Comprehensive early childhood systems have the potential to integrate resources to promote the success of all young children. States vary in their ability to ensure all young children have access to high quality programs. Research indicates that good data, clear communication, and effective management systems are critical to the sustainability of effective early childhood systems. Technical expertise can build the capacity of SEA staff to work side-by-side with state partners to strengthen the early childhood system and achieve school readiness and school success goals for children.
How do leaders ensure the vision, mission, and objectives for their programs have legs to guarantee that a principled legacy continues past their tenure in early childhood policy and practice? Starting succession planning well before a departure is on the horizon will help the transition to go smoothly when the day arrives. (Presentation at the 2019 NAEYC Professional Learning Institute)
Content Area(s): Systems
Publication Type(s): Presentations
Author(s): Tom Rendon, Diane Schilder, Jana Martella
Date: June 2019
Nothing happens in early childhood except in a system. That system has profound influence on whether what happens is successful and supportive of children … or is not. But too few early childhood professionals understand how early childhood systems work at the local, state or national level. This session provides a primer on systems thinking and systems leadership, and how these concepts apply to early childhood systems. Through simple explanations and focused discussion, this session will help you become more adept at understanding how best to operate within your system. (Presentation at the 2019 NAEYC Professional Learning Institute)
We are pleased to provide the latest edition of CEELO’s 2019 Directory of State Early Learning Contacts which contains updated information for state contacts in the birth through third grade system in each state. We aim to re-verify and re-publish the Directory once a year to ensure the information is current. In January of 2019, the contacts in each state received an e-mail requesting a review of their state information. Updates were compiled and changes were entered to create this latest iteration of the Directory. We received a high response rate and have made changes as indicated; however, if you know of additional changes or corrections, please forward these to info@ceelo.org.
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.
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.
During 2017 – 2018, CEELO conducted a professional learning community (PLC) to support leadership development among newly appointed, high-level leaders of early education in state education agencies. The goal of the PLC was for participants to increase awareness, gain critical knowledge and develop leadership skills needed to guide highly effective offices of early learning within state education agencies. This is a summary of the activities and findings from the report.
CEELO is introducing a new tool to help calculate the costs of administration as part of the true cost of high-quality preschool.
The State Administrative Cost of Quality (SACQ) tool helps states generate data on the functions and costs of the State Infrastructure to Implement, Monitor and Sustain Quality of early childhood programs. The budget tool is organized around a continuum of state- and regional-level administrative capacities framework spanning policy/program development, forecasting and planning, provider recruitment, contracting, child enrollment, and workforce development. SACQ is an Excel-based model that can be integrated into the Cost of Preschool Quality & Revenue Calculator (CPQ&R) to help users determine costs and funding sources related to implementing high-quality preschool programs.
Leadership development is an on-going 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 3-hour session explores toolkits and resources designed to support knowledge and skill development in individual leaders to enable them successfully build and sustain high quality systems that implement evidence-based practices.
CEELO and NIEER presenters provided information during this webinar to the National Council of State Legislatures Early Learning Fellows Program, highlighting how to design PreK programs for success, and craft policies to reach goals. The presentation focuses on costs and revenues, selected high-capacity states, and how to seize opportunities in ESSA, PDG and other resources. (August 2018)
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).
