Trivia!

According to an August 23rd tweet from the Washington State Archives (@WAStateArchives), the following proposed mottos for the state seal were all rejected at the 1889 Constitutional Convention:

• Our Varied Industries Invite You
• Westward the Star of the Empire Takes its Way
• Welcome
• Put None but Americans on Guard
• We, the People, Rule
• First in peace, first in war, and first in the hearts of real estate agents

In the end, what motto accompanied the final state seal?

Fair Start for Kids Act & State Budget Resources

Start Early Washington recently released two resource documents related to the Fair Start for Kids Act and the 2021–23 state budget investments in early learning. The first document summarizes the key components of the Fair Start for Kids Act and the second breaks down state and federal investments included in the 2021–23 state budget.

As a result of the Fair Start for Kids Act and accompanying budget investments, new policies are slated to go into effect on October 1, 2021, including:

• A new Working Connections Child Care co-payment schedule that reduces families’ share of the cost of care;
• A shift from using Federal Poverty Level to State Median Income to determine eligibility for Working Connections Child Care (a description of why this is important is included in the Fair Start for Kids Act summary link above); and
• Income eligibility for Working Connections Child Care increasing to 60% of the State Median Income ($51,804 for a family of three).

Child Care Collaborative Task Force Report Released

Earlier this month, the Washington State Child Care Collaborative Task Force convened by the Department of Commerce and the Department of Children, Youth, and Families released its latest report, focused on outlining a strategy, timeline and an implementation plan to increase child care access. This report builds on previous efforts, including a child care industry assessment.

The Child Care Collaborative Task Force strategy document was completed after the passage of the Fair Start for Kids Act this spring and the task force’s recommendations complement the provisions of the new law while also laying out a vision for further action to address pressing child care workforce challenges. The report underscores the 43% turnover rate in our state’s child care workforce and emphasizes the negative impact of this turnover on ensuring that families have access to high quality child care.

The task force was recently extended and its final charge is to submit a cost of quality child care study to the Governor and Legislature in 2022. The intent is to use the information from the cost of quality work to develop a financing model to support higher wages.

State Economic Forecast

Last week, the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council met to receive an updated Economic Review from the state’s economist, Dr. Steve Lerch.

On the positive side:

• Revenue continues to outpace previous projections, with collections at $90 million above what was projected in June.
• Our state’s employment rate is similar to what it was in June.
• Our state’s personal income growth through 2025 is expected to be higher than what was projected in June.

On the risk side:

• Not surprisingly, COVID continues to be the greatest risk to our economy. Rising COVID cases and higher inflation have led to lower consumer confidence in the past two months.
• The number of households saying eviction or foreclosure is “very likely” in the next two months has increased.

The next revenue forecast will be released on September 24th.

Agency “Decision Packages” Released

Every mid–September, state agencies submit agency budget requests (commonly referred to as “Decision Packages”) to the Office of Financial Management for consideration to be included in the Governor’s budget released each December.

The state began the 2021–23 biennium on July 1, 2021, so the 2022 budget is a “supplemental” budget. By design, supplemental budgets are intended to make tweaks and adjustments, rather than new, significant investments.

DCYF submitted three Decision Packages related to early learning:

1. A $16.1 million request for ECEAP to convert slots from part–day to full and extended–day; increase rates to reflect those in King County and program quality support funding that was previously supported by private dollars.
2. A placeholder request to align funding with the November forecast on caseload.
3. Increased spending authority to more accurately reflect the level of funds in the Home Visiting Services Account.

What’s next? The Office of Financial Management staff will spend the next two months sifting through these requests, evaluating updated revenue figures and building a budget for the Governor to approve and present in mid–December. From there, the work shifts to the legislative arena.

Upcoming Legislative Work Sessions

Several virtual legislative committee work sessions are scheduled for this fall, including:

• A September 22nd work session in the House Children, Youth and Families Committee focused on training for early learning licensors and
• An October 19th work session on Children and Youth Behavioral Health.

DCYF is Hiring!

