1 The Massachusetts Early Learning Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers

The Massachusetts Early Learning Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers Drafting the Guidelines: Research, Development, Review and Finalization 2

The Massachusetts Early Learning Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers: The Grant Award ARRA funded Grant awarded to MassAEYC & partners on March 22, 2010: Massachusetts Association for the Education of Young Children Marcia Farris Marie Enochty Institute for Education and Professional Development Jody Figuerido Linda Schumacher Marcella Simpson Marilyn Favreau Consulting Marilyn Favreau Quinisigamond Community College Meghan Martin Charlene Mara 3

The Early Learning Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers: Research Review of Infant and Toddler Guidelines from States that already have them: 0-33 Months: 0-5 Years: Maine New Hampshire Pennsylvania Virginia Michigan Tennessee Ohio Alabama Kentucky Indiana North Carolina Wisconsin Georgia Iowa Florida Kansas Mississippi Idaho Arkansas Oregon Louisiana Washington Nebraska Alaska North Dakota California 4

The Massachusetts Early Learning Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers: Consultation Consultation for Massachusetts was obtained through the Administration of Children and Families Region I Office Provided expertise, resources as well as perspective of other state guidelines Came to Massachusetts twice Consultation by phone as needed Communication through as needed 5

The Massachusetts Early Learning Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers: Consultation and Review Review DPH Early Intervention Competencies Head Start Performance Standards Early Learning Guidelines for Preschool Learning Experiences NAEYC Accreditation Standards for Infants and Toddlers EEC regulations for infants and toddlers WIC to obtain current information on feeding and nutrition for infants and toddlers 6

The Massachusetts Early Learning Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers: Meetings with National and State Experts 7 MassAEYC and EEC held meeting in April to gather initial input from Infant and Toddler Experts National Experts: Linda Gillespie, Gwen Morgan, Betty Bardige State Experts: DPH, Head Start, Head Start T&TA, Early Intervention, and others MassAEYC and EEC held weekly meetings by phone or in person and communicated by as needed

The Early Learning Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers: Review and Comment Phase Internal EEC staff including licensing staff gave comment 7 Focus groups across the state were jointly facilitated by MassAEYC and EEC Draft guidelines posted online with a survey from August 22 nd to September 21 st Over 350 people reviewed and commented on the Guidelines 8

The Early Learning Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers: Focus Groups 7 Focus groups across the state were jointly facilitated by MassAEYC and EEC including: MassAEYC family child care conference A focus group in Springfield for Spanish speaking family child care educators Over 260 educators were reached and gave comment Family child care educators Center based directors Infant and toddler educators Higher Education Early Intervention Head Start Other community organizations 9

The Early Learning Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers: Online Survey Survey posted online with guidelines from August 24 – September 25 th 6 demographic questions and 15 content questions Sample Question: The guidelines are responsive to children with differing abilities Agree Disagree Comment 10

The Early Learning Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers: Online Survey 75 people responded to the survey 11

The Early Learning Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers: Content Area Expansion Based on comments guidelines were expanded the content in the areas of: Dual language learners Supporting family culture Inclusion and Special needs Home visiting Integration between domains Partnerships with families Biting and Behavior Management Men as teachers 12

The Early Learning Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers: Issues from the Field The document is comprehensive, but educators may not use the document because it is voluminous The document is meant to be a resource to the field, but educators may see it as another requirement 13

The Early Learning Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers: Next Steps Incorporating Board Comments Resolving format issues Assuring final document is user friendly and companion to preschool guidelines Providing training to the field 14

The Early Learning Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers: Intent of Guidelines: Serve as a resource A common tool for discussion, dialogue and sharing between parents, early childhood professionals, and community members about reasonable expectations and practical strategies for all adults who care for and teach young children Contribute to a unified vision for early education and care Create a continuum of learning that links early care and development to later success in school and in life by aligning with the preschool guidelines, proposed common core standards, and K-12 academic standards and grade expectations 15

The Early Learning Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers: The Vote To achieve the desired alignment and support high quality early education and care, the Department of Early Education and Care recommends that the board approve the proposed Early Learning Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers 16