Kellogg Racial Equity 2030
First Steps: Advancing Racial Equity in Michigan Early Childhood Education
School Partnerships
Our project, First Steps: Advancing Racial Equity in Michigan Early Childhood Education, will see a partnership with HighScope, Eastern Michigan University, and eight school districts focused on changing racial inequities in early childhood education. Learn more about the school programs, their demographics, and leadership below.
Berrien RESA
“Berrien RESA will fully support and contribute to this grant project in collaboration with Heritage Southwest ISD, Tri-County Head Start, and Van Buren ISD.”
| Children | Staff | |
| Black | 24% | 28% |
| White | 47% | 69% |
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 1% | 0% |
| Multi-Racial/Bi-Racial | 23% | 2% |
| Hispanic | 2% | 1% |
| Other | 3% | 0% |
711 St. Joseph Ave.
P.O. Box 364
Berrien Springs, MI 49103
Phone: 269.471.7725
Contact: Tia Miller
Tia Miller
Preschool Services Supervisor
Tia Miller is the Preschool Services Supervisor for the Berrien RESA, overseeing and supporting the Great Start Readiness Preschool Programs. She holds a Bachelor in Child Development and Sociology with a Master in Education Administration focused in Community Leadership. She has been the Early Childhood Contact since May 2016. Tia has more than 20 years of experience in the field of early childhood education, child abuse prevention, and nonprofit work. Her drive is to provide education and resources to children and families within the programs offered at Berrien RESA.
Genesee ISD
Genesee ISD was chosen because of its urban center located in Flint, large population of people of color, and geographic location in central Michigan.
Additional information to come.
2413 W. Maple Ave.
Flint, MI 48507
Phone: 810.591.4400
Contact: Catrina Wiskur
[email protected]
Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA)
Kalamazoo RESA was chosen because it is primarily a rural area with a large population of students of color and very few staff of color.
“I fully support this initiative as the stakes are high for all young children but specifically for our Black and Brown children! It is imperative that we transform systematic structures and provide more accessible pathways for BIPOC to become educators, explicitly early childhood educators. The ratio of Black and Brown students to teachers of color is greatly unproportionate!! We need initiatives like this project to tip the scale!”
|
|
Children |
Staff |
|
Black |
55% |
22% |
|
White |
28% |
71% |
|
American Indian/Alaska Native |
0% |
0% |
|
Pacific Islander |
0% |
0% |
|
Asian |
2% |
1% |
|
Multi-Racial/Bi-Racial |
14% |
|
|
Hispanic or Latino |
9% |
6% |
1819 East Milham Ave.
Portage, MI 49002
Phone: 269.250.9200
Contacts: Jennifer Sova [email protected]
Rachel Roberts [email protected]
Rachel Roberts
Director of Early Childhood Programs
Rachel Roberts is the Director of Early Childhood Programs at Kalamazoo RESA for Kalamazoo County. She directly operates and oversees the Head Start/GSRP program and is the Early Childhood Contact for the Great Start Readiness Program. She is also a co-leader of Kalamazoo RESA’s Anti-Bias Anti-Racism Leadership Team.
Rachel has been in the education field for approximately 16 years. She received her undergraduate degree at Grand Valley State University in Language with a minor in Elementary Education, and a graduate degree from Western Michigan University in Educational Leadership. Rachel went into the education field because she is a woman of color and never had a teacher or administrator who looked like her or shared her identity during her K–12 career. She has a love for all children but recognizes the importance and benefit of being a role model and advocate for children and families of color.
Kent ISD
Kent ISD was chosen because of its urban center located in Grand Rapids, large population of people of color, and geographic location in western Michigan.
Additional information to come.
2930 Knapp Street NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49525
Phone: 616.364.1333
Contact: Ashley Karsten
[email protected]
Lewis Cass ISD
Lewis Cass ISD was chosen because it is a rural area that is in need of developing ECE leaders as noted by the recent PDG B-5 Needs Assessment. It is located near other ISDs with large populations of students of color who will also participate through the Lewis Cass ISD.
