1. Building the Plane While Flying It How 4 States are Building Cross-sector Professional Development Systems that Support Inclusion
Camille Catlett, NPDCI
Jennie Couture, Georgia
Pam Deardorff, Oregon
LeAnne Lorenzo, Pennsylvania

2. What’s it Like?

3. The NPDCI Journey
NPDCI is working to help states achieve an integrated professional development system that supports high quality inclusion for preschool children.

4. Core Values of NPDCI
Collaboration with diverse partners at national, organizational and state levels
Integrated or cross-sector early childhood professional development to support inclusion

5. Silo Approach to PD Early Childhood PD Higher Ed Part C/619 PD PD PD
Head
Start PD

6. Limited Partnership Approach to PD
Early Childhood
Higher Ed
Public
Schools PD PD PD
Head
Start PD

7. Cross-Sector Approach to PD
Early
Childhood
Collaborative PD Initiatives
Higher Ed
Public
School
Collaboration: a commitment to work together to address a problem and achieve a goal that could not be accomplished by the organizations working individually (Mattessich et al., 2004)
Head Start

9. Core PD Components: WHO
Policies
WHO
Characteristics of learners and contexts
Political Climate
Resources
Organizational Structures

10. Who
Administrators and policy makers who influence or control decisions and resources related to professional development and inclusion
Knowledge mediators – faculty, trainers, technical assistance providers, mentors, coaches, supervisors – who support the learning and performance of other adults
Personnel who touch the lives of young children with disabilities and their families. Includes colleagues across disciplines (early childhood, early intervention), agencies (child care, Head Start, PreK) and settings (home, school, community)

11. WHAT Core Components of PD Policies
Content of professional development
Political Climate
Resources
Organizational Structures

12. WHAT guides the content of PD?
Knowledge, skills and dispositions related to serving young children with and without disabilities and their families
National guidance
State guidance

13. HOW Core Components of PD Policies
Approaches to professional development
Political Climate
Resources
Organizational Structures

14. HOW is professional development provided?
Traditional methods
Preservice and inservice
Promising strategies
Action research
Consultation
Coaching
Mentoring
Lesson study
Communities of practice

15. What does WWH look like in your state?
Who are the learners who benefit from PD?
What guides the content of PD?
How is PD provided?

16. Overview of Oregon Early Childhood Inclusion Collaborative (OECIC)
Summer 2007: Oregon Applies and gets accepted as a NPDCI state
July 2007: Expanding Opportunities subgroup meets in N. Carolina
November 2007: Oregon Mini Summit is held
December 2007: Oregon Early Childhood Inclusion Collaborative is formed, plan is in place, funding is identified in the state to support professional development efforts

17. Overview of OECIC Vision:
PD Vision: Early Childhood Educators have access to coordinated cross-sector professional development that supports inclusion.
Overall Vision: Increase in the percentage of young children with disabilities, birth to five, receiving services and supports in inclusive community based placements in each region of Oregon.

18. Oregon Definition of Inclusion
Inclusion, as a value, supports the right of all children, regardless of abilities, to participate actively in natural settings within their communities. Natural settings are those in which the child would spend time had he or she not had a disability.
(Adopted from the DEC Position Statement on Inclusion by the Oregon’s Early Childhood Inclusion Collaborative Steering Committee on March 28, 2008)

19. Some key considerations for how OECIC is defining Inclusion:
Settings within their community.
Where they would spend time if he or she had not had a disability.
Where their educational and related services are provided.

20. Resources State Regional and County Teams
Oregon Department of Education
Inclusive Child Care Program
Partnerships for Inclusive Child Care and Education
Regional and County Teams
Strategic action plans

21. Activities/Outcomes Systems Service Delivery Coordinate and Evaluate
Professional Development
Policies
Service Delivery
Training and TA
Teaching Research Assistance to Child Care and Education Providers (TRAC)

22. High Staff-Child Ratio Individualization Related Services
Age Appropriate
Inclusion
High Staff-Child Ratio
Individualization
Related Services
Concrete and Relevant Experiences
Transition Planning
Small Groups
Collaborative IEP
Process Orientated
Assessment
Monitoring Child Progress
Environmentally Based Curriculum
Family Centered Services
Planning for a Broad Developmental Range

24. Georgia’s Vision
An integrated, statewide early childhood professional development system that supports high quality, culturally and linguistically responsive inclusion for all children with disabilities and their families.

