State education leaders and early learning policy makers are increasingly working together to coordinate fiscal and human resources to ensure children experience consistently high quality learning experiences before they enter school and into the elementary school years. Early childhood educators and K-3rd grade staff are working together to align standards, curriculum and assessment, as well as promote leadership and professional development, so that all have the skills and knowledge needed to support children’s learning across ages and grades.
Kentucky’s Governors Office of Early Childhood hosted an Early Childhood Care and Education Roundtable on June 19, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky for more than 1000 teachers and leaders of early childhood programs. Lori Connors-Tadros presented remarks on a select panel of leaders on the strengths and opportunities of the Preschool Development Grant- Birth to Five for Kentucky. Following this panel, Lori addressed Kentucky’s Early Childhood Advisory Council and discussed a framework for prenatal to grade three (P -3), outcomes to be expected, and state approaches to implementing P-3.
Leadership Development is an ongoing process, and it involves complex skills and abilities related to establishing vision and direction, providing motivation and guidance, and promoting collaboration within and across agencies and programs. This presentation will explore tool kits and resources designed to support knowledge and skill development in individual leaders so they can successfully build and sustain high-quality systems that implement evidence-based practices, such as the HighScope framework.
More than 40 years ago as a teacher and curriculum consultant at HighScope, Ellen Frede was exposed to central principles of teaching, learning. and professional development in early childhood settings. In this keynote, Dr. Frede will describe how these principles have been instrumental in shaping the development of our field and should continue to guide practice in classrooms and programs.
The National Institute for Early Education Research’s State of Preschool Yearbook 2018 provides data to inform policymakers. Lori Connors-Tadros presented highlights of the 2018 data and research on the importance of PreK-Grade 3 continuity to the Early Childhood Workgroup of the National Association of State Boards of Education and discussed opportunities for state board members to leverage their authority to increase access to high-quality prekindergarten.
CEELO’s Early Childhood Legacy 2030 project seeks to inform policy decisions for children, birth to third grade, over the coming decade (2020–2030). State early childhood education agency staff are responsible for implementing policies and collaborating with other stakeholders to meet the needs of allyoung children in their states. Yet no one has adequately documented the voice, experience and perspectives of these individuals so that challenges and constraints of implementing state ECE policy can inform stakeholders. This report describes what we found about state early childhood education agency staff, the complexity of their work and what they believe is most important to realize a legacy for young children by 2030. An Executive Summary of the full report can be found here.
The federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) has provided state education agencies (SEAs) with new and broadened opportunities to bring early learning to the forefront of their education strategies, and to encourage local school districts to do the same. This presentation provided at the 2019 ESEA Conference discusses the evidence-based early learning initiatives that have emerged as ESSA is implemented across the country and provides advice and recommendations to SEA and LEA leaders on how to seize those opportunities.
CEELO Senior Fellow Jim Squires delivered this presentation and the Alabama Early Childhood Education Conference, discussing the contextual differences between the two systems of early learning birth-five and the K-3 years of schooling. The session focused on the qualities and characteristics of the two systems, ways to address alignment and coherence, and implications for system leaders.
The Louisiana legislature charged the Early Childhood Care and Education Commission with making recommendations to build on the current early care and education (ECE) quality infrastructure. Lori provided commission members with information on how selected states have developed a sustainable financing plan for increasing access to quality ECE, particularly for infants and toddlers.
State level leadership and organizational capacity is essential to leading sustained improvements in early learning opportunities and outcomes. This session at the Ounce of Prevention – Partnership for PreK Improvement (PPI) peer learning convening highlights the CEELO Vision paper and discusses organizational capacity, effectiveness, and leadership and staff capabilities necessary for states to lead improvement in the long-term. Presenters also explore strategies and opportunities for advocacy that focus on creating the organizational capacity necessary to advance PPI’s work. You can also explore this work further on our project page on Highly Effective Offices of Early Learning.
This report highlights presentations, discussions and resources from the Cost of Quality Early Learning Think Tank, held May 16-17, 2018 in Chicago. The meeting provided an opportunity for state and local leaders, advocates, and national experts engaged in cost studies of early learning programs to take stock of what they are learning about collecting, analyzing and using cost data to inform and drive policy decisions about financing high-quality early learning programs. Participants gained a deeper, shared understanding of both political and strategic approaches needed to make a substantive impact on advancing the field toward adequate and stable funding of high-quality early learning programs, though many unanswered questions remain.
This presentation reviewed the findings of the recent report PreK-3rd Grade Systems: Lessons Learned from New York School Districts. Delivered at the New York State Department of Education Summer Institute (July 2018).
Recognizing the ultimate goal of PreK-3rd grade systems is to improve child outcomes and close achievement gaps, the New York school districts highlighted in this report have selected a range of priorities and approaches that reflect the unique district context, initiatives, priorities, and stakeholder perspectives. Each district has made progress in the implementation of their PreK-3rd grade plans. The report provides an analysis of information collected from the PreK-3rd grade teams and reveals cross-cutting lessons learned.
