LINC Advisory Committee September 10, 2008

Group Breakout Session 1.Reflecting on the presentation, what state or district policies from other states might work in Illinois to build an aligned learning continuum? 2.What should be done that is not being done by state and districts in Illinois or nationally? 10:00 – 10:15 a.m.

Delphi Survey Round 1 Results Respondents n=16 Focus of work 8 - Early care and learning 2 - K Other Type of organization 2 - State or city agency 3 - Professional organizations 2 - Advocacy organizations 2 - Education agency 2 - Higher Education 1 - Legislator 3 - Other

Delphi Survey Round 1 Results Question 1: Definitions Learning Continuum –Spans birth to grade 3 –Learning environments include: family child care providers, private and public child care centers and public and private elementary schools –Alignment: building a coherent structure of standards, curricula, and assessments in which learning in one year expands on prior learning and is foundation for future learning –3 Principles: 1) parents and families are children’s first teachers, 2) “whole child” must be nurtured, 3) multiple dimensions of school readiness are equally important Is definition adequate for this project? Yes (n=13) No (n=3)

Delphi Survey Round 1 Results Suggested Modifications to the Definition (n=4): Expand learning environments in birth to five to include public schools. They operate 0-3 prevention programs, Pre-K at-risk programs, and Pre-K special education programs. Specify alignment of standards to the Illinois Early Learning Standards and the Illinois Kindergarten Learning Standards. Learning environments in formal early care and education settings includes: –License family child care providers –Privately funded child care providers (Head Start and or PFA) –Public schools –At primary grade level, learning environments include public and private elementary schools. At primary grade level, learning environments include public and private elementary schools. Include charter schools

Delphi Survey Round 1 Results Is there another term besides early learning continuum to describe this alignment? Birth to grade 3 (n=5) –Better describes the vision/goals of this project –Specifies the ages of the targeted group Early care and education system (n=2) –Qualifies “care” settings as learning environments Early learning continuum (birth to grade 3) (n=1) –Pro: Learning begins at birth, many people don’t understand that –Con: Early learning continuum may leave out child care PK-3 (n=1) –PK is more specific to 3 & 4 year-olds

Delphi Survey Round 1 Results School board members Superintendent Central office administrators (curriculum coordinator) Early childhood coordinator Principals and assistant principals Teachers Head Start administrators Preschool for All administrators Parents Family child care providers Early education directors and teachers Special education and student services personnel Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies Institutions of higher education ROEs Government organizations YMCA United Way Chamber of Commerce Health care professionals AARP (other retiree organizations) Business community Non-profit organizations Family support service workers Who are the educational leaders important to fostering a learning continuum in a community? (n=15)

Delphi Survey Round 1 Results Best practices based on research (developmentally appropriate curricular and assessment) “Other” educational leaders and their work Best practices in alignment and coordination Strengths and weaknesses of curricula Needs and strengths of their community Develop a shared vision of a learning continuum driven by goals/action plans and evaluated Child development (birth and beyond) Language development Family dynamics Early learning and K-12 Learning Standards LINC definition of learning continuum Recognize health care professional, early childhood teachers and directors, and family care providers are vital part of educational system Organizational theory/group dynamics Leadership applications in supervision and high quality professional development Knowledge of family and community partnerships and how to engage them to support alignment efforts Range of services available to support families What should education leaders know about developing and sustaining an early learning continuum? (n=15)

Delphi Survey Round 1 Results Model collaborations in which early learning and K-12, along with other community partners are working together to align the systems into a learning continuum: Springfield, IL Evanston Early Childhood Community Collaboration

Updates on Gap Analysis In development: Surveys –Elementary principals –Early childhood program directors –Professional development providers Interview protocols (model collaborations) –District representatives –Early Childhood Representatives

Key Messages What key insights do we take away from today’s meeting? What issues or topics should be presented in future meetings or included on the website? Next meeting: Wednesday, September 24, from 10 – 3 p.m. hosted by Representative Roger Eddy in Hutsonville, Illinois. More information coming soon.