A National Perspective: Implementing Early Learning Guidelines, Alignment, and Professional Developm

1
A National Perspective Implementing Early
Learning Guidelines, Alignment, and Professional
Development

• Sponsored by the Child Care Bureau the Council
  of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO ECEA SCASS
  ) and the National Association of Early Childhood
  Specialists in State Departments of Education
  (NAECS/SDE)
• May 17, 2006

2
Agenda for the Call

• Introductions and Goals for the Call
• National Perspective on State Activities
• State Specific Approaches
• Questions and Discussion

3
Introductions

• Shannon Rudisill, Director, Technical Assistance
  Division, Child Care Bureau
• Jana Martella, Coordinator, CCSSO ECEA SCASS
• Lori Connors-Tadros, Technical Assistance
  Specialist, NCCIC

4
What This Information Tells Us and What It Does
Not?

• Need for clarity in language/terms
• Identifies national trends
• Identifies technical assistance needs
• Limitations in purposes and intent of data
  sourcescaution in interpreting results

5

Quality Early Care and Education
Standards for Practitioners
Standards for Programs
Early Learning Guidelines (what children need to
know, understand, and be able to do)
Adapted from Financing Strategies, Where Do We Go
from Here? (August 2003), by Anne Mitchell and
Louise Stoney, Alliance for Early Childhood
Finance. Available on the Web at
http//www.earlychildhoodfinance.org/handouts/SAM2
003FinancingWorkshop_SarahFix.ppt.
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Early Learning Guidelines
Describe what children need to know, understand,
and be able to do
Guide what adults who work with children will do
Provide foundation for professional development
Inform assessment approaches
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ELGs and Professional DevelopmentTwo-Pronged
Approach
2
1

• Providing training and supports specifically on
  ELGs and implications for practice

Assuring that related core knowledge areas and
competencies are embedded in the professional
development system
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National Efforts to Understand How States are
Implementing Early Learning Guidelines in all
Care Settings

• Sources of Information
• FY 2006-2007 Child Care and Development (CCDF)
  State Plan Summary Report
• CCSSO Early Learning Standards and
  Assessment Collaborative Survey of the States

9
Status as of June/July 05

• The CCSSO Survey
• (June 05) and other sources indicate 48
  States have developed ELGs

• The CCDF State Plan
• (July 05) indicated
• 2 States - actively developing
• 2 Territories - planning for development
• 3 Territories - implementing
• 4 States - revising
• 33 States implementing

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Stakeholders Involved in Development/Implementatio
n
According to CCDF State Plan
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Age Levels Covered
According to CCSSO survey
CCDF State Plan 23 States and 2 Territories have
developed early learning guidelines for children
other than 3-5 year olds. Of these, 9 states and
1 Territory have ELGS for ages birth to 4 or 5.
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Intended Purposes of Early Learning Standards
According to CCSSO survey
13
Domains Addressed in ELGs
According to CCDF State Plan Summary Report
14
Are ELGs Required or Voluntary?
According to CCSSO survey
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Connecting ELGs to Other Elements of the System

• Once developed, States are
• Identifying gaps in current training and
  professional development
• Evaluating ELGs validity and/or evaluating
  training approaches
• Developing guidelines for other age ranges

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Alignment of ELGs to Other Standards

• GSGS specifically called for States to develop
  early learning guidelines for 3-5 year olds that
  were aligned with K-12 Standards.
• 46 States and 3 Territories have developed ELGs
  for children ages 3 to 5 that are aligned with
  K-12 content standards
• States are also aligning ELGs with other state
  and national standards

According to CCDF State Plan Summary Report
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Alignment with Curricula and Assessments

• Most states report conducting formal efforts to
  align curricula with the ELGs.
• Fewer states reporting direct linkages between
  the ELGs and assessments used for early childhood
  programs.
• Some States have developed resources to support
  alignment with curricula and/or assessment tools.