“Lewis Cass ISD (soon to be called Heritage Southwest ISD) will fully support and contribute to this grant project in collaboration with Tri-County Head Start, Berrien RESA, and Van Buren ISD.”
|
|
Children |
Staff |
|
Black |
5% |
7% |
|
White |
78% |
85% |
|
American Indian/Alaska Native |
2% |
4% |
|
Multi-Racial/Bi-Racial |
11% |
0% |
|
Hispanic |
2% |
4% |
|
Other |
2% |
0% |
61682 Dailey Road
Cassopolis, MI 49031
Phone: 269.455.3891
Contact: Chris Whitmire
[email protected]
Christine G. Whitmire
Director
Hello, I am very excited to be part of this opportunity for the early educators in our SW region of the state. I have been in the field of early childhood education for over 20 years as director, principal, home visitor, and family liaison. My masters degree is in Early Childhood Education from Indiana University-South Bend and I have an administrator’s license as well. I love to build and grow innovative, high quality programs in underserved communities. In addition, I am aware of the significant under-representation of people of color teaching in our classrooms and serving in leadership roles and I look forward to supporting a new community of leaders with a racial equity lens. I serve as one of eight Reimagining Our Work (ROW) conveners, dedicated to envisioning a new path for the field that involves examining and deconstructing biases and barriers in the name of equity.
Tri-County Head Start
“Tri-County Head Start will fully support and contribute to this grant project in collaboration with Heritage Southwest ISD, Berrien RESA, and Van Buren ISD.”
| Children | Staff | |
| Black | 23.8% | 18% |
| White | 53% | 79% |
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 1% | 0% |
| Multi-Racial/Bi-Racial | 21% | 2% |
| Hispanic | 20% | 9% |
| Other | 1% | 0% |
775 Hazen St.
Paw Paw, MI 49079
Phone: 269.657.2581
Contact: Chanda Hillman
Chanda Hillman
CEO/Executive Director
Chanda Hillman, CEO/Executive Director, is a graduate of Western Michigan University with a Masters of Public Administration, a Bachelors of Arts in Gender and Women’s Studies with a minor in Nonprofit Leadership and is a Certified Nonprofit Professional. She first volunteered for the program when her children were students in the Head Start program and then became an employee in 2016. Since 2016, Chanda has held the positions of Recruiter, Recruiting Manager, ERSEA Manager, Family Services Director, and finally the CEO/Executive Director beginning in 2018. Chanda is committed to staff development and taking the program to the next level to ultimately help dreams come true.
Van Buren ISD
“Van Buren ISD will fully support and contribute to this grant project in collaboration with Tri-County Head Start, Berrien RESA, and Lewis Cass/Heritage Southwest ISD.”
|
|
Children |
|
Black |
1% |
|
White |
50% |
|
American Indian/Alaska Native |
0% |
|
Multi-Racial/Bi-Racial |
9% |
|
Hispanic |
40% |
|
Other |
0% |
490 S. Paw Paw St.
Lawrence, MI 49064
Phone: 269.674.8091
Contact: Lise Black
Lise Black
Early Care & Education Administrator
I have worked in the field of early childhood for more than 25 years, with the last twenty as an administrator at the Van Buren ISD. I originally trained as a secondary teacher but shifted to early childhood during my early career with Head Start. After finishing coursework to secure my early childhood endorsement, I was blessed to be supported in earning a master’s degree from Grand Valley State University. My job includes leadership roles with our state funded GSRP preschool services, PAT® home visiting, and Great Start Collaborative systems work. I have seen many positive changes and the growth of professionalism in the field over these years, but the hiring of qualified candidates to support staff diversity remains a challenge. This grant would be a positive impact for the participants, the programs, and most importantly for the children and families we serve.
