DRAFT 12-3-09 – for discussion only

Concept Paper: Integrated Workforce Development System

Context

The Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) is committed to supporting high-quality early education and care for all children. To ensure a solid foundation for early learning, EEC intends tomove towards a workforce development system that supports high quality professional development for educators within the mixed-delivery system that includes child care centers, out-of-school time programs, family child care homes, public preschool programs, private schools, preschool and kindergarten programs, and Head Start programs.

Foundations of Professional Development

High-quality early learning opportunities improve the odds that children will succeed in school and life. Research has found that children enrolled in high-quality early education and care programs show improved school readiness and school achievement. Research also shows that a highly skilled and well-qualified workforce is a vital factor in the quality of early education or out-of-school time programs, and that quality programming is linked to positive outcomes for children. Early childhood education studies have found that the quality of education and care that children receive is associated with educator’s educational attainment. Educators’ training is linked to the quality of care and with children’s more positive social and cognitive outcomes[1].

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) defines professional development as initial preparation (pre-service) and learning experiences (in-service) designed to improve the knowledge, skills/behaviors, and attitudes/values of the early childhood and out ofschool time workforce. To meet NAEYC’s mission of “assuring the provision of high-quality early childhood programs for young children,” it is necessary to have a highly competent workforce for the early childhood field. Professional development provides the path to achieving this goal.

Background in Massachusetts

Since its creation in 2005, the Board and Department of Early Education and Care have been charged under its enabling statute (MGL Chapter 15D: Section 5) to develop, implement, and annually report on progress towards a Workforce Development System for the early education and out of school time field (see Appendix A). Through this System, the goals of the Board and Department are to produce positive outcomes for children by supporting those who work with them directly or indirectly in a variety of roles and settings every day.

EEC released its first “Workforce Development Plan in January, 2006”[2], which provided a framework for the work and described the current state of the field. In June, 2007[3]EEC released an updated plan, which included key system elements and identified next steps for FY2008-2009.

Significant progress towards this vision was made by the Massachusetts Early Education and Care and Out of School Time Workforce Development Task Force (Workforce Task Force), which was established in July 2007 by EEC, the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley and the Schott Fellowship in Early Care and Education[4], now the CAYL Institute. The Workforce Task Force was charged with conducting further research and analysis to make recommendations on key aspects of the workforce development system.Four working committees of the WorkforceTask Force were organized to address critical next steps in EEC’s 2007 Workforce Plan: Core Competencies; Orientation; Credentialing and Career Lattice; and Articulation/Transfer Agreements and Credit for Prior Learning. This concept paper both benefits from and advances the recommendations of the Workforce TaskForce.

One of the elements that the Workforce Task Force identified as a critical component of a workforce development system for Massachusetts is the alignment of professional development opportunities and resources with requirements and workforce needs[5].

The current early education and care and out of school time workforce requires access to:

  • Career Planning, Mentoring and Coaching;
  • Opportunities in higher education that support attaining Associate’s and Bachelor’s degrees in early education and care; and
  • High quality, focused training (including theory, strategy and support for implementation) on core competencies and skills necessary to provide high quality early education.

Current Professional Development System and Funding

Following the release of the 2007 Workforce Plan and the 2008 Workforce Task Force Steps Forward recommendations, EEC has worked to align its professional development requirements and standards through agency initiatives. Currently, EEC strives to leverage and maximize available resources by requiring entities receiving Professional Development funding (CCR&R agencies, Building Careers Colleges and CPC programs) to collaborate with each other and other entities such as family child care systems, Massachusetts Family Networks (MFNs), Parent-Child Home Programs (PCHPs), institutions of higher education, Head Start programs, local education authorities (LEAs), and educational collaboratives to address the professional development needs of the field.

EEC also administers the Early Childhood Educators (ECE) scholarship program in conjunction with the Office of Student Financial Assistance and the Department of Higher Education (DHE), although the funding resides in the budget of DHE. The ECE scholarship aims to increase the number of degreed staff in the field and required graduates to continue working in the field as a condition for receiving the scholarship.

During the spring of 2008 EEC formally began developing a Massachusetts Quality Rating & Improvement System (QRIS), to “assess, improve, and communicate the level of quality in early education and care and after-school settings”[6] . A key piece of this system is building on current/existing resources to put an infrastructure in place that supports programs and practitioners in meeting and maintaining quality standards [7]

While updating its regulations for both center-based and family child care programs serving children from birth to age 14, EEC defined professional development as,“ongoing education or training designed to increase an educator’s skills or knowledge or assist the educator in gaining new competencies in his or her profession or in a field closely related to his or her profession…” andincreased the required in-service hours of professional for broad segments of the early education and care field. The new regulations will become effective in January 2010.