According to CCSSO survey
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Addressing Diversity in Implementation

• 37 States report they include strategies to
  address diversity of child, family and setting in
  their implementation plan

According to CCDF State Plan Summary Report
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Approaches to Addressing Diversity

• Nebraska Began in the process of development to
  gain wide stakeholder involvement
• Wisconsin standards support adaptation and
  individualization diversity principles drive
  implementation
• North Carolina has developed an implementation
  toolkit to support diversity

According to CCDF State Plan Summary Report
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Strategies to Support Implementation
According to CCDF State Plan Summary Report
21
ELGs used for Teacher Preparation and Development
According to CCSSO survey
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Linking ELGs to Professional Development Plans

• Most frequently States and Territories embed
• ELGs in Core Knowledge and Competencies.

30 States and 2 Territories link early learning
guidelines to their Professional Development Plans
According to CCDF State Plan Summary Report
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The Voices of States

• Rhode Island, Reeva Sullivan Murphy, State Child
  Care Administrator
• For more information see http//www.ride.ri.gov/el
  s/overview.asp
• Pennsylvania, Sue Mitchell, Department of
  Education
• For more information see http//www.pde.state.pa.u
  s/early_childhood/cwp/view.asp?a179Q101706earl
  y_childhoodNav3950
• Idaho, Carolyn Kiefer, Head Start Collaboration
  Director
• For more information see
  http//www.sde.state.id.us/SpecialEd/content/
  earl y.asp and http//idahostars.org/

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Questions Discussion

• Now that most States have ELGs, are they finding
  them useful?
• Are ELGs making a difference?
• What is required to successfully implement ELGs
  across diverse settings(i.e. CC, HS, EI, PreK
  and with diverse children?
• What policies and systems are necessary to
  support state-wide implementation?

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Closing Comments

• Carmen Bovell-Chester
• Senior Advisor for State Collaboration
• Head Start Bureau
• Norma S. Garza Senior Advisor for Early
  Childhood Education US Department of Education

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Selected Resources

• National Child Care Information Center
• Implementation Resources on the Web
  http//nccic.acf.hhs.gov/pubs/goodstart/elg-implem
  entres.html
• ELG Implementation Planning Tool     
• http//nccic.acf.hhs.gov/pubs/goodstart/index.htm
  l
• Decision Points and Options for Weaving ELGs in
  PD 
• http//nccic.acf.hhs.gov/pubs/goodstart/dpweavinge
  lg.html
• Selected Resources for Decision Points and
  Options
• http//nccic.acf.hhs.gov/pubs/goodstart/dpweavinge
  lg-res.html

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More Resources

• CCSSO ECEA SCASS
• www.ccsso.org/ECEAstandards
• www.ccsso.org/ECEAglossary
• www.ccsso.org/ECEAassessment
• INSIDE THE CONTENT The Breadth and Depth of
  Early Learning Standards Available
  at http//www.serve.org/_downloads/publications/in
  sidecontentfr.pdf
• NAECS/NAEYC Position Statement on Early Learning
  Standards
• Available at http//naeyc.org/about/positions/pdf/
  elstandardsstand.pdf
• Ladders of Learning Fighting Fade-Out by
  Advancing PK-3rd Grade Alignment
• Available at
• http//www.newamerica.net/ Download_D
  ocs/pdfs/Doc_File_ 2826_1.pdf

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Thank You
Contact Information Lori Connors-Tadros Nat
ional Child Care Information Center 10530
Rosehaven St., Suite 400 Fairfax, Virginia 22030
Phone [phone] Fax [phone] TTY
800-516-2242 E-mail lctadros_at_nccic.org Web
site http//nccic.acf.hhs.gov
Jana Martella CCSSO ECEA SCASS One Massachusetts
Ave., NW, Suite 700 Washington, DC 20001 Phone
202.-244-3352 E-mail janam_at_ccsso.org Web site
www.ccsso.org/earlychildhood