{"id":17863,"date":"2023-05-01T09:20:23","date_gmt":"2023-05-01T16:20:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vccflegacy.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=17863"},"modified":"2025-01-29T07:47:10","modified_gmt":"2025-01-29T07:47:10","slug":"rotarians-hear-how-isabella-project-focuses-on-preparing-youngest-santa-paulans-for-a-better-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/de\/rotarians-hear-how-isabella-project-focuses-on-preparing-youngest-santa-paulans-for-a-better-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Rotarier erfahren, wie das Isabella-Projekt die j\u00fcngsten Santa Paulaner auf eine bessere Zukunft vorbereitet"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Peggy Kelly<\/em><\/p>\n

Santa Paula Zeiten<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

Dr. Gabino Aguirre of Santa Paula speaks at a recent Santa Paula Parent Conference about the Isabella Project, which seeks to expand early childhood education.<\/p><\/div>\n

Santa Paula Rotarians learned about the Isabella Project at their April 17 meeting where Dr. Gabino Aguirre discussed the program that focuses on the city\u2019s youngest residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs long as children have been born,\u201d there has been a need for education that can begin even for infants already capable of learning. \u201cWhen a child takes its first breath, that child starts to learn, grasp the reality of this place they were thrust into by no choice of their own.\u201d<\/p>\n

And, during a child\u2019s first three or four years, up to 90% of their brain develops. \u201cChildren in need,\u201d no matter the reason \u2014 poverty, bad health, emotional distancing, a tumultuous household, lack of care, etc. \u2014 \u201cdo not have all the support to be the best they can be.\u201d<\/p>\n

With 500 children born in Santa Paula each year and 900 children who are 4 and 5 years old, he said the Isabella Project \u2014 named after an actual child \u2014 couldn\u2019t have come at a better time.
\nThrough the Isabella Project, Aguirre said \u201cWe\u2019ve learned that infants and young children have a greater capacity for learning than previously recognized,\u201d with a tremendous growth in linguistic, cognitive, social, emotional, and motor competence.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince they are natural-born learners,\u201d he noted, childcare and education cannot be thought of separately. Only 150 of area children ages 4 and 5 attend preschool and will be well ahead in learning skills by the time they attend kindergarten.<\/p>\n

Research shows the others who do not attend preschool, said Aguirre, \u201cwill fall further and further behind.\u201d<\/p>\n

High-quality childcare and education should provide appropriate developmental experiences for young children and contribute toward physical and mental health and serve as the foundation for success in school and for reaching their highest potential in life.<\/p>\n

Aguirre, a former mayor, noted, \u201cSanta Paula is the center of the universe for all of us\u201d and the Isabella Project Steering Committee is made up of many interested in early childhood development, including the Santa Paula Unified School District, which has opened two preschools.<\/p>\n

The Ventura County Community Foundation is a strong sponsor by helping \u201cour current providers meet the need in Santa Paula,\u201d which will be stronger next year when 450 more children reach the age targeted for early education.<\/p>\n

State and federal funds are also helping the project of Pre-K and Transitional Kindergarten classes as well as support for participating children and their families.<\/p>\n

There are many partners in the program ranging from Child Development Resources (Head Start) to First 5, yet with many opportunities Aguirre said some are hesitant to enroll their children in early education.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome are saying, \u2018My child is too young.\u2019 Others say they have other care for their children,\u201d while still say they need full-time care and how would that work with a school schedule.<\/p>\n

Of the latter, Aguirre said, several programs offer all-day programs for children 3 to 5 years old.
\nHe thanked the SPUSD for being \u201cso inviting to other providers\u201d and the countywide coalition of collaborators for their commitment to project, now in its third year.<\/p>\n

The project also has consultants helping to lobby for funds for the project, which costs about $10,000 a year per child and generates millions back into the economy. Countywide, Aguirre said 12,000 preschool age children are not being served and the project\u2019s steering committee hopes to expand the program.<\/p>\n

There are even plans, he noted, for the Ventura County Community College District to widen its offerings for early childhood education professionals as well as for hospital personnel for the coming new facility in Santa Paula.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to plan for the long-term sustainability,\u201d said Aguirre. \u201cOnce we\u2019re up and running we can package this for others\u2026 \u201d<\/p>\n

Weitere Informationen finden Sie unter https:\/\/bit.ly\/3L8Gcas<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Peggy Kelly Santa Paula Times Santa Paula Rotarians learned about the Isabella Project at their April 17 meeting where Dr. Gabino Aguirre discussed the program that focuses on the…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":17103,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-coverage"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17863","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17863"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17863\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}