April UPK Mixed Delivery Workgroup Discourse Channel

04-27-2023 Meeting
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Are the salary comparisons inclusive of benefits (i.e. TK teacher earns $84,700 inclusive of benefits?)

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Resources for this session include:

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Thanks for elevating this grant program, Mei.

Applications for the UPK Mixed Delivery Planning Grant were due earlier this month on April 14.

The website Christian shared includes various resources including a webinar presentation slide deck.

Providers can also reach out to UPKMixedDeliveryGrant@cde.ca.gov to get connected with their local planning council coordinator who can get them involved in the local planning efforts.

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@anna_powell @yoonjeon

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Anna Powell and Yoonjeon Kim from the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment were so succinct and easy to follow presenters!!! Great information and clear opportunities for our state to implement and truly bring about change in the ECE workforce space.

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Great question. No, this is an estimate of wages only. The value of benefits would increase the amount substantially.

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There is a lot of background noise and it is very difficult to hear. Is there any way to mute everyone?

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Please feel free to email UPKMixedDeliveryGrant@cde.ca.gov to connect with CDE for more information about the program and to address any specific questions.

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Iā€™m a participant of our local UPK MDW. I think the problem is there are so many options parent donā€™t know the difference. Some will send their child to TK because schools offer it so parents see it as ā€œreal schoolā€ or because the parent has an older child at the elementary school and it would be one location to drop all children at.

I had a colleague ask me for the phone number for the free preschool. I had to ask her what she was referring to and all she knew was there was a free program for 4 year olds. She was trying to help a parent that called inquiring information. I had to explain the different options (CSPP, Head Start, TK). Since the parent didnā€™t qualify for Head Start, I suggested she contact her local elementary school for TK information. This highlighted how unclear this mixed delivery system is. Most information that is communicated is TK so parents donā€™t even hear about the benefits of Head Start, CSPP, CBOs, and FCCs.

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For linguistic and cultural appropriateness, there are measure tools that can be used and added to our existing quality measure framework, namely Quality Count California / Quality Rating Improvement System. For example, CLASS and ERS are included as quality measurement tools and others that can be added to improve and make our system more robust including, but are not limited to, Dual Language Learners Program Assessment, Multi-Lingual Learning Toolkit, Multicultural Principles for Early Childhood Leaders, Preschool Program Quality Assessment, Early Childhood Classroom Observation Measure, Assessment of Practices in Early Education Classrooms, Assessment Profile for Early Childhood Programs, Caregiver Interaction Scale, Student-Teacher Relationship Scale, and Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation - just to name a few that address how well ECE programs are doing in support and serving the needs of children and families who are from varying linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

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Good comments. We will get into measurement issues in depth in July

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Thank you Aaron. Yes, we are in the stage of creating the plan by June 30

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I wonder about expanding the AA to BA offerings at community colleges in counties that do not have local publicly funded universities that offer BA or credential programs. From my limited understanding undergraduate programs are not profitable to be offered off campus and there is very little incentive for universities to partner with community colleges to offer AA to BA programs. In my community teachers will need to commute to other counties to attend classes at a university in order to obtain a BA. Also, robust transition and transfer support is needed to help move teachers forward in their education instead of holding on to them at the community college level

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Just received this earlier today. It will create a greater wage divide between LEAs and CSPP/Head Start/CBO/FCC programs.

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Regarding the presentation from the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, it was very informative. I agree that salary and benefits are extremely important factors that need to be addressed especially as we look at equity and disparity. I do need to offer this feedback - I would not say that Title 5 programs (except perhaps during COVID) are ā€œguaranteedā€ funding; these programs actually have service earnings requirements related to daily enrollment and attendance with a variety of adjustment factors thereto.
I also want to add that apart from a bridge pathway for teachers/educators moving from preschool to transitional kindergarten (specifically, the early childhood specialist credential that is being developed and finalized by our stateā€™s commission on teacher credentialing and institutions of higher learning), there is no pathway for early education program administrators (i.e. Child Development Program Director permits) to move in to or transition (bridge) in to transitional kindergarten, or, better stated, the P-3 (ages birth to 8) program administration and oversight.

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I have experienced this same scenario with a parent that was interested in the Govenors free pr-k program. This family does not qualify for Head Start or State Preschool but had a hard time understanding that TK was the setting appropriate for their child to enroll in for next year. ā€œTransition Kindergartenā€ is a confusing term.

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As we think about teacher pathways I wonder what the state is considering for educators who already have P-3, or birth to grade 3 general education credentials from other states. I also wonder if there is consideration for an alternative pathway to credentialing that looks at the variety of ways that family child care providers access coursework, continuing education, and lifelong learning. There are highly qualified, highly educated and skilled early educators in our field who may not have followed a traditional educational path. Vermont has a Peer Review process for educators that have a bachelors degree in other areas, but extensive experience and coursework in early education. Educators put together a portfolio showcasing the variety of ways that they meet the educator licensing standards for a teaching credential with an early education endorsement/authorization. It honors the unique ways that early educators in the field have done everything they can to become highly effective early educators despite low salaries, diverse life experiences, and opportunities that were available to them along the way as a person who may not have had the privilege to access traditional university out of high school. Peer Review - Alternative Route to Licensure | Agency of Education

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@ajordan when the conversation started about the PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential, I attended a webinar of an organization that said they were creating a similar credential for administrators. I canā€™t recall the name of the organization but it may be in the works.

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Regarding the Title 5 comments: true, the system has more detail and complication to it ā€“ and likely the program stability and turnover could be further improved by simplifying it. Does the complicated formula related to enrollment and attendance benefit kids? Does it help keep high-quality teachers? Does it even save us money as a state, in the long run?

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The 21CSLA is offering free professional development for administrators and teacher leaders on the P-3 continuum, not sure if thatā€™s what you were referring to. https://21cslacenter.berkeley.edu/utk