1. Educator and Provider Support Continuation Grant FY 2013

2. Educator and Provider Support (EPS)
Background:
In FY 2011, EEC combined three disparate initiatives that funded professional development of the ECE and OST workforce into a single Educator and Provider Support Grant.
The RFP funded 6 EPS Partnerships, one in each EEC region.
EPS Partnerships typically include: Regional Readiness Centers, IHEs, Non-Profits, CCR&Rs, Head Start, Public Schools, FCC Systems.
In FY 2011 the 6 grants totaled $3.2M.
In FY 2012 funding was reduced slightly to $3.17M
25% of grant funds for coaching and mentoring
33% of grant funds for competency development 2

3. Educator and Provider Support (EPS)
Investment
FY CAYL Institute supported grantees in building partnerships and transitioning to a new delivery system
FY 2012 – CAYL worked with each grantee on an Acceleration Plan to advance individual goals and address challenges
Region 1/Western: governance that engages the field and develops educators’ ownership of workforce goals.
Region 2/Central: a professional development pathway for 78 bilingual educators.
Region 3/Northeast: a framework for coaching and mentoring that defines and aligns services.
Region 4/Metro: increase visibility, relationships in the region, and outreach to specific populations.
Region 5/Southeast: strengthen, expand communication.
Region 6/Metro Boston: enhance regional capacity to serve ELL educators. 3 3

4. Educator and Provider Support (EPS)
A Unique Research Opportunity
FY UMass Boston studied the new delivery system for professional development from its inception.
Study’s recommendations help shape system development:
Governance: Continue to invest in building a sustainable regional infrastructure and to define regional authority and responsibility related to innovation.
Communication: Assure timely, accurate, reciprocal information flow between EEC and EPS partnerships. Assess outreach to priority, dual language, and FCC educators.
Professional Development Services and Alignment: Engage partnerships in initiatives on incentives and MOUs. Advance understanding of strategies for aligning professional development with QRIS.
Use of Data to Inform Regional Practice: Continue providing data to grantees. Increase evidence-based professional development and support regions in evaluating the effectiveness of services.
Complete study is available on EEC’s website. 4 4

5. Educator and Provider Support (EPS)
Purpose: To provide professional development that:
advances the professional growth (including degrees) of educators
enables providers (programs) to achieve accreditation and higher QRIS levels.
Leaders: Adapt statewide initiatives to meet regional and local needs.
3 Service Areas:
educator and provider planning
coaching and mentoring
competency development
Method of Delivery: Individual Professional Development Plans (IPDPs), coaching and consultation, and coursework (CEU or college credit).

6. Educator and Provider Support (EPS) Data Summary
EPS FY 2011
Completed an IPDP/program plan
Educators: 1,597
Programs:
Received coaching and mentoring
Educators: 1,203
Programs:
Participated in professional development
Educators: 6,433
EPS FY 2012 (First Quarter only)
Educators:
Programs:
Educators:
Programs:
Educators: 6 6

7. EPS Grants and RTTT/ELC
From the MA Application for the ELC Grant:
“Our six regional Educator Provider Support (EPS) grantees and the Readiness Centers serve as hubs for professional development and are the main access points through which early learning educators receive information about the whole education system and specifically the standards.”
“Our established regional structures, the Readiness Centers and Educator Provider Support (EPS) grantees are the lead entities responsible for providing technical assistance and training …”
The ELC Grant application maps next steps in building a comprehensive workforce development system in MA.
These next steps will be reflected in the FY 2013 continuation grant RFP to prepare a framework for future expansion. 7

