Our 2nd Annual Early Learning and Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Regional Meetings will support Local Education Agencies and early learning leaders in collaborating to create aligned strategic plans that meet requirements for all community partners and create an opportunity for meaningful coordination and collaboration.
Meetings will focus on three areas that 2018 attendees identified as priorities: family engagement, aligned professional development and transition into kindergarten. Attendees will identify a problem of practice to address, develop an action plan, and receive ongoing support as they develop their plans throughout 2019. Building a strong foundation for learning takes all of us working together. With its requirements to engage early learning stakeholders, ESSA provides an opportunity to engage community partners to support our children in fulfilling their potential.
It begins with aligning strategies. No matter where you sit, you create annual strategic plans to access funds.
- Local Education Agencies submit annual ESSA plans to the Department of Public Instruction and they are required to engage early learning leaders.
- Head Start Grantees create strategic plans with program and school readiness goals that are updated annually for continuous improvement.
- Smart Start Local Partnerships develop strategic plans in response to community needs and submit an Annual Submission of Activities to the North Carolina Partnership for Children.
- Community organizations develop strategic plans for approval by their Boards of Directors and for grants.
What would be possible if we aligned these plans and our work to create a system that builds a strong foundation of learning for all children in our communities? What would be possible if districts had support to collaborate across systems to focus on family engagement, professional development, and transitions? The Department of Public Instruction in partnership with the North Carolina Early Childhood Foundation and EducationCounsel is committed to doing just that.
SAVE THE DATE! We will be hosting four regional meetings, followed by ongoing technical assistance, to district teams throughout 2019. Registration information and meeting details will be forthcoming.
Greenville – February 11, 2019
Fayetteville – February 12, 2019
Asheville – February 14, 2019
Winston-Salem – February 15, 2019
Actions Needed
1) Determine which date and location is most convenient and save the date on your calendar.
2) Build your team. Teams need to include leaders from the following agencies/office. Please note contact lists for each are provided via the links below.
Teams are encouraged to include the following members. A maximum of two additional members may attend the regional meeting.
- Elementary Schools: Principal and/or Teacher
- Child Care: Administrator and/or Teacher
- Child Care Resource and Referral
- Exceptional Children
- McKinney Vento
- NC Pre-K Committee
- Family Engagement
- Community College System
- Community Organization Supporting Dual Language Learners
- Health System Professionals
- Existing Early Childhood Collaboratives (e.g., Campaign for Grade-Level Reading)
- Higher Education- University/College
We will be hosting introductory webinars the week of January 11th! Registration information will be forthcoming.
For more information, contact:
Carla Garrett | Karen McKnight, M.Ed. | Tracy Zimmerman |