The task of implementing the Fair Start for Kids Act requires additional staff capacity at DCYF. Following are some open positions. Feel free to share with interested parties:

• The first of several positions managing the new Fair Start for Kids Act grants/rate enhancements, this position focuses on the equity grant: DCYF Child Care Grants Coordinator
• Two language access coordinators that will support across DCYF’s child care and early learning programs: DCYF Bilingual Language Access Coordinators
• Two Office of Innovation, Alignment, and Accountability data positions which will interact with early learning teams: DCYF Data Platform Supervisor and DCYF Data Engineer

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) recently invited input on its Fiscal Year 2022-2026 Learning Agenda, a series of research questions that will guide the agency’s research in the years ahead. Start Early led a group of national, state and local early childhood organizations in submitting a joint comment encouraging ED to fully align early childhood education with K-12 systems and center equity in this guiding document.

The comment offered eight guiding principles that Start Early and its partners encourage ED to use to create a learning agenda that helps establish a continuum of high-quality education services from birth through grade 12. The goal of the recommendations was to not only advance comprehensive, aligned services for young children, but also to honor the expertise, goals and desires of their families and early learning providers to set the stage for success in school and in life.

Start Early and its partners also collectively recognize that advancing equity in educational access, use, participation and outcomes for young children and their families is inextricably tied to working for equity and justice for people of color and communities that have been under-resourced and divested from. We encourage ED to view its learning agenda as a critical tool for driving equity in early learning.

We recommend that ED:

• Promote early learning as foundational to K-12.
• Prioritize research on early childhood to K-12 transitions, particularly for children with disabilities and developmental delays, dual-language learners and other priority populations.
• Integrate the needs of priority and historically under-resourced populations throughout the learning agenda and collect data disaggregated by race/ethnicity, language and income level for child- and family-facing services.
• Integrate early childhood providers into studies on workforce needs and development.
• Value lived experience and family expertise.
• Value community collaborations and systems.
• Disseminate data and research findings in ways that promote equity and continuous quality improvement for programs.
• Create a joint learning agenda with the Department of Health and Human Services.

Read the full joint comment

We are also grateful to our 44 partners — national organizations and state and local organizations from 16 states and Washington, D.C. — who signed onto this joint comment:

National Organizations: American Federation of Teachers; Attendance Works; Bank Street College of Education, Learning Starts At Birth; Child Care Aware® of America; Committee for Economic Development; The Educare Learning Network; The Education Trust; First Five Years Fund; First Focus on Children; National Association for Family Child Care; National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education; National Workforce Registry Alliance, Inc.; New America Early & Elementary Education Policy Program; Parents as Teachers; Start Early

State & Local Organizations: Alaska: Alaska Children’s Trust | California: Child360; Early Edge California | Colorado: Clayton Early Learning; Colorado Children’s Campaign | Connecticut: The Connecticut Association for Human Services | Florida: United Way Miami | Georgia: Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students | Idaho: Idaho Business for Education; United Way of Southeastern Idaho | Illinois: Children’s Home and Aid; Erikson Institute; Latino Policy Forum; Legal Council for Health Justice; Metropolitan Family Services; Prevent Child Abuse Illinois; Synapse Early Learning Systems; YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago; YWCA Metropolitan Chicago | Louisiana: Louisiana Policy Institute for Children | Maryland: Maryland State Family Child Care Association | Missouri: Kids Win Missouri | Montana: Zero to Five Montana | Ohio: Action for Children | Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children | South Dakota: Coeur Wharf Resources (a partner of United Way of the Black Hills); United Way of the Black Hills | Texas: First3Years | Washington, DC: Educare Washington, DC; House of Ruth

Read the U.S. Department of Education’s original call for input.

As educators and parents of three young children, Kapria Robinson and her husband know starting early shapes not only a child’s kindergarten experience, but their entire educational journey.

“We wanted to make sure we provided early learning programs for our own children that supported their academic, social and emotional skills. And where they got to experience joy every day at school; a place where they were happy, knew that they were loved, and would thrive,” she recalls.

So when Kapria toured Educare Chicago on the recommendation of their foster care agency five years ago, she knew she has found the right program for her family. She enrolled her two eldest children, Alexander and Catalina, who were just 16-months and 6-months at the time.

“Our case manager said families who had their children at Educare Chicago were thriving and that they were supportive of the blended foster-adoptive family dynamic,” Kapria remembers. “With the foster care process, they were very open to things like working with biological parents. Also, the smaller class sizes and the student-to-teacher ratio is amazing. To have three adults, working with kids when they’re younger just makes all the work of difference.”

