Austin American-Statesman from Austin, Texas • 8

A8 Austin American-Statesman Tuesday, April 12, 1988 The effect of quality care on children Acer enters The following conclusions are based on a broad survey of child-care research findings as presented by Ellen Galinsky, project director, Work and Family Life Stud les, Bank Street College, in her testimony to the Senate Subcommittee on Children, Families, Drugs and Alcoholism, March 15, 1988. dltd Good situation Cause are in hi Cause gh demand Effect Effect Children are in a Children are cared verbally stimulat for In small groups Children have an easier time separating from their mothers. ing environment. by a person they know well. They are talked to, Children's social development is enhanced.

They are more likely to be considerate, more intelligent and task-oriented. Children are more likely to achieve In tests of cognitive abilities and language development. asked questions and encouraged to express themselves THE REGULATION CHILD CARE Children are placed in smaller Adults spend more time being with the children and less time simply watching them. Children are more verbal, more involved in activities and less aggressive. Children In the smaller groups made the greatest gains In standardized tests of learning and vocabulary.

groups as opposed to larger ones. Discipline involves reasoning. Children are taught problem-solving skills. Child care Children are more likely to develop self-control and to become more compliant, cooperative and considerate of the feelings of others. Children in early childhood pro- Adults wash hands providers explain how a child's be frequently yianis uttuuiiiB hi iosa iieuciiuy.

havior affects others. Children behave more positively, are more cooperative and are more involved in the program. Teacher-caregivers Child care provid have early childhood training. ers are trained in The frequency of children's aggressive acts Is reduced. 1 These children also made the greater gains on standardized tests of learning.

behavior manage ment techniques. Dad situation Cause By Janet Wilson American-Statesman Staff Eight day-care centers in Austin have been accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children's National Academy of Early Childhood Programs, which certifies that programs meet high standards. The eight are Hyde Park Baptist Child Development, Westlake Hills Presbyterian Preschool, Open Door Preschool, Open Door South, First Baptist Church Day School, Westlake Methodist Preschool, First United Methodist Preschool and First Presbyterian Church Day School. These centers met national standards intended to ensure, among other things, qualified staffs, curriculum appropriate for age groups, excellent interaction between children and staff, and a higher ratio of teachers to students than required by state law. But these centers also have waiting lists that are as impressive as the seal of excellence displayed on their walls.

Some have waiting lists of more than two years for infant slots. By the time a child is accepted, often he or she isn't an infant anymore. At one school, there are 100 children waiting for the few vacancies each year for children 2 to 5 years old. And four of the eight accredited centers wouldn't meet the needs of most parents with full-time jobs because they offer only part-time programs. "Because our program is part-time, there are not too many moms working," said Mikki Jensen, director of Westlake Methodist Preschool.

"As children start attending more days a week, some moms do go back to work part-time and quite a few have housekeepers or an afternoon sitter in their home." Jensen said many of her clients have flexible hours, like a husband-wife doctor team who trade office hours, or Cause Effect Effect Children change child care arrange Children are less competent in interactions with materials and with other children. Four-year-olds who attended programs in which they spent time aimlessly wandering around were more likely at age 8 to have de ments frequently. Children are bored lawyers and real estate agents. In addition to the eight accredited Austin centers, 12 more center directors are taking a course at Austin Community College on how to become accredited. That is not an easy or cheap process for the many day-care centers on a shoestring budget.

One director said the application fee alone is as much as her yearly budget for crayons or several months worth of juice. Depending on the size of a center, the cost of enrolling in the accreditation program is between $250 and $750. "When you are penny-pinching every day, it's a hard decision to make, but it is valuable for parents because they are assured you are providing a quality environment for their child," said Jill Gronquist, administrative director of the Austin Children's Cancer Center. Gronquist, a member of the Austin Child Care Commission, was director of the Open Door Preschools when they became accredited. Centers trying to become accredited undergo an intensive self-paced process in which directors and staff evaluate their program against national standards and make any improvement necessary to meet those requirements.

