Dimensions of Early Childhood - Southern Early Childhood ...

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Proposed Changes to the By-laws of the Southern Early Childhood Association The SECA Board of Directors has voted to put the following by-laws changes before the SECA membership at the annual business meeting to be held on March 31, 2007 at the SECA conference in Jacksonville, Florida. Article III, Section C Current Language: The membership year will be comprised of 12 calendar months from the time of initial application for membership in the organization. The initial application date will serve as the anniversary date for the individual member and all member benefits will be accrued based upon that designated twelve month period. Non-dual states have the option to be on a rolling membership year or a fixed year. Proposed Language: Delete the sentence: Non-dual states have the option to be on a rolling membership year or a fixed year. Rationale: All SECA states currently utilize the rolling membership year. Article VIII, Section H Current Language: A vacancy in the office of President shall be filled by the Vice President. A vacancy in other offices shall be filled by appointment by the Board of Directors. Proposed Language: A vacancy in the office of President shall be filled by the President-Elect or Immediate Past-President. A vacancy in the office of President-Elect shall be filled by the candidate that received the next largest popular vote total. A vacancy in other offices shall be filled by appointment by the Board of Directors. Rationale: The offices of President and President-Elect should be filled by persons elected by the membership. If you have comments or views on the proposed changes and will be unable to attend the annual business meeting, forward those comments by March 15, 2007 to: Glenda Bean, Executive Director Southern Early Childhood Association PO Box 55930 Little Rock, AR 72215-5930 All written comments will be forwarded to the SECA President for consideration at the business meeting. 28 Volume 35, Number 1 DIMENSIONS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD Winter 2007
This article reviews early childhood program-quality research and describes one state’s approach to improving services to young children. Kentucky’s strategy includes several critical professional development components: early childhood core content, scholarships, articulation agreements, a training framework, and early childhood credentials. Kentucky’s Statewide Early Childhood Professional Development System Beth Rous, Jaime Grove, and Kim Townley Public school systems have recently become major players in providing services for children in their early years. In addition, a number of other services are available to young children including child care, Head Start, and Early Head Start programs (see sidebar). The link between program quality and professional development of early care and education professionals has prompted many states to increase professional development activities and supports. Using research about indicators of high-quality programs, the state of Kentucky established a system to improve the professional development of teachers of young children. The research on which the system is based and the system’s structure are reviewed here. Growth in early childhood program enrollment During the last 2 decades there has been a dramatic increase in the number and type of early childhood programs available to children from birth to 5 years of age. • In 2004, 38 states offered state-funded prekindergarten programs (Barnett, Hustedt, Robin, & Schulman, 2004). • In 2003, approximately 6,867,000 young children between the ages of 3 and 5 were enrolled in nursery school, preschool, or kindergarten (KIDS Count, 2005). • The number of children attending state-funded preschool programs increased from 693,000 in 2001/2002 to 738,000 in 2002/2003 (Barnett, Hustedt, Robin, & Schulman, 2004). The majority of states fund some prekindergarten programming, including Title I and Head Start, while all states currently provide services for preschool children with disabilities and their families under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Impact of Program Quality on Child Outcomes No Child Left Behind (Elementary and Secondary Education Act, 2001) requires documentation of higher levels of student achievement (McLaughlin, Henderson, & Rhim, 1998). For young children, there has also been an increasing emphasis on child outcomes as evidenced through the Good Start, Grow Smart Initiative and the Head Start National Reporting System. These new Beth Rous, Ed.D., is Director, Community Education and Early Childhood, Human Development Institute, University of Kentucky, Lexington. Rous’ research experience includes a focus on professional development, standards, and accountability; and leadership and systems development. She has published numerous articles, book chapters, and technical manuals, the most recent of which is a book on early childhood transitions. Jaime Grove, M.S., is Project Coordinator, Interdisciplinary Human Development Institute, University of Kentucky, Lexington. She served as Trainer’s Credential Coordinator for Kentucky the first 2 years of the implementation of this credential. She is currently coordinating the efforts of the Professional Development Framework Research Collaborative (PDFRC). She has published several journal articles as a result of her work on early childhood grants at both the national and state levels. Kim Townley, Ph.D., is Acting Director, Division of Early Childhood Development, Kentucky Department of Education, Frankfort. She has served the field of early childhood education for more than 30 years in positions that include kindergarten teacher, university faculty, lab school director, and Governor’s Office. Winter 2007 DIMENSIONS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD Volume 35, Number 1 29
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