Startling statistics from EdBuild indicate school districts that primarily serve people of colour get $23 billion less in funding than predominantly white school districts. Even worse, districts EdBuild defines as “non-white” serve a total number of students that’s three times the national average.

Race-related statistics aside, the local authorities responsible for distributing funds to an area's schools have a daunting task. It's not always easy to determine which educational facilities need those funds the most, or what the impact might be for the children who benefit from those resources.

The Erikson Institute is an independent organisation that focuses on educational equity, with a particular emphasis on early childhood education. It’s assisting with a data-based approach that helps figure out when and where to allocate resources within a community. Representatives from the Institute firmly believe giving children the tools for success while they’re young sets them up to thrive in other areas of life. How do they achieve that mission?

The early development instrument

The Erikson Institute came up with an Early Development Instrument (EDI) that evaluates five aspects of childhood development. It’s a survey comprised of approximately 100 questions. Kids take it during the second half of their kindergarten year, and then every three years after that. It takes only an average of 15 minutes to complete each survey.

The Erikson Institute developed the EDI in Canada, where communities have used the instrument since 1998. The United States started using the tool in 2009. More than 50 U.S. cities rely on it to learn about their strong points and areas of need.

The EDI assesses communication skills and general knowledge, language and cognitive development, physical health and well-being, emotional maturity and social competence.

The physical health and well-being segment relates to metrics like whether a child has the energy to get through the school day, if they can hold a pencil and if they can use the restroom independently. Concerning social competence, the EDI measures whether kids can cooperate, respect others and show appropriate behaviour in structured environments.

Emotional maturity links with how kids behave in less formal environments. It centres on things like whether a child shows empathy toward others or helps clean up a mess.

When the EDI checks communication skills and general knowledge, it measures things like whether the child can communicate their needs to adults and other children, if they can tell stories and participate in imaginative play. The language and cognitive development section, on the other hand, evaluates literacy, math skills and the child’s interest in books.

Each survey question relates to at least one of the areas of need. Then, the responses get aggregated and geo-coded back to where a child lives.

Next, EDI data gets converted into heat maps that show the areas where the most vulnerable children live. For example, a darker color on the map indicates a higher percentage of vulnerable kids.

Helping schools

Since the EDI predicts academic outcomes up to fourth grade, teachers can use the data for early interventions. For example, if a teacher notices kids in a certain community score especially low on communication skills, they may decide to approach individual families about the finding and recommend ways family members can foster better communication at home. Such proactivity for kids and their households could set learners up for academic success.

It can also facilitate equitable fund allocations to give children and their families opportunities to thrive. Educators can play instrumental roles in that, too. For example, they could inform community leaders of challenges and show data to back up their claims.

In East St. Louis, a school district analysed EDI data and showed a highly vulnerable area did not have a high-quality early childhood development program. The district then teamed up with a community organisation, and the two entities made a joint application for funding. It resulted in opening a new early learning centre in the underserved area, as well as making more places available at an existing childhood education program near the community.

The data the EDI provides can help community authorities determine the best places to use funding, too. The heat maps help representatives make more accurate assessments. For example, if a school district gets money for a playground, its representatives could dig into the data to find out which schools' EDI scores indicate they could especially benefit from one.

Improving social skills

Childhood development experts know how crucial it is to help kids socialise. When children have positive interactions with others, they learn how to talk to people. The Bourbonnais Elementary School District 53 used EDI data to justify implementing teacher training that helped educators incorporate classroom activities to nurture social, emotional and cognitive development.

In that instance, teachers did not focus on socialisation alone. However, they viewed it as an essential part of an overarching goal.
Data-based projects like the one spotlighted here are essential for ensuring kids can excel throughout their entire young lives, not just for limited segments of them. If communities or households get overlooked regarding the resources they need, they may not know how to go about seeking them out independently. Or, they may feel too embarrassed even to try.

Educational equity

Looking at data helps community leaders make well-informed decisions that don't solely rely on guesswork, experiences or assumptions. They can still factor in those things to a degree, while assessing data to see if it supports or disproves what other information implies.
Dr. Felicia Starks Turner is a school administrator who used the EDI at Oak Park Elementary School. She explained the data helped school officials accept that understanding the weak areas helped all children, not only those with the most evident needs.

While speaking about implementing the tool in a YouTube video clip, she said, “We had preconceived notions, in general, that there were certain places in the community that there would be [a] higher vulnerability. And, the pilot team was surprised to see that every boundary area had various vulnerabilities. So, then, it makes it not ‘us and them’ and ‘those children,’ but really all of our children.”

On a short-term basis, using data helps community leaders feel more confident the funds they distribute will get used in meaningful ways. Then, in the long run, the compiled information makes it easier to determine how specific allocations directly connect to childhood development.

Arthur Culver is a school superintendent who also features in the YouTube video mentioned above. He discussed how his organization submitted a grant proposal to the Illinois State Board of Education for an expansion of the early childhood program. Culver said because his team opted to include EDI data in their proposal, they got over $1 million more than expected for their early childhood program, and that the benefits reaped surpassed expectations.

Beyond financial support

Financial support is arguably the primary resource community leaders can give to facilities in the community that need it. But, some communities used the EDI data to help area residents pitch in and help kids. Then, everyone in the community benefits.

In a YouTube video that explains how the EDI works, Cristina Pacione-Zayas, who is the Erikson Institute’s director of policy, clarified, “Children serve as sort of the barometer of community wellness. If children are doing well, then it’s an indication of the well-being of the community.”

In Bradley, a suburb of Kankakee, Ill., church parishioners "adopted" classrooms in the area. The EDI's social-emotional data and how it reflected vulnerabilities compelled people who were ready to give their time to act in impactful ways. Many people want to help but aren't sure how to get started. Data can provide them with the knowledge they need to enrich communities by giving their time and talents.

Moreover, some projects use the data to prevent adverse consequences caused by initial plans. In Oak Park, Ill., EDI data helped decide where to put a new community housing development. It showed the first proposed location would have put families with limited finances too far away from necessary early childhood development programs. Planners started exploring other sites after the data illuminated that issue.

The EDI and other projects like it aid community representatives in assessing how to most appropriately distribute funds to communities or spotlight which households need urgent help. That specialized approach has broader effects by increasing the chances that kids in every part of a respective community have what they need to succeed in life.