A Project Sponsored by the McCormick Foundation Creating a Seamless Learning Continuum: Developing Leaders to Align and Coordinate Early Learning and K-12 Programs and Schools Sharing A Vision September 28, 2011 Illinois State-wide Collaborative Early Childhood Conference

The LINC Project Presenters:  Lisa Hood, LINC Project Director, Center for the Study of Education Policy, Illinois State University  LuAnn Shields, Consultant, Leadership Results Former Principal, Prairie Children Preschool, Indian Prairie SD # 204  Lynette Chandler, Professor, Department of Special and Early Education, Northern Illinois University  Robin Miller Young, Student Services Coordinator, Prairie Children Preschool, Indian Prairie SD # 204

The LINC Project SAV Session Overview: Describe LINC’s three guiding principles for developing a early childhood to 12 th grade continuum. Discuss a “seamless learning continuum”. Identify benefits and barriers in their local communities to developing a seamless continuum.

The LINC Project SAV Session Overview: Discuss Illinois policy recommendations to support development of a seamless learning continuum. Provide information about the new Illinois principal preparation standards and professional development modules around early childhood competencies.

The LINC Project “While research and common sense tells us that learning is a continuum, we too often retreat into silos that are reinforced by funding streams and institutions. This project will allow us to step out of those silos and think about learning and leadership more holistically.” Sara Slaughter, Director of the Education Program for the McCormick Foundation

The LINC Project LINC’s Guiding Principles Leadership Matters... Early Learning Investment Pays Later Dividends... Early Learning and K – 12 Can Learn from Each Other...

The LINC Project Developed to address problems that occur when there is not a seamless learning continuum between... early intervention and child care and early childhood preschool programs early childhood programs and early elementary programs

The LINC Project Purposes 1. To identify potential barriers to developing and sustaining a seamless learning continuum and To identify policies and strategies with which education leaders from community- based early childhood programs and school-based programs can effectively coordinate the two systems.

Definition of a Learning Continuum An effective learning continuum spans the learning experiences from birth to beyond and ensures continuity in children’s experiences as they move from one care and education setting to another.

Continuum of Learning

Describe Birth to 3, child care, preschool, and early elementary programs in Illinois... Do we have a learning continuum across types of programs and across grade levels? Do different grade levels/programs share information? Do they know about each other? What do they know? Do we have smooth transitions? Do supervisors understand early childhood programs?

What are the Disadvantages of the Two-System Approach?

Disadvantages of a Two-System Approach to Learning Quality experiences gained in early childhood settings can be lost if not followed by consistent quality experiences in elementary school (Kauerz, 2006) ‘Fade out’ research shows that cognitive development and learning for at-risk students wash out overtime if not supported by a quality elementary education experience (Barnett, 2002) A fragmented system that allows for little flexibility in accommodations of individual differences (Maeroff, 2006)

More Disadvantages Different expectations for child knowledge, skill, and behavior (especially if elementary versus EC certified) Different expectations of appropriate teaching strategies (DAP, play-based, embedding) Administrators don’t understand EC - some avoid preschool classrooms Different inservice trainings Poor transitions for children, families, and providers

Moving Toward a Vision of What a Seamless Learning Continuum Could Be Alignment of curriculum and instruction across developmental levels and grades Alignment of professional development activities and coordinated learning experiences for teachers and childhood professionals Greater articulation between and across grades and developmental levels Push Ups/Push Downs (Kaurez, 2008) Wraparound services that include extended school experiences for children before and after school (Maeroff, 2006)

Where should it begin?

Leadership Matters School leaders are second only to teachers on impact on student achievement (Leithwood, Louis, Anderson, & Wahlstrom, 2004) Research-based practices associated with improved student achievement (Waters, Marzano, & McNulty, 2003)

Leadership Matters Quality of care provided is affected by the level of formal education and specialized training of early childhood directors (Fowler, Bloom, Talan, Beneke, & Kelton, 2008) More highly educated directors provide more professional growth opportunities to their teachers (Bloom & Bella, 2005; Lower & Cassidy, 2007; Whitebook & Sakai, 2004)

Statewide Advisory Group Legislators College of Education Faculty Early Learning Organizations K-12 Education Organizations State Education Agencies Parent Organizations Student-Centered Organizations Teachers Unions

Statewide Advisory Group LuAnn Shields, Principal Robin Miller Young, Student Services Coordinator Prairie Children Preschool Large EC/ECSE/PFA program Aurora, Naperville, Bolingbrook and Plainfield, IL

LINC Advisory Committee Recommendations * See handout for a list of the recommendations

Small Group Discussion To help inform the policy recommendations of the LINC Advisory Group, project staff conducted a survey study of early childhood directors and elementary school principals in Illinois. We want you to respond to the same questions, then we’ll look at the results from the directors and principals who responded to the study.

Research Questions What is the current nature of the linkages and partnerships between early childhood program providers and elementary schools in Illinois? What are the most current issues and challenges that are barriers to creating a seamless learning continuum in Illinois? How are early childhood program directors and elementary school principals facilitating the alignment of a seamless learning continuum? What actions do practitioners recommend that would facilitate their efforts to develop and sustain an aligned learning continuum?

