow and I are being asked to appear before the House Committee on Appropriations is evidence of the reputation Oklahoma, and particularly Tulsa, has developed nationally in the field of early childhood education,” Millican said.
“Our success in combining federal, state and private funding to give children born into poverty a chance to succeed in life in an excellent model for other communities to pattern. And, this story is one I’ll be privileged to tell next week in Washington.”
Outcomes of Tulsa’s programs have been studied in research through Georgetown University, OU-Tulsa’s Early Childhood Education Institute and other university researchers.
It is common for Tulsa’s Head Start and Educare programs to host tours for groups interested in replicating the model in other cities. It has been highlighted in national and international publications.
Part of the testimony will likely focus on the necessity for more funding because the need far exceeds what the grant allows.
“However, we will also be communities that the demand for high quality early childhood education for low-income children is much greater than our current capacity, both locally and nationally.”
