May Workgroup Meeting Discourse Channel

05-25-2023 Meeting
41

LPCs in each county also conduct community needs assessments.

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Thank you for this. And your comment about there being only one adult in many FCC settings is so important. This is why we felt it was important to provide reflections on the systems – if this is all on the FCC providers, there will be little to no enrollment in FCC UPK programs.

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I definitely agree with Nancy on the importance of the partnership between preschool and elementary schools during transitions

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44

yes! Explicit language and strategies as part of the “family engagement” recommendations to help in the transition into the TK-12 system from the mixed delivery system that encompasses early care and education are KEY. Thank you for lifting that up Dr. Nancy Herota.

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45

LPC needs assessments in partnership with Head Start needs assessments are very valuable to establish greater comprehensiveness.

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46

A key piece that I felt was missing was the importance of ensuring communication with families in their preferred language. In addition, connections to home should include inviting families to bring their language and culture into the early learning setting, and communications around the benefits of bilingualism and home language development, including resources for how to support the home language at home.

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47

Jennifer Marroquin’s comments on “how” is very important because often when there are changes the response is “this is an unfunded mandate”

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In terms of the radio ads that were done in LA and Central Valley with limited response and desired results being attained, perhaps connecting with First 5 California on how they were able to get the “Talk Read Sing” marketing campaign to be so widely known and wildly successful.

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This is an important point that we didn’t address. Not a lot of research here, but the national Head Start evaluation found that families that felt that their culture was respected by the program were more likely to come back for the 2nd year of Head Start.

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50

Quality related to Family and Community Engagement: Regular communication with families; families should have a voice in their respective districts, create relationships between families and staff that support overall well-being of the child. Districts and families should be partners and have a common goal for children. In addition, I agree with Dr. Herota related to preschool and elementary transition. This transition should include partnerships with all care types to include Family Child Care, Charter Schools, Private and Faith-Based Centers and not just district lead preschools.

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51

I also agree with Jennifer’s comments about her concerns about paying parents to serve on the Advisory. As a former Head Start director, we did not pay parents to serve on the Head Start parent committee.

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As an LEA/COE, we have reimbursed Head Start parents to remove barriers so as to support their participation on parent policy councils and committees as supported by HSPPS. We provide reimbursement for child care, mileage (using the IRS rate), and lost wages.

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53

I agree 100% on all you states

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In the Family Engagement section, I also recommend that clarification be provided regarding the definition of “assistance with transportation.” This can potentially be misinterpreted as a program requirement to provide transportation. It is not feasible to provide transportation based on reimbursement rates for State Preschool.

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55

waiver of family fees for serving on parent advisory groups

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56

I 100% agree with you Dr. Herota. This was another section that I felt needed clarification.

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We need to compensate families for their time when we ask them to provide their expertise. As we discuss equity issues is important that we consider the inequities of asking families to do work without compensation, as well as, as how not receiving any sort of compensation for time might keep other families from being able to participate.

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58

I do not know if the CDE know the role that FCC plays in our communities especially in populated counties such as Santa Claracand LA county. Leaving them behind will be no Equity and no inclusion.

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59

To be clear, that is a reference to assistance with transportation to support parent and family engagement. It was not about transportation of children to the program.

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Love the presentations