Research Design Surveys to early childhood program directors and elementary school principals – Surveys sent to 1,753 childcare center directors stratified by location and city population 205 responses from early childhood program directors (12% response rate) – Surveys sent to all 2,628 elementary education principals 403 responses from elementary principals (15% response rate) Delphi surveys data gathering of expert advisory committee members

Discussion Please refer to 3 handouts – Reflection: LINC Survey Results & On-site Application: Surveying Your Community – Summary of Early Childhood Director Responses – Summary of Elementary School Principal Responses What do you see when you look at this data? What data catches your attention? How do these results relate to what you see in your program and your community?

Lessons from the Field External Factors Changing Demographics Ongoing Research of Early Childhood Teaching & Learning Practices State/Federal Mandates Funding Sources

Lessons from the Field Internal Factors School/Program Culture Communication & Collaboration Process Resources Systems of Accountability Staff Systems for Adapting to Change Family/Community Involvement

Lessons from the Field Family Centered Practices

Family-centered Practices for School-based Programs Share unbiased and complete information so families can make decisions. Respect and honor family values, cultural and linguistic diversity. View families as important sources of support for achieving educational goals for children. Exchange information with families and collaborate in equal partnerships. Prepare families for IEP meetings. Support families during those meetings

Keep families informed about skills, concepts, etc. that are being taught and how their child is doing. School-home notebooks, , etc. Provide suggestions for extending and expanding child skills into the home using family’s daily activities and routines when possible. Respect family choice about their child’s education and their level and type of participation in their child’s program

The LINC Project "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.“ --JQ Adams

New Principal Preparation Legislation & Rules P.A created a P-12 Principal Certification Sec d) 1). Each program shall offer curricula that address student learning and school improvement and focus on :1) all grade levels (i.e., preschool through grade 12); 4) all students with specific attention on students with special needs (e.g., students with disabilities, ELL, gifted students, and students in early childhood programs) Sec a) The internship portion of the program shall be conducted at one or more public or nonpublic schools to enable the candidate to be exposed to and participate in a variety of school leadership situations and settings and 1) consist of the following components: A) Engagement in instructional activities that involve teachers at all grade levels (i.e., preschool through grade 12), including teachers in both general education, special education, bilingual education and gifted education settings

New Legislation & Rules Sec Assessment of the Internship: Assessing candidate knowledge and performance on competencies using the outcomes rubric in 4 assessment areas. Candidates must achieve “meets the standards” on each competency to successfully complete the internship. These assessments only apply to candidate performance in the internship—not their performance on class content or in class associated field-based experiences. Assessment areas 1-3 do not specifically address learning experiences early childhood, special education, or bilingual education, but that does not prohibit their inclusion into the assessment process. Area 4 specifically assesses candidates performance related to individualized education programs including developing programs for students with disabilities and English Language Learners.

New Legislation & Rules Sec Coursework requirements 2) State and federal laws, regulations and case law regarding programs for students with disabilities and English Language Learners 5) Understanding literacy skills required for student learning that are developmentally appropriate (early literacy through adolescent literacy)… 6) Understanding numeracy skills and working collaboratively across content areas to improve problem-solving and number sense at all grade levels

Resources and Support LINC Curriculum Module LINC Principal Preparation Redesign Collaboration

Resources and Support LINC Curriculum Module Development Process Professional Curriculum Developer Focus Groups – EC Leaders Represented Curriculum Design Team LuAnn Shields Robin Miller Young Lynette Chandler Other EC Leaders Others in Ed. Leadership

Structure of LINC Module Content StrandFocus 1. Birth -12 as a Continuum and Single System One system; one continuum Successful transitions 2. Basics of Early Childhood Programming Foundations of EC Models of EC 3. Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Across the Continuum Curriculum and instruction to meet diverse needs of learners Data-driven decision making at different levels 4. Relationship and Communication: Family-School Partnerships Building relationships with families, staff and community

LINC Curriculum Module Module will be available on the LINC website ( in fall 2011www.leadershiplinc.ilstu.edu Instructors or faculty will be required to participate in a 1 hour webinar training that will provide information about the structure of the module, the content, and possible uses

LINC Principal Preparation Redesign Collaboration Two - year project to provide technical assistance in redesign of P-12 Principal Preparation Programs Part 1: Consortium Approach to Redesigning P-12 Preparation Programs Part 2: Building Statewide Support and Capacity Part 3: Building Leadership Preparation Capacity and Support Proposed project timeline: June 1, 2011 – May 30, 2013

Summary Leadership Matters! What will you do tomorrow to become an empowered leader in your school, program, and local community to help develop a “seamless continuum”? How will you know when a “seamless learning continuum” is in place?

For More Information A full copy of the report and additional resources can be found at – Research compendium – Policy scan – IL Gap Analysis – Meeting minutes and materials – Publications and Presentations For more information about the LINC project, contact: Lisa Hood Robin Miller Young, Lynette Chandler, LuAnn Shields,