Quarterly Meeting December 2, 2011

1. Quarterly MeetingDecember 2, 2011

2. Agenda • Welcome (10:00 AM – 10:10 AM) • Council Update (10:10 AM – 10:30 AM) • Invited Speakers (10:30 AM – 11:00 AM) • Open Speakers (11:00 – 11:30 AM or longer)

3. Council members Chairman: John W. Gasko Teaching and Mentoring Communities Michael Berry Office of the Governor LaShonda Y. Brown Texas Head Start State Collaboration Office Mary G. Capello Teaching and Mentoring Communities Deborah H. Cody Mount Pleasant Independent School District Gina S. Day Texas Education Agency Ana de Hoyos O’Connor San Antonio College Blanca Estela Enriquez Education Service Center – Region 19 Dorothy Goodman University of Texas – University Charter School Angela Hobbs-Lopez Texas Department of State Health Services Elsa Cardenas-Hagan University of Houston ReaganMiller Texas Workforce Commission Rhonda Paver Stepping Stone School BobbyOtt Killeen Independent School District Sasha Rasco • Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services Elaine Shiver Mental Health America of Texas Kim Wedel, Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services John Whitcamp Child Care Associates Quincy White City of Lubbock www.earlylearningtexas.org

4. Texas Early Learning Council Priorities • Workforce and Professional Development • Parental • Outreach • and • Communication The Texas Early Learning Council is an ARRA funded, Governor appointed Council whose goal is to improve school readiness in Texas through strategies in 4 key areas. • Improved School Readiness • Collaborations and Standards • Data and Quality Rating Improvement Systems

5. Texas Early Learning Council Priorities For more information on our strategies and projects please see the “Path to School Readiness” on our website or in our annual report on page 21.

6. Data and QRIS TOTS- The On-Track System: The goal of The On-Track System (TOTS) project was to create an integrated, comprehensive early childhood data collection system for Texas. The Council signed a contract with Deloitte to develop a strategic plan to achieve information sharing among the various early education data-collecting entities in Texas; conduct a stakeholder review; and design a framework for the new TOTS data system.

7. Data and QRIS

8. Data and QRIS Updates: • Our consultants finished the TOTS strategic plan • Critical feasibility issues were uncovered: • Lack of interagency data standards • Lack of interagency agreements for sharing data • Long-term sustainability concerns • Lacking the interagency authority to resolve these issues the Council voted limit the scope of TOTS to recommendations only • A recommendations report will be available by summer of 2012

9. Data and QRIS • Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) The Council will develop recommendations for a Quality Rating Improvement System for Texas

10. Data and QRIS Read the Council’s Paper on QRIS! www.earlylearningtexas.org/qris

11. Data and QRIS Updates: • An RFP for a Consultant to support the development of Texas QRIS Recommendations has been posted and will close on 12/7/2012. • The planned process for developing these recommendations includes bringing large groups of stakeholders together to inform Council ideas • If you are interested in participating please email Don Titcombe at Donald.A.Titcombe@uth.tmc.edu

12. Public Outreach and Communications • Statewide Needs Assessment: The needs assessment is the first ECE needs assessment in Texas in 40 years. The Council signed a contract with the Ray Marshall Center at UT-Austin and the Hobby Center for the Study of Texas at Rice University to conduct the needs assessment. The needs assessment will provide: a 40-year state population projection of Texas children; analyses of current supply of and projected demand for early childhood services; and, a survey of the quality of the early childhood services available to families.

13. Public Outreach and Communications • Updates: • The Council contracted with the Ray Marshall Center and The Hobby Center. • Deana Schexnayder will update us shortly on this project

14. Public Outreach and Communications • Texas Community Campaign for School Readiness: The Council is funding 4 Texas communities to implement a cutting-edge, population-based school readiness assessment tool, the Early Development Instrument (EDI).  In addition to the EDI, the Council will support each of the funded communities in developing and implementing a strategic change process based on the EDI results.  EDI is a comprehensive, community-level, measure of early development and school readiness for young children. It is the vision of the Council, that the selected communities will utilize the EDI data to inform the creation of long-term, sustainable, and responsive systems to better meet the needs of young children.  Therefore, the Council is seeking to support lead agencies that are committed to measuring and improving school readiness outcomes in their communities and to serving as catalysts for community change.

