Alignment. Quality. Access.
OECD leads the state's initiatives to create an integrated system of quality, early learning and development programs to help give all Illinois children a strong educational foundation before they begin kindergarten.
Learn more.
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Theresa Hawley
Executive Director |
Dear Early Learning Partner,
Can you believe that summer is almost over? Our newsletter should put you in the mood to get right back into the classroom. We will inspire you through the great example of some programs who are doing their best to include children with special needs in the classroom. We will update you on the status of the Child Care Assistance Program. We'll give you some pretty interesting updates about preschool spending - and we'll invite you to
"Like" us on Facebook! Enjoy, and best wishes as you return to school.
All the best,
Theresa
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ExceleRate Illinois Awards of Excellence Winners Named
The Governor's Office of Early Childhood Development is pleased to announce the first eight winners of the ExceleRate Illinois Award of Excellence in the area of Inclusion of Children with Special Needs. Once a program has achieved the Gold Circle of Quality designation in ExceleRate Illinois, it is eligible to begin work toward an Award of Excellence, celebrating research-based practices that help children succeed in school and life. In addition to the first round's area, there are four other award categories: Preschool Teaching & Learning, Infant & Toddler Services, Family & Community Engagement, and Linguistically & Culturally Appropriate Practices.
Program directors who received the Award of Excellence for Inclusion
of Children with Special Needs worked with staff at Early Choices (SASED) and consultants to train and prepare for the rigorousexpectations involved in achieving the award. Administrators and Teacher Leaders participated in a self-study with the Illinois Inclusion Guidelines Checklist and the Inclusive Classroom Profile. A qualified Advisory Panel reviewed programs' original applications and recommended the following eight programs, listed with their principals and leaders, as award winners:
Champaign Early Childhood Center (Champaign Unit 4) - Principal Amy Hayden
Stock School (Chicago Public Schools) - Principal Ann McNally
Carole Robertson Center for Learning, Ogden Site - CEO Cerathel Burnett & Vice President Tracy Young
Summerdale Early Childhood Center (Rockford Public Schools 205) - Early Childhood Director Kim Nelson & Principal Kristin Martin-Fry
Fairview Early Childhood Center (Rockford Public Schools 205) - Early Childhood Director Kim Nelson & Principal Darcy Dunn
Dennis Early Childhood Center (Rockford Public Schools 205) - Early Childhood Director Kim Nelson & Principal George Richardson
ECDEC PFA (Prospect Heights District 23) - ECDEC Project Director Kathy Villano & Principal Luke Lambatos
Urbana Early Childhood School (Urbana Unit 116) - Principal Cris Vowels
These early childhood programs are proud of their efforts to include children with special needs and their families in high-quality programs. Each program will be officially recognized at the Sharing a Vision Conference in Springfield on September 29, 2015. More information about the Awards of Excellence is available on the ExceleRate Illinois website.
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Head Start Proposes Major Rule Changes
On June 16, 2015, in Chicago, the Federal
Office of Head Start announced its Notice of Proposed Rule Making on Head Start Program Performance Standards. This proposed rule change is the first major overhaul of the Head Start Program Performance Standards since their creation in 1975.
Based on Head Start's Impact Study finding of various quality levels among Head Start programs, the Office of Head Start proposed a 146 page revision to update standards and better reflect the government's commitment to comprehensive, high-quality services for children in need throughout the country. If accepted, the proposed changes would...
Strengthen Program Quality: restructure education and child development requirements; increase the minimum program length; re-commit to a focus on comprehensive services; and increase data collection and analysis
Provide Local Flexibility: support community innovation by easing structural requirements when a particular community can prove its model better serves its population; allow more flexibility in delegating funds to sub-grantees
Improve Clarity and Transparency: reorganize overall regulations into four new sections: program governance, program operations, financial and administrative requirements, and federal administrative procedures; streamline administrative requirements to local programs by reducing requests for specific written plans.
 The Federal Office of Head Start believes these changes will improve program quality to keep pace with current research on the importance of early childhood development while also making administration and compliance easier for local communities. A Proposal Summary, Fact Sheet and the official proposed changes are available for download. For a federal perspective on the rules, read blog posts by Dr. Blanca Enriquez, Director of the Office of Head Start, on the impact of the rules on grantees, and by Linda Smith, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Early Childhood Development in the Department of Health and Human Services, on the impact of the rules on parents and citizens.
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MIECHV Implements Futures Without Violence
Research suggests that home visiting programs significantly impact the lives of survivors of violence. To meet the ongoing professional development needs of home visitors, particularly in the area of domestic violence, OECD is partnering with Futures Without Violence, the Ounce of Prevention Fund, and the Illinois Children's Mental Health Partnership to facilitate trainings on the second edition of the Healthy Moms, Happy Babies: Train the Trainer Curriculum on Domestic Violence. The curriculum seeks to prepare home visitors to have conversations about healthy relationships, rather than seeing a domestic violence screening as a checklist of symptoms. The curriculum includes trauma-informed training on the impact of personal and vicarious trauma for home visitors - allowing them to support their clients while preventing home visitor turnover due to burnout.
This new training will be available to any Illinois home visiting program. For more information, please contact the Ounce of Prevention Fund.
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West Aurora District #129
 West Aurora School District #129 staff and faculty proudly work collaboratively and strategically with parents and community members to ensure equity and opportunity for all learners. This approach involves a strong focus on early learning and a continual search for innovative ideas to better serve students and the community - ideas that Nick Baughman, Director of Elementary Teaching and Learning, says usually come from teamwork and creative problem-solving. This collaboration and teamwork drives the implementation of the Preschool Expansion Grant, whose new classrooms in Aurora will be modeled on the Preschool for All program in Aurora that earned an ExceleRate Illinois Gold Circle of Quality Award.
The District was one of the very first school districts to open classrooms through the Preschool Development Grant - Expansion Grant last spring. In 2014, West Aurora's enrollment was 12,500 students, with 301 in preschool programs. The District opened its doors to 40 new preschoolers this spring, with a plan to open eight more classrooms in the fall to serve an additional 200 preschoolers. While Baughman knows that implementing a new program and serving so many children will be challenging, he credits his dedicated, hard-working staff, as well as a strong support network through organizations like SPARK, state agencies, and community organizations. Baughman and West Aurora staff are excited to provide children who are at risk with a path that can improve their educational trajectory.
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Like us on Facebook!
We're ready to like, comment, share, and #hashtag! The Governor's Office of Early Childhood Development has joined Facebook. For frequent updates, like our page at
www.facebook.com/GOECD
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Illinois Values Preschool Funding
From 2013 to 2014, Illinois was one of nineteen states to increase per-child funding for State-funded preschool programs. Nationally, preschool funding increased by $120 million - an average of $61 per child. Enrollment also increased by 8,535 children nationally over the same time frame - representing 29% of four-year-olds and 4% of three-year-olds in the U.S. Illinois spent $3,164 per child in 2014 and enrolled 27% of its four-year-olds and 19% of its three year olds in high-quality state-funded programs. In fact, Illinois had the third highest rate of access for three year olds in the country, behind Washington, D.C. and Vermont. For more information, see the NIEER State of Preschool 2014.
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