The relationship of family characteristics of at-risk children in rural West Tennessee and select measures of success over a period of 10 years

The purpose of this study was to explore differences in a program funded in rural West Tennessee. The Promethean Foundation is a program that provides childcare tuition support to at-risk children. While the program has been in existence for 20 years, the study focused on 10 years from 2009 through 2019. The program staff reviewed the perceptions of staff and family members during the qualifying process. The study was also to investigate the level of achievement measured in children by age five and nine years considering the length of time enrolled in an early childhood program. To explore differences, children were divided into two groups based on qualifying or not qualifying for the program and the length of time enrolled in an early childhood setting, more or less than nine months. The length of time enrolled is highlighted due to the lack of research related to the period a child is enrolled in a quality program. Home visit scores, family versus teacher school readiness perceptions, Brigance screening scores, TCAP and TN Ready scores, and special education referrals were all key aspects of the study. The data provided the picture that length of time in a program mattered when reviewing the TCAP and TN Ready math scores and females received more educational referrals than their male counterparts. Families perceived that their children were ready for kindergarten while in fact, the kindergarten teachers did not score the children as such. With all of this information, it was determined that future research would still be valuable in several of the areas to include teacher and family perceptions, math scores, and educational referrals. Each would expand on the existing data to provide a stronger understanding of the current findings.