1. April 29, 2010 1 Status of California’s Quality Rating and Improvement System Local Planning Councils CAEL QIS Public Comment Forum Dennis Vicars, Design Subcommittee Chair Dave Gordon, Workforce Subcommittee Chair May 24, 2010

2. April 29, 2010 2 Agenda Overview of the CAEL QIS Advisory Committee and Subcommittees Five Quality Elements and CAEL QIS Decisions to date Next Steps for CAEL QIS and ELAC

3. April 29, 2010 3 CAEL QIS Authorized through SB 1629 – Steinberg 2008 Purpose Improve outcomes for children and reduce California’s school readiness gap by improving the quality of our early learning and care programs Intended for all children including: * dual language learners * children with disabilities and other special needs

4. April 29, 2010 4 CAEL QIS Advisory Charged with: Assessment and analysis of existing ECE infrastructure Development of early learning quality rating scale for birth to 5 programs Development of a funding model aligned with the quality rating scale Make recommendations on local, state, federal, and private resources

5. April 29, 2010 5 Advisory Committee Members Gavin Payne, Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction Bonnie Reiss, Secretary of Education Dave Gordon, Superintendent, Sacramento County Office Joan Buchanan, Assembly Member Jeannie Oropeza, Dept. of Finance Venus Garth, Social Services Kris Perry, First 5 California Celia Ayala, Los Angeles Universal Preschool Dennis Vicars, Human Management Corporation Cliff Marcussen, Options Consuelo Espinoza, West Ed Yolie Flores, Los Angeles Unified School District Toby Boyd, Elk Grove Unified School District 5

6. April 29, 2010 6 Subcommittees Design ideas for licensing, quality rating, and improvement systems Workforce and professional development and quality incentives Family involvement and stakeholder engagement and advocacy Finance and incentives, including funding model Data systems for program improvement and research

7. April 29, 2010 7 Purpose of Subcommittees Subcommittees are included in the enabling legislation (SB 1629-2009). They are intended to be a major strategy for public input and vetting of early learning quality improvement system options. Broad outreach is encouraged. Advisory Committee will receive Subcommittee recommendations and issues for consideration and discussion; not as a requirement for approval. Subcommittees are open to all interested participants who are responsible for accessing available information from previous meetings.

8. April 29, 2010 8 Decisions by CAEL QIS Advisory Committee Emphasize quality components in rating system that show stronger links to child outcomes (e.g., process components) Aim for fewer rather than more components Include licensing in entry tier but may require revised licensing standards Consider independent assessment for higher rating levels Pilot and further evaluate components viewed as important but with limited research Experiment in pilot phase with alternative cut points for measures

9. April 29, 2010 9 Advisory Committee Decisions (continued, 2 of 7) California’s QRS will include the following factors:  Be based on a block system – each tier building on the previous tier  Include up to five tiers with an entry level based on Title 22 and moving to aspirational and attainable criteria for Tier 5  Include licensed center-based programs and licensed family child care homes using consistent criteria for all programs  Study ways to include license-exempt providers in QRS

10. April 29, 2010 10 Advisory Committee Decisions (continued, 3 of 7) California’s QRS will include the following factors:  Cultural and language competence will be integrated into all quality elements with special emphasis on family involvement, staff education and training, and teaching and learning  Inclusion of children with special needs will be integrated into all quality elements with special emphasis on family involvement, staff education and training, and teaching and learning  Nutrition, health and physical activity need to be included in QRIS  Definition of cultural and language competence to be based on Early Childhood Educator Competencies.

11. April 29, 2010 11 Advisory Committee Decisions (continued, 4 of 7) Quality Rating Structure will include the following process:  California’s QRIS sets quality elements and tiers  Third party accreditation and validated performance reviews will be used in conjunction with tiers but not incorporated into tiers:  Agencies are encouraged to map their quality criteria to California’s QRIS  Reciprocity with part, or all, of California’s QRIS will be considered with time-limited MOUs; related costs to be paid by agency requesting reciprocity.

