Request for Application to Participate in the Early Learning
Challenge Transformation Zone
Section I – Overview
A. The Problem: Persistent achievement gap between children with high needs
and their peers at kindergarten entry
North Carolina has geographic pockets where a high percentage of young children and
their families are persistently exposed to multiple risk factors, including poverty, high
unemployment, single parent households, linguistic isolation, and low parental education –
with 27% of young children across the state estimated to be exposed to three or more risk
factors. The northeastern part of our state is rural and has experienced decades of
economic distress and disparities in access to high-quality programs. A significant number of
elementary schools in the northeastern region of the state have a high percentage of
children with high needs as well as low academic performance composite scores.
We know from research that reducing the achievement gap for these young children
requires more than any single intervention strategy. Instead, a set of effective strategies to
address meaningful supports to families, like access to high quality child care, early literacy,
and connections to the right services to meet the needs of young children and their families
is needed.
B. The Approach: Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge Transformation
Zone
In December 2011, North Carolina was awarded one of nine Race to the Top-Early
Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) grants from the U.S. Departments of Education and Health
and Human Services. This investment of nearly $70 million over four years will help
strengthen our statewide early childhood system to support positive outcomes for young
children. The NC Early Childhood Advisory Council is the lead agency for this federal grant.
One of the key strategies included in North Carolina’s ELC grant is an innovative
Transformation Zone in the northeastern part of the state. The Transformation Zone
strategy is to provide high-intensity supports and community infrastructure-building efforts
to promote positive outcomes for young children in some of NC’s highest need, rural
counties. Transformation Zone counties will be supported through: 1) communitybuilding—identifying existing strengths, relationships, goals and successes; 2) infrastructure
development—increasing the capacity of individuals in the county to develop and sustain
strategies to improve child outcomes and collect and analyze data to support change; and
3) implementation of evidence-based programs and practices—offering a menu of
Page 1 of 9
evidenced-based and informed programs (for more information, go to:
http://implenet.ning.com/group/nc-elc-tz/page/learn-more).
The vision for the Transformation Zone is that local communities build upon their many
existing strengths and successes and increase their capacity to work collaboratively to
assure that every child comes to kindergarten ready to succeed in school and in life; and
that state policies adapt to provide optimal support for local efforts.
C. Anticipated Results:
North Carolina’s RTT-ELC Transformation Zone strategy will achieve the following
results by December 2015:
1. Selected evidence-based or informed programs will produce the intended
impacts for participating high-need children and those who care for them (families
and/or teachers) in the Transformation Zone.
2. Key stakeholders (families, early childhood educators, funders, community leaders,
and others) will demonstrate increased knowledge, commitment, and use of
funding, policy and practice changes that contribute to improved outcomes for
children with high needs.
3. Communities will have developed a theory of change and begun to implement a
strategic plan for improving health, developmental and school readiness outcomes
for Children with High Needs.
4. Ultimately, Children with High Needs will start kindergarten with similar school
readiness skills as their peers.
Section II – Opportunity to Participate in Transformation Zone
1. Request to Participate in Transformation Zone
The ECAC invites eligible counties to submit a Request for Application (RFA) to
participate in the Transformation Zone no later than August 15, 2012. No more than
one application per county will be considered; county leaders should work together to
determine a “convening” agency for the Transformation Zone, and that agency should
submit the RFA for the county.
2. Available Resources
The Transformation Zone opportunity is different from traditional grants. This
opportunity offers a package of services and resources that are designed to help counties
improve outcomes for young children with the highest needs, and includes:
 High-quality professional development
 Onsite coaching
Page 2 of 9





Local staff and project resources to implement evidence-based and informed
programs (including costs for staff salaries and benefits, space, equipment and
supplies, supervision, and professional development)
Local and state implementation coaches to help counties maximize existing
resources and collaboration
Support for developing a sustainability plan and seeking new resources
Support for building community capacity to effectively implement programs beyond
the life of the grant and beyond the services funded by the grant
Opportunity to work with state agency leaders to reduce barriers to local
implementation efforts
3. Eligibility
The RFA is open to 17 counties in the Northeast designated as Tier I (2012). These
counties are: Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Edgecombe, Greene, Halifax,
Hertford, Hyde, Jones, Lenoir, Martin, Northampton, Tyrrell, Vance, Warren, and
Washington.
Selected counties will:
a. Articulate a vision (hopes and dreams) for the county that aligns with this
initiative.
b. Demonstrate a history of collaboration across sectors (Public Health, Local Smart
Start Partnership, Head Start, Early Head Start, Public Schools, etc.) and has
reached consensus related to the “convening agency” for this initiative.
c. Provide committed leadership within each of the critical sectors of this initiative.
d. Have experience implementing evidence-based or evidence-informed early
childhood strategies.
e. Identify three to five individuals with positions relevant to the Transformation
Zone initiative willing to devote approximately .25 of their time to serving as an
active member on a Transformation Zone County Implementation Team.
f. Have leaders willing to participate in and contribute to a community of practice.
Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion
for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly
(Wenger).
g. Collect and use data on the implementation, progress, and outcomes of the
Transformation Zone initiative.
h. Agree to participate in all Transformation Zone activities.
Designated “convening agencies” will:
a. Coordinate the County Leadership Team.
Page 3 of 9
b. Coordinate the County Implementation Team.
c. Facilitate communication/problem solving with State-Level implementation team.
d. Ensure that County Teams focus on installing, implementing, improving, and
sustaining high quality services.
e. Mobilize, coordinate, and foster active communication between stakeholders
around shared goals, mutually reinforcing activities, shared outcome measurements,
and continuous quality improvement and learning.
4. Application Deadline
Counties interested in participating must submit an application no later than 5:00
p.m. on August 15, 2012. One electronic copy must be submitted by the deadline to be
accepted. Submit completed applications to:
Anne Bryan
Early Childhood Advisory Council
20301 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-0301
anne.bryan@nc.gov
5. Additional Information and Office Hours
As county applicants begin establishing the core team of collaborating partners to
support this initiative, additional questions may arise related to the application process, as
well as the initiative. A temporary website has been created to provide information related
to this initiative: http://implenet.ning.com/group/nc-elc-tz/page/learn-more
By Monday, July23rd, one or more recorded webinars will be available for viewing by
key stakeholders in your community. The webinars will describe the Early Learning
Challenge Grant, the Transformation Zone, and the application process. The links for the
webinars will be found under the “Quick Resources” section of the website listed above.
In addition, for counties who have questions about the application process or the
initiative, itself, your county may schedule an appointment for to meet with us virtually
during our “office hours.” With up to seventeen eligible counties, we request that each
county gather your key stakeholders, pull together your list of questions, and contact us for
a single meeting. Office hours will occur on July 23, July 26, and August 3. Please request
your office hour by contacting Gina Walker at gina.walker@unc.edu. If you send her several
times that work for your stakeholders, she will be able to match your preferences to an
available time slot. Gina will then send you the time of your call and a phone number to
call. Each call will be scheduled for one hour.
Page 4 of 9
6. Selection Process
Selection will occur through a two-step process:
1) Applications
2) Site Visits
The final Transformation Zone will be created through a mutual selection process:
counties will be assessed for their interest and commitment to participating in a new,
more “hands on” experience with the state, and the state team must determine the
level of commitment and motivation across the county’s partner agencies as well as its
own capacity to adequately support the counties in the Transformation Zone. In
addition, since available grant resources will limit the number of counties that can be
selected to be a part of the Transformation Zone, preference will go to highly
committed counties that have neighboring counties who also are assessed to be highly
committed. Final selection will involve a complex calculation based on assessed level of
interest and commitment, the geographic criteria described above, and a total
population of birth per year for the collection of Transformation Zone counties that falls
around 1000/year.
7. Important Dates
July 23, 26, August 3
Information Webinars
August 15, 2012 @ 5:00 pm
Application Deadline
September 11, 12, 14, 19, 20, 21
Site Visit to Finalists
October 1
Notification of Selection
October 15(tentative)
Orientation Webinar
Page 5 of 9
Section III – Transformation Zone Application
County Name: _________________________________________________________________
Convening Agency Name:_________________________________________________________
Submitted by Name: ____________________________________________________________
Title:__________________________________________________________________________
Telephone: __________________________________________________________________
Email address:________________________________________________________________
PART A: Criterion – Please limit narrative responses for PART A to 8 pages.
Criterion 1: County Vision
Rationale. Complex change efforts are only good investments when the change being
considered is a good fit with the needs, goals, and desired outcomes of the county.
Guiding Questions. (Note: for each item below, we have offered guiding questions to help
you think about how to respond to the criterion. You do not have to answer all of the
guiding questions; rather, you should address the criterion in the way that most fully
describes how it applies to your county.)
 Does your county have a shared vision (hopes and dreams) for the county that aligns
with the Transformation Zone initiative? If yes, what is it? How was the vision
created, and who participated in its development?
 How does your county use the vision to guide its policies, programs, and priorities
for young children and families?
 If your county does not have a formal shared vision, what examples do you see that
show how stakeholders have shared hopes and dreams for young children and
families?
 If your county does not have a formal shared vision, how can you imagine creating
one? Who would be involved, and who might take the lead?
Criterion 2: Cross-sector Collaboration
Rationale. The formation of an ELC County Management/Leadership Group that includes
leaders from all key domains (Health, Public Health, Education, Early Care and Education,
Social Services, Family Strengthening, etc.) is an essential ingredient of this endeavor. Given
the breadth of the early childhood change strategies, leaders from all key domains will need
to be engaged to re-design the current system and current policies to better meet the
needs of young children.
