This article originally appeared in the May-June 2006 issue of the Children's Advocate, published by Action Alliance for Children.

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The California Child Development CORPS

Early childhood teachers and providers organizing and advocating for better pay, benefits, job conditions, and professional respect.

Member profile: Valentina Feldman: “We are the driving force”

By Jessine Foss

Long-time child care teacher Valentina Feldman joined the Corps after reading a brochure at a CAEYC conference. An immigrant from Russia, she works at San Francisco’s Holy Family Day Home. Though she is involved with CARES and the California Mentor-Teacher Program, she joined the Corps because teachers “make decisions and address issues. We are the driving force.” She participated the Corps’ 2003 and 2005 postcard campaigns to renew CARES funding.

Recently, it’s been universal preschool “on everyone’s mind,” she says. Feldman helped get Prop. 82 (see Proposition
82: Preschool for All) on the ballot by collecting signatures from co-workers. She’s concerned the initiative could create “learning standards that aren’t developmentally appropriate.” But she points to benefits for children—learning social-emotional skills and, for children learning English, more time to become English-proficient—and benefits for teachers—”higher education will improve our status and compensation.”

The Corps surveyed teachers and providers about Prop. 82 and preschool for all programs. Despite being “busy, involved in different agencies,” Feldman brought in nearly 100 surveys. She asked co-workers to fill them out during staff meetings, put some out for parents in her center’s drop-in area, and brought them to a mentor- teacher meeting and child de-velopment leadership retreat —events “I would attend anyway,” she says. She also sent forms to the San Francisco Child Care Providers Association and San Francisco CARES. She answered respondents’ questions “to the best of my understanding” about how teachers and providers would be affected by the initiative.

Corps members plan to meet with county superintendents of schools to express child care teachers’ and providers’ views on universal preschool issues, using the survey results and the Corps principles. In San Francisco, Feldman plans to be there, speaking out for developmentally appropriate learning standards and full-day care.

Thanks to the Trio Foundation for its support for this page.

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Universal preschool principles

The Corps supports Prop. 82, the Preschool for All initiative (see Proposition 82: Preschool for All) as a first step. When counties begin planning preschool programs, Corps members say they should:

• Provide full-day care by skilled teachers and providers

• Pay teachers and providers more based on education and experience

• Value early childhood education as important to preparing for work with young children

• Value the diversity of existing staff, settings, and teaching styles—and offer support for professional development

• Promote ethnic and language diversity among teachers and providers

• Make sure infant-toddler programs aren’t negatively affected by universal preschool.

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Speak out

• on universal preschool: join Corps members in meeting with county officials about what should be included in universal preschool programs

• on the California budget: join the Corps at budget hearings and in letter-writing campaigns to legislators.

For more information:

• Statewide: Sara Hicks-Kilday or Susan Jeong, Working for Quality Child Care, 415-808-7327, cares@caccwrc.org

• Alameda: Marva Lyons, 510-521-3997, HappyMarva43734@cs.com or Margaret Costello-Chevis, 510-226-9414, mohavecomm@aol.com

• Butte: Paulette Fox, 530-876-8907, pjfx@strangecode.com

• Contra Costa: Stephanie Ratto, 925-689-5151 x204, lsratto@earthlink.net

• Fresno: Mary Malesani, 559-237-0688, Mmalesani@aol.com

• Humboldt: Polly Ramos, 707-825-0834, supercluck75@hotmail.com

• Los Angeles: Karen Spinosa, 310-514-2659, kspinosa@cox.net

• Mono: Shea Vick, 760-873-6036, lotus265@aol.com

• Placer: Gayle Kelley, 530-889-2511, gakids@inreach.com

• San Francisco: Teresa Calle-Streicker, 415-821-7871, tcallestreicker@juno.com

• Santa Clara: Elaine Sabo, 408-263-8113, elainesabo@sbcglobal.net

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Action Alliance
for Children
e-mail aac@4children.org
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King Jr. Way
Oakland, CA 94612
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