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NEW MEXICO PRE – K INITIATIVE COLLABORATION WITH HEAD START NEW MEXICO PRE-K FY 06 • New Program – nonrecurring funding of $5 million for a 2-year pilot program • Approximately 1,538 four year old children were served • 20% of allocated funds to teacher development and higher education • Focus on communities with schools in need of improvement (AYP and Title I) PRE-K FY 06 (Continued) • Early Learning Plan Drafted for Pre-K which includes Program Standards and Learning Outcomes for 4-year olds • 30 programs funded during phase 1; 19 funded by CYFD and 11 school district programs funded by PED (Head Start Sites: 4 –CYFD and 3-PED) • Collaborative between Children Youth and Families Department and Public Education Department NEW MEXICO PRE-K FY 07 • Pre-K Expansion – nonrecurring funding increase of $3 million; inclusive of $1.5 M to create a fund for Pre-K start-up and safety costs (Total - $8M) • Approximately 572 additional children will be served (Total 2110 children) HEAD START COLLABORATION • Early Childhood Interagency Action Team (ECIAT) • New Mexico’s Early Learning Plan Development - Pre-K Program Standards - Learning Outcomes for 4 to 5 year olds • New Mexico’s Educational Readiness Framework • Pre-K Assessment Task Force Policy Brief EARLY CHILDHOOD ALLIANCE “A car needs all its parts to run…… So does an early childhood system.” COLLABORATION ISSUES • Increase capacity of new children; supplementing existing programs not encouraged. • No real collaboration between local community based programs and public schools. • Low Cost per Child Reimbursements • Full Day versus Half Day Programming COLLABORATION ISSUES (Continued) • RFP process too technical for smaller tribal grantees and child care centers. • Competition of 4 year old slots in small tribal communities. (Potential for future competition throughout NM communities) • Worthy wages and benefits for preschool teachers. COLLABORATION ISSUES (Continued) • Recognizing and validating the existing high quality programs in New Mexico that have been providing Early Childhood Education for years. • Teacher degree short timeframe and limited capacity of colleges. • Supporting native language learning and culture. (Spanish and Tribal) COLLABORATION ISSUES (Continued) • Expanding the role and function of the Head Start Collaboration Office. • More active involvement of the Migrant/Seasonal Program and Indian Head Start Grantees. • Coordinated approach to funding communities from the state level. A CHINESE FOLKTALE Retold by Yishan Lea “Forcing to Grow”