What  is  the  best  purpose  for  VECF?  

What  outcomes  do  we  an9cipate  and  want?  How  can  these  best  be  achieved,  measured  and  communicated?  

What  is  our  rela9onship  with  Smart  Beginnings  coali9ons?  What  value  does  VECF  bring  for  coali9ons  at  various  stages?  How  do  we  want  coali9ons  to  view  VECF?    What  is  our  formula  for  grantmaking  and  technical  assistance?  

What  should  the  next  phase  of  VECF’s  evolu9on  look  like?  What  do  we  want  to  be  when  we  grow  up?    

Every  Virginia  child  is  prepared  for  school,  laying  the  founda9on  for  workforce  and  life  success.  

Virginia  Early  Childhood  Founda9on  is  the  non-­‐par9san  steward  and  capacity-­‐builder  for        

in  the  Commonwealth.  

advancing  school  readiness

STRATEGIES

Focus  Partnerships  Results    

VECF  will  spearhead  Virginia’s  roadmap  to  school  readiness  to    §   inform  policy  and  budget  decisions,    

§   provide  research-­‐based  exper9se,  and  §   nurture  innova9on  

VECF  will  develop  &  promote  a  business  plan  for  school  readiness.  VECF  will  regularly  assert  and  rank  priori9es  for  investment.    

VECF  will  engage  state  advocates  to  be  informed  by  their  experiences  yet  preserve  objec9ve  perspec9ve  for  the  vision.      

VECF  will  drive  research  and  resources  to  help  local  coali9ons  implement  evidence-­‐based  prac9ces,  uniform  data  collec9on,  and  evalua9on.  VECF  will  convene  a  research/academic  advisory  team.  VECF  will  conduct/sponsor  research  as  needed  and  report  findings.      

VECF  will  serve  as  venture  capitalist  for  EC,  using  local  coali9ons  as  incubators  of  innova9on.      

VECF  will  forge  public  and  private  partnerships  that:  §   build  capacity  for  increasing  school  readiness            at  the  state  and  local  levels  §   harness  best  prac9ces  §   maximize  resources  and  gain  efficiencies  §   secure  outcomes-­‐driven  investments.

VECF  will  invest  in,  support  and  cul9vate  statewide  partnership  of  coali9ons  focused  on  innova9on,  efficiencies,  and  results.  

VECF  will  provide  financial  resources,  technical  assistance,  and  peer  learning  to  build  community  capacity  for  promo9ng  school  readiness.  

VECF  will  cul9vate  new  private  investors  and  leverage  public  investments.  

 

 

VECF  will  build  support  for  early  childhood  investment  by  using  poli9cal  assets  strategically  to  accomplish  specific  goals.  

 

 

Grassroots  Strategy  Coordinate  SB  network’s  cul9va9on  of  legislators:    -­‐  show  beacons  of  hope                          -­‐  expand  base  of  business          champions    -­‐  unify  consistent  message    -­‐  translate  messages  for        different  audiences        

Grasstops  Strategy  Cul9vate  rela9onships  with  elected  officials:        -­‐  Governor  and  administra9on              officials        -­‐  Key  Legisla9ve  CommiTee                    members  and  staff      -­‐    Gubernatorial  candidates  

VECF  will    §   set  clear  and  consistent  performance  measures          for  school  readiness,    §   document  gains  and  efficiencies,    §   regularly  report  results  and  priori9ze        recommenda9ons  based  on  rigorous  evalua9on.  

VECF  will  iden9fy  and  track  school  readiness  indicators  at  the  child,  family,  school  and  community  levels.    

VECF  will  create  consistent  measure  of  kindergarten  readiness  statewide.    

 

VECF  will  conduct  cost  benefit  studies    as  relevant.  

VECF  will  document  outcomes,  improvements  and  efficiencies  created  through  SB  work.    

 

VECF  will  produce  community  “snapshots”  to  highlight  school  readiness  indicators,  community  context,  and  Smart  Beginnings  efforts.  

VECF  will  submit  annual  outcomes  report  to  Governor,  General  Assembly.  

VECF  will  convene  annual  mee9ngs  of  Smart  Beginnings  network.  

 

§     Vibrant  alliance/partnership    §     Coali9on  centered  model  §     Sustainable  regional  clusters  §     Innova9on  driver  §     Results  focused  §     Uniform  outcome  and  data  collec9on  §     Collabora9ve  resource  development  for  public          and  private  investment  §     Robust,  targeted  technical  assistance  and  peer-­‐learning  §     Consistent,  uniform  messaging  for  SB  network  

Improving  outcomes  for  children  by  advancing  and  measuring  school  readiness  in  Virginia.