La Habra’s Little Learners’ vision is that La Habra’s children are socially, emotionally, and academically ready for school, and ready to live their dreams to the fullest.
First 5 Orange County began funding this community of educators, families, and caring community members in 2017. With nearly 20 partnering organizations, and more than 100 parents participating, La Habra Little Learners works to create neighborhoods that support young children and provide equitable access to resources for all community members.
“As the Executive Director of the La Habra Collaborative it is a privilege to take the lead for the La Habra Little Learners. Our core team from City of La Habra Child Development, La Habra City School District and Lowell Joint Early Learning Programs have been working TOGETHER the last few months developing and creating tools and opportunities to support community engagement for sustainable change.”
– Scott Miller
Engaged Neighborhoods in Action:
- City Collaborative. Through much advocacy and education, the larger La Habra Collaborative has adopted early childhood development as a priority pillar of their work.
- Readiness on the Road. La Habra Little Learners offers a weekly event targeted to young children and their families to give kids a strong start when they begin school. Every week there are developmental activities and different community partners who share their programs and supports for families.
- Early Development Index Focus. With a focus on neighborhoods surrounding the Readiness on the Road location, the Little Learners have seen a significant improvement in young children’s development in the neighborhoods surrounding the Readiness on the Road location. In the area of General Knowledge and Communication, the Early Developmental Index (EDI) showed:
- 8% improvement in vulnerability in the Museum neighborhood.
- 7% improvement in vulnerability in the Central neighborhood.
- 5% improvement in vulnerability in the North Hills neighborhood.
The chart below provides data from the La Habra as a whole.
La Habra Early Development Index Growth
Looking Ahead
Each of the four Engaged Neighborhoods recently brainstormed dreams and developed goals for the next three years with First 5 Orange County.
La Habra Little Learners Dreams
- The city and community put children first
- La Habra Little Learners use developmentally appropriate practices to engage families, partners and providers
- All community members and stakeholders have knowledge of and equity able access to services
Over the next fiscal year, Little Learners plans to engage partner organizations to share information about the importance of early childhood education and offer educational classes and resources for families. They will outreach to populations with minimal access to resources based on Early Development Index data and are excited to create a Promotora Model to empower parent leaders.