| Name | Steffanie |
|---|---|
| Last Name | Altman |
| Home Address | 1101 Carter St Chattanooga, Tennessee 37402 United States |
| Organization Name | Siskin Children's Institute |
| Describe Your Role In The Organization | Director of Development |
| Organization Address | 1101 Carter St Chattanooga, Tennessee 37402 United States |
| Website | https://www.siskin.org |
| Best Phone Number To Reach You | 423-304-5042 |
| Alternate Phone Number | 267-934-1430 |
| Email Address | steffanie.altman@siskin.org |
| Alternate Email Address | steffaltman@gmail.com |
| Please Describe Your Project In Detail | The stabilization and expansion of childcare/early learning opportunities for children in Chattanooga is a core focus area of the American Rescue Plan. Expanding early childhood education is a critical infrastructure issue that will have immediate and long-term benefits to public health, economic opportunity for impacted households, reducing crime, and mitigating mental and behavioral health issues. An investment in expanding early childhood education will impact families and children immediately, will benefit early childhood workers – who historically have struggled with low wages, and will continue to benefit cohorts for future generations. Early childhood education is important for all children, but especially those from low-income households which have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and children with special needs who can benefit from early learning and intervention to reach their full potential. Seeing the dire and ever-growing need for expanded early childhood education, Siskin Children’s Institute recently acquired Little Miss Mag Early Learning Center. This historic union brings together high-quality early learning programs with more than 170 years of combined experience delivering inclusive childcare and early learning services for children and families, centrally and conveniently located on two campuses in downtown Chattanooga. Our project will maximize the use of American Rescue Funds to expand childcare during a time when families are desperately seeking affordable, high-quality, comprehensive options. The merger also ensures that the proposed project will have a direct, impactful, and ongoing benefits for children and families who need early learning and intervention the most. Siskin Children’s Institute has been a pioneer in inclusive early learning, providing high-quality early education and intervention services for young children with and without disabilities, representing diverse race, ethnicities, religions and household income levels, including children with developmental delays, autism spectrum disorder, chromosomal abnormality, and brain injury. All children learn and play side-by-side in an environment that celebrates the accomplishments of every child. Little Miss Mag was a pioneer in ensuring equitable access to early learning for low-income families, offering subsidized tuition for income-qualifying families to build a vibrant, diverse, and inclusive early learning center. The union of these two historical entities, under the aegis of the Siskin Children’s Institute, ensures that the expanded early learning infrastructure proposed will benefit the Chattanoogans who need it the most. If our project is supported by the American Rescue Plan, we believe we are well-positioned to make a significant impact on available childcare in our community, concurrently helping to support child development, economic growth and enhancing our city as an attractive option for current and prospective employers and residents. With funding from the American Rescue Plan, we can hire additional staff, retain our existing staff and retain/ expand our childcare openings to provide childcare daily for up to 50 additional children. We will accomplish this by the following: • Hiring 12-14 new staff and retaining our existing staff • Offering hiring bonuses for new childcare staff and premium pay • Expanding our available childcare openings by increasing our capacity to an additional 50 children daily • Offering need-based scholarships to families • Marketing/ Community Outreach to build support and inform the community of our openings/ scholarship opportunities Although not requested as part of the initial application process, we will paste our proposed budget, in the last section of this application. |
| Please explain how your project meets the requirements of the American Rescue Plan | By offering new and expanded early learning services, our project addresses several key areas identified as allowable in the American Rescue Plan, including "Addressing Educational Disparities" and Promoting Healthy Childhood Environment." Our project promotes the stabilization and expansion of childcare and early learning options for children and families. Available childcare is not only a local crisis but a national crisis as well. Our project specifically targets this area of community need and is also unique in that we have two locations serving downtown Chattanooga (from Riverfront to Southside Chattanooga). We continue to operate the Siskin Children's Institute Early Learning Center located at 1101 Carter Street in Chattanooga (across from the convention center). In addition, on January 1, 2022, we acquired Little Miss Mag Early Learning Center, now doing business as Siskin Children's Institute at Little Miss Mag, located at 225 Lookout Street (across from the Hunter Museum). Enrollment at both of our locations is down substantially compared to pre-COVID levels – not because there is a lack of need but because there is a dire shortage of early childhood educators. In fact, COVID and the ability to attract and retain teaching staff was one of the biggest factors in the ability of Little Miss Mag to remain viable as a stand-alone early learning center. Our multifaceted project approach targets families who are not able, or they are hesitant to reenter the workforce due to the high cost of quality childcare. By ensuring equitable, living wage compensation packages for early childhood educators, the project also addresses staffing and retention shortages, one of the biggest factors currently limiting affordable childcare options for families. We believe this will allow us to increase our enrollment, stabilize the childcare workforce and attract new teachers, allowing us to serve an additional 50 children and families needing high-quality affordable childcare. A significant body of literature underscores the importance of high-quality early childhood education for all children – and particularly for children in low-income households who have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. An investment in early childhood education pays dividends not only for the children and families to be served but for our entire community. |
