| Updates: What's New? | |
| New! Technical Assistance Professionals (coaches, mentors and consultants) | |
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Overview
The Early Childhood Workforce Systems Initiative’s purpose is to assist states in developing, enhancing, and implementing policies for an integrated early childhood professional development system for all early childhood education professionals working with and on behalf of young children. Integrated policies intentionally promote the building and support of an efficient cross-sector system that decreases duplication of efforts and increases accountability and sustainability. An integrated system helps develop and retain a competent and stable early childhood workforce—a skilled cadre of effective, diverse, and adequately compensated professionals.
An integrated system crosses sectors serving early education professionals working in direct and nondirect service roles. Such roles may be in Head Start; for-profit and not-for-profit child care programs in centers and homes; state prekindergarten programs in community-based and school-settings; public school programs; early intervention and special education services; resource and referral agencies; higher education institutions; state departments of education, licensing, health, and other early childhood education related departments.
Contact: Billie Young, Senior Early Childhood Workforce Systems Advisor, NAEYC at byoung@naeyc.org
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Data about the workforce, from the workforce and for the workforce
Day preceding NAEYC Institute for Professional Development in San Francisco
Saturday, June 8, 2013, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the San Francisco Hilton, Union Square
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Two of the most prominent topics in the 2012 Summit evaluations were technical assistance professionals and workforce data systems. In addressing those topics, NAEYC is co-sponsoring two projects affecting 35 states:
- Twenty state teams are participating in a learning table, Creating an Effective Technical Assistance System to Develop High Quality Early Learning Programs. This Learning Table is co-sponsored by the BUILD Initiative’s QRIS National Learning Network, NAEYC and the National Center for Children in Poverty. States were chosen through a competitive process, which was announced on the NAEYC website and through our affiliate network. State teams will participate in one on-site meeting and 7 webinars and are expected to complete readings and related assignments. Follow-up technical assistance is provided by the sponsoring team.
- Fifteen state teams have been selected through an application process ending in mid-March for an all-day meeting, Early Childhood Workforce Data Systems: Data about the workforce, from the workforce and for the workforce. Partners for the Early Childhood Workforce Data Meeting include the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment and the Early Childhood Data Collaborative. The meeting will be held on June 8, 2013, prior to the NAEYC Institute for Professional Development in San Francisco, California. To see the initial request for applications, click here.
In addition, NAEYC’s Early Childhood Workforce Systems Initiative is also able to provide technical assistance for states that are creating professional development system policy plans using the NAEYC Workforce Designs Policy Blueprint, and rapid response for policy and advocacy related to professional development and workforce systems.
We are grateful for the support for all of this work by the Alliance for Early Success, formerly known as the Birth to Five Policy Alliance.
Technical Assistance Professionals (coaches, mentors and consultants) New!
Strategic Directions: Technical Assistance Professionals in State Early Childhood Professional Development Systems
ECWSI's new public policy brief, released in August 2012, examines the growing field of professional coaches, mentors and consultants working with early childhood programs. The report offers states policy recommendations to strengthen their professional development systems in four key policy areas: a common terminology for the diversity of technical assistance professionals; standards along with competencies, qualifications and credentials aligned to these roles; career pathways, ongoing support and appropriate compensation; and data, evaluation and quality assurance.
Read the full report here.
View and print the Policy Advocacy Tool here.
For a version of the Policy Advocacy Tool that you can fill in with your own comments and data, click here.
- The importance of determining how we should integrate into our field's profession the emerging area of work done by early childhood technical assistance professionals (mentors, coaches, and consultants).
- Why it is important to use consistent terms to clarify these roles, what the core focus of their work is and the requirements to do it.
- The leadership implications for developing coaching programs.
August 2012 Webinar: Policies and Practices that Strengthen Technical Assistance
NAEYC hosted a webinar in collaboration with NCCP on August 8, 2pm EST to launch our new report on Technical Assistance Professionals. We provided an overview of:
- NAEYC’s new public policy report, Strategic Directions: Technical Assistance in State Early Childhood Professional Development Systems, and
- NCCP’s recent report, Coaching and Quality Assistance in Quality Rating Improvement Systems: Approaches Used by TA Providers to Improve Quality in Early Care and Education Programs and Home-based Settings
The webinar presentation is available here.
