Shannon Hunt-Scott, Charles Bullock Join Board of Directors for Educare California of Silicon Valley

New directors bring diverse perspectives to board of innovative early childhood education center

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Educare California at Silicon Valley, which provides innovative and effective early childhood education and resources to low-income children, today announced the addition of two new members to its Board of Directors: Shannon Hunt-Scott, President of The Scott Foundation; and Charles C. Bullock, Interim Chief Executive Officer of The Health Trust.

“Shannon Hunt-Scott and Charles Bullock have both dedicated their careers to making their communities better places,” said Jon R. Gundry, Educare California at Silicon Valley Board Chair and Santa Clara County Office of Education Superintendent of Schools. “We’re honored they will be sharing their expertise and energy with us as we continue to foster an environment that sets the stage for lifelong success for generations to come.”

As a research-based early learning program, Educare uses evidence-based programming to provide comprehensive services to at-risk children ages 0-5 and their families and caregivers to narrow the opportunity gap. Educare operates 12 high quality, full-day, year-round early learning classrooms, a family resource center, satellite public library, satellite children’s museum, and will soon launch a community garden and Professional Development Institute to scale up best practices for early learning professionals.

“Educare California at Silicon Valley brings quality early childhood experiences to life. All children deserve the best and all adults must have the knowledge, skills, and resources to offer the best experiences to children. Our board members are committed to making Educare’s vision a reality for all children in the neighborhood—those who attend Educare and those who are being served in the broader community,” said Meera Mani, board member and Director of the Children, Families and Communities division of The David and Lucile Packard Foundation. “We know that education, health, information, and resources are all critical components to supporting children’s development. Our new board members bring passion, expertise, and leadership to carry out our mission of ensuring that all young children—especially those who need it most—have the best opportunities for success in life.”

Hunt-Scott is the President of The Scott Foundation, a private grant-making organization focused on educational equity and early childhood education, women and girls in STEM, hunger relief, and social impact. Shannon co-founded The Scott Foundation with her husband, Kevin Scott, in 2014 to empower Bay Area children to achieve their personal best, and the foundation has provided over $3 million in grants to 19 organizations to date.

“I’m impressed by the impact Educare has made in the East San Jose community in such a short time,” Hunt-Scott said. “I’ve been a supporter since this model early learning center opened in 2015, and Educare’s growth and accomplishments have been nothing short of astonishing. Critically, their programs and practices are scalable, and I’m particularly excited about the capacity-building potential of their Professional Development Institute.”

Bullock is a nationally recognized expert in disability issues, and was a teacher and scholar in higher education for more than 35 years. In addition to serving as Interim Chief Executive Officer of The Health Trust, Bullock has been a member of the Board of Trustees of The Health Trust since February 2012 and Board Chair since June 2015.

“The Health Trust is honored to have been one of the founding organizations that came together to make Educare California at Silicon Valley a reality,” Bullock said. “Early childhood centers like Educare are critical to the cradle-to-college arc of success children in all of our communities deserve. I look forward to sharing my passions and experience across many areas of education with this board.”

A study published earlier this year in Child Development found that the high-quality, center-based early childhood education offered at schools in the national Educare network, which includes Educare California at Silicon Valley, has a positive impact on the development of financially disadvantaged infants and toddlers. The study found that Educare children after one year of enrollment, at approximately age 2, had significantly higher English language skills, fewer parent reports of problem behaviors and more positive parent-child interactions than children who did not attend Educare.

Educare California at Silicon Valley, located in San Jose’s Santee neighborhood, is one of 21 schools in the national Educare network. Educare schools have four research-based components: high-quality instruction, intensive family engagement to promote parent-child relationships, ongoing professional learning for staff and continuous data collection to inform quality improvement efforts. Educare schools are located in urban, suburban and rural communities in 13 states and the District of Columbia. Each Educare school offers full-day, full-year programming from highly qualified staff.