| Where would your project take place? | In the original Siskin Children's Institute location at 1101 Carter street at well as Siskin Children's Institute at Little Miss Mag at 225 Lookout Street |
| How much will your project cost in total? | 1388354.00 |
| Do you have any matching funding sources from other local governments, private entities, non-profits, or philanthropic entities for your project? | No |
| Please describe the source and list amounts of any other funding. | |
| What portion of the project are you asking the city to fund? | |
| If funded, when would your project start? | February 4, 2022 |
| How long would your project take to complete? | 2 years |
| What milestones would you use to measure your project’s progress? | • 10 days post-award notification: Recruitment of new staff: • 15 days post-award: Convene a series of community meetings • 30 days post-award: Additional community outreach to begin • 45 days post-award: Hiring and training of 3 staff at minimum • 45 days post-award: Scholarship process implemented and communicated to the public/ parents • 60 days post-award: 10 new childcare openings available • 90 days post-award: Hiring and training of 2 additional staff at minimum (5 staff in total) • 120 days post-award: 10 additional new childcare openings available (20 in total) • 180 days post-award: Hiring and training of 7 additional staff at minimum (12 staff in total) • 210 days post-award: 30 additional new childcare openings available (50 new slots in total) We will also track the following measures: • Enrollment at both locations as of the date of this application compared to • Enrollment 6 months post-award, Enrollment 12 months post-award, Enrollment 24 months post-award • The number of children served as of the date of application compared to enrollment 6 months post-award, enrollment 12 months post-award, and enrollment 24 months post-award • The number of free or reduced scholarships provided within a two-year period |
| How would you ensure accountability and transparency throughout the project lifecycle? | We will publish an annual report, detailing the amount awarded from the American Rescue Plan, how expenditures were utilized, and what impact the funding had on available childcare openings and our project's intended purpose. This information will be displayed on our website and available for download and community stakeholders. We will also hold community forums throughout the two-year process to gain valuable insight into how we are doing, what is working well, what area's need revision, and are there any unmet needs or requirements that need additional focus. We will also utilize parent and staff surveys to gauge satisfaction and areas that need development or improvement. This information will be utilized in the ongoing improvement and strategic planning. The award will also be included as part of our annual financial audit, and be included available via our publicly filed annual 990 reports. |
| If successful, how would your project benefit the community? | The childcare crisis is affecting families across the US, and Chattanooga is no exception. High-Quality childcare helps keep children healthy and safe. Childcare and early learning opportunities help children develop skills to be successful both in and out of school. By retaining existing staff, attracting new teachers, and providing need-based scholarships, our project benefits the community by providing stable and affordable childcare. Our project addresses educational disparities, child development and also helps create opportunities for parent(s) of children in our community to maintain or seek gainful employment. The stability and expansion of Siskin Children’s Institute’s Carter Street location and Siskin Children's Institute at Little Miss Mag will allow more parents to reenter the workforce or maintain their current employment. |
| How will you attract community buy-in for your project? | We will hold a series of community meetings, seeking diverse viewpoints from relevant stakeholders to gather input, communicate our strategy for utilization of the funds, including communication of available childcare openings and timelines. These meetings will involve community members, parents, early childhood and special educators, board members, and others. We will utilize local and social media, press releases, and our website and marketing material to engage stakeholders. We will use both paper-based and online surveys to seek input from stakeholders. Finally, we will also seek partnerships with other organizations in engaging citizens who could benefit from available childcare or scholarships, including organizations such as Erlanger Children's Hospital, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga, Partnership for Families, Children, and Adults, and other community non-profits, faith-based and government-based organizations, and the business community. |
| Is there anything else you would like us to know about your project? | Budget for the stabilization and expansion of childcare/ early learning for children in Chattanooga to add 50 additional childcare slots Salaries and Benefits (S&B to be plugged in below) 5 Lead Teachers = $211,068 9 Teaching Assistants = $345,384 1 Program Coordinator = $79,950 Hiring Bonuses = $14,000 ($1000 per staff) Retention bonuses = $140,000 ($500 per qtr per ELC staff (2000 x 70)) Salaries & Benefits Total = $790,402 Operating Expense S&B = $ 790,402 (as broken down above) Recruitment/Marketing = $30,000 (Lead Generation, Advertising, Recruiting) Dietary Expenses = $21,000 ($35 per month per 50 children = $1750 per month) Supplies = $2,500 ($500 per year per Classroom) Overhead =$30,000 (Janitorial, Maint, Utilities, Comm Ins, internet, etc = $500 per month x5 Classrooms = 2500 per month) TOTAL Operating Expense = $873,902 Operating Revenue Annual Tuition = $425,500 ($11500x37 - 13 scholarships to be awarded to families) Refunds to parents for closures = $21,275 (240 days with a 5% closure rate) TOTAL Operating Revenue = $404,225 NET Operating Loss = $469,677.00 GRANT BUDGET FF&E = $75,000 ($15000 per classroom; includes furnishings, supplies, computers) Scholarship awards = $149,500 (13 annual scholarships awarded $11500 x 13) Net Loss = $469,677 GRANT REQUEST PER YEAR =$694,177 Year 1 $694,177 Year 2 $694,177 TOTAL GRANT BUDGET $1,388,354 Per child per year $13,884 |