With these and related initiatives, EEC continues to strive to knit together current resources into a professional development system that will facilitate the identification of existing gaps and necessary resources.

A critical missing piece in all of the current efforts is a single data management system to be able to target early educators and track the attainment of education and skills as a result of state investments to increase accountability. In January 2010 as a part of implementing the new regulations EEC will begin requiring that all educators register annually with EEC. Thiseducator registry will begin to address this gap in data and information by providing EEC with information on the size and composition of the current early education and care and out of school time workforce.

EEC’s Vision for an Integrated Workforce Development System

EEC’s mission is to provide the foundation that supports all children in their development as lifelong learners and contributing members of the community, and to support families in their essential work as parents and caregivers. EEC recognizes that the early education and care and out of school time workforce is the backbone of our services; we value and support their skill development, diversity, and fair compensation.

Research indicates that effective professional development for the early childhood workforce should use an integrated systems approach—a “comprehensive system of preparation and ongoing development and support for all early childhood education professionals working with and on behalf of young children.[8]” According toNAEYC, integrated policies intentionally promote the building and support of an efficient cross sector system that decreases duplication of efforts and increases accountability and sustainability. An integrated system helps develop and retain a competent and stable early childhood workforce—a skilled cadre of effective, diverse, and adequately compensated professionals.

The Workforce Task Force’s recommendations help fill in the framework needed for an integrated workforce system in Massachusetts.As laid out in the key elements section of this paper, the guidance provided by these recommendations is reflected in the various criteria, such as use of core competencies, establishing pathways for educators and use of MOUs to address shared professional responsibilities in helping to address increased compensation.

EEC envisions a workforce development system which is accessible to all educators throughout the state. Offerings shall be interconnected but may occur at statewide, regional, and local levels. Each access point to the system will share common elements of workforce development such as data, assessment and evaluation, core competencies, career lattice and credentialing system, and leadership development. However, each access point maycontribute unique functions, key partners, linkages and pathways to the system. EEC will seek to ensure that access to professional development is available statewide.

Workforce developmentis a key component for implementing the EEC Board’s Strategic Five-Year Plan ( and, in particular, foraddressing one of the key Strategic Directions, which is to create a workforce system that maintains worker diversity and provides resources, supports, expectations, and core competencies.

As illustrated in the table in Appendix A: FY10 Professional Development Funding, EEC has traditionally allocated funding for professional development to specific entities under several different contracts and grants. In January 2010, EEC anticipates releasing one Request for Proposal (RFP) for professional development that will combine the funding from all of those grants and contracts for professional development under that RFP for FY2011. This RFP will be an integral step towards realizing the vision set forth in both the 2008 Workforce Task Force recommendations and the Board’s Strategic Five-Year Plan.

Key Elements of the Professional Development System

In these tough economic times it is this opportunity to identify, preserve, and build upon those elements of our professional development system that are necessary for future growth as the economy recovers.

In the near term, EEC intends to focus its resources tosupport two interconnected areas; educators’ degree attainment and/or competency development and providers’[9] accreditation.

  • Educators: Implementation of two primary professional development pathways
  • one to move educators towards the attainment of a degree in early education or a related field, and
  • a second based onincreased competency as evidenced in the attainment of CDAs and other certifications related to core competencies.
  • Providers:Supporting programs in their efforts to increase quality through developing their staff, obtaining accreditation and movement along the Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) system.

In both of these areas, EEC has identified five key elementsof professional development that are the foundation for this work and that must be embedded as general practice in the system. Theseelements and the basiccriteria contained within them apply to all entities coordinating and delivering professional development activities.

1.)Professional development must be evidenced-basedand aligned with EEC’s 8 core competencies areas:

Entities delivering professional development services must:

  • ensure consultants providing education, mentoring, and coaching have the required skills, knowledge and abilities in the content area and in working with educators[10];
  • ensureeducators develop the skills and knowledge needed to demonstrate competency;
  • ensure that professional development offerings address theory, specific implementation strategies, and the use of reflection to increase competencyand supporteffective implementation;
  • provide opportunities that connect theory with practice through mentoring and coaching.

2.)Professional development must leverage resources across public and private agencies, including in-kind resources,to provide state-wide coverage in all required topics.

Entitiesdelivering professional development services must:

  • identify providers and educators who will be the target for improved competencies;
  • collaborate with local and regional partnersto ensure that professional developmentopportunities are distributed equitably and that limited resources are used effectively;
  • outreach to inform educators and programs about professional development opportunities and to identify their needs.