Guiding Questions.
Page 6 of 9





Who are the key stakeholders in your community that work regularly on early
childhood policy, services, and advocacy?
How do these stakeholders work together on shared goals and measurements of
success?
How do these stakeholders ensure regular, ongoing communication and shared
learning? How do the stakeholders resolve conflicts?
What does strong collaboration look like in your county?
How did your county make the decision about who the “convening agency” would
be for the Transformation Zone, if selected?
Criterion 3: Committed Leadership
Rationale. Top leadership support is critical to making necessary system changes and
accessing funding to effectively implement and improve the early childhood system and
services. To engage in the necessary system improvement processes, top leaders serving on
the ELC County Management/Leadership Group will be expected to meet regularly with the
County Implementation Team and at least monthly with the state-level ELC Transformation
Zone Team.
Guiding Questions.
 How do top leaders currently work together regularly to improve outcomes for
young children in your county?
 How do you see evidence of committed top leaders – do they regularly attend
meetings? Follow through on commitments? Work through challenges openly?
Criterion 4: Experience Implementing Evidence-based or Evidence-informed Strategies
Rationale: Counties that have previously implemented evidence-based and evidence –
informed practices will be more prepared for this multi-initiative effort. This is important
because the County needs to understand: (a) the types of specific requirements necessary
to implement particular evidence-based and evidence-informed strategies, (b) the types of
resources needed for implementation, and (c) how to successfully take into account the
context in which implementation takes place.
Guiding Questions.
 What kinds of evidence-based or evidence informed early childhood strategies are
being implemented in your county now?
 Which organization(s) take the lead for each strategy?
 Do organizations work together on any of the strategies? If so, how?
 How do you imagine your county would benefit from additional support on
implementing evidence-based and informed strategies?
Criterion 5: Allocation of Staff Time to Transformation Zone Effort
Rationale. Implementation efforts will require staff time and County Implementation
Teams. These individuals do not have to be assigned to this effort full-time; however, three
Page 7 of 9
to five .25 FTE would be the goal. (Note: It is crucial that this FTE is not added to an already
full-time position.) Sustainable change requires that individuals from each county to
participate in this process.
Guiding Questions.
 When you think about the work of the Transformation Zone (implementation of
evidence-based and evidence-informed strategies and community capacity-building
work), what types of individuals from which organizations do you think need to be
the core team working on the effort?
 What conversations have these organizations had (if any) about the possibility of
redirecting current staff’s time to this effort? For example, an organization that
oversees home visiting programs might agree that a quarter time of the home
visiting supervisor would be devoted to participating in the Transformation Zone
Team meetings and other efforts.
 What other creative ideas might there be to create time of leaders and those
actually implementing services to work on the Transformation Zone effort?
Criterion 6: Participation in Community of Practice
Rationale. County leaders, County Implementation Team members, and local implementers
will participate in a community of practice to share information. The focus will be on the
lessons learned about effectively implementing and improving the early childhood system
and services in the selected counties. This will require the participation of members of the
County Management/ Leadership Group and County Implementation Team in telephone
conferences calls, email exchanges, and web postings.
Guiding Questions.
 How do leaders and service providers in your county currently find time to learn
from each other and share resources and ideas?
 How do you imagine your county would benefit if leaders and service providers
devoted more time for sharing and learning?
Criterion 7: Data Collection and Use
Rationale: A key feature of successful implementation, sustainability, and expansion of
evidence-based and evidence-informed strategies is an active, effective, and dynamic
process for gathering and using data. The County will need to look at how it is currently
collecting and using data within and across agencies and commit to collecting and using
data on the implementation, progress, and outcomes of the Transformation Zone initiative.
Guiding Questions.
 How do organizations in your county currently collect and use data?
 How do you share data collection, reports, or information across organizations?
 How do you imagine your county would benefit from finding new ways to collect,
share and use data?
Page 8 of 9
PART B: Other Information (Optional) – Please limit narrative responses for
PART B to 2 pages.
1. Provide any other information about your county and/or interest in cross-county
collaboration that you would like to include in your application.
PART C: Certification
By agreeing to have my name, title, and organization listed below, I certify that 1) I have
participated in the development and/or careful review of this application; 2) I agree with the
content of this application; and 3) my organization will participate fully in all Transformation
Zone activities if our county is selected, and will make a good faith effort to meet our agreed
upon goals.
Organization 1 Name:
Name and Title of Organization Representative:
Organization 2 Name:
Name and Title of Organization Representative:
Organization 3 Name:
Name and Title of Organization Representative:
Organization 4 Name:
Name and Title of Organization Representative:
Organization 5 Name:
Name and Title of Organization Representative:
Organization 6 Name:
Name and Title of Organization Representative:
Organization 7 Name:
Name and Title of Organization Representative:
Organization 8 Name:
Name and Title of Organization Representative:
Page 9 of 9