The Educare Center of Milwaukee joins with the other national Educare Centers (Chicago, Omaha, Tulsa and Denver) to form a consortium called the Bounce Learning Network. Network activities are funded by the Buffett Early Childhood Fund and facilitated by The Ounce of Prevention, where the Educare program model was first developed. This partnership oversees the implementation of several “core features” of the Educare early care and education model.
As part of the Bounce Learning Network, program and management staff members from the Educare sites get together regularly. These meeting provide a forum in which Educare leadership staff can share, problem-solve, and receive support regarding issues related to the Educare model.
The Bounce Learning Network’s Implementation Study is designed to document the features of Educare and how implementation of the model contributes to program quality and links to child and family outcomes. The evaluation is led by a national evaluator at the FPG Child Development Institute at UNC-Chapel Hill. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee serves as the local evaluator for the Educare Center of Milwaukee.
The results of the Bounce Learning Network’s Implementation Study will allow the Network to describe and better understand the progress children and families are making in Educare programs. The results will also illuminate the links between child and family outcomes and implementation of the model. The Implementation Study will offer reasonable conclusions about what successful programs can achieve.
New Educare programs are under development in Miami and Seattle. You can learn more about other Educare centers by visiting their sites at:
Chicago - The Ounce of Prevention Fund
Omaha - Educare of Omaha
Tulsa - Educare of Tulsa
Denver - Clayton Family Futures