An Approach Making a World of Difference

Parent engagement and coaching is at the core of Educare Chicago’s approach, which begins before the first day of school.

“Early on, Educare staff wanted to learn what our kids were interested in and what life was like outside of school. In fact, we met the teachers and had already spoke with the family support specialist in our own home by the time the kids began school,” Kapria reflects.

From Kapria’s perspective, “Educare’s approach is years ahead of most other programs. They make sure to ask a lot of higher order thinking questions. They engage the kids in a lot of discussions, they encourage them to, you know, have their own voice and to have their own throughs — and they positively affirm them.”

“Their team made sure that the kids got what they needed. When my son had challenges with separation anxiety, teachers like Miss Danielle would reach out with different stories we could read with him to make that transition a little easier. It has been a wonderful experience for us,” she continues.

Educare Chicago’s family engagement and parent coaching helped Kapria and her husband stay fully informed about their children’s education and able to reinforce behaviors and learnings at home.

“They would make sure that we understood what our kids were learning. During the parent engagement activities, they really make sure to break down different ways to engage your kids around math, literacy, STEM and art activities,” Kapria shares. “They helped us to truly understand how to engage our children, what questions to ask them, what vocabulary to focus on.

In addition to empowering Kapria and her husband in their role as their children’s first and best teachers, the Educare Chicago community offers a space to meet, engage with and learn from other parents.

“It gave us an opportunity to connect with some of the other parents, which is hugely important in building a community for your children, so that you have other families for them to visit for play dates and that share the same ideas about what is important for their children and their education.”

Ready for Kindergarten and a Lifetime of Learning

Quality early learning and care programs like Educare Chicago help children like Kapria’s enter kindergarten ready to learn. Because early childhood is a time of rapid development in multiple areas — physical, emotional, cognitive and social growth — kindergarten readiness is more than observing a child recite shapes, numbers and colors. A child who is ready for kindergarten is curious, can form relationships and has social interactions with nurturing adults and peers.

Our research has found that more time in Educare programs is associated with higher ratings of social and emotional skills among children, including teacher-rated self-control and initiative. When children leave Educare for elementary school, the majority are academically, socially and emotionally prepared for kindergarten.

Kapria believes Educare Chicago’s approach helped spark an ongoing love for learning within her children that has set them up for a lifetime of success.

“Educare’s approach to involving parents in their children’s education journey and constantly getting feedback has been a huge part of why our children are so successful and driven to keep learning,” she says. “They not only taught the preschool curriculum in ways that were engaging, but they also expanded it to include skills or concepts we were interested in our children learning and based on their assessments of what our kids were ready to learn.”

Today, Kapria’s two oldest children have graduated Educare Chicago and are thriving in Chicago Public Schools. Alexander is in first grade and Catalina is in kindergarten, and both recently tested into gifted and classical programs. Her youngest, a 2-year old, is currently enrolled at Educare Chicago.

“Alexander just completed his first year in a gifted kindergarten program and received straight As, awards for citizenship, being a good friend to his classmates and being helpful. He’s accelerated through the remote learning challenges they provided. I know a lot of that had to do with the competence he had in his skills and the motivation Educare Chicago gave him that if he wanted to do something he could absolutely do it,” Kapria proudly shares.

Given her children’s early education success and her own work in education, Kapria advocates that all children should start early.

“I strongly believe that all children should attend preschool prior to going to an elementary school, just so that they get those beginning foundational skills in a classroom setting. Children just excel when they have the opportunity to interact and communicate with and learn from one another.”

Learn more about Educare Chicago and the Educare Learning Network and their approach to early childhood development and kindergarten readiness.

Last month, families across the country began receiving the first payments under the Advance Child Tax Credit (ACTA), a part of the American Rescue Plan Act. For many families with young children, like Educare Chicago parent Cheryse Singleton-Nobles, the expanded Child Tax Credit offers integral support that increases their ability to provide a stable environment and experiences for their children to thrive.

“A lot of us are struggling. Even though the pandemic is ending, that doesn’t end the financial impacts it created,” Cheryse shares.

