Educare Tulsa celebrates 10 years of high-quality early childhood education
August 28, 2016
Educare Tulsa is celebrating a decade of providing high-quality early childhood education to more than 2,000 children and families in Tulsa. In honor of this occasion, Mayor Dewey F. Bartlett, Jr., proclaimed Educare Tulsa Day on August 21, 2016.
“Educare Tulsa is grateful to have impacted thousands of families during the last 10 years,” said Caren Calhoun, executive director. “This is a huge milestone for us and we look forward to continuing to provide the highest quality of education to Tulsa’s youngest children for many years to come. Witnessing the impact we have made in a relatively short amount of time is what motivates me each and every day, and I look forward to the next 10 years.”
Since breaking ground for their first school in 2006, Educare Tulsa has opened three schools including Kendall-Whittier, Hawthorne and MacArthur.
As part of the national network of Educare schools, Educare Tulsa is a state-of-the-art early childhood program. Each year, the schools provide education and care for more than 550 children, from birth to age five, and their families with full-day, year-round early childhood education, family engagement services and ongoing health promotions. Those eligible to attend include infants, toddlers and preschool-age children from low-income families.
Educare Tulsa improved the quality of each school through accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). NAYEC is the foremost professional association for the early childhood field, with an accreditation that’s considered to be the gold standard for early childhood programs across the country.
In 2010, Educare Tulsa was awarded Early Head Start grantee designation and has since been awarded funds for more than 300 children to receive Early Head Start programming. Important federal and state partnerships and the close relationship with Tulsa Public Schools allow Educare Tulsa to provide the type of exemplary education it does today.
The organization has been recognized nationally for outstanding early childhood education with awards including Head Start Champion of Change and Early Educator of the Year, both granted by the White House.
“We are tremendously proud of Educare Tulsa’s accomplishments and the successes they’ve had over the last decade,” said Annie Koppel Van Hanken, senior program officer at George Kaiser Family Foundation and board president for Educare Tulsa. “While we pause to celebrate the last 10 years, we are excited about the future of Educare and providing all children in our community with the opportunity to receive a quality education.”
Educare Tulsa also participates in the Educare network’s national policy and research efforts to increase access to high-quality early childhood education.