25. Georgia’s Priorities An integrated system of professional development
A clear vision and consistent messaging
Integrated systems
Family partnerships
Evaluation, tracking and accountability

26. Pennsylvania’s Vision
To create and sustain opportunities for all
of Pennsylvania’s youngest children to
benefit from high quality inclusive early
childhood programs through approaches
that unify and recognize the important
contributions of partners.

27. GOALS Develop the design and structure for a
cross-sector early childhood professional development system
Develop a regional cross-sector professional development system to support increased opportunities for high quality inclusion
Increase the emphasis on children with disabilities and inclusion in early childhood preservice education

28. Creating the Structure
State focus on Early Childhood
Office of Child Development and Early Learning
Continuous Quality Improvement
Professional Development
State Focus: Within the last 5 years PA has gone through some very important changes at the state level – more has happened in the field of early childhood in this time than I have seen in my 23 years in the system. This is great but entails a lot of change and confusion. Taken a while to create the structure, create a movement for funding and support and begin to move toward getting everyone on the same page.
OCDEL: All programs within the Department of Public Welfare and the Pennsylvania Department of Education that supported young children B-5 were moved into a newly created and dually funded Office of Child Development and Early Learning. This included Head Start, Child Care, all PreK programs, Early Intervention B-3 and 3-5…
Continuous Quality Improvement: Within this office the structure has been defined for creating quality early learning environments. The state has been divided into 6 Regional Keys through which support and funding for programs is funneled. Focus on continuous program enhancement through the STARS system in combination with a Career Lattice for continued professional development that leads to a credential.
The Bureau of Early Learning is in charge of most of this.
The Bureau of Early Intervention Services is also within OCDEL. Initially their work was focused on combining the Part C and 619 programs into one B-5 system. This involved creating one form that is now used as the IFSP/IEP. The monitoring system within both of these programs was changed. Verification is done with each B-5 funded system once every two years using the same forms.

29. State focus on Early Childhood
OCDEL
State focus on Early Childhood
Four Bureaus functioning independently within one Office.
Bureau of Certification Services
Bureau of Early Intervention Services
Bureau of Early Learning Services
Bureau of Subsidized Child Care Services
OCDEL: All programs within the Department of Public Welfare and the Pennsylvania Department of Education that supported young children B-5 were moved into a newly created and dually funded Office of Child Development and Early Learning. This included Head Start, Child Care, all PreK programs, Early Intervention B-3 and 3-5…
Continuous Quality Improvement: Within this office the structure has been defined for creating quality early learning environments. The state has been divided into 6 Regional Keys through which support and funding for programs is funneled. Focus on continuous program enhancement through the STARS system in combination with a Career Lattice for continued professional development that leads to a credential.
The Bureau of Early Learning is in charge of most of this.
The Bureau of Early Intervention Services is also within OCDEL. Initially their work was focused on combining the Part C and 619 programs into one B-5 system. This involved creating one form that is now used as the IFSP/IEP. The monitoring system within both of these programs was changed. Verification is done with each B-5 funded system once every two years using the same forms.

30. Developing the Concept
Professional Development
Practitioners and Directors
Professional Development Instructors
Within the last 5 years PA has gone through some very important changes at the state level
OCDEL: Movement of all programs within the Department of Public Welfare and the Pennsylvania Department of Education that supported young children B-5 were moved into a newly created and dually funded Office of Child Development and Early Learning.
Within this office the structure has been defined for creating quality early learning environments.

