Tehama

Introduction

Tehama County’s vision for preschool is to be able to provide State Preschool Programs on every elementary school campus. Working closely with the Tehama County Local Child Care Planning Council and the elementary school districts including Antelope School District, Corning Elementary School District, Evergreen School District, Gerber Union Elementary School District, Los Molinos Unified School District, Red Bluff Union Elementary School District and Richfield School District, 15 State Preschool classes have opened on elementary school campus since 1999 by the Tehama County Department of Education (TCDE).

In 2002, TCDE applied for and received the first Early Reading First grant in California from the U.S. Department of Education. The focus was Red Bluff, Antelope and Gerber State Preschools. This grant created Preschool Centers of Educational Excellence by focusing on early literacy development for the preschoolers as well as professional development for the staff and parents. In 2003, TCDE was awarded the Early Childhood Professional Development Grant, CAL-NET by the U.S. Department of Education. It was a regional grant that provided online college courses, reimbursement for college classes and carried the Early Reading First model to all of Region 2. In 2004, TCDE received an additional Tehama Early Literacy and Language (TELL) award from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Early Learning Opportunities Act (ELOA). This award provided early literacy staff development for all child care providers, preschool staff and parents. In 2006, TCDE was awarded a second Early Reading First award for the State Preschools in the Corning area as well as one private preschool. TCDE provides staff development for all early childhood educators in our county by having an ECE Summer Teacher Institute as well as monthly staff development.

Since 2004, Tehama County Department of Education has acted as the LEA for California Preschool Instructional Networks (CPIN).
The Tehama County Local Child Care Planning Council works closely with other preschool programs in Tehama county including Northern California Child Development, Inc (NCCDI) who administers the Head Start Program as well as Shasta Child Care Resource and Referral. TCDE also collaborates with Tehama First Five, who funds the School Readiness Program administered by TCDE. In addition, there are two employer sponsored child care centers sponsored by districts. Evergreen Elementary School District and Red Bluff Union High School Districts provide full day child care programs including a preschool program for their employee’s children. Northern California Child Development, Inc. has partnered with Head Start, California Department of Education’s Child Development Division and Educare to provide full day programs for preschoolers.

Tehama First 5 provides funding for the School Readiness Program which focuses on reaching children who have no preschool experience. They provide resource visits for families on the Central Eligibility List (CEL) as well as home visits for those families unable to access preschool or children zero to three. School Readiness also partners with the School Districts including Gerber, Los Molinos, Corning, Red Bluff and Antelope to provide Kinder Kamps which are 4-6 weeks programs the summer before the preschoolers enter Kindergarten. They also provide the Family and Schools Together (FAST) program which offers parent education and social interaction among the preschools for 10 weeks.