Across the nation, even as employment is rising and strains on household budgets have eased in recent months families continue to struggle. One in three adults with children report difficulty covering usual household expenses, and one in eight report their families don’t have enough to eat. This financial strain and chronic stress can undermine young children’s sense of security, safety and joy. If prolonged, it can have a negative, long-term impact on their development.

“If it’s stressful for an adult, imagine how stressful this time has been for young children whose entire routine was disturbed,” Cheryse continues. “The Child Tax Credit puts us in a place of peace so that we can be in a better mental state to focus on doing more for our children and not worrying as much about things getting turned off or bills not being paid.”

The expanded Child Tax Credit will help directly alleviate the strain that so many families are experiencing on multiple fronts. Eligible families will receive up to $3,600 per child under age 6 and $3,000 for children ages 6 to 17, with half made available to families in advance through six monthly payments and the rest claimed when they file their tax returns.

Many organizations, including our own Educare Learning Network, are proactively reaching out to educate families on the tax filing process and helping them take full advantage of the Child Tax Credit. At Educare Chicago, “staff let us know it was coming, who to contact and offered to assist with the tax filing process,” Cheryse shares.

As part of Start Early’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB), we strive to nurture and embrace racial, cultural and linguistically diverse teaching and learning environments. We know these diverse and inclusive environments unify our field and ensure equitable access to high-quality early childhood experiences. We are embarking on a journey to translate our professional development and research into languages other than English, starting with Spanish. Our goal is to be more inclusive of early childhood educators, parents and leaders that represent the populations we serve and who strive in their own role to support those who need us the most, our youngest children.

Over the past many years, my bilingual colleagues and I translated documents and resources into other languages (including Spanish), to meet the linguistic needs of the participants we support and serve. Nevertheless, the translations themselves, the process and the extra workload were not sustainable and needed to improve. Having multiple experiences with schools, centers and organizations throughout the early childhood field, we know these challenges are not limited to Start Early.

We launched a project to increase the accessibility of our training materials to better serve adult learners and support their professional development. The purpose of our project was to develop a process to translate trainings, materials and resources to increase Start Early’s ability and capacity to serve linguistically diverse customers. In addition, we designed a process to ensure the quality of the translations and the sustainability of the process itself. We kicked off the project with Start Early’s Essentials of Home Visiting – accredited online courses and webinars to support home visiting in any model.

Happy State Fiscal Year 2022!

It is tough to believe it has been nearly three months since the Legislature adjourned Sine Die. With the start of a new state fiscal year and the work underway to implement both the Fair Start for Kids Act and federal COVID-related supports, we thought it would be helpful to resume “Notes from Olympia” periodically during the legislative interim to share updates. Unlike during the legislative session, we will not have a regular cadence of releasing the updates.

Trivia!

OK, OK. I admit this does not meet the definition of trivia, but I am admittedly out of practice.

Is there a place you frequented – so often you took it for granted – and the pandemic kept you from visiting? Maybe it was your office or a favorite neighborhood restaurant. How did it feel when (if?) you returned?

For me, that place was the State Capitol. I was able to take my “first” work trip in late June and thoroughly enjoyed strolling through the Capitol campus. While the buildings were not yet open when I visited, I took in all the beautiful new landscape and wandered through the campus that we quickly left on March 13, 2020. I thought I would share these pictures because it was so lovely (hats off to the landscaping team there). Hopefully, the place will be safely filled with people again for the 2022 legislative session.

State Revenue Update

On June 23rd, the State Economic Revenue and Forecast Council met to get an update on the state’s revenue outlook. Revenue continues to exceed projections, with an additional $838 million expected for the 2019-21 biennium that just concluded on June 30th and an additional $1.798 billion expected for the 2021-23 biennium that we just began on July 1st.

Personal income growth continues to exceed projections, and residential building permits hit a 42 year high in quarter one. Unemployed dropped to 5.3% in May. COVID and the variants continue to be the most significant risk to our revenue forecast, along with high inflation and supply chain issues in some sectors.