8. EEC: Develop high quality offerings through broad initiatives or development of online training i.e. Literacy birth – 3rd grade, Preschool and Infant toddler guidelines, and QRIS. Responding to state objectives. .
EPS Grantee: Adapt broad initiatives to their region. Conduct outreach and distribute resources. Address local professional development needs.
Educators and Providers: Communicate individual and program needs utilize resources. Engage in continuous professional growth and continuous program improvement.
1. Ensuring high program quality by supporting continuous improvement of programs and educators through universal participation in the Massachusetts tiered Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS), including a validation of that system;
2. Continuing to support early learning and development standards through validation and alignment, as required by the tiered QRIS, and including the creation of English Language Learner development standards;
3. Creating the Massachusetts Early Learning and Development Assessment System (MELD), from birth to grade three, building off the tiered QRIS requirement for programmatic environmental assessments (Environment Rating Scales), adult-child interaction and child-focused screening and formative assessment; including expanding screening to children who are not in formal programs or may be involved in other state
agencies and measuring growth by developing a common measure for a Kindergarten Entry Assessment, that in its first year is slated to include 17,500 kindergarten students (26% of statewide enrollment) and an estimated 874 kindergarten teachers (29% of kindergarten teachers statewide);
4. Linking our statewide network of family engagement and community supports to evidence-based practices for literacy and universal child screening while expanding the availability of culturally and linguistically appropriate resources to families;
5. Ensuring early educators‘ competency through workforce knowledge, skills and practice-based supports through education, training, and incentives to promote effective practice and increase retention; including a focus on creating access to the system for educators whose home language is not English;
6. Enhancing data systems to better inform program practice and state decision-making through the Early Childhood Information System (ECIS); and
7. Linking and creating greater alignment, from birth to third grade, for schools and communities to promote healthy child development and sustain program effects through a strategy for communities, educators and families.

9. Proposed Changes to FY13 EPS Grant:
Overall Grant Requirements:
Initiatives and activities are clearly linked to QRIS.
Activities are labeled as Brain Building In Progress.
Intentional collaboration with regional Readiness Centers (academic advising and career counseling).
Clarify grantees’ role as “boundary spanners” who implementing state-wide initiatives at the regional and local levels.
For Massachusetts, ―High Needs Children‖ include those with sufficiently low household incomes, those in need of special education assistance, and other priority populations who qualify for federal and/or state aid. Under this definition, from FY07 and FY11 we increased opportunities for high needs children to access early learning development programs through American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and CCDF funds, increasing the numbers of available slots from 53,787 to 75,483; the number of children in Head Start/Early Head Start increased from 12,495 to 16,540; and the number of children served by Title I funds increased from to 10,076 in FY07 to 10,710. 9

10. Proposed Changes to FY13 EPS Grant:
Overall Grant Requirement:
Prioritize services for educators in programs serving “high needs” children and programs in QRIS.
Improve teacher quality by leveraging joint professional development across the mixed delivery system with other EEC grantees, school districts, ESE, EI, Readiness Centers, and others.
Continue work on regional acceleration plans.
Satisfaction survey of educators and providers.
For Massachusetts, ―High Needs Children‖ include those with sufficiently low household incomes, those in need of special education assistance, and other priority populations who qualify for federal and/or state aid. Under this definition, from FY07 and FY11 we increased opportunities for high needs children to access early learning development programs through American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and CCDF funds, increasing the numbers of available slots from 53,787 to 75,483; the number of children in Head Start/Early Head Start increased from 12,495 to 16,540; and the number of children served by Title I funds increased from to 10,076 in FY07 to 10,710. 10

11. Proposed Changes to FY13 EPS Grant
Educator and Provider Planning:
Broader consultation on local professional development needs and sharing opportunities with public schools, HS, EI, and others, in addition to CFCEs.
Incentives for educators to participate in coursework using MOUs and EEC’s career ladder.
EEC’s on-line courses offered on a regular and frequent basis:
Core Competencies-8 modules (also in Spanish)
Preschool Learning Guidelines-7 modules (also in Spanish)
Infant and Toddler Guidelines-6 modules
EEC Language and Literacy- 13 modules
NEW! QRIS course– 6 modules (will be in other languages)

12. Proposed Changes to FY13 EPS Grant
Educator and Provider Planning:
Publicize and facilitate access to opportunities beyond the grant like:
WGBH’s media platform
Children’s museums
Library resources
Promote anti-bias curricula and culturally and linguistically appropriate practices to
maintain and expand workforce diversity
increase competency in these areas.

