NC Foundations for Early Learning &
Development (Foundations):
Professional Development
March, 2014
Volume 1 Issue 1
No r t h C a r o l i n a E a r l y L e a r n i n g N e t w o r k ( h t t p : / / n c e l n . f p g . u n c . e d u / ) i s t h e s t a t e w i d e p r o f e s s i o n a l d e v e l o p m e n t
a n d t e c h n i c a l a s s i s t a n c e p r o g r a m f u n d e d b y t h e O f f i c e o f E a r ly L e a r n i n g (P r e - K – G r a d e 3 ) i n t h e No r t h
Carolina Department of Public Instruction (http://www.dpi.s tate.nc.us/earlylearning/)
Foundations for Early Learning & Development
(ELDS)
The newly revised North Carolina Foundations for Early Learning and Development
were recently released across the broad early childhood system in North Carolina.
Experts from across agencies took part in a two-year process of revising the
previous infant-toddler and preschool Foundations that resulted in a combined
document for children birth through five years of age.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
1
1
2
3
4
Foundations for Early
Learning & Development
Identifying our
Foundations Professional
Development Needs
The Cascading Structures
of Support for
Implementing PD in the
Public Schools
District-Wide
Implementation Plans
Structures of Support,
continued
Professional development initiatives to promote understanding and use of the
Foundations are now being designed for different segments of the early childhood
system. The Office of Early Learning (Pre-K – Grade 3) (OEL), North Carolina
Department of Public Instruction (NC DPI), in conjunction with the Early Learning
Network (FPG) will hold eight regional meetings in March and April for
administrators to discuss plans to implement Foundations professional
development for the 2014-2015 school year. This three-hour overview will provide
administrators with information to present to their Superintendents, School Boards
and School Principals.
Please see Foundations for Early Learning & Development, page 3
Identifying our Foundations Professional
Development Needs
The OEL and the Early Learning Network hosted a stakeholder meeting of school
system and early intervention leaders to identify the following:
 What professional development practices worked well with the roll out of the
original Foundations training?
 What practices and resources do we need more of to successfully roll out the
new Foundations?
 What should we prioritize first?
Please see Professional Development Needs, page 3
Stakeholders noted the importance of expanding the breadth of ELDS
professional development to administrators, trainers/coaches, teachers
and assistants, early intervention providers and related service providers.
A better understanding of the relationship between the ELDS, curriculum,
and formative assessment is critical. Programs within DPI need to focus on
formative assessment practices that are aligned with the DPI NC Falcon
Page 2
Implementation
capacity encompasses
the ability to
establish multi-level
systems and supports
that helps policy
makers, administrators
and educators use,
improve, and sustain
effective intervention
practices.
Michigan State
Department of
Education
The Cascading Structures of Support for
Implementing Professional Development in
the Public Schools
The NC DPI supports a research based approach to implementing professional
development so that effective instructional practices may be more successfully
delivered with fidelity in the classroom, at home or in the natural environment.
The intended purpose is to support positive outcomes for children.
Research indicates that successful implementation of any professional
development program requires an implementation team to oversee the degree to
which new practices are implemented “as intended” by the program
developers/researchers or experts. Implementation of effective practices with
fidelity requires follow-up to traditional adult instruction through coaching and
technical assistance. Fidelity measures to guide coaching and individual
professional development for teachers are also critical to successful
implementation. Finally, the implementation team’s review of program data is
necessary to develop “next steps” in the continuous improvement process.
Currently 27 DPI preschool programs are conducting district-wide
implementation using this research based approach for the Social Emotional
Foundations for Early Learning (SEFEL) project. This is a tiered approach to
providing universal, targeted, and individualized instruction which supports the
social emotional development of young children. SEFEL practices are considered
by many to be the developmentally appropriate precursor to practices promoted
in the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS).
The Early Learning Network, in conjunction with the OEL, is now embarking on
the development and delivery of professional development content for evidence
based practices which support the newly revised Foundations. LEA
administrators will be given information about recommended practices for
successfully developing and executing professional development implementation
plans for the upcoming year. Implementation within the cascading structures of
the educational system may take the following shape.
Please see Structures of Support, page 4
Page 3
District-Wide Implementation Plans
Because there is no universal preschool program in North Carolina,
existing preschool programs in school districts are arranged in many
different configurations with different leadership structures. Preschool
classrooms may be scattered about school districts. Some are
embedded in elementary schools while others may be housed in
designated preschool centers. The notion of “school-wide”
implementation of a preschool professional development program,
therefore, does not necessarily apply to preschool programs. However,
“district-wide” implementation may better describe a district’s plan to
embed a given program into all of their preschool classrooms.
Districts must also address multiple leadership structures to
successfully implement a professional development program.
Characteristics of district-wide implementation plans include crossprogram leadership teams that develop and oversee the plan, thereby
reducing duplication and maximizing resources.
Foundations for Early Learning & Development, from page 1
The focus of the overview for Administrators will include:

understanding the relationship between the Foundations and the NC
Standard Course of Study,

information about upcoming summer institutes for local professional
development trainers,

recommendations for developing an implementation plan, and

considerations for measuring teacher and program progress which can inform
leadership about future program planning.
Professional Development Needs, from page 1
Stakeholders noted the importance of expanding the breadth of Foundations
professional development to administrators, trainers/coaches, teachers and
assistants, early intervention providers and related service providers. A better
understanding of the relationship between the Foundations, curriculum, and
formative assessment is critical. Programs within DPI need to focus on formative
assessment practices that are aligned with the DPI NC Falcon program and the
Kindergarten Entry Assessment process (currently under development) using
“learning progressions” so that staff can understand the developmental
continuum.
Characteristics of
district-wide
implementation plans
include cross-program
leadership teams that
develop and oversee
the plan. This results
in collaboration across
Preschool Title I,
Exceptional Children,
NC Pre-K, and Head
Start programs thereby
reducing duplication of
effort and maximizing
resources.
Page 4
Formative assessment practices should also be used to inform ongoing instruction, assist staff in differentiating
teaching practices based on individual child performance, and provide critical information when completing
summative Child Outcome Summary ratings for children with disabilities. Early intervention and preschool
special education practices also need to infuse the Foundations into the IFSP and IEP process and embed them
into home and classroom routines. Finally, we should start with the evidence-based practices our programs
currently have in place.
Structures of Support, from page 2
Adapted from Petri-Martin, M., 2012
North Carolina Early Learning Network
FPG Child Development Institute
517 South Greensboro Street
Carrboro, NC 27510
919-962-3801