By GINNIE GRAHAM World Staff Writer 

8/19/2007 

The Kaiser Family Foundation will be the major funding source for an 

early childhood site next to Hawthorne Elementary School. 

A second Educare early childhood center is expected to open in fall 2009 

next to Hawthorne Elementary School. 

The George Kaiser Family Foundation will be the major funder to build 

the center with several sources of public funds paying for operating 

costs. 

The Tulsa school board will vote Monday whether to approve a measure 

leasing the land to Educare for $10 for 99 years. 

Annie Koppel Van Hanken, senior program officer for the Kaiser 

foundation, said the site was chosen based on a demographic need for 

more infant and toddler care, visibility in the community and strong 

leadership from Principal Lynnette Dixon at Hawthorne, 1105 E. 33rd St. 

North. 

"We are excited and enthusiastic," Koppel Van Hanken said. 

"There is need for high-quality early childhood education all over town. 

We decided to build a second Educare site in north Tulsa because all the 

elements for a successful partnership are present, and the community was 

very receptive to the collaboration." 

Educare comes from the Chicago-based Ounce of Prevention Fund and 

promotes the best practices in early childhood learning. It is a 

private-public education program targeting low-income families. 

The goal is to eliminate generational poverty by giving a quality 

education to children starting as early as an infancy and providing 

onsite social services to parents. 

The first Educare opened in August 2006 next to Kendall-Whittier 

Elementary for about 200 low-income children. At least one-third of the 

children are infants and toddlers. 

Educare seeks to expand on quality slots for the youngest children. It 

is estimated that about 10,000 Tulsa County children younger than 3 live 

in poverty. The Early Head Start federal grant currently provides 104 

slots for that age group. 

Koppel Van Hanken said the second Educare may have more slots for 

infants and toddlers. The center is expected to have between 150 to 200 

children enrolled.  

"We think that is where we can make the most impact," she said. 

"Providing birth-to-3 education, of the highest quality, is our primary 

focus and we think that is where we can make the most long-term impact 

in children's lives." 

No architectural plans have been made and costs have not been 

determined, said Koppel Van Hanken. 

Private funding will build the center and establish an endowment to 

cover future budget shortfalls from the public sector.  

Operational costs will come from programs such as child-care subsidies 

from the state Department of Human Services, the early childhood grant 

program from the state Department of Education, and U.S. Early Head 

Start grant.  

Once the board approves the lease agreement, the Kaiser foundation will 

begin determining the needs and wants of the community. This will 

include finding partner agencies to locate within the facility and offer 

the most appropriate wrap-around programs for families.  

The foundation plans to have more specific programming determined by 

May. 

"Once the school board has signed on to this with us, we will move very 

quickly to start fine-tuning the model," said Koppel Van Hanken. 

An Educare board of directors established with the first center will 

oversee the second facility, she said. 

"Anecdotally, I think Educare has changed the conversation about quality 

in early childhood education," Koppel Van Hanken said. "It certainly has 

engendered a lot of discussion about why quality matters. It seems to 

have sparked a good dialogue." 

Tulsa Superintendent Michael Zolkowski has recommended the board approve 

the contract. 

School Board President Gary Percefull said board members have expressed 

support for the recommendation. 

"Tulsa Public Schools and the city have a national reputation in early 

childhood intervention and early childhood education," Percefull said. 

"Educare gets us in the business of 3-year-olds and younger, and it's 

exciting to expand on Tulsa's efforts." 

TPS also has agreements with the Community Action Project of Tulsa 

County for its Head Start and early childhood programs adjacent to 

schools. Many schools have clinics and other community services offered 

in the buildings. 

"Early childhood program, school clinics and all those things help slow 

mobility, and the kids develop school homes," Percefull said.