Smart Start Northwest Oklahoma is bringing people together for children.

“It’s a program of CDSA,” said Dianne Juhn-ke, director of early childhood services.

Under the wing of Com-munity Development Sup-port Association, Smart Start’s mission is to enhance the lives of young children.

“It’s an initiative that focuses on the impact of the early years,” said Juhnke. “What happens in those early years really does lay the foundation.”

“Smart Start is not a direct service program but an initiative dedicated to building community collaborations around early childhood issues,” said Paula Waters, Smart Start director.

It “facilitates collaboration” and helps to get early childhood programs started in the area, she said.

Smart Start’s recent successes include:

• Establishment of a 4-year-old program through Enid Public Schools at The Commons retirement home.

• Creation of a community garden at Sandbox Learn-ing Center.

• Coordination of a preschool soccer camp for those involved in the Smart Start initiative “Strengthen-ing Families.”

“We want all children to succeed,” said Waters. “It’s about collaboration, it’s about identifying needs in the community or ways we can involve the community.”

Smart Start also recognizes businesses that support the family, said Juhnke.

In order to strengthen families, Smart Start strives to connect them with resources and public awareness efforts.

“We want to help build strong families in the community,” said Waters.

A strong family is only one important aspect of a child’s early years, said Juhnke.

“The reason we focus on the early years has to do with the way a child’s brain is developing,” said Juhn-ke. “Children learn at a more rapid pace at an early age. If you just think about what happens in the first year of life, it’s phenomenal.”

Smart Start also helps families of young children focus on literacy through its Raising a Reader program, which provides book bags filled with books to preschool children and their families in 20 locations in northwest Oklahoma.

Those who are a part of Smart Start believe the early years of a child’s life, from birth to 6 years of age, are the years that provide a window of opportunity to help raise productive members of the community.





Smart ideas: What Individuals, Businesses and communities can Do



• Partner with others in the community to improve the lives of young children by getting personally involved in Enid’s early childhood initiative, Smart Start Northwest Oklahoma, a program of Community Development Support Association.

• Support CDSA’s new Center for Early Childhood Development that serves as a resource to Enid families and area child care providers.

• Help expand the Parents As Teachers’ in-home visitation program by sponsoring a parent educator position for Enid families. Parents As Teachers provides parents with child development information and parenting support.

• Adopt an early childhood classroom in a child care center or public school. Volunteer as a mentor or a reader. Help the classroom financially.

• Contribute to Raising A Reader, the rotating book bag program Smart Start sponsors in 20 early childhood classrooms in Enid. Children take home a book bag each week filled with award winning books parents have committed to read to their child each day.

• Get involved in an innovative intergenerational collaboration with Smart Start, Enid Public Schools placing a 4-year-old class-room at The Commons retirement home.

• Increase awareness of family issues by asking

employees about their child care needs.