At a time when we’re envisioning and planning for what California’s UPK system will be, we might look at the myriad standards of quality available (Title 5, Head Start, QRIS, accreditation (e.g. NAEYC), parent/teacher perspectives on quality, etc.) and then identify the pieces that are most salient to apply going forward. A huge task!
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Perhaps in communication information letting parents know their rights to access school. Since potty training is continuously elevated maybe parents need to know that they cannot be turned away because their child isn’t fully potty trained yet.
Important consideration; however, I would encourage us to recognize the social constructs by which some of these systems use to determine standards and where there is misalignment with culturally affirming and responsive practices. This is where I think there is great value in considering asset framing as an equitable approach for improving our system.
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It is great that we have all the different program options for families. However each type of program may be better option than another, depending on the family need. This is why we have the R&R system. However, even with the existing system, things are still confusing for families and programs. Right now the data and tech is developing so rapidly. It probably is a good time for the use of technology, a data system that connect the entire state enrollment. Using the system, we can look at the family and tell what program options may serve better, and process their application accordingly, considering needs, location, income, etc…This may also be a possible solution to “match” programs/centers with families, so that programs/families don’t keep missing each other. Not sure how big a task this is though
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I think this can be done via a crosswalk to see where there are similarities instead of reinventing the wheel. I would like to add we also need to look at teacher standards. How many utilize the CA Early Childhood Educator Competencies? Are LEAs planning to incorporate this into their teacher standards for PK and TK? Same for standards. Will LEAs use their own or look to the Learning Foundations? There’s already a crosswalk between Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework and Preschool Learning Foundations.
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that is essentially what the CEL was…it determined eligibility and for what programs families were eligible for
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We are now moving into the presentation on: Current Quality Standards across settings and practice from LPI, EveryChild CA, Start Early, CDSS, and CDE
Hi all, I’m just now able use Discourse. I think it is important that we add " cultural connections" as a very specific quality indicator and describe what this looks like in practice. Families do not access what does look like or feel like to them. We have culturally harming early learning settings that disaffirms who young children are in their skin. We must have abolitionist and disruptive like approaches that Dr. Betina Love speaks of to transform and overhaul early care and learning settings to truly be culturally affirming. There are identified tools/frameworks we can lift up and examine in this workgroup space if interested. One document is the is the 4Es to Black Family Engagement authored by Dr. Iheoma Iruka.
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“Abolitionist and disruptive like approaches”…I love it!
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Re: iIDEA/inclusion…would like for us to have a deeper dive on what is meant by LRE. It means something different for d/hh children that is not often addressed
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A component of Head Start is its robust Family Engagement personnel. Family engagement staff are hired with qualifications to work with families. In CSPP/TK and Private Programs, there are limited resources to support such a position. Is there funding through community school grants to support LEA preschools, are there other funding sources that can support this role with non-lea CSPP and private programs? What additional funding sources can programs access to support family engagement staff?
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TK should not use a modified kindergarten curriculum for four-year-olds . Again we are moving away from TK being a modified Kindergarten
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regarding assessments: California has been a leader in mandating certain assessments for all d/hh children (see SB210). These are to be reported to families and discussed at every IFSP/IEP mtg
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I had some questions for serving Children with disabilities. Will the programs serving children with disabilities have a trained and certificated educator in the classroom? I want to make sure that the educator is specifically trained in dealing with special needs. Also, ratio for children and adults with special needs should be small and not same as neuro-typical peers.
As was just shared, TK uses a modified kindergarten curriculum that is age and developmentally aligned to Preschool Learning Foundations. This is where the first problem lies. TK is looked at as a watered down kindergarten program (as evident by its definition) but it is actually a preschool program. We cannot say TK is part of UPK when it is defined as a kindergarten program. Kindergarten and preschool are not the same. I believe the state is using this definition so it can be part of the K-5 umbrella rather than the child development system. It is their approach to improve enrollment since K-5 enrollment is declining.
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When we deal with special needs it is imperative to look at caseload or workload and not ratio’s or class size.
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TK max class size is 24. This is what I was talking about earlier about sticking to low class sizes and ratios. Even with 2 teachers in the classroom, the ratio is 1:12 but 24 children in the classroom is too many. This is evident of Kindergarten class sizes (which is also too many). If you look at other preschool models, the max number of children in the classroom is 20. If the state wants TK to truly mirror a preschool program, the max number of children needs to be decreased.
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Head Start also has developmental services support positions to help classrooms serving children with disabilities or suspected delays have successful experiences in the Head Start program, and with navigating the IEP process for children and families. Head Start funding supports this, what funding can CSPP/TK / Private Pay leverage for this type of support? Is this something that can be embedded in quality counts regional hub through coaching? How can we get these resources to the mixed delivery system?
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It should be noted that while the requirement for Head Start teachers is a CDA, the Secretary of HHS has been tasked with ensuring at least 50% of teachers nationwide have a Bachelors.
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The fact that most programs hire CSPP teachers above minimum qualifications needs to be uplifted more often, especially in response to perceptions that advanced degrees and credentials suggest better teaching quality. Many teachers also have master degrees which should be considered as equivalencies to credentials, especially when we know they are in specialized fields such as education with child development specialties or early learning.
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