Seizing Opportunities in a Time of Change

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Setting the context of past Annual Dialogues

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Setting the current context for creating a responsive, innovative system of early education and care

Past Dialogues

    A time to focus on and communicate about timely topics and needed action A time to initiate dialogue and to explore innovations A place to validate and critique our status and progress as a field An invitation to plan and advance further action and collaboration

Past Annual Dialogues have been

 Attended by a diverse audience of advocates, practitioners, professors, community and agency leaders, staff and policy makers  A way to hear yearly updates on the “state of the state” and progress since the historic creation of the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care in 2005.  A forum for expressing the many voices of the early childhood community

The Context of Today’s Dialogue

   Massive growing demand for Universal Pre Kindergarten programs and for highly qualified teachers Losing ground in percentage of BA teachers in early childhood classes A need to address the continuing compensation crisis

The Context (continued) …

 Early care and education practice and profession, and related higher education, are negatively affected by: ◦ inconsistent standards ◦ unaligned role qualifications ◦ inequitable compensation, and ◦ inadequate and splintered funding ◦ a need for collaboration among all sectors of the early education and care field

A historic moment of opportunity in the nation

     Changing relationships and new policies at the federal level New federal funding streams and programs Funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act The Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 2010 Tax credits for working families to make early education programs more affordable

A historic moment of opportunity in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

    Creation of the Secretary of Education and three related education agencies covering the education spectrum A unique, dedicated department for early care and education New regional opportunities/structures (e.g., Readiness Centers) Continued efforts to reduce fragmentation and create integration in our systems

A historic moment of opportunity in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

   Commitment to a mixed delivery system New development of a Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) Recently developed programs: ◦ Early Educator Scholarships ◦ UPK ◦ Quality supports

There are opportunities for collaboration among

    ◦ ◦ Federal Departments of: ◦ Education ◦ Health and Human Services Labor, and the Head Start Bureau State, local and community organizations Civic and business groups Foundations

At this moment in history, lets invest our time and money to:      Align quality standards for programs, qualifications for roles, funding specifications, compensation policies, both in practice and in higher education Create stronger partnerships that support innovation and spread promising practices Determine new ways to assess quality in programs and in teaching Create active partnerships and effective policy at all levels to offer pathways to degrees that are responsive to adult learners Achieve equitable compensation within education sectors that will value the important work of early childhood professionals

We recognize that partners can do together what no one can do alone Let us seize the moment!

Compensation and Increased Credentials

Ways to reframe compensation and credentials:     Educators need to get together and create/provide forums to build power, define reality and roles in the field. (Next year this should be a time and place educators can attend and provide data).

State should have a lattice of roles/salaries; for funding—use Department of Labor Apprentice Program and also a feasibility study on the use of local funding for 0-5 quality programs. Have the state require a portion of UPK, continuity of care, and rate increases be designated for increases in salary and compensation.

Develop a loan forgiveness program for ECE Educators that stay in the field. Include old/defaulted loans in the program. Build public awareness of value and need for educated ECE workforce.

Compensation and Increased Credentials

Make compensation a higher priority.

 Ask for a percentage of new federal funds for increased compensation (that is tied to qualifications/a standardized career lattice).

◦ Define increased compensation as including not only a higher wage floor, but also benefits such as increased access and lower costs for higher education, scholarships, student supports, and tax relief.

How much is increased compensation going to cost?

 Take advantage of state government economists and those in MA higher education to find creative ways to identify public funds or new funding sources; reshape the way the state looks at ECE funding within the context of state spending overall.

◦ Find ways to decrease costs for centers/providers (which are largely small businesses) through existing government vehicles/resources/expertise such as tax breaks, lowered insurance costs, providing vacation pay etc.

Establishing the Massachusetts QRIS (Quality Rating Improvement System)

    Support administrators by clarifying and coordinating documentation and expectations, as well as providing sustainable funding for QRIS and professional development opportunities for administrators.

Support administrators/program managers/FCC providers equitably by clarifying expectations of the QRIS and providing sustainable funding to support systems to better align NAEYC/Head Start/Fed Renewal Accreditation and recognize achievements.

◦ ◦ Roll out the QRIS using multiple forms of communication: ◦ Provide information (what is QRIS?) Address all points of a mixed delivery system (be comprehensive) Promote awareness ◦ Provide access to all programs Clearly define the levels (specifically level 5—what does it look like?) ◦ Create a manual for moving from one level to another ◦ Provide coaching, mentoring and training

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Readiness Centers in MA: Implications for Professional Development Systems in Early Education and Care

Alignment of regions across the state.

Transference of coaching and mentoring through learning for the implementation of onsite best practices.

Require and deliver funding to readiness centers for ECE needs assessment, professional development, planning and delivery by ECE, professionals utilizing the already existing ECE systems for the already existing ECE systems for professional development throughout the mixed delivery system (starting at birth).

Require focus on ECE, starting at birth, every readiness center committee, with representation on the committee from ECE, higher ed, and community partners to plan and deliver developmentally appropriate professional development throughout the mixed ECE delivery systems.

Re-Framing Child Assessment Approaches

  Assessment needs to be linguistically, culturally, and developmentally appropriate within a comprehensive framework using a range of assessment methods* that address a variety of ages and domains. * Health, familial, educational preformed by a variety of “assessors.” ◦ ◦ Goal of assessment should be to inform practice and support children’s development and growth: Training/helping adults (e.g. teachers & parents) to effectively utilize assessment results.

Use data to secure resources an identify areas of need.

Re-Framing Child Assessment Approaches

   Because children are complex, multifaceted and developing, we need to use multiple forms of assessment—particularly observation—that are designed to benefit children.

We need to provide professional development, coaching and mentoring, to help teachers administer and use optimally various forms of assessment.

People in the field need to do more to educate policy makers and the public about the importance of assessing all children in the early years, and the need to build educational continuity from the early years upward (not the other way around)

Achieving Mixed Delivery Systems: Identifying and Overcoming Barriers

    Staff and parents need more information/knowledge of our mixed delivery system- in MA. Could be info through workshops, radio, public TV, brochures, R&R info. What does each program offer/benefits/eligibility (the state could help with this).

Collaborate with EEC and public schools/FCC/Informal Care. Need to reach all programs serving all families and address languages/literacy skills.

Across the sectors hold conferences day long to start conversation and come away with at least one task and have second follow-up conference to repeat back. This would be a mixed group- we need EEL and ESE to coordinate so public schools, private, community based, FCC, EI, colleges, OST etc. can attend.

Recommend models across the sectors/use a standard model based on 1) interest, 2) inquiry, 3) integration, 4) inter-session and intervention- which leads to actions to identify outcomes (children's success).

Achieving Mixed Delivery Systems: Identifying and Overcoming Barriers

  Require a more complex system with a funded infrastructure: ◦ Variables include people, time, money, administration and the role of family input.

◦ ◦ Promote common systems: ◦ Regular communication ◦ Eligibility with flexibility Tracking children and families Replicate in communities other than Boston and Cambridge