Who We Serve

EFS is continually recruiting new centers as part of the Four Steps to Excellence program, fueling the steady expansion of its impact in both Dallas and Tarrant counties. EFS seeks centers that, at minimum:

Have been in continuous operation for at least one year
Serve at least 20 children aged zero to five, with the potential for enrollment growth
Benefit impoverished children, indicated most strongly by the percentage receiving CCMS subsidies and the income characteristics of the neighborhood
Feed demonstrably under-performing public schools
Are led by directors and teaching staff enthusiastic about the path to accredited excellence and likely to succeed in the Four Steps to Excellence program.

EFS serves highly at-risk demographic groups in its operating area, often helping to provide a stable, reliable early childhood educational experience that could anchor an entire community and its adult workforce. During its 2010-2011 fiscal year, EFS-assisted centers served 5,466 children ages zero to five, with the following demographic characteristics:

Demographics of Children Served in 2010-2011 Year

	Dallas	Tarrant
African-American	46%	63%
Hispanic	40%	14%
Caucasian	11%	14%
Other	3%	9%

Of the 901 center staff members EFS trained on-site in their own classrooms or at one of EFS’ 274 formal training classes, 53% were African American, 29% Hispanic, 16% Caucasian, and 2% classified as other.

As centers are served by EFS, entire communities are positively affected:

Prepared and empowered, the teacher and director workforce is motivated to accomplish great things for children, and to pursue new personal goals.
As small businesses, local child care centers thrive and can become anchors of the community, and economic contributors to the neighborhood.
Parents/guardians are relieved of “the most frequent barrier to employment,”¹ lack of available child care, and are able to pursue their professions secure that their children are being cared for and educated in a quality environment.
Local businesses benefit from quality child care in their area, experiencing greater employee retention, reduced absenteeism, enhanced recruitment of highly skilled workers and increased on-the-job productivity.²
Communities at large benefit from higher high school graduation rates³, less crime,⁴ and strengthened economies,⁵ as children who participated in quality early childhood educational experiences succeed in later scholastic endeavors, enter the workforce, and contribute more to society.

Compared with the enormous costs of later academic remediation and social programs well into adulthood, supporting quality early childhood education is simply the most efficient and effective way of making a difference for the impoverished children EFS serves. Join EFS as we help elevate early childhood education to the priority it requires from our community, on behalf of our next generation of leaders, scientists, teachers, businesspeople, artists and diverse contributors of all types.

To learn more, contact Educational First Steps online or call 214-824-7940 in Dallas or 817-535-0044 in Tarrant County.