State Leadership Planning Retreat Part II

Overview

On October 24th, Aspire and the Department of Early Education and Care hosted the second Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge Grant State Leadership Retreat. Building on the first retreat in May, the group further planned to advance collaboration in two key areas: shared professional development in child development and alignment of eligibility criteria and enrollment processes. We hosted keynote speakers Hiro Yoshikawa from the Center on the Developing Child at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Byron Garrett, Founder of the National Family Engagement Alliance. The group engaged in mobile polling to come to a consensus on priorities for actionable next steps. Click here for complete information and resources from the Retreat!

Resources

October 24th Retreat Part II Agenda here.
October 24th Retreat Part II Binder here.
Planning Brief 1: Cross-Agency Collaboration: Alignment of Eligibility Criteria Across Family Services here.
Planning Brief 2: Cross-Agency Collaboration: Shared Professional Development to Advance Child Development here.
Commissioner Sherri Killins PowerPoint Presentation here.
Keynote Speaker: Byron Garrett, National Family Engagement Network Presentation here.
Keynote Speaker: Hiro Yoshikawa, Harvard Graduate School of Education Presentation coming soon.
Group Survey Results here.

This information was created for the second installment of the Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge Grant State Leadership Retreat, Part II on October 24th, 2012 at Wheelock College. The initial Retreat took place on May 14th, 2012 and was a key step in accelerating the State's shared work in providing coordinated, integrated, and effective resources and services that support long-term positive outcomes for children and families throughout Massachusetts. At this meeting, participants reviewed the implementation goals and requirements of the grant, and were successful in identifying common principles and practices across agencies that are aligned with supporting the positive development of children. The group reviewed the use of states' early learning standards for child development and learning outcome goals and the role of state services to families and children to support children's growth. Finally, they identified key action steps to ensure ongoing cross-agency collaboration in advancing Massachusetts' Early Learning Plan.

Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge Grant

The RTT-ELC grant focuses on improving early learning and development programs for young children by supporting States' efforts to: (1) increase the number and percentage of low-income and disadvantaged children in each age group of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers who are enrolled in high-quality early learning programs; (2) design and implement an integrated system of high-quality early learning programs and services; and (3) ensure that any use of assessments conforms with the recommendations of the National Research Council's reports on early childhood.To read more about Race to the Top, click here. 

If you would like any more information about the Retreat, please email smireku@wheelock.edu.

Connection. Innovation. Optimism