When the director believes the center meets requirements, someone from the National Academy of Early Childhood Programs visits the center to determine whether it qualifies for accreditation. The average time it takes to qualify is nine months, but it can take as long as two years. Some centers are never able to meet the national standards. by child care program velopmental problems, including less peer acceptance, less social competence and poorer conflict-resolution skills. Preschool children Poor ratio of Increased emotional distress and Elementary school burnout.

are adults per child in less pro-social behavior. infancy programs. Staff graphics by Mary Coppinger they thought accreditation was worth the expense and effort involved. "It was a way to measure our school against a set of criteria and see how we measured up against standards that were more than just the minimum required by the state," said Anderson. "It is also a way to say to other people that, not only do we think we have an excellent program, but we have met a set of objective criteria and standards." Although accreditation is an indication that a center has a good program, it is a voluntary process.

Not being accredited and not having a long waiting list do not necessarily signal that a center has an inferior program. Each of the eight accredited centers in Austin has some type of financial assistance free rent and maintenance through a church, or funds from the city, county or United Way. The director of one center said the church subsidizes its day-care program by as much as $40,000 a year. "Parents don't recognize the value of what they are getting (in church day cares) because we have free space," said Barbara Anderson, director of First Presbyterian Church Day School. "We don't have to charge as much tuition because of the subsidy we get." All of the directors interviewed said Amnesty canceled in killing of Marines crash From A1 SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador The suspects were kept in jail (AP) President Jose Napoleon Duarte has stripped three men of amnesty that kept them from facing charges in the 1985 slayings of fou? Marines, the Martial Court announced Monday.

during the review of the case. Duarte's government decreed a broad amnesty in November as part of a regional peace accord. About 450 people were freed under the measure. Both were reported in good condition at the Bergstrom hospital late Monday. Fire Department officials said Capt.

Charles Wall suffered back pains and was taken to Bracken-ridge Hospital for treatment. He later was discharged. Bergstrom Lt. David Fruck said the crash took place at the end of a low-level training mission, which consists of taking reconnaissance photographs over a specified area before returning to base. Two other planes were involved in the training exercise.

Fruck said a panel of Air Force officers is investigating the incident. Maj. Wanda Whitney, chief of the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance the fuselage. Lynn McDonald, the manager of A Austin Storage, said she left the business five minutes before the accident to go to lunch. "I had an angel on my shoulder today," McDonald said.

"I am drained. Every time a jet flies over you think about whether it's going to crash, but you get used to it." Bergstrom officials asked that anyone with damaged property call the base judge advocate office. Monday's crash was the second in 15 months involving an RF-4C jet from Bergstrom. In January, 1987, two Bergstrom fliers died when their jet collided with another jet in midair during training exercises near Brownwood. Wing public affairs office, said Grimsley "did consciously steer this airplane away from the populated areas.

"He stayed with it to make sure it was going into open field before they ejected," she said. Officials said about 100 firefighters from Austin and Bergstrom responded to the blaze, which was declared under control by 1 p.m. Smoke, visible up to five miles away, was still pouring from the storage warehouse two hours after the crash. Firefighters used water and foam to bring the fires under control. Air Force personnel sealed off the area around the crash site.

Authorities said a crane would be used to haul away the remainder of Vote From A1 Be ready for your Summer events atS to off size of a baseball. An Austin firefighter also suffered minor injuries, officials said. The crash, which was reported at 12:17 p.m., scattered burning wreckage over hundreds of feet and started a large fire in two buildings at A Austin Storage, 7000 E. Riverside Drive. The plane, which was not carrying armaments, came within 500 feet of several dozen homes, and within a mile of the Riverside campus of Austin Community College and Allison Elementary School.

The jet was assigned to the U.S. Air Force's 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Bergstrom, an active duty unit. Witnesses said they saw the tail section of the plane on fire moments before it crashed a mile northwest of Bergstrom. The jet burned on impact and broke "into several small pieces," according to one observer. Austin attorney James Keahey was outside the storage warehouses when he heard a "pop" and saw the plane make a leftward bank "staight toward my face with fire coming out of it.

"It was horrible," said Keahey, 53. "I ran real quickly toward Riverside Drive. I wanted to put as many storage sheds as possible between me and the plane when it crashed." Keahey said he was about 100 yards away when the plane hit, scattering pieces of metal and concrete "as big as a basketball" everywhere. One of the concrete pieces struck him on the left leg. Keahey was treated by his physician and returned home a short time later.

Others were equally shocked. "It was unbelievable," said Gary Wilson, who watched the plane go down from a vantage point seven miles away and then drove to the crash scene. "It looked like it was about 400 or 500 feet in the air and it just erupted into flames. I saw it going down and I was afraid to think what might happen. Then I heard a thud, and said 'O my "A lot of people would have been killed if it had landed among the houses.

