1. RACE TO THE TOP- EARLY LEARNING CHALLENGE Project 1- Establishing Local Early Childhood Advisory Councils (LECAC)

2. Project 1 All 24 Local Early Childhood Advisory Councils have been established in each jurisdiction

3. The Focus The focus of Project 1 is to ensure that all young children and their families are supported in the state’s effort to overcome school readiness gaps and advance the quality of early childhood education in Maryland. The Purpose The purpose of Project 1 grant funds is to provide support for overcoming local school readiness achievement gaps for children with high needs, including children from low-income families, children with disabilities, and English Language Learners.

4. Collaboration Between Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) and Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) The Casey Foundation was asked by MSDE to determine how best to provide its results based leadership development tools and skills to support the formation of the local early childhood advisory councils, and the development of impactful local action plans. AECF and MSDE have worked together for over a year to ensure that a core team of four to six people representing each local council were given the tools and technical assistance support needed through ten (10) days of leadership training and participation. This collaboration between AECF and MSDE has laid a foundation for the LECACs to identify the high risk population or area to be improved, develop an action plan and implement the goals and strategies using Results Based Accountability (RBA) that will be a part of their locally designed plan. Technical assistance was provided by AECF on the leadership training skills and by MSDE on the development of their action plans. In 2014 AECF and MSDE will continue to collaborate to offer booster sessions and create a train-the-trainer model.

5. Local Early Childhood Advisory Council Governance Governance Structure – Based on the structure of the State Early Childhood Advisory Council, which currently is under an executive order, but legislation was drafted for consideration this 2014 session. – Each local council must have leadership and representation from the local education agency, local government and diverse group of early childhood stakeholders. – Joint meetings and ongoing communication with the State Council was set in place for the LECACs. – The first point of contact with the LECACs are the Chairs of the local council. Chairs of the LECACs are charged with relaying information to the local planning team and Full LECAC members. This system was intentionally designed to help support the leadership skills of the core planning team acquired through trainings and support to move the work forward. – Each local council is required to name a fiscal agent. – Completed By-Laws are an expectation for each council to include types of members, meeting frequency, attendance guidelines, and council functions.

6. Baltimore County-Council Structure

7. Local Early Childhood Advisory Council Governance Continued Local Council Make-Up – Full local council team make-up (15-30+members), including Representatives of local education agencies’ early childhood general and special education programs, local government representative(s), early childhood service providers, child care resource and referral agencies, Judy Center partnerships, local libraries, and other early childhood stakeholders – Majority, nineteen (19) of the LECACs are chaired by a representative of the Local School System and five (5) are chaired by a representative of the Local Government.

8. A Quick Look At Some of the LECACs In Action

9. Chairs and Co-Chairs of the Local Councils and Information on the State and Local Councils http://marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE/divisions/child_care/planning.html http://marylandpublicschools.org/msde.html

10. Implementation Grant

11. 24 Implementation Grant Applications were received by MSDE December 4, 2013 Implementation grant funds (determined by a formula that considers high risk populations) will be used to provide support for overcoming local school readiness achievement gaps for children with high needs based on the unique needs of each jurisdiction: – Children from low-income families, children with disabilities, and English Language Learners. – Other identified high needs populations (homeless, child welfare, etc…)

12. LECAC Target Populations JurisdictionsTarget Population 1. Allegany CountyLow Income and Children with Special Needs 2. Anne Arundel CountyELL and FARMS 3. Baltimore CityCherry Hill Community (Home & Center Based) 4. Baltimore CountyPoverty 5. Calvert CountyLow Income, Stay at Home & Informal Caregivers 6. Caroline CountyAt Risk Kindergarten Children, Children with Disabilities and Prior Care 7. Carroll CountyLow Income and Children w/Disabilities 8. Cecil CountyStrengthening Families (3-5 High Risk Communities) 9. Charles CountyLow Income, Children with Disabilities and ELL 10. Dorchester CountyLanguage & Literacy (All population subgroups) 11. Frederick CountyChildren with Disabilities 12. Garrett CountyChildren with Disabilities and Low-Income 13. Harford CountyPoverty, Home/Informal Care/ELL and Children with Special Needs 14. Howard CountyELL, Children with Special Needs and FARMS 15.Kent CountyPoverty and Low-Income 16. Montgomery CountyLow Income and ELL 17. Prince George’s CountyLow Income-Three (3) Schools in Southern Prince George’s County (Samuel Chase, Allenwood, and Hillcrest Heights) and Center and Family Based Child Care Centers in these communities. 18. Queen Anne’s CountyFARMS, ELL, Children w/Disabilities and Home/Informal Care 19. St. Mary’s CountyFARMS/Low Income 20. Somerset CountyFARMS/Low Income 21. Talbot CountyFARMS/Poverty 22. Washington CountyFARMS/ Low Income 23. Wicomico CountyELL and Children with Special Needs/Education 24. Worcester CountyFARMS/Low Income

13. LECAC Target Population Continued Poverty/Low Income =17 Jurisdictions Children with Disabilities= 10 Jurisdictions English Language Learners (ELL) = 7 Jurisdictions High Risk Area = 4 Jurisdictions Home/Informal Care= 4 Jurisdictions

14. Carroll County LECAC

15. Connections Made with other RTTT-ELC Projects Jurisdictions ROARLearning PartiesSEFELVioletsEXCELSParent Café 1. Allegany County 2. Anne Arundel County 3. Baltimore City 4. Baltimore County 5. Calvert County 6. Caroline County 7. Carroll County 8. Cecil County 9. Charles County 10. Dorchester County 11. Frederick County 12. Garrett County 13. Harford County 14. Howard County 15.Kent County 16. Montgomery County 17. Prince George’s County 18. Queen Anne’s County 19. St. Mary’s County 20. Somerset County 21. Talbot County 22. Washington County 23. Wicomico County 24. Worcester County TOTAL 16109885 B-HIPP= 1; Montgomery County Break Through Center = 1; Montgomery County

16. Notice of Grant Awards will be issued in January and the terms of grant ends June 30, 2015.

17. LECACs are including in their membership local foundations, business leaders, religious community, and civic organizations. Sub-Committees of the Local ECACs are being designed to model the State ECAC subcommittees to suit local needs. Most of the LECACs are including a member within their sub-committee who conveys skills learned in RBA, RBF and Seminars 1-3. Communication/Social Media- To remain aligned with the current trends, LECACs have become more creative when trying to reach communities and families they serve: Facebook, InstaGram, You Tube (Example video from Carroll County), Texts Messaging, and IBM Smart Cloud. Partnerships with existing organizations, stakeholders, etc…Several of the LECACs have: joined with Reach Out and Read (ROAR), Learning Parties, Parent Cafes, Family Engagement Coalition and Social Emotional Foundations of Early Learning (SEFEL) according to the needs within their jurisdiction. Sustaining the LECAC Beyond 2015

18. RACE TO THE TOP- EARLY LEARNING CHALLENGE Project 1- Establishing Local Early Childhood Advisory Councils (LECAC) http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/msde.html http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/msde.html Wendy Baysmore, M.Ed. Grant Specialist, RTTT-ELC Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Early Childhood Development 410.767.3396 voice | 410.333.6226 fax | wbaysmore@msde.state.md.uswbaysmore@msde.state.md.us www.MarylandPublicSchools.org