State Policy Blueprint
Workforce Designs: A Policy Blueprint for State Early Childhood Professional Development Systems
This blueprint focuses on the policies that connect professional development activities and that support and make possible an effective implementation of a state system of professional development. It highlights policy principles and essential policy areas that build or sustain an integrated system—a system that ensures quality in all settings in which early childhood professionals work. These principles and highlighted policy areas look beyond the status quo; they are aimed at the development and retention of a competent and stable early childhood workforce—a skilled cadre of effective, diverse, and adequately compensated professionals.
Click here to access the full report.
Click here to access the brief.
- Building an Early Childhood Professional Development System: an NGA Center for Best Practices Issue Brief, written in partnership with NAEYC and based on the NAEYC blueprint
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A Policy Framework for an Early Childhood Iowa Professional Development System: Early Childhood Iowa’s integrated system plan, a state adaptation of the NAEYC blueprint
- Workforce policy presentations framed by the NAEYC blueprint
Database of State Policies
The database of state policies is organized by the blueprint’s six essential policy areas of professional standards, career pathways, articulation, advisory structure, data and financing. The database also indicates whether or not state policies apply or address the blueprint’s four over-arching policy principles of integration; quality assurance; diversity, inclusion, and access; and compensation parity.
Click here to access the database.
Professional Development Definitions
Early Childhood Education Professional Development: Training and Technical Assistance Glossary, jointly developed by NAEYC and the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA).
Together, these two glossaries provide shared language for use across all forms of early childhood professional development: training, technical assistance and adult education. They include definitions of common terms used in the development, implementation and evaluation of professional development (PD) programs; in policy decisions and regulations; and in research and literature reviews. The glossaries are intended to support professional development activities and integrated PD systems.
The glossaries are intended to serve as a guide for states to adapt and adjust as needed to meet their specific needs in clarifying professional development roles and policies; assisting with determining and supporting the knowledge and capabilities of those providing professional development; and in data efforts to count and track all types of professional development. The definitions are also designed to provide common understandings, or starting points, for research and national or cross-state discussions.
Workforce Policy Web Seminars
The workforce policy seminars are designed for state policy makers, early education advocates, and program administrators working to connect professional development activities and initiatives into an integrated system.
August 2012 Policy Seminar
Please join us for a webinar in collaboration with NCCP on August 8, 2pm EST to launch our new report on Technical Assistance Professionals. We will be giving an overview of:
- NAEYC’s new public policy report, Strategic Directions: Technical Assistance in State Early Childhood Professional Development Systems, and
- NCCP’s recent report, Coaching and Quality Assistance in Quality Rating Improvement Systems: Approaches Used by TA Providers to Improve Quality in Early Care and Education Programs and Home-based Settings
May 2012 Policy Seminar
- Intersections of Implementation Science and Policy in Professional Development Systems, in coordination with Research Connections and the National Center on Child Care Professional Development Systems and Workforce Initiatives (PDW Center) (PDF / Webinar Recording)
May 2011 Policy Seminar
- Professional Development Systems: Approaching Integration, part of the Birth to Five Policy Alliance's Supporting State Advisory Councils initiative (PDF / audio recording: part 1, part 2)
February 2011 Policy Seminar
- Higher Education and the Early Childhood Workforce, part of the Birth to Five Policy Alliance's Supporting State Advisory Councils initiative (PDF / audio recording: part 1, part 2, part 3)
April 2010 Policy Seminar
- Focus on Workforce and QRIS: Research and Realities (PDF / Online Presentation)
October 2009 Policy Seminar
- Focus on Professional Development (PD) Specialists—professionals who provide/deliver PD, e.g., trainers, coaches, mentors, advisors, technical assistance providers, and consultants (PDF / Online Presentation)
Spring 2009 Seminar Series
This six-part series is organized by the essential policy areas as outlined in Workforce Designs: A Policy Blueprint for State Early Childhood Professional Development Systems.
#1 Focus on Advisory Structures (PDF / Online Presentation)
#2 Focus on Articulation (PDF)
#3 Focus on Data (PDF / Online Presentation)
#4 Focus on Professional Standards and Career Pathways (PDF / Online Presentation)
#5 Focus on Financing (PDF / Online Presentation)
#6 Focus on Workforce Development Systems and QRIS (PDF / Online Presentation)Click here for more details on this seminar series.
ECWSI Peer-to-Peer Exchange
The Early Childhood Workforce Systems Initiative Peer-to-Peer Exchange is an online community designed to facilitate peer-to-peer exchanges between state policy makers, early education advocates, and program administrators working to connect professional development policies that support an integrated early childhood professional development system.
Professional Development Summit: Biannual National Meeting of States
The PD Summit is an intensive day designed for state leaders working to build and enhance early childhood cross-sector systems integration with a focus on professional development and workforce system policies. The PD Summit includes interactive peer-to-peer discussions with a variety of national experts serving as resources to State Leadership Teams. Held every other year, the agenda is built upon the collective summary of the state goals.
2012 Professional Development Summit: 6th Annual National Meeting of States
Join us for this pre-session at NAEYC's 21st National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development on June 9, 2012 in Indianapolis, Indiana. For more information on the Institute visit: http://www.naeyc.org/institute/. Although, not required, attendees of the PD Summit are encouraged to also attend the Institute.
- The 2012 PD Summit Final Agenda is now available here
- Materials for Webinar on Intersections of Implementation Science and Policy in Professional Development Systems (May 30)
- More informatin about the 2012 PD Summit
- State Child Care lead agency,
- State Department of Education, and
- State Early Childhood Advisory Council (as applicable), and
- State Head Start Collaboration Office
State Leadership Team members may represent more than one required sector/role and may range in numbers from 3 to 10 members. Also, states are STRONGLY encouraged to include leadership representation from state AEYC affiliates, early intervention, special education, and higher education, as well as appropriate leaders of professional development focused on home visiting, infant & toddler, and school-age professionals.
Our model to deepen the experience at the PD Summit is for State Leadership Teams to meet in advance of the PD Summit and to reconnect after the PD Summit, including meeting with appropriate stakeholder groups. We will help provide over the phone facilitation for these meetings if requested.
The 2012 NAEYC PD Summit is made possible by the generous support of the Birth to Five Policy Alliance and the McCormick Foundation.
2011 Summit
More than 325 people attended the 2011 Summit, including 38 state leadership teams and more than 30 facilitators from national organizations and federal agencies. The event was held on Saturday, June 11, 2011 in Providence, Rhode Island--a preconference session at NAEYC's National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development. As with all of the professional development (PD) summits, the focus of the 2011 event was on state PD system policies that move towards systems integration.
Selected materials for the 2011 Summit
NAEYC thanks the Birth to Five Policy Alliance and the McCormick Foundation for their generous and continued support of this annual event.
The 2011 Summit was planned in partnership with:
- Center for the Study of Child Care Employment
- National Governors Association Center for Best Practices
- National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education
- National Association for Family Child Care
- National Child Care Information and Technical Assistance Center
- National Council of La Raza
- The National Registry Alliance
- Office of Child Care
- Office of Head Start
- US Department of Education.
2010 Summit
More than 300 participants, including 36 state leadership teams and expert facilitators from more than 20 national organizations, attended the 2010 National Summit: 4th Annual State Professional Development Leadership Team Work Day. The summit was held on June 5, 2010 in Phoenix, Arizona--a preconference session at NAEYC's 19th National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development. In addition to peer-to-peer discussions and state team meetings, the Summit featured plenary presentations and Q&A by Joan Lombardi, Deputy Assistant Secretary and Inter-Departmental Liaison for Early Childhood Development, Administration for Children and Families and Jacqueline Jones, Senior Advisor to the Secretary for Early Learning, Office of The Secretary, US Department of Education.
Selected materials from the 2010 Summit
2009 Summit
Leaders from 36 states joined national experts to collaborate and refine their work on implementing integrated state professional development systems at the 2009 National Summit: Third annual state professional development leadership team work day. The summit was a preconference session at NAEYC’s 18th National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development in Charlotte, North Carolina. Click here for the press release on the 2009 Summit.
Selected materials from the 2009 Summit
2008 Summit
Hundreds of leaders from 30 states and national experts participated in Linking sectors, advancing systems: Second annual state professional development leadership team work day pre-conference session at NAEYC’s 17th National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development in New Orleans, Louisiana. Click here for the press release on this state team work day.
Selected materials from the 2008 Summit
Related Links
NAEYC thanks the Birth to Five Policy Alliance, the McCormick Foundation, and Cornerstones for Kids for their generous support of the Early Childhood Workforce Systems Initiative.