3.)Professional development is a shared responsibility between educators and the providers that employ them: Increasing the competency of educators also helpsthe programs they work in attain increasingly higher levels of quality.

Entitiesdelivering professional development services must:

  • encourageprovidersto support the professional development of their staff through Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) that advance the professional growth of educators, help programs retain staff, and provide stability and continuity to the children in care.
  • the MOU should define opportunities, rewards, and other supportsproviders will offer to educators who increase their skills, knowledge and abilities, as well as the expectations for educators who receive these opportunities, rewards and supports.

4.)Professional development must meet the needs of the early education and out of school time workforce:

Entitiesdelivering professional development services must:

  • establish pathways for all educators, including those in need of basic academic skills or those for whom English is a second language;
  • award academic “currency” [11] such college credits that advance educators along the professional development pathways
  • empower educators to make informed and appropriate educational choices that advance their professional growth;
  • provide mentoring and counseling based on individualized professional development/career plans;
  • adapt the delivery of professional development to meet the needs of educators and administrators working in early childhood and out of school time programs, including the use of available technology that makes professional development widely accessible to the field.

5.)Professional development must be targeted and intentional if available resources are to meet the needs of specific age groups and unique populations.

Entities delivering professional development services must:

  • deliver professional developmentin the context of additional training needed in a at least a three-year plan that addresses aspecific content or academicfocusof the individual educator or provider;
  • ensure all professional development addresses specific age groups, diverse learners, children with special needs and children who are at risk or subject to stress.

Services for Implementation of the Workforce Development System

To address the goals of supporting two interconnected areas of educators’ degree attainment and/or competency development and providers’ accreditation, EEC will support three areas of services as shown below. Individual offerings and functions within these service areas must relate to the QRIS and Core Competency Areas as listed on Appendix B.

Educatorand Provider Planning

  • for individual educators and providers, or
  • to train provider leadership to support career planning for their individual staff.

Coaching and Mentoring

  • to support the academic success of individual educators in the higher education environment, or
  • to implement a career plan for educators based on the attainment of specific skills, knowledge and abilities, or
  • to support providers’ development and improvement that result in upward progress in the QRIS system or accreditation.

Competency Development

  • to attain an associates, bachelors or masters degree in early childhood education or a related field as defined by EEC;
  • the attainment of specific competencies by educators related to early education and care and out of school time;
  • the attainment of increasing levels on QRIS by providers.

It is EEC’s expectation that entities will partner together to submit a proposal to deliver the professional development offerings and functions within all three of these areas above.Partnering entities that submit proposals will need to provide a detailed listing of

  • which courses and/or functions they plan to deliver and
  • to whom they plan to deliver them, including a detailed plan or syllabus for each course or function.
  • Entities partnering in their proposal must also be able to demonstrate
  • their understanding of the specific population(s) they intend to serve and how their services will meet the needs of those educators.
  • an understanding of howelements such as provider types and settings, education levels, the need of the children in care, and the needs of the providers in their intended service area are reflected in the professional development they offer.

In addition to the criteria in the key elements, entities partnering to provide professional development activities are required to target their services to the strategies that follow. Given limited resources, these strategies were selected because they reflectthe direction laid out by EEC’s Board in its Strategic Plan.

Entities delivering professional development services must:

1)Design and Accessibility: Implement professional development pathways for all educators that begin by addressing basic academic needs and guide and support educators through attaining the CDA credential or other certificate to matriculation in a degree program by:

  • supporting educators who need Adult Basic Education (ABE) to attain reading skills that prepare them for higher academic training;
  • imbed early childhood curricula and experiences in ABE coursework
  • supporting educators who need English as Second Language (ESOL) training
  • use Child Development Associate (CDA) attainment as a vehicle to support English language acquisition and provide foundational child development content.
  • supporting educators seeking professional growth by assuring that CDAs orlike credentials by are based on criteria that give them the option of transitioning to higher education;
  • partnering with a 2 year and/or a 4 year institution of higher educationto ensure linkages to credit bearing courses and articulation agreements;
  • supporting continuing Building Careers students in degree attainment (i.e. move Building Career student to other scholarship or financial aid programs);
  • adapting the delivery of professional development to the schedules of educators working in the field by offering;
  • professional development through non-traditional means, including both on and off-campus, directly in centers, and through approved distance and online learning;
  • professional development during non-traditional hours, including night and weekend courses;
  • options that meet the varied academic needs of educators such as taking a single course over a semester or taking intensive credit-bearing coursework in less than 12 weeks through weekend classes, on-line courses, and other means.

2)Mentoring and Coaching: Ensure that all students should have access to mentoring and coaching to support the attainment of educational goals by: