NEW MEXICO PRE – K INITIATIVE COLLABORATION WITH HEAD START

NEW MEXICO PRE-K FY 06 New Program – nonrecurring funding of $5 million for a 2-year pilot program Approximately 1,538 four year old children were served 20% of allocated funds to teacher development and higher education Focus on communities with schools in need of improvement (AYP and Title I)

PRE-K FY 06 (Continued) Early Learning Plan Drafted for Pre-K which includes Program Standards and Learning Outcomes for 4-year olds 30 programs funded during phase 1; 19 funded by CYFD and 11 school district programs funded by PED (Head Start Sites: 4 –CYFD and 3-PED) Collaborative between Children Youth and Families Department and Public Education Department

NEW MEXICO PRE-K FY 07 Pre-K Expansion – nonrecurring funding increase of $3 million; inclusive of $1.5 M to create a fund for Pre-K start-up and safety costs (Total - $8M) Approximately 572 additional children will be served (Total 2110 children)

HEAD START COLLABORATION Early Childhood Interagency Action Team (ECIAT) New Mexico’s Early Learning Plan Development - Pre-K Program Standards - Learning Outcomes for 4 to 5 year olds New Mexico’s Educational Readiness Framework Pre-K Assessment Task Force Policy Brief

EARLY CHILDHOOD ALLIANCE “A car needs all its parts to run…… So does an early childhood system.”

COLLABORATION ISSUES Increase capacity of new children; supplementing existing programs not encouraged. No real collaboration between local community based programs and public schools. Low Cost per Child Reimbursements Full Day versus Half Day Programming

COLLABORATION ISSUES (Continued) RFP process too technical for smaller tribal grantees and child care centers. Competition of 4 year old slots in small tribal communities. (Potential for future competition throughout NM communities) Worthy wages and benefits for preschool teachers.

COLLABORATION ISSUES (Continued) Recognizing and validating the existing high quality programs in New Mexico that have been providing Early Childhood Education for years. Teacher degree short timeframe and limited capacity of colleges. Supporting native language learning and culture. (Spanish and Tribal)

COLLABORATION ISSUES (Continued) Expanding the role and function of the Head Start Collaboration Office. More active involvement of the Migrant/Seasonal Program and Indian Head Start Grantees. Coordinated approach to funding communities from the state level.

A CHINESE FOLKTALE Retold by Yishan Lea “Forcing to Grow”