Alignment Rockford, Rockford Public School District 205, and Harlem School District 122 have partnered with UCLA’s Center for Healthier Children, Families, and Communities to conduct a community-wide evaluation of the developmental readiness of children entering Kindergarten in Rockford and Loves Park. The Early Development Instrument (EDI) is a validated, population-based measure of early child development across five key domains:
- Physical Health
- Emotional Maturity
- Social Competence
- Language and Cognitive Skills
- Communications Skills and General Knowledge
The EDI study produces valid and reliable citywide and neighborhood level data representing children’s health and development.
How Communities Can Use EDI Findings
The EDI provides communities with data that show where children have strengths and opportunities for growth across a geographic area. This population approach provides a community-level understanding in child development that local municipalities, schools, service providers and other stakeholders can use to inform where efforts and resources should be focused.
The EDI is designed to help communities:
Foster better coordination and strengthen early childhood systems across the areas of early care and learning, family support, special needs, as well as, health, mental health and nutrition, Identify gaps in programs and services available to children and their families; better align resources and tailor supports for young children as they enter the school system;
Complement other existing assessments that yield individual child reports; shift the problem solving from individual to community solutions at the policy and systems level; and
Assess, over time, how the community’s cumulative efforts are impacting children’s development.
How to use the maps:
EDI data a mapped by neighborhoods using the US Census-designated boundaries, showing in which geographic areas children are doing well or experiencing challenges.
Each neighborhood is assigned a color-shaded category that represents the saturation of vulnerability in one or more developmental domains. High vulnerability could indicate future challenges in life, including low academic achievement and health.
In addition to mapping the five domains, the EDI also has the option to overlay other indicators and community assets, to add context to the maps.
Explore the EDI Map
Click here to access the EDI Map