Elevating State Policies For and With the Early Education Profession: Taking Stock, Moving Forward
September 24 - 25, 2019 | Hyatt Regency Milwaukee | Milwaukee, WI
In recent years, the Alliance for Early Success has invested in and grown a network of state advocates and national experts who are producing research and communications resources and developing and implementing state strategies to advance the early care and education (ECE) profession. This September, we are excited to bring these organizations together, along with state leaders and early childhood educators from beyond the Alliance network, at a national conference about how to better support and advance the ECE profession.
This conference will provide an opportunity for state leaders, advocate, national experts, and early childhood educators to engage each other on their diverse views about what’s needed to create an ECE profession that is well-prepared, supported and compensated and possesses the competencies and diversity that help them serve young children and their families effectively and equitably. Our goals are to:
- Facilitate an exchange about strategies and lessons learned thus far about how states can grow a competent, diverse, and well-supported ECE profession with equity as a core value;
- Learn about potential new issues, research, or strategies that may enhance or change what states are doing;
- Identify actionable new policy solutions and ways of advocating that lead to more transformative change;
- Learn from the voices and perspectives of diverse early childhood educators;
- Create a network of leaders that forms a learning community beyond the meeting and represents the leading edge of a growing movement.
Tuesday, September 24
8:30 – Registration
10:00 – Welcome
10:30 – 11:30 – Opening Plenary Panel with Early Childhood Educators: Seeing the Future of the Profession through the Eyes of Today’s Educators
The field of early care and education has been doing a lot of advocating for the profession, and less of advocating with. Where do current early childhood educators see the profession in 50 years? What strengths do they treasure? What improvements do they think are critical to make? What will it take for them to be truly engaged in this journey of transformation with advocates, researchers, higher education faculty, and policymakers?
Moderator: Marica Mitchell, Bainum Family Foundation
Maria Isabel Ballivian, ACCA Child Development Center (VA)
Jerletha McDonald, Arlington DFW Child Care (TX)
Miranda Niemi, Rockwell Collins Child Development Center (IA)
Michelle Marbury, Innis Enterprise (MD)
12:00 – 1:15 – Lunch
1:30 – 2:45 – Breakout Sessions
Building Systems That Help Family Child Care Thrive: A New Framework
Tane Trimble, Tane's Lil World Daycare
Natalie Vieria, All Our Kin
Yesenia Robles, All Our Kin
Resources:
Examining Quality in Family Child Care: An Evaluation of All Our Kin
The Economic Impact of the All Our Kin Family Child Care Tool Kit Licensing Program
A Strength-Based Approach: Increasing Health and Safety in Family Child Care
Moving the Needle on Early Childhood Workforce Compensation: State Teams in Action
Angela Burch, NC Early Education Coalition
Phyllis Kalifeh, The Children’s Forum (Florida)
Sue Russell, T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® National Center
Ruth Schmidt, Wisconsin Early Childhood Association
Kristi Snuggs, NC Division of Child Development and Early Education
Resources:
T.E.A.C.H. Moving the Needle Compensation Initiative
Florida Child Care WAGE$® Incentive Scale
Rising up to Increase Opportunities for the Professionalization of the Early Childhood Workforce
Jean Allison, Delaware Community College
Tara Dwyer, The Pennsylvania Key
Rebecca Mercatoris, Office of Child Development and Early Learning
Jennifer Pyles, Shippensburg University
Stories from the EarlyEdU Alliance: Lowering Barriers to Higher Education and Strengthening the EC Workforce
Katie Emerson-Hoss, EarlyEdU Alliance – University of Washington
Lisa Henderson, University of Washington
Gail Joseph, Cultivate Learning – University of Washington
Juliet Taylor, Cultivate Learning – University of Washington
Resources:
EarlyEdU Fact Sheet
Increasing Access to Credits that Count and Degrees that Matter
Using Higher Education Data to Inform Practice, Policy, and Advocacy
Sara Mickelson, Oregon Early Learning Division
Abby Copeman Petig, Center for the Study of Child Care Employment
Susan Sarver, Buffett Early Childhood Institute (Nebraska)
Resources:
Early Childhood Higher Education Inventory
3:15 – 4:30 – Breakout Sessions
Compensation, Retention, & Recruitment: Program, Community, Policy & Systems Innovations in Colorado
Pamela Harris, Mile High Early Learning
Elsa Holguin, Denver Preschool Program
Bill Jaeger, Colorado Children’s Campaign
Jennifer Stedron, Early Milestones Colorado
Resources:
Denver Preschool Program 2018 Report
Colorado Early Childhood Workforce Survey 2017 Key Findings
Colorado Early Childhood Workforce Survey 2017 Executive Summary
Transforming the Early Childhood Workforce in Colorado - 2018 Grantee Report Summary
Educator Voice is “No Small Matter”
Cama Charlet, Buffet Early Childhood Institute
Susan Sarver, Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Anna Welch, Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Increasing Teacher Compensation – How Do We Get There?