12. April 29, 2010 12 Advisory Committee Decisions (continued, 5 of 7) California’s QRIS will include the following factors:  TA assists with achieving and maintaining the quality improvement plan that is prepared when a program goes through the QRIS process  TA is comprised on both internal and external resources, and TA resources identified locally and regionally  Support needs to be greater for entry level programs  TA is available for all programs, and resources for exempt care providers may include preparation for licensing  TA is done by different groups than assessment and rating to avoid conflicts of interest

13. April 29, 2010 13 Advisory Committee Decisions (continued, 6 of 7) The QRIS elements include:  Ratio and Group Size  Teaching and Learning Alignment with Infant-Toddler and Preschool curriculum frameworks and foundations ECERS for Tiers 1-5 with the use of CLASS/PARS for Tiers 4-5 in alternating rating periods  Program Leadership Including administrative policies and procedures, leadership development, staff compensation, support for professional development, and program evaluation  Family Involvement Strategies that are appropriate to different program settings and California’s cultural and language groups.  Staff education and on-going professional development

14. April 29, 2010 14 Work in Progress: 5 Proposed Elements for California’s QRIS Tier 1Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 4Tier 5 Family Involvement Inform ParentsEducate Parents Involve Parents Engage Parents Partner and Advocate with parents Ratio-Group Size: Infant: Toddler: Preschool: FCCH: Title 22 4:1 and 12 12:1 and 24 4:1 and 12 6:1 and 12 12:1 and 24 3:1 and 12 Or 4:1 and 8 4:1 and 12 8:1 and 24 or 10:1 and 20 3:1 and 12 Or 4:1 and 8 4:1 and 16 8:1 and 24 or 10:1 and 20 3:1 and 9 4:1 and 12 8:1 and 12 or 10:1 and 20 Staff Education and Training Final descriptors for Tiers to be completed by Workforce Subcommittee. Teaching and Learning: 1. ERS + teacher-child interaction 2. Alignment to Foundations & Frameworks Facilitated Self- Assessment No req. score Awareness Facilitated Peer- Assessment Exploring Integration Independent Assessment ERS 4.0 + CLASS/PARS Developing Competency in Integration Independent Assessment ERS 5.0 + CLASS/PARS Building Competency in Integration Independent Assessment ERS 6.0 + CLASS/PARS Full Integration Program Leadership Final Descriptors for Tiers to be completed by Design Subcommittee Workgroup on Program Leadership

15. April 29, 2010 15 Advisory Committee Decisions (continued, 7 of 7) Subcommittees were directed to: provide options to align tiers, identify measures and tools, estimate costs and revenue sources, and develop a partnership with public and private entities to create a single assessment tool that measures the quality of teacher/child interactions and the environment

16. April 29, 2010 16 Work in Progress: California’s QRIS Select few items to measure. Use these as proxies for many important quality criteria. Assure TA and Training on all quality criteria – not just what is measured. Focus new and current resources on TA and Training to improve quality. Minimize costs for measuring QRIS. Establish evaluation and research process to periodically check that QRIS elements are related to outcomes for children 0-5. Commit to continuous improvement of QRIS.

17. April 29, 2010 17 Next Steps for CAEL QIS Final Report due to Governor and Legislature in December 2010 Continuation and expansion of CAEL QIS work with ELAC (Early Learning Advisory Council) established with Governor’s order on 11/09 Build on CAEL QIS members and add 5 new members Application for federal funds for ELAC due 8/1/10 ELAC makes us eligible for Early Learning Challenge Grants and other federal resources Initial ELAC meeting dates are May 4, June 2, and July 13

18. April 29, 2010 18 CAEL QIS and ELAC Webpage – CDE www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/re/sb1629com mittee.asp www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/re/sb1629com mittee.asp Questions?