An integrated professional development system helps to develop and retain a knowledgeable and skilled workforce of effective, diverse, and adequately compensated professionals. How are states pulling together fragmented activities and programs into comprehensive systems to support all early childhood professionals? Hear about related national trends and resources, and two specific state examples. State panelists from Connecticut and Iowa will highlight the role of ECAC in cross-sector and cross-systems approaches to planning and implementation, successes and lessons learned.
Speakers:
- Barbara Merrill, Executive Director, Iowa Association for the Education of Young Children and Program Manager, T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood (R) IOWA
- Tom Rendon, Iowa Head Start State Collaboration Office, Iowa Even Start State Coordinator, Iowa Department of Education
- Darlene Ragozzine, Executive Director, Connecticut Charts-A-Course
- Sarah LeMoine, Director of State Workforce Systems Policy, NAEYC
Resources:
- NAEYC’s Early Childhood Workforce Systems Initiative’s purpose is to assist states in developing, enhancing, and implementing policies for an integrated early childhood professional development system for all early childhood education professionals working with and on behalf of young children. The website resources include a state policy blueprint and guide, a database of example state policies, web seminars, and additional related resources.
- NAEYC’s Workforce Designs: A Policy Blueprint for State Early Childhood Professional Development Systems focuses on the policies that connect professional development activities and that support and make possible an effective implementation of a state system of professional development. It highlights policy principles and essential policy areas that build or sustain an integrated system—a system that ensures quality in all settings in which early childhood professionals work. These principles and highlighted policy areas look beyond the status quo; they are aimed at the development and retention of a competent and stable early childhood workforce—a skilled cadre of effective, diverse, and adequately compensated professionals.
- NAEYC’s State policy blueprint planning guide
- Building an Early Childhood Professional Development System: an NGA Center for Best Practices Issue Brief, written in partnership with NAEYC and based on the NAEYC blueprint.
- A Policy Framework for an Early Childhood Iowa Professional Development System: Early Childhood Iowa's integrated system plan, a state adaptation of the NAEYC blueprint.
- Connecticut Charts-A-Course, statewide professional development, program improvement and Registry system for early care and education.
|