13. Proposed Changes to FY13 EPS Grant:
Coaching and Mentoring
Support evidenced-based coaching and mentoring practice. Define qualifications, content, and duration of services.
Continue building incentives with MOUs:
Between educators and the programs that employ them on the mutual benefit of professional development
Train-the-trainer agreements to disseminate core knowledge and to imbed it in programs
Recognition of educators who are “peer leaders” by training staff in programs who are able to influence practice

14. Proposed Changes to FY13 EPS Grant:
Coaching and Mentoring
Intentional collaboration with new DHE Early Education and OST College Completion Specialist including degree completion for ELL educators.
Intentional collaboration with Regional Readiness Centers on academic advising and career counseling.

15. Proposed Changes to FY13 EPS Grant
Competency Development
social-emotional development,
English language development,
formative assessment and data use,
family engagement,
children with high needs,
STEM and
standards alignment:

16. Proposed Changes to FY13 EPS Grant
Competency Development: Examples
Online courses linked to professional learning communities (PLCs) though EPS grantees.
Promote anti-bias curricula, culturally and linguistically appropriate practices to maintain and expand workforce diversity and increase competency in these areas.
Promote English Language Development (ELD) Standards to be developed in FY 2013.
Provide formative assessment tools and training for QRIS (will be grant requirement for FY 2014; initial steps in the FY 2013 grant)
Increase the number of educators trained in family engagement (Strengthening Families) with CFCEs.
Offer online course on standards alignment (Infant/Toddler Guidelines, Preschool Guidelines, and MA Frameworks).

17. Educator and Provider Support (EPS) “Boundary Spanners” for EEC Investments
EPS Role in FY 2013
QRIS and Brain Building
Provide context for initiatives and activities
Assessment
Outreach, system building, resource access and distribution
Social-emotional
Increase number of trained educators
Early Literacy
Family Engagement
Anti-bias curricula
Awareness, increase workforce diversity and competency
Standards Alignment
System building across age groups
On-line courses
Offer professional learning communities
STEM
Increase capacity, resource access and distribution
English Language Development
Increase awareness and basic knowledge 17 17

18. Educator and Provider Support (EPS)
Anticipated RFP Timeline:
November 29, 2011: Presented to Planning and Evaluation Committee
December 13, 2011: Presented to EEC Board for discussion
January 10, 2012: Anticipated vote by EEC Board
February 2012:RFP issued
April – May 2012: Grants awarded
July 1, 2012: Grants go into effect
1. Ensuring high program quality by supporting continuous improvement of programs and educators through universal participation in the Massachusetts tiered Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS), including a validation of that system;
2. Continuing to support early learning and development standards through validation and alignment, as required by the tiered QRIS, and including the creation of English Language Learner development standards;
3. Creating the Massachusetts Early Learning and Development Assessment System (MELD), from birth to grade three, building off the tiered QRIS requirement for programmatic environmental assessments (Environment Rating Scales), adult-child interaction and child-focused screening and formative assessment; including expanding screening to children who are not in formal programs or may be involved in other state
agencies and measuring growth by developing a common measure for a Kindergarten Entry Assessment, that in its first year is slated to include 17,500 kindergarten students (26% of statewide enrollment) and an estimated 874 kindergarten teachers (29% of kindergarten teachers statewide);
4. Linking our statewide network of family engagement and community supports to evidence-based practices for literacy and universal child screening while expanding the availability of culturally and linguistically appropriate resources to families;
5. Ensuring early educators‘ competency through workforce knowledge, skills and practice-based supports through education, training, and incentives to promote effective practice and increase retention; including a focus on creating access to the system for educators whose home language is not English;
6. Enhancing data systems to better inform program practice and state decision-making through the Early Childhood Information System (ECIS); and
7. Linking and creating greater alignment, from birth to third grade, for schools and communities to promote healthy child development and sustain program effects through a strategy for communities, educators and families.