Program Updates

Our state agency partners are busy working to implement the significant budget and policy advancements achieved during the 2021 legislative session. Following are updates on the status of some key initiatives:

Early Learning Facility Funding Opportunity to Open Fall 2021. As a reminder, the adopted state budget included a total of $55.7 million for early learning facilities. This includes a total of $32.5 million in grants and loans; $10 million for minor renovations and small capital projects; $8.5 million for renovations related to COVID; and $4.7 million for 9 specific school district projects. Of the $32.5 million for grants and loans, the dollars break down as: $23.911 million in competitive grants, $7.5 million for loans and $1.089 million for 4 specific projects.

The Department of Commerce released a status update about these funds on July 8th. The email reminded that funding could be used for construction, renovation, or purchase of a new facility. Funds must be used to expand the number of early learning spaces, and programs must also commit to reserving spots for families participating in ECEAP or Working Connections Child Care. The email reported the Notice of Funding Availability would be available shortly and interested potential applicants are encouraged to visit the Commerce website for additional information. Further, because the Early Learning Facilities program has a match goal of at least 25% of total costs coming from non-state funds, potential applicants are also encouraged to start looking into match opportunities now. Note the website has an option to sign up for email updates on the lower right of the webpage.

Home Visiting Expansion Funding

The 2021-23 operating budget contains $8.1 million ($2.8 million in FY 22 and $5.3 million in FY 23) to expand home visiting services, enhance data collection and increase supports for home visiting programs.

After consultation with the Home Visiting Advisory Committee, the Department of Children, Youth and Families released their FY 22 expansion funding plans. Twenty-five existing contractors that met performance metrics around enrollment and retention were invited to apply to serve up to 150 new families. Applications are due August 10th, and per budget bill language, contracts must be in place by October 1, 2021.

Additional expansion dollars will be available as of July 1, 2022, and guidance for those dollars will be released in early 2022.

Federal Guidance on One-Time Child Care and Development Funds Released. On June 11th, the federal Administration for Children and Families released guidance on the use of Supplemental Child Care and Development (CCDF) Discretionary Funds appropriated through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021.

These supplemental federal dollars are intended to be used over the next three years to help states, territories, and tribes build a stronger child care system and help families afford quality child care. The federal guidance strongly recommends lead agencies prioritize these funds to address provider payment rates and overall workforce compensation. The guidance posits that increasing compensation will increase quality and provide parents more options while also increasing wages and providing supports for child care as businesses.

Lead agencies have until September 30, 2023, to obligate these funds. The Washington State Legislature programmed much of our state’s supplemental CCDF funding in its 2021-23 biennial budget.

DCYF Launches Fair Start Act Webpage. Recently, DCYF launched a section on its website dedicated to Fair Start for Kids Act implementation. The site is a “one-stop-shop” for a summary of the Fair Start Act provisions and updates on DCYF’s implementation efforts. DCYF will regularly update the site.

Welcome, Jess!

Start Early Washington is very excited to welcome Jess Galvez to our team as the Communications and Policy Manager. Jess comes to us from Save the Children Action Network and brings a breadth of experience in early learning, communications, grassroots organizing, and so much more. We are thrilled to have her as a valued member of our team. One of her top priorities is to get Start Early Washington’s social media presence going – so look for us on Twitter soon!

Capital Campus Child Care Center Nearing Completion

On my walking tour, I took in the Capital Campus Child Care Center that is close to opening to serve families of Capitol and state employees. (You can see how close the center is to campus by the proximity of the Capitol dome in the upper left of the picture below).

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) provides states with a unique opportunity to strategically lay the foundation for addressing long-standing inequities and best supporting children with disabilities and developmental delays, who have long been underrepresented in our early childhood system and have endured some of the greatest impacts of the pandemic. As states navigate the complexity that is effectively utilizing and distributing these historic funds, equity should be at the center of their process to prioritize the needs of children and families who have been disproportionately impacted.

