NEW MEXICO PRE – K NEW MEXICO PRE – K INITIATIVEINITIATIVE

NEW MEXICO PRE – K NEW MEXICO PRE – K INITIATIVEINITIATIVE

COLLABORATION WITHCOLLABORATION WITHHEAD STARTHEAD START

NEW MEXICO PRE-KFY 06

• New Program – nonrecurring funding of $5 million for a 2-year pilot program

• Approximately 1,538 four year old children were served

• 20% of allocated funds to teacher development and higher education

• Focus on communities with schools in need of improvement (AYP and Title I)

PRE-K FY 06 (Continued)

• Early Learning Plan Drafted for Pre-K which includes Program Standards and Learning Outcomes for 4-year olds

• 30 programs funded during phase 1; 19 funded by CYFD and 11 school district programs funded by PED (Head Start Sites: 4 –CYFD and 3-PED)

• Collaborative between Children Youth and Families Department and Public Education Department

NEW MEXICO PRE-KFY 07

• Pre-K Expansion – nonrecurring funding increase of $3 million; inclusive of $1.5 M to create a fund for Pre-K start-up and safety costs (Total - $8M)

• Approximately 572 additional children will be served (Total 2110 children)

HEAD START COLLABORATION

• Early Childhood Interagency Action Team (ECIAT)

• New Mexico’s Early Learning Plan Development - Pre-K Program Standards - Learning Outcomes for 4 to 5 year olds

• New Mexico’s Educational Readiness Framework

• Pre-K Assessment Task Force Policy Brief

EARLY CHILDHOOD ALLIANCE

“A car needs all its parts to run……So does an early childhood system.”

COLLABORATION ISSUES

• Increase capacity of new children; supplementing existing programs not encouraged.

• No real collaboration between local community based programs and public schools.

• Low Cost per Child Reimbursements

• Full Day versus Half Day Programming

COLLABORATION ISSUES (Continued)

• RFP process too technical for smaller tribal grantees and child care centers.

• Competition of 4 year old slots in small tribal communities. (Potential for future competition throughout NM communities)

• Worthy wages and benefits for preschool teachers.

COLLABORATION ISSUES (Continued)

• Recognizing and validating the existing high quality programs in New Mexico that have been providing Early Childhood Education for years.

• Teacher degree short timeframe and limited capacity of colleges.

• Supporting native language learning and culture. (Spanish and Tribal)

COLLABORATION ISSUES (Continued)

• Expanding the role and function of the Head Start Collaboration Office.

• More active involvement of the Migrant/Seasonal Program and Indian Head Start Grantees.

• Coordinated approach to funding communities from the state level.

A CHINESE FOLKTALERetold by Yishan Lea

“Forcing to Grow”