31. Developing the Concept
Professional Development:
Practitioners and Directors
Career Lattice
Pennsylvania’s Quality Assurance System (PQAS)
Career Lattice – focus on moving toward early childhood credentials
Take work experience and translate into credits.
Incentives, scholarships, STARS standard requirements.
PQAS – application system to certify that a person or entity is qualified to provide professional development for practitioners and/or directors

32. Developing the Concept
Professional Development:
Professional Development Instructors
No formal system to provide PD!!!
PQAS instructors
Higher Education faculty

33. A Professional Development Structure
Advisory Council
Professional Development Instructors
Higher Education
OCDEL began creating this structure and pulled together many stakeholders: 2-year and 4-year faculty; state PD agencies – PaTTAN/EITA, Intermediate Units, contracted PDI.
Created a steering committee to work on this.
NPDCI grant afforded support for the creation of this PD structure.

34. A Professional Development Structure
Professional Development Instructors
Higher Education Institute – Diversity
Monthly Webinars – PD and TA providers
Early Childhood Summit
OCDEL began creating this structure and pulled together many stakeholders: 2-year and 4-year faculty; state PD agencies – PaTTAN/EITA, Intermediate Units, contracted PDI.
Created a steering committee to work on this.
NPDCI grant afforded support for the creation of this PD structure.
Supported the Higher Education Institute on Diversity
Track in Early Childhood Summit for Cadres.

35. A Professional Development Structure
?????????????
Continue to do PD as we have done:
Face to Face with some follow-up OR
Try something new
OCDEL began creating this structure and pulled together many stakeholders: 2-year and 4-year faculty; state PD agencies – PaTTAN/EITA, Intermediate Units, contracted PDI.
Created a steering committee to work on this.
NPDCI grant afforded support for the creation of this PD structure.
Supported the Higher Education Institute on Diversity
Track in Early Childhood Summit for Cadres.

36. A Professional Development Structure
Professional Development Cadres
Cadres will in essence be creating communities of practice. People will participate in PD for Instructors together, developing relationships and through the lens of inclusion so that they continue to view their work through that lens.
Initial track at EC Summit
Monthly PD opportunities – face to face; webinars; phone conference calls…

37. A Professional Development Structure
Begin with the lens of Inclusion
Continue through other lenses until we are looking at each child and providing the supports and services they need to be successful in life.
Cadres will in essence be creating communities of practice. People will participate in PD for Instructors together, developing relationships and through the lens of inclusion so that they continue to view their work through that lens.
Initial track at ECSummit
Monthly PD opportunities – face to face; webinars; phone conference calls…

38. Minnesota’s Vision
All people who work with young children in Minnesota will possess the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that will promote the successful inclusion of young children with disabilities.

39. Minnesota’s Goals
Develop mechanisms for using three frameworks (Core Competencies, Early Learning Guidelines for Birth to Three, and Early Learning Standards for preschool period) to support PD across all sectors.
Develop regional cross-sector cadres of knowledge mediators to support PD and inclusion.
Build the capacity for faculty (associate, bachelors, graduate) at institutions of higher education to increase the emphasis on inclusive practices in preservice education.

40. Building Cross-Sector PD Approaches in Your State
STEP 1 - Set the Stage
Identify an individual to coordinate the process
Engage cross-sector leaders to work together
Create a profile of state resources related to PD
Identify the potential benefits
STEP 2 - Discuss core components: Who, what, how
STEP 3 - Discuss key contexts and supports for PD: Organizational structures, access and outreach, policies, resources, and evaluation

41. Building Cross-Sector PD Approaches in Your State
STEP 4 – Clarify your vision
STEP 5 – Identify goals for attaining your vision
STEP 6 – Develop your plan
STEP 7 – Evaluate your progress

42. Access NPDCI Resources and Conversations! Share Your Expertise!
Current
Discussion

43. Evaluation of this session

44. THANK YOU!!! For additional information contact Camille Catlett
(919)
NPDCI