California Community Colleges

1. California Community Colleges

2. California Education System • Sets & establishes standards through legislation and Title 5 • Maintains standards through regional accreditation processes

3. We urge California Teacher Credentialing to afford young children the same promise offered to school age children by only allowing courses taking at regionally accredited institutions to count toward a California Child Development Permit.

4. The quality of education received by California’s youngest residents will be determined by your decision.

5. Community College Programs • Have a complete rigorous program review process • Have established Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) • Have developed Course and Program Outcomes and Assessment Cycles

6. Collaboration Among ECE programs • Curriculum Alignment Project • Higher Education Colloquium for Early Care & Education • Associate Degree for Transfer (AS-T) in development

7. CCC ECE Programs & CDE • ECE programs have worked with CDE on developing • the Infant/Toddler and Preschool Foundations • The Infant/Toddler and Preschool Frameworks AND • Are working to incorporate both into ECE/CD coursework

8. CDE and CCC EC Programs Also Have • Developed Early Childhood Educator Competencies that describe core knowledge, skills, and dispositions • A proven track record in birth to 5 teacher preparation

9. Higher Education Colloquium asserts • Degree programs at accredited college and /or universities are the essential core of effective professional practice • Highly qualified ECE professionals are those who hold academic degrees

10. Further…………. • California Early Learning Quality Improvement System Advisory Committee’s Final Report states • Staff education and training criteria…encompass..the following: • Formal education –credit bearing courses, including degrees and certificates

11. CCC ECE Programs Offer Courses • In a variety of formats • On campus • Off campus • Day time • Evening • Weekend • Accelerated • Distance Education

12. City College San FranciscoChild Development & Family Studies Department 09-10 • CREDIT STUDENTS 3,020 • NONCREDIT STUDENTS 2,214 • Unduplicated student count 5,084 • Course Sections • 185 credit • 104 noncredit

13. CCSF – CD & FS cont. • Child Development Permits processed through CCSF Early Childhood Professional Development Program 741 • Child Development Training Consortium (CDTC) Reimbursements to Students Employed in Licensed Facilities 274 • 100 unduplicated centers represented • 47 Family Child Care (FCC) providers/workers • (38 unduplicated FCC)

14. CCSF cont. • 1298 of the 3020 CDEV students in 2009-10 in credit had Board of Governors Grant (BOG) fee waivers • Financial aid only gives this designation to students who are low income

15. AND…………….. At CCSF • Between 500-600 CCSF students each semester indicate that they are interested in becoming a K-12 teacher

16. Also important to note (CCSF) • College courses are sustainable and can generate revenue from the CCCCO • Students that leave the field with an advanced degree can benefit when seeking a new career • Staff can mentor and provide direct support to the parents and children in their programs seeking college navigational assistance • In San Francisco, our the CDEV Dept. averages 5-6 new courses annually, reflecting an ability to meet changing demands and trends. Special needs, dual language acquisition, emotional and social child development, infant-toddler relationship care giving have been the foundation for newly introduced courses in the Department over the last two years in response to external demands.

17. Noteworthy at CCSF: • In our Department, courses are paired with ESL classes and 30 units annually are offered bi-lingually in Cantonese, Mandarin and Spanish. • Verification systems like transcripts and report cards are in place to ensure participation and individual reporting • Accommodations for learning differences are mandated. • Access throughout California to courses with uniform content standards is possible through credit-bearing coursework delivered in the community colleges

18. The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges • Supports and endorses the Curriculum Alignment Project (F 07 9.03) • Has several resolutions that call on the CDE to “rely primarily” on CD/ECE faculty in CCC on matters related to certificates, degrees, and training for the workforce (S 10 9.03)

19. An ECE Credential • Advisable to develop, especially with increased Transitional Kindergarten options • Strengthens the argument for only allowing WASC accredited college courses to apply to permit • Responds to increased student plans to work in K-12

20. Core courses are foundational to essential skill and knowledge and should be offered as unit-bearing courses at colleges/universities • To offer professional growth extensions,  agencies must have accreditation and accountability systems behind them related to rigorous teacher preparation

21. CCC ECE Faculty assert that • California Educational system has an accepted accreditation process • Private colleges could choose to participate in the same accreditation processes as CCC • Accreditation is California’s assurance that established educational standards are maintained • CCC ECE programs collaborate with 4-year institutions and with CDD

22. As a result, we must stay aware • Neuroscience and Cognition studies point to the importance of the first five years in building a foundation for all later learning. • Educating children in this period of childhood can either seriously compromise or strengthen whether children will achieve in elementary school. • The quality of education received by California’s youngest residents will be determined by your decision.