Can the surveys be emailed out to the workgroup? The CET Page for the workforce is filling up with many links, and I don’t want to miss finding the surveys.
Here are the survey links. I will check on ability to email out.
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As we discuss how to eliminate barriers and more widely disseminate information to families, another source of support with making connections and sharing information is the recent UPK Mixed Delivery Workgroup grant that is being funded to Local Planning Councils/Resource and Referrals in each county. Primary responsibilities of the workgroup include focusing on sharing information with families, increasing inclusive options, supporting families with identifying options for full day care, etc. It is imperative to create a collaborative group to lead this work and support our families.
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How do we engage districts in considering the voices of families in multilingual anti-racist high-quality experiences for young children? How can the district think about the recruitment of para-educators and classroom support staff in addition to credentialed teachers to bring racial and cultural representation into classrooms?
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I was struck when watching the parent video by the importance of early learning in helping children develop socially and emotionally and in enhancing language development. One parent mentioned that her daughter has a speech delay and made great progress with her speech through her experience in her early learning setting. She also emphasized the wonderful relationships that her daughter developed with peers and with her teacher. Multiple parents also spoke of the importance of providing opportunities for children to explore their interests.
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I am reflecting on some of the barriers that our families who have children with special education services experience. We heard in the video about the length of time it can take for services to start. We heard from a family who was advocating for full day care, and at the same time, we have families who are also accessing outside therapies for their children and would prefer the opportunity to only attend 2 or 3 days a week, rather than 5. I was working with 2 families this morning who are being told they need to attend for 5 days or be dropped from enrollment. They are currently only attending 3 days a week because their child is enrolled in ABA services the other 2 days.
How can we ensure that our expectations, policies, regulations, practices, and funding mechanisms as a system are flexible enough so that families can access programming in a way that best meets the needs of their child and family. How can we more flexibly blend and braid our funding at a district level so that students can be served in community and not in silos by socio-economic or disability status. Work across funding streams and systems to create unified enrollment and placement practices so that there are not so many hoops for families to jump through. I am hopeful that we can figure this out as a system so that families don’t have to try and figure it out for themselves. Create a system that any door a family knocks on opens all of the opportunities available to them.
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As we discuss the importance of children having access to multiple languages, we need to consider about non-spoken languages as well (e.g. ASL, LSM, etc.). Just this morning, I had a mom asking where she can find programs that provide language access for their d/hh child. It’s a language issue as much as an access issue.
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I have heard of programs that have limited the enrollment of certain children due to perceived biases, due to special needs/behavior, and as mentioned in every workgroup meeting toilet training. The current parent appeals process to CDE/CDSS does not apply to families who applied to a CSPP/CCTR program but are verbally told they do not qualify or there is no space. The appeals process only applies once a program denies or approves applications on the 9600. What can parents do when they are discriminated against or do not agree with being denied service at the waitlist step of enrollment? What changes can be made to allow parents to raise concerns about the enrollment process when denied services before a 9600 is completed
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I appreciate what is stated herein; however, what also strikes me is the importance of accountability…there is something to be said about establishing policies to establish and/or improve systems…what often lacks is the practice aspect and how is implementation being monitored to ensure the intent of policies are achieved.
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LPCs and R&Rs have been charged with supporting the rollout of UPK through the UPK Mixed Delivery Planning Grant. One of the intents of this grant is to plan for increased access to quality care for all 3 and 4 year olds through collaboration with multiple educational partners. Hopefully this effort can help families have access to this type of information
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I also wrote down Paul’s quote regarding Hope and Action. I will use it and attribute it to him. It was a beautiful, empowering, and inspirational quote.
Is there any conversations between the bridge or connection between the private sector and public education? I know in public education we have teachers who focus on special education. But, it seems that is the only place where special needs can be served. There should be some conversations on how both public and private sector can work together to provide engaging experiences for the child and family.
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Absolutely this needs to be part of the discussion if we are truly going to have equitable access for all children.
The UPK Planning grant is open to apply now. While we are receiving great information each month here and having great dialogues here, I was wondering if there are planning grant info sessions for local applicants. Are there already some planning guidelines from the state, around what the system should or should not look like, because locally, they are trying to understand the state expectation for this grant application
There is also talk within my early learning community where some districts are referring children back to the district’s child development centers because the child is “not ready for TK” this limits parent choice as they choose what is best for their children. Children do not need to be ready for TK since TK is a part of Universal Pre-K and not an early kindergarten. Keeping language in the legislation that defines TK as the first year of a two-year kindergarten program. This opens the door to allowing TK to discriminate against 4-year-old children who are perceived to be not ready for TK. This especially harms children of color who cannot access programs due to these biases.
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ACCESS: Efforts will need to be made to ensure that programs are inclusive and welcoming. In addition, UPK programs need to be accessible to families, which might mean that programs should be made available in a variety of settings such as schools, family child care, private-faith-based centers, Head Start and CSPP sites.
QUALITY: Developmentally appropriate curriculum, including social-emotional development. We heard several parent on the panel say, that they wanted a place where their child could make friends, connections with their peers, and feel safe. Staff should have a deep understanding of child development and create learning environments that are engaging and developmentally appropriate. Adequate funding is necessary to provide high-quality and to retain teachers. To ensure access, equity and quality are being met sites will need extensive and ongoing evaluations to ensure programs are meeting goals and providing high-quality.
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Hello,
If you are referring to the UPK Mixed Delivery Planning Grant, there is a helpful presentation on the RFD webpage https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/fo/r2/upkmdpg22rfd.asp
We are now moving into the presentation and discussion of Workforce Qualifications and Models for Successful UPK Implementation by LPI, CSCCE, Start Early and MPI. The focus question for this session is:
- What considerations do we need to take into account to ensure we are designing quality and access to meet the needs of these populations?
Again, I would like to thank the presenters for uplifting the voices of California’s families. A theme that surfaced frequently from the parents as a key component of quality was access to bilingual programs and culturally and linguistically affirming practices for children and their families. In order to make this a reality, it is critical that we work to expand bilingual programs, recruit and retain bilingual teachers, and provide pre-service and ongoing training focused on supporting dual language learner children and families.
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Thank you so much for the link. Yes this guides the formatting of the application. Regarding the local UPK system, it looks like it is wide open at this point. For example, is the UPK delivery needs to take place only on LEA property?