Quarterly Council Meeting and Public Testimony

Council Meeting – December 2, 2011

Quarterly Council Meeting and Public Testimony

December 2, 2011

Austin, Texas

Attendees

Council Members: LaShonda Brown, Mary Capello, Elsa Cardenas-Hagan, Deborah Cody, Gina Day, Ana De Hoyos O’Connor, Blanca Enriquez, Dottie Goodman, Angela Hobbs-Lopez, Reagan Miller, Bobby Ott, Sasha Rasco, Elaine Shiver, Kim Wedel, John Whitcamp, Quincy White

Guests: Susan Landry (CLI), Howard Morrison (TEA), Lizzette Reynolds (TEA)

Invited Testimony: Scott Bodnar (ACTIVE Life), Susan Landry (CLI), Mary Riggs (Texas HHSC), Deanna Schexnayder (UT-Austin)

Staff: Don Titcombe, Jennifer Lindley

I. Welcome

Presenter: Don Titcombe

II. Public Testimony

Presenter: LaShonda Brown, Don Titcombe

A. Update on the Council’s Initiatives

Staff updated the public meeting participants on the progress of the Council’s initiatives since the Council’s last public meeting. The Council also answered questions from the public on these initiatives.

1. Data and QRIS

a. The On-Track System (TOTS)

The Council’s consultant completed the TOTS Strategic Plan, available on our website, and organized nine planning sessions on the system with stakeholders. Given the critical feasibility issues outlined in the Strategic Plan, the Council voted to cancel the build phase of TOTS and write recommendations to the Governor. These recommendations are currently in development.

b. QRIS

The Council released a working paper on QRIS, Where Do We Go From Here? Designing a QRIS in Texas, available on our website. The Data and QRIS Subcommittee developed the vision for a Texas QRIS. The Council has an RFP to hire a consultant to write QRIS recommendations; submissions are due December 7, 2011.

2. Parental Outreach and Communications

a. Statewide Needs Assessment

The Council contracted with the Ray Marshall Center at UT-Austin and the Hobby Center for the Study of Texas at Rice University to complete the statewide ECE needs assessment, gap analysis of services, and population projections to 2050. This project will be completed in Spring 2012.

b. Texas Community Campaign for School Readiness (TCCSR)

The Council is funding 4 Texas communities to implement the EDI assessment to kindergarten students and then design community planning strategies to improve school readiness in their communities. Brownsville, El Paso, San Antonio, and Wichita Falls will begin the first round of assessments in Spring 2012.

3. Collaborations and Standards

a. Infant and Toddler Early Learning Guidelines (ITELG)

A 25-person stakeholder group is working with the Council to complete the ITELG. The Council recently released an RFP for a technical writer, but did not receive any submissions. The Council will soon decide on the progression of the project and the hire of a technical writer.

b. Early Childhood Standards Crosswalk Tool

The staff is developing the crosswalk tool and has added all the accreditation standards to the matrix. The tool is on schedule to pilot and launch in Spring 2012.

c. Beginning Education: Early Childcare at Home (BEECH) Project

The Council is funding a major research study on home-based child care to improve quality and school readiness for the children in home-based care. The two-year study will evaluate two groups of 90 providers in Harris County. The providers will receive mentoring, materials, and an online professional development training program, depending on their control group placement. The first group of 90 providers is currently completing the study. Download a paper on the BEECH project on our website.

4. Workforce and Professional Development

a. Early Childhood Workforce Registry

The new workforce registry is one element of the new Texas Early Childhood Professional Development System (TECPDS). The Council’s web developer is in the process of building this complex system. This project will launch in April 2012, and pilot across Texas in 2013.

b. New Core Competencies for the ECE Workforce

The Council is working with April Crawford, Ph.D. to develop the Core Competencies. The draft of the practitioner competencies is currently under review by the Council. All core competencies will be completed by Spring 2012.

c. Early Childhood Career Ladder

The career ladder was developed and is under review by the Council. The career ladder will not be finalized until the core competencies are completed. The career ladder will be completed before April 2012, the launch of TECPDS.

B. Invited Testimony

1. BEECH Project

Presenter: Susan Landry, Children’s Learning Institute

Dr. Landry updated the Council on the progress of the BEECH project. CLI recruited participants for the study in Harris County, developed the online training modules, and created an online professional development system with Texas PBS to host the training modules. The project is progressing well.

2. Texas Home Visiting Program

Presenter: Mary Riggs, Texas Health and Human Services Commission

Mary Riggs shared information about the Texas Home Visiting Program, a new initiative from Texas HHSC. One aspect of this initiative is an EDI assessment and community planning, like the Texas Community Campaign for School Readiness. After receiving a federal grant, Texas HHSC pre-selected 7 targeted communities for this program. An RFP to solicit lead agencies for this project was released in November 2011.

3. Statewide Early Childhood Needs Assessment

Presenter: Deanna Schexnayder, Ray Marshall Center, UT-Austin

The statewide needs assessment will be completed in Spring 2012.

4. ACTIVE Life

Presenter: Scott Bodnar, ACTIVE Life

The ACTIVE Life organization works with communities and school districts to implement healthy living strategies for children. The organization uses an online portal to share resources across communities and help schools support healthy living.

C. Public Testimony

(Text versions of the public testimony is available on our website: http://earlylearningtexas.org/umbraco/council-meeting-documents.aspx)