To bridge that gap, support coaches for Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program work with low-income families to help them become positively engaged in their child’s learning. It’s a model that could help education, and society, if it could be expanded to include higher grade levels.

Sue Lowman and Chelsea Holiman have been ECEAP family support coaches for years at Shoultes Elementary in Marysville. Both have heart-breaking and heart-warming stories to share.

One of Lowman’s favorite was a family she worked with for six years. She said with all of the stresses in life, it can be hard for some parents to appreciate their children. But because staff talked in a positive manner about their children, the mom was able to see them in a different light.

When the program was over, the mom said, “Thank you. I was able to love my child,” Lowman said.

Holiman said it’s their job to break down the chaos of life, and help families find resources. They can connect families to financial support for many needs, from basic like food and clothing to others such as bedding and even tires for a car.

Lowman said it can be tough talking to families, especially from different cultures.

“We have to work with them to build trust,” she said. “We respect every family for who they are.”

They encourage families to share their cultures. “They have knowledge they can give to us” about their kids, Lowman said.

Holiman said the key is to gauge the comfort level of each family, taking it slowly. Making contact with them and finding out even small things like the best time and method to reach them helps build respect. If she has a sense that someone wants to cancel a meeting she tries to find out why. Do they want to meet somewhere else, like a coffee shop? Once they meet, Holiman said she’s usually welcomed into the home on the second visit.

“We do what works best for them … what’s in the best interest of the family and child,” she said.

ECEAP manager Tracy Souza said her family support coaches have to break down barriers. “And there are a lot of barriers,” she said.

Souza said they have to show the families that they are not like Children Protective Services, checking in or judging parents. They are there to reinforce the partnership and walk alongside them.

Holiman said one of her greatest rewards is when families come back after their kids have moved on to K-12. Holiman added that system is not set up to have a family support piece. “They still come back to us when having problems,” she said.

Holiman said because of families’ experience with ECEAP, many “reach out to teachers and attempt more communication,” adding some become active in schools, even becoming PTA members.

From parent to employee

Jackie Green started out as a parent of a student in ECEAP.

“I wasn’t sure when they came to the home,” she said, adding she was a stay-at-home mom and her husband had just been laid off from Boeing. Green said it was getting close to the holidays, and the family was feeling pressure.

“They were so supportive,” Green said of ECEAP family support coaches. “They gave us ideas on things that don’t cost money. They referred us to community information that we had not thought of.”

She said ECEAP was interested in their goals. “How to succeed as a family as a whole. To improve our life moving forward,” Green added.

Green, who now works for ECEAP as a spanish interpreter and assistant teacher, said the staff is easy-going. “They meet you where you are at your level,” she said.

Green also appreciates that when the children move on to kindergarten, and there are no more family support coaches, “They don’t cut you off. They stay in touch.”

She said kindergarten teachers can tell whether or not a student has attended ECEAP. “They do so much for the community. I want to tell everyone about it,” Green said.

Like a family

Souza, who has been with ECEAP for 15 years, said the employees are passionate and compassionate. “There’s a calling for it,” she said.

Different classes meet for three hours in mornings and afternoons daily, except Friday, when home visits are scheduled. Most of the classes are at Shoultes, but a few are now at Sunnyside Elementary.

Souza said she has very little turnover. “People want to be here,” she said.

Souza said every class is like its own community. They teach family style meals with each student learning self-sufficiency skills such as getting their own plate, pouring their own milk, passing the food around and cleaning up.

“What?” Souza said, referring to what parents say when they hear about that last skill.

At the home visits, the coaches can even help parents with nutrition tips.

“We help them break that cycle,” Souza said.

School presentation

At this week’s school board work session, student and learning executive director Kyle Kinoshita introduced ECEAP as “a gem of a program. A very well-kept secret in our district.”

Souza said when she started there were 44 ECEAP students. Now there are 180. To qualify students must be in poverty, homeless, foster care or have a CPS reference. They have the biggest program and the best scores in Snohomish County. Teachers use learning expectations to come up with lesson plans.

Teacher Julie Teigen said science is being taught “because their capacity to learn is higher than we thought.” They teach Early Childhood Hands-On Science, or ECHOS. Math and language arts are part of the curriculum. They wear lab coats. The nine units have a format called E-I-E-I-O, or Excite, Introduce, Explore, Interact and Outcomes.

For English, kids learn storytelling about life. They learn about who, what, when, where, why and how. They learn vocabulary, expression, colors, shapes, letters and sounds.

“I overemphasize drama,” teacher Shelley Koellmer said on how she keeps their attention.

Regarding the family support coaches, Holiman said parents become active learners with their children.

“They learn to do better for themselves and their children,” Holiman said. “The kids and the entire community benefit.”

Growth for ECEAP?

The state-funded ECEAP program in Marysville helps only about 40 percent of the students who qualify. To help more, Marysville would need an early childhood learning center, something like the one that just opened at Tulalip.

“We would only need a quarter of that,” Souza admitted.

Holiman said they would need a stronger recruiting effort, to make sure all who qualify know about it. And then more staff would be needed, to keep the ratio of one adult for every nine kids.

Holiman said ECEAP should be available for all children ages 3-5. The program was started to help low-income kids become equal with their peers by kindergarten.

“It was to level the playing field” because they were way below but now they are above their peers.

“Ultimately, for the taxpayers, it’s a good investment,” Holiman said. “The dream is to serve all families.”