High-Quality Early Education For All of Illinois' Children - Ounce of ...

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Preschool for AllSummary of Recommendations1. ACCESS FOR ALL✓ Serve all three- and four-year-olds on a voluntary basis✓ Serve children under age three who are at risk of school failure✓ Make preschool programs accessible to all families✓ Include children with special needs✓ Serve non-English-speaking children and families2. QUALITY FOR ALL✓ Require high staff qualifications✓ Create a pipeline of qualified staff✓ Support ongoing learning by teachers and other staff✓ Utilize proven, research-based curricula✓ Utilize proven, research-based program models for infants and toddlersand their families✓ Focus on young children's individual needs✓ Evaluate programs and monitor adherence to standards3. ATTENTION TO ALL ASPECTS OF SCHOOL READINESS✓ Provide parent education, engagement, and family support✓ Address physical development and health✓ Meet the unique developmental needs of individual children✓ Promote social and emotional development✓ Ease transitions between settings4. BUILDING ON ALL WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED✓ Allow families to choose from a wide range of settings✓ Expand good programs✓ Help good programs get even better✓ Build on the existing infrastructure✓ Improve linkage and integration with child care✓ Encourage local community collaborations to link and coordinate services foryoung children and their families
Spring 2006Dear Governor Blagojevich and Members of the Illinois General Assembly:As Co-Chairs of the Illinois Early Learning Council, we are pleased to share the Council'srecommendations for Preschool for All, a bold plan to make Illinois the first state to offer highqualitypreschool to all three- and four-year-olds whose families choose to enroll them. Preschoolfor All would build on Illinois' solid foundation of early learning programs to expand educationservices provided through the Early Childhood Block Grant, adding thousands of young children tothe program and guaranteeing continued quality in the expansion.Over 200 stakeholders—including representatives from the General Assembly, schools, child carecenters and homes, Head Start, higher education, state, local, and federal government agencies,business, law enforcement, foundations, and parents—participated in the Council's year long processof developing recommendations to guide the Governor's plan for preschool expansion.The movement toward Preschool for All reflects important new insights into the way children learnand the kinds of early experiences that improve the odds of school success. More is known todaythan ever before about how early experiences affect children's brain development and shape lifelonglearning. We know that children who participate in high-quality preschool make better progress inlanguage, math, and social skills, enabling them to take full advantage of all that school has to offer.We also know that thousands of Illinois families cannot access high-quality preschool programs,particularly those earning moderate incomes who do not qualify for state-funded preschool butcannot afford private program tuition on their own. Preschool for All will extend sorely neededresources to these children. Given what we know about the role of the early years in school success,access for all children is a matter of equal opportunity for the best possible start in life.Thank you for your past support in providing high-quality early learning opportunities to ouryoungest citizens and building partnerships with families to enhance their children's development.Preschool for All is the next logical step in the progression of bipartisan support this very importantissue has received to date. We look forward to continuing to work with you to ensure that Illinoistakes full advantage of the learning potential of all its children.Sincerely,Harriet MeyerPresidentOunce of Prevention FundCo-ChairElliot RegensteinDirector of Education ReformGovernor's OfficeCo-Chair
Page 1: Preschool for AllHigh-Quality Early
Page 6 and 7: Illinois Early Learning Council Ove
Page 9 and 10: Executive SummaryPreschool for All
Page 11 and 12: • All families need assurance tha
Page 13 and 14: 4. BUILDING ON ALL WE'VE ACCOMPLISH
Page 15 and 16: vii
Page 17 and 18: Part 1Why Preschool for All?Illinoi
Page 19 and 20: How Are We Serving Infants and Todd
Page 21 and 22: This finding rests on a large body
Page 23 and 24: This ReportThis report provides an
Page 25: 6Preschool for All means peace of m
Page 28 and 29: ✓Make preschool programs accessib
Page 30 and 31: ✓Create a pipeline of qualified s
Page 32 and 33: ✓Promote social and emotional dev
Page 34 and 35: Which providers are eligible to par
Page 37 and 38: Part 3Putting the Pieces TogetherIl
Page 39 and 40: When It All Comes TogetherWhat Will
Page 42 and 43: Appendix ARecommendations for Futur
Page 44 and 45: have access to affordable child car
Page 47 and 48: Part 4Illinois Early Learning Counc
Page 49 and 50: Raydeane JamesIllinois State Board
Page 51: AcknowledgementsThis report was wri

High-Quality Early Education For All of Illinois' Children - Ounce of ...

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