The Early Childhood Directors Group

now meets quarterly

Our next meeting will be Thursday, February 16^th

10:00 am – noon  -  Think Small offices

2021 Hennepin Ave. E., LL20,  Minneapolis  55413

 

Early Childhood Directors Group quarterly gatherings are free

and open to all directors and assistant directors

Questions? contact Nancy Johnson:  njohnson@thinksmall.org

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Don’t miss Think Small’s weekly UPDATES. You can sign up to receive Policy & Advocacy Updates in your email:  policy@thinksmall.org  or mhuey@thinksmall.org

Think Small 2017 Public Policy Priorities When it comes to addressing Minnesota’s severe opportunity gaps, we know starting early is effective. In fact, the single best investment the state can make is targeted early childhood investments in our most vulnerable children. With this in mind, Think Small has created our 2017 Public Policy Priorities. We will work to: ·      Increase the number of Parent Aware rated programs and allow programs to maintain or improve their Parent Aware ratings ·      Better align public funds to increase the number of children receiving high quality early care and education ·      Expand access for children, ages 1 to kindergarten entry, from families with low incomes to high-quality early care and education programs by advocating funding for flexible, parent-directed scholarships ·      Improve Minnesota’s Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) to assure more children from families with low incomes can access high quality care ·      Support the sustainable career pathways of early learning professionals For more information about our priorities, visit our blog. You can download a copy of the priorities here. Center Directors – Join Us for Policy Hour Are you interested in what might happen in the 2017 Legislative Session? The December 6th Policy Hour covered some of the possibilities. If you couldn’t make it, check out the recap on our blog.  Policy Hour is a FREE, monthly opportunity for early childhood professionals to connect with each other and learn about current policy issues in an informal setting. Policy Hour is held the first Tuesday of each month, October 2016-June 2017, from Noon-1:00 p.m. at Think Small (2021 East Hennepin Avenue | Suite LL20, Minneapolis, MN 55413). Please note that because of the New Year holiday, January’s Policy Hour will be held on Tuesday, January 10th. More information to come about the topic for January. November Budget Forecast The Minnesota Management and Budget Office recently released the November forecast. They reported a surplus of $1.4 billion for the FY 2018-2019. For more information about the forecast, view the Minnesota Management and Budget summary.   The Governor will use this number to craft his recommendations. The February forecast will provide additional information that legislators and the governor will use to make a final plan.   Pioneer Press Supports Early Learning Scholarships The Pioneer Press Editorial Board recently endorsed Early Learning Scholarships as an effective way to deliver high-quality early education to children who need it the most. Read the entire piece here. Social Media This Week Share the sample Facebook post to call attention to the importance of early learning. Or, simply click below to spread the message on Twitter. We can make a big difference if we start early w/high quality care and ed. See @ThinkSmallMN #mnleg plan for 2017. http://bit.ly/2gRO7JB   What might happen for early learning in 2017 #mnleg session? Here are some ideas: http://bit.ly/2hqD9fn  Facebook: We can help close opportunity gaps by starting with high quality care and education. Think Small has policy ideas to make a big difference in 2017. http://bit.ly/2gRO7JB  Connect with Us   Think Small 10 Yorkton Court        St. Paul, MN 55117 651.641.0305 policy@thinksmall.org Click here to unsubscribe

 

Join child care center colleagues

at the next

Early Childhood Directors Group

Thursday, January 14th^th – 10:00 am – noon

Think Small,  2021 Hennepin Ave. E., Mpls 55413

• Opportunities for Child Care Centers to Serve Infants and Toddlers Through Early Head Start Partnerships
• Presentation by Jeanne Dickhausen, Minnesota Head Start Collaboration Director and Lori Fuller and Nicole Duncan, Anoka County Community Action Program’s Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership.
• President Obama’s Early Learning Initiative set aside $500 million for new Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships. These grants will allow Early Head Start grantees to partner with Child Care programs to provide full-day, full-year programming so that more low-income children in their community have the healthy and enriching early experiences they need to realize their full potential.
• Child Care Policy and Advocacy Update 
• Networking Time

Early Childhood Directors Group meetings are free and

open to all directors and assistant directors

No RSVP necessary. Questions? contact Nancy Johnson:  njohnson@thinksmall.org

For more info, visit our blog at: www.ecdirectorsgroup.blogspot.com

 

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Several directors requested that we post links to the studies and background reading for our discussion in November on staff compensation:

Worthy Work, STILL Unliveable Wages: The Early Childhood Workforce 25 Years after the National Child Care Staffing Study

         http://www.irle.berkeley.edu/cscce/2014/report-worthy-work-still-unlivable-wages/

by Marcy Whitebook, Deborah Phillips, and Carollee Howes

Full Report or Exec Summary

Why Childcare Workers Are So Poor, Even Though Childcare Costs So Much

         http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/11/childcare-workers-cant-afford-childcare/414496/

Aaron Loewenberg, writing for New America’s Early & Elementary Education Policy program, explores policy proposals that could increase the pay of child care teachers helping highly-qualified individuals stay in the field.

Childcare Teachers Underpaid and Underappreciated

         http://www.edcentral.org/child-care-workers/

 

Next Early Childhood Policy Hour, January 5th, 2016

Join us for Policy Hour on Tuesday, January 5 from Noon-1 p.m. at Think Small, 2021 Hennepin Ave. E, Suite 210, Minneapolis to hear about the DHS Child Care Development Block Grant plan. This plan describes how the state proposes to meet the new federal law governing child care assistance (CCAP in MN). The new law makes changes to protect the health and safety of children in child care, promote continuity of access to subsidy for low-income families, better inform parents and the general public about child care choices, and improve the overall quality of early care and education.

Policy Hour is held the first Tuesday of each month, noon-1:00 p.m. at Think Small, 2021 East Hennepin Avenue, Suite 250, Minneapolis, 55413.  Bring your lunch. Invite your friends. No RSVP necessary.