Washtenaw ISD
Washtenaw ISD was chosen because of their proximity to both EMU and HighScope, the demographics of the student population and ECE Staff, and their geographic location in Southeastern Michigan.
“Washtenaw Intermediate School District fully supports this project proposal by the HighScope Educational Research Foundation. Washtenaw ISD is the grantee for both the federal Head Start and Early Head Start programs and Michigan’s Great Start Readiness Program within Washtenaw County, Michigan. Our Early Childhood department supports a diverse group of over 150 classroom and home-based early educators across the county.
We believe that this proposed project will provide a great opportunity for local early educators of color to both enhance their educational qualifications and skills, and better prepare and position them for leadership opportunities within the early education field.”
|
|
Children |
Staff |
|
Black |
378 |
21 |
|
White |
358 |
53 |
|
American Indian/Alaska Native |
2 |
1 |
|
Pacific Islander |
3 |
1 |
|
Asian |
29 |
1 |
|
Multi-Racial/Bi-Racial |
88 |
1 |
|
Hispanic |
110 |
|
1819 South Wagner Road
PO Box 1406
Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1406
Phone: 734.994.8100
Contact: Melissa Pinsky
[email protected]
Melissa Pinsky
Preschool Education Manager
Melissa Pinsky is the Preschool Education Manager at Washtenaw Intermediate School District in Ann Arbor. She works with the WISD team and with teachers, directors, and other staff in Head Start and Great Start Readiness Program Preschool classrooms across the county to support and improve quality of preschool education. This involves looking at program data, including school readiness goals, child assessment and screenings, program quality measures (CLASS and PQA-R) to determine what professional development and ongoing support and training is needed.
Melissa Pinsky and Althea Wilson, Early Childhood Specialist 0–3, will share responsibility for overseeing staff involved in this program and will support the implementation of the program in whatever ways are needed. They will coordinate internship opportunities for staff and be responsible for grant reporting.
Wayne RESA
Wayne RESA, a long-term partner with HighScope, represents the Detroit metro area and includes many potential candidates.
“Wayne RESA appreciates the opportunity to participate in the Kellogg 2030 Racial Equity grant. The grant goal mirrors our agency’s mission; Collaborate with our peers across the state to Serve children with the highest qualified staff, prepared to perform a Leadership role which results in Excellence in early childhood programming.”
| Student | Teachers | |
| Black or African-American | 44.9% | 25% |
| White | 42.5% | 70% |
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 0.4% | n/a |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 3.5% | 1.5% |
| Hispanic | 8.7% | 2.5% |
| Other | n/a | 1% |
33500 Van Born Rd
Wayne, MI 48184
Phone: 734.334.1300
Contact: Lena Montgomery
[email protected]
Lena Montgomery
Director of Early Childhood & English Learner Services
Lena Montgomery has a 45 year career in the field of early childhood education in Wayne County. She started as a classroom teacher in Taylor, MI in early elementary and transitioned to Wayne RESA as a Parent Education Coordinator. In 1981 she was hired to serve as a Head Start Director for Wayne RESA. Currently Lena directs all Wayne County early childhood programming for Wayne RESA; Early Childhood Block Grant, Great Start Readiness Program, and Strong Beginnings.
The early childhood focus of her work ensures children birth to age eight receive developmentally appropriate high-quality programming and are best prepared to enter school and life ready to experience academic and social success. Lena serves as an adjunct professor with Wayne State University, College of Education, Division of Early Childhood.
HighScope's Kellogg Challenge Video With EMU
Across America, there is a lack of diversity in teaching and in administrative roles that leads to racial inequities in classrooms. Our project, First Steps: Advancing Racial Equity in Michigan Early Childhood Education, will see a partnership with HighScope, Eastern Michigan University, and eight school districts focused on changing racial inequities in early childhood education. We will provide pathways for Black and brown teachers to become leaders or business owners in early childhood education, creating economic stability for themselves and their communities, while providing racial equity and healing.