Implementing the Vision:

Strategies for Creating Lawful, High-Quality, and Cost-Effective Early Childhood Collaborations

Panel #3

Kathleen VillanoProject Director, ECDEC PFA

Presentation by

Description of Program/Background

• ECDEC is a joint application ISBE PFA grant of The Center: Resources for Teaching and Learning and CCSDs 15, 21, 23, 25, 26 & 57.

• FY13 enrollment will be approximately 1200 with over 40 languages spoken in homes of over 1000 students, over 90% FRL, and all identified as Priority One At Risk children and families.

Know Your Community – Every Neighborhood

Project Design: “The ECDEC program will provide a comprehensive developmental screening program identifying children ages 3-5 years old who are at risk of academic failure, and enroll those children identified in an educational program with a strong parent education/involvement component that will maximize their development and promote academic success through the primary grades.” (ECDEC Abstract from the FY86 ISBE Competitive Submission)

So what has changed since 1986? Where are your communities’ youngest learners and what do they bring to your schools that are the same or have changed since ISBE decided to commit resources and programming to the most at risk preschoolers and their families?

Setting the Stage for Success

• Know the requirements of any funding application and be ready to commit to those requirements – especially starting with basics like early childhood researched curriculum and assessment instruments.

• Be prepared to develop early childhood classroom environments that support best practices.

• Know what ECERS-R, CLASS and QRIS mean!

Hire the Best Staff You Can Find and Wrap Them in Professional Development!

ISBE has requirements, but this is just the starting point. Support additional endorsements, workshops and trainings, PLC time and team building.

Finally…..

Create systems to celebrate the successes! SIS and the ISLE will soon create the student’s learning path but what else will be important to your funders, your community, your legislators, and others who will want to share in your successes?

Presentation by

Maureen L. Hager, Ed.D.Former School Superintendent;

Adjunct Professor

Connect Early Childhood Providers with and within Your School Community

• Build relationships among all providers pre-k through grade 12

• Develop a directory for providers and public

• Identify gaps in service delivery

• Clarify expectations upon entrance to kindergarten

• Build understanding of the power of early fiscal investment and future savings

Identify Available Resources

What might a school district have in the way of resources to enhance program delivery?• Facilities• Staff development• Support functions in

– personnel (hiring, management, evaluation, certification)– payroll (incremental support)– policy (development, dissemination, maintenance)– relationships (state agencies, NAEYC accreditation) – administrative functions (oversight)

Support Curriculum Development and Experiences for Children

• Identify a common philosophy – Academic versus developmental versus balance

• Coordinate pre-k and kindergarten experiences

• Provide support for early identification of special needs

• Offer early parent education and family experiences in concert with pre-k providers

• Establish partnerships with health providers

Amy K. DickersonKathleen R. Hirsman

The “Legal Piece”:Legal Considerations in Creating Early Childhood Collaborations

Presentation by

Getting All the Moving Parts to Function Smoothly Together …

Written agreements define the scope and terms of the relationships between and among the stakeholders.

Intergovernmental AgreementsIllinois law provides express broad authority for local governmental bodies to enter into cooperative agreements.• These bodies include, among others, school districts, municipalities

(villages, cities, towns), park districts, community colleges, public library districts.

• They can join together to do what they can do separately, within the bounds of law.

• They can contract with individuals, associations and corporations in any manner not prohibited by law.

• They can use their revenues and other resources to pay costs related to intergovernmental activities.

Illinois Constitution, Article VII, Section 10Intergovernmental Cooperation Act, 5 ILCS 220/1 et seq.

Articulate Authority, Purpose, Goals, Oversight and Governance

• Mission statement

• Charter

• Constitutional, statutory, regulatory authority

• Policies and procedures

• Evaluation of program

Define the Scope of the Relationship

• Enter into written agreement– Facility use agreement– Lease agreement– Contract for services– Intergovernmental agreement

• Address utilization of resources– Space– Staff (e.g. teachers, support staff)– Transportation– Educational materials– Funding

Define Employee/Employer Relationships

• By whom will teachers and staff be employed?

• Collective bargaining obligations

• Division of labor between school district and organization

• Oversight and evaluation of staff

Determine What Federal and State Laws Apply and How to Comply

• Mandated child abuse and neglect reporting (ANCRA)

• Criminal background investigations

• Federal and state confidentiality laws (FERPA and ISSRA)

• IDEA ‘Child Find’ obligations

• ADA/Section 504 accessibility, accommodations, non-discrimination

Concluding Thoughts

• Set timeline for periodic review of programs and agreement(s)

• Update service delivery and agreement(s) as necessary to comply with new or amended laws

• Set clear and frequent lines of communication

Presentation by

Carolyn Newberry SchwartzExecutive Director,

Collaboration for Early Childhood

What Is the Collaboration for Early Childhood?

Public/Private Partnership initiated in 2002

Comprised of more than 60 active partners: Village, District 97, District 200, Township, Park District, Library, Concordia, Dominican University, Triton, health clinics, social service agencies, YMCA, Wonderworks Children’s Museum, child care centers, preschools, home providers

Driving Issue → Assuring that ALL Oak Park children have access to high quality early care and learning experiences

Funded by all six Oak Park jurisdictions, foundations, and individual donors.

Benchmarks for Success

Child Outcomes: Every child arrives at kindergarten safe, healthy, ready to succeed and eager to learn

Service Delivery Outcomes: Parents and children receive the early childhood care and education and parenting education and support services they need

System Outcomes: Oak Park has a high quality, coordinated early childhood system

Articulate Shared Purpose/Mission

Set a big table to include all agencies (public and private) and individuals engaged in early childhood programming, education, and advocacy

Connect purpose/mission to individual and organizational interests to develop a sense of interdependency

Work to understand and address different perspectives or conflicting viewpoints

Be vigilant about reducing barriers to information sharing

Value everyone’s purpose and role

Communication must be regular and intensive when collaborative work is first initiated

Consider using an outside facilitator for planning sessions and for annual meetings

Establish Success Early

Identify problem or need that participants feel strongly about

Address problem by identifying action/s that are fairly easy wins and foster relationship building

Be as clear as possible about what you plan to achieve,

resources needed, who is responsible for what

Regularly conduct a community scan and needs assessment, and use research to make case for change and inform work

Establish a Governance Structure that Promotes the Development of Strong Relationships and

a Perception of Fair Process

Define clear decision making processes that allow for meaningful input in program direction and accountability measures (It was important for us to create a structure that gave equal weight to the views of each partner - not allowing any one person or agency to dominate on the basis of their function/size/ budget.)

Financing issues require conversations amongst partners, especially regarding competition for funds; transparency is essential

Consider drafting an MOU around governance and fiscal issues(Collaboration incorporated within 18 months as a nonprofit)

Use contracts for services when money exchanges hands between agencies (private to private or public to private) or IGAs when between two or more public bodies

Developing a Strong Partnership is Iterative Work

Be intentional about identifying existing efforts and ways in which they complement each other and the collaboration’s work and develop shared understanding of each other’s roles and processes

Speak out publicly for partners’ work and ask partners to do the same

Foster commitment to the concept of shared benefit around raising the profile of the importance of early childhood to sustain partner engagement and overcome fear of losing something

Establish a calendar to review processes and collaborative projects, and to set direction

Entire public is your audience; different communications strategies are needed for each group