I'm just glad no one was injured." Thomas Armonta 21, said one of the engines in the jet appeared to explode in the air, "and then it just shot down toward the ground. It was a big ball of fire." Firefighters said the fliers parachuted to safety in a field a half-mile east of the crash site. The fliers were identified as Col. Roger L. Grimsley, 47, of Leesburg, Ohio, the pilot, and Capt.

Terence C. Ganiko, 30, of Honolulu, the weapons systems officer. Kerr counties have only Republican elections. Coryell, Fayette, Gonzales, Guadalupe, Lee and Milam counties have Democratic, but no GOP county elections. Republicans in those counties have the state elections.

Texas Republican Party spokesman Mark Sanders predicted 125,000 to 200,000 votes will be cast statewide in the GOP runoff. A record 1.1 million voted in the party's March 8 primary. Sanders said a western Harris County commissioners' court race may draw up to 40,000 of the state GOP total. Sanders said the Texas-wide total is hard to predict because of the lack of name identification of the candidates in the statewide races. At the top of the Republican ballot, Beau Boulter and Wes Gil-breath are fighting over who will carry the party banner into the November general election against Democratic U.S.

Sen. Lloyd Bentsen. Gilbreath is a 59-year-old Houston millionaire. Boulter is a 46-year-old Amarillo congressman. Boulter was endorsed Monday by U.S.

Rep. Jack Kemp, a New York Republican who recently abandoned his bid for the GOP presidential nomination. Republican voters also will settle runoff contests for Supreme Court and Railroad Commission. Nathan Hecht and Ronald Block are seeking the nomination for Supreme Court and a shot at unseating incumbent Justice William Kilgarlin in the November election. Hecht, 38, is an associate justice on the state's 5th Court of Appeals in Dallas.

Block, 44, is an oil and gas attorney from Missouri City, a suburb of Houston. In the Railroad Commission contest, former state Rep. Ed Em-mett, 38, faces Dallas energy consultant P.S. "Sam" Ervin, 73, to see who will represent the Republican Party against Democratic incumbent Jim Nugent in November. Throughout Texas, Democratic runoffs include seven state Board of Education races, two congressional contests including the seat Boulter gave up to run for the U.S.

Senate a state Senate race, and seven races for the Texas House of Representatives. Daniel in November. In Williamson and Burnet counties Democrats will choose a nominee to run against Republican state Repl Randall Riley in November. Attorneys Jennifer Mattingly of Hutto and Parker McCollough of Georgetown vie in the runoff. Also, Taylor-area voters will choose between Precinct 4 Constable Connie Lawson and former Taylor police officer Greg Quebe.

No Republican has filed for the position. Burnet County Democrats have no other runoffs, and Burnet County Republicans have no county contests. In Hays County, former San Marcos police Sgt. Doug Smith and Hays County Deputy Paul Hastings seek the Democratic nomination for sheriff, to succeed Alfard Hohman, who is retiring. The winner i faces Republican Daniel "Corky" Sullivan in November.

Democrats in southern Hays County and part of San Marcos also will pick between incumbent Precinct 1 Commissioner Ralph Gonzales and former San Marcos Mayor Frank Arredondo. A spirited sheriffs race tops the Bastrop County ballot. Former Chief Deputy Tommy Adams is opposed by Deputy Con Keirsey. The winner will face Republican Floyd Petri and Sheriff Jay Beggs, who has filed as a write-in for the general election. Bastrop County Democrats also have two commissioners' races.

Precinct 3 Commissioner Jerry Alexander is challenged by Rockne convenience store owner Pat Meuth to represent the southwest part of the county. The winner will face Republican Sam Wilson Sr. In Precinct 1, former Bastrop Council Member Johnny Sanders faces Andy Blaschke of McDade, a retired Texas Highway Department employee. Precinct 1 includes Bastrop and rural areas north of the city. No Republican seeks the job.

To serve both Precincts 1 and 3, Democrats will choose as constable either Susan Lamkin of Cedar Creek or Carl White of Bastrop. There is no GOP candidate in the general election. No local races are on Democratic or Republican ballots in Caldwell, Bell, Blanco and Lampasas counties. Comal, Llano and Get the style you want, the fabric you want and the quality you demand at a price youU love In only 30 days or choose from our wide selection already in stock and all on sale! 2jThair CO. SOFA 8 CHAIR CO.

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