The following guide contains strategies and considerations for using federal funds to prioritize children with disabilities and developmental delays with a focus on equity. The guide specifically addresses use of the following funds:

• Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) Part B – Section 619 ($200 Million) and IDEA Part C ($250 Million)
• Supplemental Child Care and Development Block Grant ($14.99 Billion) and Child Care Stabilization Funds ($23.98 Billion)
• Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, aka ESSER ($122.77 Billion)
• Head Start Funds ($1 Billion)

There are several opportunities to ensure ARPA funds are implemented at the state and local level to maximize impact for our children with disabilities and their families. Now is the time to ensure families — particularly families of color — can access the early intervention and early childhood special education services they need (and may have been previously disconnected from), better support inclusive child care and preschool programs for young children with disabilities, and test out innovative service delivery models. By strategically utilizing these investments to meet the needs of children and families most affected, states can work towards building a more equitable early childhood system and addressing existing disparities that were only worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Supporting Black fathers in their role as a child’s first and most important teacher is an investment in our children and our communities. This Father’s Day, let’s intentionally change the narrative, advocate for local, state and federal policies that benefit Black fathers and promote positive and culturally relevant parent and home visiting programs that benefit early childhood development.

Learn more about my work and continue to follow this blog for the latest updates from Start Early.

For me, Juneteenth represents a day of connection past, present and future — all existing in one day. I think of my grandparents who were part of the Great Migration from the South in the early 50s. They left Mississippi with seven children, in hopes of finding a better life and future for their family. Conditions of economic hardship, segregation and discrimination in the South had made it necessary to seek out better and safer places to live. I stand in the present thinking of all the opportunities that have been afforded to me through the blood, sweat and sacrifices of all the people who came before me and have fought for the rights and privileges I have. I look to my son, as the future, in hopes his generation will be the first to completely dismantle systems of injustice. Juneteenth is a day of hope, where the worries of yesterday are gone, and the burden of tomorrow has not quite come. It is the moment in time where the impossible suddenly feels possible.

On June 19, 1865, Union Gen. Gordon Granger and 2,000 Union Troops arrived in Galveston, Texas issued an order officially freeing the slaves. I know you might think, “Wasn’t the Emancipation Proclamation signed in 1863?” Yes, it was, but unfortunately people who lived in more remote areas still lived as they were enslaved. After slavery ended, African Americans were inspired and empowered to transform their lives and their country. Juneteenth is about capturing this hope and renewing the energy of all the work that has been done and still needs to happen in this country. Juneteenth is U.S. history.

There are so many ways to celebrate and honor Juneteenth. Here are a few ways we all can get involved:

• Learn more about black history and Juneteenth. Read a book, watch a movie, listen to a podcast, listen to the Emancipation Proclamation on YouTube. Take time to learn more about the stories and experiences of black people in the U.S.
• Celebrate cook a big meal, have a barbecue, attend an event in your area or online.
• Shop support black-owned businesses or black causes.
• Connect with family, friends, people in your community this day is all about coming together.

When one story stops, another begins. While we all know that the end of slavery gave way to new atrocities and injustices for black people across the U.S., Juneteenth is an opportunity to take pride in how far we’ve come and recommit ourselves to the ongoing fight to end racial injustices.

Here are some virtual and in-person events that you can check out:

Virtual Events (all times Central)

Looking Ahead to Juneteenth: Centering Black Parents Voices in the Age of COVID-19 and Racial Reckoning, Thursday, June 17, 12 p.m.

Inaugural Juneteenth Reading Circle: Richard Wright Thursday, June 17, 6 – 7:30 p.m.

Virtual Juneteenth Celebration Eiteljorg Museum 

The Amistad Center for Art & Culture 30th Annual Juneteenth Celebration Saturday, June 19, 5:30 p.m. 

Step Afrika! Juneteenth Virtual Celebration Saturday, June 19, 7 p.m. 

A Juneteenth Commemoration Featuring Annette Gordon-Reed Saturday, June 19, 2 p.m. 

In-Person Events (Chicago Area)

Juneteenth Black to Life Celebration Saturday, June 19, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., Location: Behind Museum of Science and Industry 

Juneteenth Ride Saturday, June 19, 12– 2:30 p.m., Wintrust Arena 

Juneteenth at Sculpture Park Saturday, June 19, 1– 4 p.m., Location Sculpture Park, Governors State University, University Park, IL (Limited Capacity – please visit link and RSVP if planning to attend) 

2nd Annual Rich Auntie Energy Juneteenth Bonfire Saturday, June 19, 6 p.m. – Midnight, Central, Promontory Point, Hyde Park 

Homewood-Flossmoor Juneteenth Festival Saturday, June 19, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m., Homewood-Flossmoor High School