15. Public Outreach and Communications • Updates: • The Council formed a strong partnership with UCLA and United Way World Wide to make Texas a trend setter in ECE community planning

16. Public Outreach and Communications • Updates: • The Council contracted with 4 organizations/communities to participate: • United Way of Southern Cameron County for the Brownville community. • United Way of El Paso County for the El Paso community. • United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County for the San Antonio community. • North Texas Area United Way for the Wichita Falls community. • We have conducted a two day technical assistance conference with the communities • The communities will begin the EDI assessment in January

17. Collaborations and Standards • Infant and Toddler Early Learning Guidelines: The new Texas ITELG will improve the quality of care for infants and toddlers inside and outside the home by supporting and guiding more appropriate practices for early care and education professionals who work with our youngest children.  With clearly defined statements on what infants and toddlers should developmentally know and be able to do, the IT ELGs will support the healthy development of infants and toddlers because they will positively influence the design of professional development strategies, parent engagement, administrative planning, key materials, and curricula.

18. Collaborations and Standards • Updates: • In partnership with the Council, a 25 person stakeholder group has been working on developing new voluntary ITELG’s for Texas since the start of Summer 2011 • The group has created guiding principles, vision, and mission statements • The work of the Stakeholder Group is divided into three areas: • Public Knowledge and Engagement • Professional Development • Early Learning Guidelines • An RFP for a Technical writer for the ITELGs was posted in late October 2011 and closed on 11/28/2011 – a vendor will be selected soon. • Ideally the ITELGs will completely finished by end of summer 2012.

19. Collaborations and Standards • Texas ECE Standards Crosswalk Tool: The Council will create an online early care and education “crosswalk” tool. The “crosswalk” will allow early childhood stakeholders to readily investigate and compare competing sets of regulations and standards operating in Texas early care and education. The tool will be designed for multiple audiences (Parents, Providers, and Policymakers), and each audience will have the ability to query a database of program standards on key variables such as safety standards, staff qualifications, curriculum, etc.

20. Collaborations and Standards • Updates: • Staff has been working on cross walking all accreditation standards, state regulations, and Head Start standards. • Staff has also been investigating the feasibility of building the crosswalk tool as a widget that can be installed easily into any website, or perhaps utilized as an app. • The Crosswalk tool is on schedule to pilot in early spring

21. Collaborations and Standards • Beginning Education: Early Childcare At Home (BEECH): The Council is funding a major Family Home Child Care quality improvement project now being called Beginning Education: Early Childcare at Home (BEECH). It will result in a study that will incorporate technology and mentoring to improve the level of quality in home –based care

22. Collaborations and Standards • Updates: • Children’s Learning Institute has developed a 20 course online module and a mentoring and professional development strategy for the project • Dr. Susan Landry will update us on this project shortly

23. Collaborations and Standards Download our BEECH Paper at http://earlylearningtexas.org/BEECH

24. Workforce and Professional Development • Early Childhood Workforce Registry: The early childhood workforce registry will serve as key workforce support for ECE professionals.  This online project will be an interactive hub for all EC professionals.  It will store all professional development information and users will be able to share ECE workforce data across multiple categories with all types of populations. It will be a place were professionals can access training, locate employment, training, and education opportunities, and connect to various resources.

25. Workforce and Professional Development • Updates: • Our web developer is in the process of building this complex system • Design, logos, and look have all been finalized • The project should launch April 1, 2012 • The Council will pilot the registry in various Communities in 2013

26. Workforce and Professional Development • New Core Competencies for the ECE Workforce: This work will expand the current Core Knowledge and Skills Areas to Coaches and Mentors and enhance and expand the current sets for practitioners, administrators, and trainers. Core Competencies will inform professional development activities for Texas EC professionals.

27. Workforce and Professional Development • Updates: • April Crawford, Ph.D. has joined the staff of the Council and is heading up the Core Competencies effort • She has recently finished a draft of the Core Competencies for Practitioners which the Council is currently reviewing • All Competencies should be finished by Spring of 2012

28. Workforce and Professional Development • ECE Career Ladder: The Council will develop a career ladder for early care and education professionals. Also known as a career lattice or career pathway, career ladders define the relationship between education, work experience, and ongoing professional development for early childhood professionals, from entry-level staff to experienced professionals with advanced degrees. The goal of the tool is to provide early care and education professionals with clear paths of professional development and career planning. As early care and education professionals progress in their development, through formal education, trainings, and work experience, they will be able to chart their progress on the career ladder. 

29. Workforce and Professional Development • Updates: • A draft Career Ladder was developed and is review with the Council • Council members have decided to delay work on the Career Ladder until the Core Competencies are finished and approved • The Career Ladder will need to be completed before April 1, 2012

30. Workforce and Professional Development All of these workforce components will be part of the new Texas Early Childhood Professional Development System. Coming Soon!

31. Invited SpeakersDr. Susan Landry, Mary Riggs, Deanna Schexnayder, Scott Bodnar

32. Open Testimony