RACE TO THE TOPEARLY LEARNING CHALLENGE
Project 1- Establishing Local Early Childhood Advisory Councils
(LECAC)
Project 1
All 24 Local Early Childhood Advisory Councils
have been established in each jurisdiction
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.
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.
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.
Baltimore County-Council Structure
Baltimore County
Early Childhood Advisory Council
CY 2013
MSDE Training Team
Don Schlimm
Sharon Hoffman
Paula Boykin
Alexis Sibiski
Elise Andrews
Steering Committee
Children with
Disabilities
Children of
Low Income
Children from
Family /
Informal Care
Settings
English
Language
Learners
Baltimore County Local Management
Board
Baltimore County Public Schools
Child Care Links, Inc.
Baltimore County Executive Office
Play Keepers, Inc
.
Baltimore County Head Start
Baltimore County Department of Health
and Human Services
Baltimore County Public Library
Abilities Network, Inc.
Baltimore County Office of Planning
MedStar Franklin Square Medical
Center
Parents
Project 2:
Maryland
EXCELS
Project 3:
Quality
Capacity
Building
Project 4:
Promoting
Use of Early
Learning
Standards
Project
5:MMSR
Professional
Development
Project 7:
Child
Development
Innovations
Project 8:
Family
Engagement
and Support
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.
A Quick Look At Some of the LECACs In
Action
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
Implementation Grant
Implementation Grant
• 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…)
LECAC Target Populations
Jurisdictions
1. Allegany County
Target Population
Low Income and Children with Special Needs
2. Anne Arundel County
ELL and FARMS
3. Baltimore City
Cherry Hill Community (Home & Center Based)
4. Baltimore County
Poverty
5. Calvert County
Low Income, Stay at Home & Informal Caregivers
6. Caroline County
At Risk Kindergarten Children, Children with Disabilities and Prior Care
7. Carroll County
Low Income and Children w/Disabilities
8. Cecil County
Strengthening Families (3-5 High Risk Communities)
9. Charles County
Low Income, Children with Disabilities and ELL
10. Dorchester County
Language & Literacy (All population subgroups)
11. Frederick County
Children with Disabilities
12. Garrett County
Children with Disabilities and Low-Income
13. Harford County
Poverty, Home/Informal Care/ELL and Children with Special Needs
14. Howard County
ELL, Children with Special Needs and FARMS
15.Kent County
Poverty and Low-Income
16. Montgomery County
Low Income and ELL
17. Prince George’s County
Low 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 County
FARMS, ELL, Children w/Disabilities and Home/Informal Care
19. St. Mary’s County
FARMS/Low Income
20. Somerset County
FARMS/Low Income
21. Talbot County
FARMS/Poverty
22. Washington County
FARMS/ Low Income
23. Wicomico County
ELL and Children with Special Needs/Education
24. Worcester County
FARMS/Low Income
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
Carroll County LECAC
Connections Made with other RTTT-ELC Projects
Jurisdictions
ROAR
Learning Parties
SEFEL
Violets
1. Allegany County
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2. Anne Arundel County
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3. Baltimore City
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4. Baltimore County
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7. Carroll County
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Parent Café
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5. Calvert County
6. Caroline County
EXCELS
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8. Cecil County
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9. Charles County
10. Dorchester County
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11. Frederick County
12. Garrett County
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13. Harford County
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14. Howard County
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15.Kent County
16. Montgomery County
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17. Prince George’s County
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18. Queen Anne’s County
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19. St. Mary’s County
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20. Somerset County
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21. Talbot County
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22. Washington County
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23. Wicomico County
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24. Worcester County
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TOTAL
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16
B-HIPP= 1; Montgomery County
Break Through Center = 1; Montgomery County
10

9
8
8
5
Notice of Grant Awards will be issued in January and
the terms of grant ends June 30, 2015.
Sustaining the LECAC Beyond 2015
•
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.
RACE TO THE TOPEARLY LEARNING CHALLENGE
Project 1- Establishing Local Early Childhood Advisory Councils
(LECAC)
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.us
www.MarylandPublicSchools.org