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Child Development Program is more than childcare
Susan Timbol, teacher at Sutro Child Development Center, works with students in the After School Program. The focus of activities, even those that appear to be play, is literacy development, she says.SFUSD’s Child Development Program is much more than childcare. It provides quality education in a safe, caring and nurturing environment while promoting children’s social, emotional, physical and cognitive growth through developmentally appropriate practices, according to Betty Robinson-Harris, Child Development Program representative on UESF’s Executive Board and co-chair of the CDP Committee.
The largest provider for San Francisco’s young children, pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, it serves more than 4,500 children with educational before and after-school and summer programs, besides full time pre-K at 45 sites which fall under Title 1, preschool and state preschool programs. Child development centers are a part of every neighborhood: 95 percent of the enrolled children come from ethnic and racial minorities. The 600 full and part time teachers and paras reflect the linguistic and cultural diversity of the students.
The program also serves special education students and children at risk, some of whom are referred from city agencies to the program. A team of SFUSD social workers work with CDP students. Parents are counseled and attend workshops on topics ranging from discipline to nutrition.
More than a stop gap, many, if not most CDP staffers, make it a career. It is common to find teachers who have been in the program more than ten years and have earned B.A.s and Masters Degrees.
Ana Fisher, Bryant CDP teacher, takes a group on a walk through the neighborhood. Also on the walk are paraprofessional Sharee Rose Cutler and teacher, Betty Garcia. The focus of such excursions is literacy development.One such teacher is Ana Fisher who works with pre-K at Bryant Child Development Center in the Mission. Fisher who taught in her native El Salvador, has been a CDP teacher with the district for fifteen years. She hopes to earn her Masters Degree in Early Childhood Development from San Francisco State by next spring.
Professionals needing recognition
When the Educator visited her one early morning, Fisher eagerly showed us binders filled with lessons she’s developed for both children and their parents. “We are professionals who need to be recognized for what we do,” says Fisher. “In early childhood education, we reach children at the most crucial age. We’re not babysitters. We teach literacy skills and educate parents on how to best prepare their children for success in K12.”During the morning we spent at Bryant CDP, pre-K children were actively engaged in language development including listening to stories, storytelling with puppets, drawing and pre-writing activities. We accompanied Fisher and paraprofessional Sharee Rose Cutler with students on a walk through the neighborhood to the post office where they bought stamps they were going to use for a letter-writing activity.
On the other side of town in the Richmond, we spoke with Susan Timbol, teacher at Sutro Child Development Center’s after school program. Timbol who has a Masters of Science in medical technology from her native Philippines says she loves working with children. When she came to this country, she pursued her early childhood education permit. She’s worked with children for thirteen years, three in SFUSD.
“The after-school program is not a play program,” she asserts. “We plan curriculum to emphasize literacy. We are professionals with a developmental approach. Even play-like activities lead into communications and journal-writing assignments.” She proudly showed us bulletin board displays that highlighted the many cooking, gardening, drama, and arts activities that comprise her program.
Nina Lawit, left, and Betty Robinson-Harris co-chair UESF’s Child Development Program Committee which meets the first Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. Com-mittee concerns include equity with K12, split shifts, and the proliferation of competing programs within the district in which employees are not protected by the union contract. All CDP members are encouraged to attend.CDP Committee wants equity
Equity is a big concern being discussed among the UESF Child Development Committee which usually meets on the first Monday of the month at 6:30 p.m. at various CDP centers.
“We want our teachers to regain salary parity that was lost years ago when a two-tier teacher salary was instituted,” says Nina Lawit, co-chair of the CDP Committtee. We want our paras to have equity with other paras in the district.”Additional problems that the Committee is working with include split shifts among staff and the proliferation of competing before-school and after- school programs around the district. “The staff in these competing programs is not protected by our union contract,” says Lawit who wants an end to what she says is “transference of bargaining unit work.” Other concerns Lawit says need revisiting pertain to lead teachers who are in charge in the site manager’s absence and policies regarding staff and the administering of medications to children.
“The union is our best lifeline and means for improvement,” Lawit continues. She urges all CDP members to attend committee meetings. She wishes provisions could be made for CDP members who work late (until 6:00 p.m.) to attend UESF Assembly meetings which begin at 4:00.
For more information about the Child Development Committee or issues that concern child development workers, contact Nina Lawit at 415.749.3544 or Betty Robinson-Harris at 415.695.5660.