Angela Abrams, Washington Department of Children, Youth, and Families
Bethany Patten, Illinois Governor’s Office of Early Childhood Development
Mandy Sorge, National Governors Association Center for Best Practices
Joyce Weiner, Ounce of Prevention
Resources:
Supporting States Policy Strategy to Improve the Early Care and Education Workforce
Consensus Statement on Early Childhood Educator Compensation (IL)
Early Childhood Educator Compensation: Literature and Landscape Scan
Washington’s Compensation Initiatives
Overcoming the ECE Workforce Data Deficit to Improve Policy
Caitlin McLean, Center for the Study of Child Care Employment
Joellyn Whitehead, Illinois Network of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies
Resources:
The Workforce Data Deficit: Who It Harms and How It Can Be Overcome
Illinois’ Early Childhood Education Workforce: 2017 Report
Illinois 2017 Salary and Staffing Survey of Licensed Child Care Facilities
Quality for All: Towards Unified Standards and Competencies, Effective Professional Preparation, and Equitable Access to Higher Education
Lauren Hogan, National Association for the Education of Young Children
Carmen Rivers, University of Wisconsin – Whitewater
Sue Russell, T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® National Center
Florianna Thompson, Wake Technical Community College
5:30 - Reception
Wednesday, September 25
8:00 – Breakfast
9:00 – 10:00 – Plenary Panel with Policymakers: Making the Political Case for Investing in the ECE Profession
After decades of focused advocacy and research on early childhood development, it is common today for policymakers and elected official on both sides of the aisle to express support for ECE programs. This support has often translated to bipartisan agreements on funding, at both the state and federal levels. However, as much as elected officials profess their belief in the early years, we have not been able to move the needle very much on policies and investments that promote the competence and well-being of early childhood educators. Through this plenary session, we will hear directly from elected officials and their staff on how advocates and early childhood educators can make a more compelling case for investing in the workforce.
Moderator: Linda Smith, Bipartisan Policy Center
Vance Aloupis, Florida House of Representatives
Jenna Conway, Virginia Department of Education
Tracy Ehlert, Iowa General Assembly
Kimber Liedl, Office of Senate Republican Leader
10:30 – 11:45 – Breakout Sessions
Equity for California’s ECE Workforce: Supporting Diversity Using Provider Voice
Patricia Lozano, Early Edge California
Sarah Neville-Morgan, California Department of Education
Maggie Steakley, Glen Price Group
Resources:
A Framework for Equity and Access in the Workforce
Exploring Innovations in Higher Education to Better Support Early Childhood Educators
Catron Allred, Central New Mexico Community College
Laura Bornfreund, New America
Kathy Glazer, Virginia Early Childhood Foundation
Ashley Williams, EDVance – San Francisco State University
Resources:
How Can We Help Higher Ed Strengthen Early Ed?
Central New Mexico Community College’s Early Childhood Mentor Network
San Francisco State University’s EDVance Program
Upskilling Virginia's Early Learning Workforce
If Not Us, Then Who? Educator Voice in Advocacy, Policy and Making a Difference!
Cassandra Brooks, Little Believers Academy (North Carolina)
Anne Douglass, University of Massachusetts – Boston
Jerletha S. McDonald, Arlington DFW Child Care Providers Association (Texas)
Amy O’Leary, Strategies for Children (Massachusetts)
Mary Thundercloud-Eary, Ho-Chunk Nation - Hoocak Ee Cooni Waziperes Hocira (Wisconsin)
Promoting Equity & Success in Early Childhood Teacher Preparation through Competency-Based Education
Johnna Darragh-Ernst, Heartland Community College
Jamilah R. Jor’dan, Illinois Governor’s Office of Early Childhood Development
Joni Scritchlow, Illinois Network of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies
Teri N. Talan, McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership
Resources:
ECE Career Lattice
Map of ECE Credential Entitled Institutions
Competency Timeline
Using Refundable Tax Credits to Improve Professional Development and Increase Wages
Bill Jaeger, Colorado Children's Campaign
Grace Reef, Committee for Economic Development (Consultant)
Louise Stoney, Independent Consultant
Resources:
Colorado HB 19-1005 Early Childhood Educator Tax Credit
Colorado 2019 Child-Related Tax Credits
CED The Workforce Investment Credit Executive Summary
CED The Workforce Investment Credit Infographic
CED Child Care in State Economies Economic Impact Infographic
MN ECE Refundable Tax Credit Infographic
State Tax Credit Examples NC Early Childhood Foundation Summary
12:00 – 1:15 – Lunch
1:30 – 2:30 – State Team Reflection and Planning Time (with national organizations as facilitators/consultants)
2:30 – 3:30 – What’s Next? A Discussion About How to Grow the Movement
More Background Information
The Alliance is grateful for the support of the Early Educator Investment Collaborative for their generous funding, and the planning committee for this conference:
- Khadija Lewis-Khan, Executive Director, Beautiful Beginnings Child Care Center (Rhode Island)
- Patricia Lozano, Executive Director, Early Edge California
- Sara Mead, Partner, Bellwether Education Partners
- Michele Miller-Cox, Executive Director, First Presbyterian Day School (North Carolina)
- Susan Sarver, Director of Workforce Planning and Development, Buffett Early Childhood Institute (Nebraska)
- Lis Stevens, Associate Program Officer, Bezos Family Foundation
Participation in this conference is by invitation only.