I asked Andrew Turner, Wisconsin’s Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge (RTTT-ELC) Grant Manager, to provide a summary of progress on early learning system building so far in the 4-year grant. Here is a what he provided.
Enhancing Early Learning Systems
Public private: Working in consultation with early childhood coalitions and stakeholders statewide, the RTT team has developed preliminary proposals for taking the next step in incentivizing private investment through local coalitions. We are currently forming a work group to develop a more comprehensive plan to be implemented in 2014.
Tribal work: The majority of effort has been focused on building the networks and skill base necessary to align tribal and broader state efforts, including tribal listening sessions, and work with the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council.
Aligning YoungStar and 4K
Team members are reviewing state education statutes, other state models, DCF rules, and DCF policies and comparing them to current rules and requirements for 4K, 4K using community approaches, and YoungStar. This will build a foundation for upcoming work in years two through four.
Increasing Participation of High-Needs Families in Highly Rated YoungStar Programs
Our team is currently developing a targeted communication plan that focuses on nontraditional methods to reach target populations, particularly families with high-needs. Under this project we issued an RFP on May 30, 2013 to secure the expertise and talent we need to execute this communications plan.
Scholarships, Training and Bonuses
We have increased support for T.E.A.C.H. scholarships, providing an additional $1.5 million dollars this project year to support increased opportunities for credit based instruction and eliminate the need for a waiting list.
Training on Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards (WMELS)
Currently, the state team is actively working with key personnel from the Professional Development Initiative (PDI) and WMELS workgroups to create a framework consisting of common goals, assist reporting through a common PDI structure, and coordinating membership, workgroups, and events to assure consistency and reduce duplication. The project is sponsoring events and communities of practice where trainers can build skills and share best practices.
In social and emotional development, the project is including Pyramid model resources throughout other alignment and training activities, and funding a Pyramid implementation site in Milwaukee.
Family Engagement
Team members are contacting other states who have implemented media campaigns directed at hard to reach families to learn from their experiences. We are also conducting formative research and gathering input on hard to reach families in Wisconsin.
Building a Coherent Professional Development System
Our state team is deeply involved in designing a Professional Development Implementation Portfolio that describes and collects the components of the WI professional development system, the foundation of the system, and impacts made over the course of the project. This online system will work as a one-stop hub that collects and archives the “Wisconsin way” of doing professional development so that providers and trainers across the state have a unified resource center.
Enabling Data Driven Decisions
The Early Childhood Longitudinal Data System (ECLDS) has used first year resources to ramp up technical and management capacity. The departments themselves are building additional capacity and interconnectivity within their respective systems. In addition, the project currently has several of its major components in flight: data governance and working out a unique identifier tool across departments.
Dave Edie
