Abstract
The education of young children and their caregivers is of primary
importance in building a strong foundation for supportive families
and successful communities. Dr. Sharon Ishii-Jordan (College of
Arts and Sciences) and Dr. Lynn Olson (Education Department)
chose to focus on Omaha’s inner city neighborhoods with the goals
of 1) developing teachers and families to improve the preparation
of young children in impoverished areas for eventual successful
academic achievement, and 2) researching the design for a welldeveloped
teacher preparation program to meet the needs of early
childhood education in at-risk environments. They were awarded a
renewal grant over two years for a total of $65,816 to work with
four partner early childhood centers to deliver teacher training
workshops for teachers and families, coordinate health fairs in the
schools, link Creighton education majors with teaching
demonstrations, and develop syllabi for early childhood teacher
preparation.