Christine described The Big Lift as a bold, social venture that brings together partners across San Mateo County to transform early learning so that all children have the opportunity to succeed.
Big Lift is a collaborative project in partnership with San Mateo County, San Mateo County Office of Education, and Silicon Valley Community Foundation with the aim to have 80% of the county’s 3rd-graders reading proficiently by the end of 3rd-grade. Over 3,000 children a year are served. The State of California adopted Big Lift in 2009. There are over 300 organizations that partner with Big Lift.
It has been determined that, if a child is behind in reading by the third grade, they will have a very hard time getting caught up. Ninety percent of a child’s brain development happens before they are five years old. Forty-five percent of children entering Kindergarten are not ready. Eighty-eight percent of dropouts could not read by the third grade.
Big Lift’s mission statement is “We are a bold social venture working to transform early learning so that all of San Mateo County's children succeed.” Their approach is focused on four key pillars: providing high-quality preschool and summer learning, reducing absenteeism, and increasing family engagement. The initiative starts with 2 years of high-quality preschool, followed by 3 years of “inspiring summers” programs. Family engagement initiatives support students’ literacy skills, and collaborative interventions promote the importance of school attendance. The goal is to have 80% of students reading proficiently by the third grade.
There are currently 37 sites serving 2,000 children. This includes 11 preschool agencies with top quality ratings. Quality improvement planning is built into their programs and assessed annually. Sites on the Coastside include Head Start at Moonridge, Hatch School and others.
CUSD Superintendent Sean McPhetridge thanked Christine for the help with hatch school’s program. He also acknowledged that Liz has been the mastermind and is greatly appreciated.
One parent commented on the summer program, “Inspiring Summers gave my daughter her life back.”
Pandemic update: There have been no COVID outbreaks. They did a survey on the economic impact of COVID on program participants and found that two out of three respondents experienced financial hardships and were more likely to continue to face hardship. They helped with rental support and food. Extra PPE was provided. They also stepped up outreach to all families. Preschool was opened as soon as possible—they offer virtual and in person.
Big Lift has a 8.3-8.4 million dollar budget. Funding sources include County Measure K funding, local funding and donations. They have been notified they they will receive a million from the State which will be used for the summer program.
Q and A
Susan Alvarado commented that this community is lucky to have Liz. She also mentioned that the Grand Jury’s report on Big Lift only had one recommendation, that the County should support it. She also thanked Rotary for our support. “The rising tide lifts all boats—helping some kids, helps us overall”.
Sean reported that he works with Christine regularly and is very appreciative. Christine mentioned that we are moving toward universal preschool.
John wanted to know what causes absenteeism. Christine responded that while young kids do get sick, we need to convince parents of the importance of early school, a few days a month adds up. Getting to school and ups can be challenging for parents. Schools need to be in convenient locations, near transportation, language differences addressed, etc. Sean added that our schools are working on expanding hours for family engagement as an example.
Michelle commented that it is difficult for students with sensory problems during COVID.
Rosie asked about professional development for teachers and also asked who evaluates the outcomes for Big Lift. Christine responded that the Rand Corporation does the evaluations. It has been hard to get data this year, but she can provide the report once it is released in the fall. Liz added that professional development is included in the budget. There also is lots of engagement with parents in our district.
Christine was presented with a certificate acknowledging a donation to Polio Plus covering inoculations for 15.
Pres. Joe's Weekly 'States of the Union Quiz - TEXAS!
Rosi’s mother’s family helped settle Texas; she considered herself to be a Texican. Rosie left Texas at two years old. Her father felt it was too racist.
Dianne lived in Texas for 35 years in Houston. She found Houston very progressive, for Texas. The arts in Houston are wonderful. It does have terribly hot and humid weather. She doesn’t claim Texas, but acknowledges it does have some political diversity, citing Houston’s history-setting first gay female mayor and two black mayors, on of whom is currently in office.
Liz had a wonderful trip to Texas to San Antonio and its beautiful River Walk area. Ginger did as well—a trip to visit the Alamo because Chris was a Davy Crockett fan. Kevin found it to be hot, but San Antonio and Austin were nice and very diverse.
Dianne pointed out that if you are flying in the Space Shuttle, it takes three minutes from when it passes over Texas until it lands on the runway at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Marble Draw 
Postponed until next week.
