In this Issue:

• Plan4Preschool Webinar: Video & Highlights
• April County Showcase: Santa Cruz County
• Sign up as a Plan4Preschool User
• Plan4Preschool News and Notes

Plan4Preschool Webinar: Video & Highlights

Many of you joined us live for the very first Plan4Preschool Webinar on Thursday April 16th. However, in case you missed it, we have hosted the P4P Webinar video online for you to review again at your leisure-or you can share the link with colleagues and friends.

These are eventful times in early education, and the P4P Webinar addressed many of the challenges faced by people applying for funding, writing proposals to foundations, creating business plans, and assembling policy briefs for lawmakers. The P4P Webinar demonstrated how Plan4Preschool.org offers resources to help you:

• Build a Rational for Preschool
• Demonstrate Proof of Need
• Develop an Organizational Plan
• and Offer Innovations and Model Programs.

Some of the newly developed tools at Plan4Preschool that can help you achieve these goals are:

• The Preschool Data Wizard
• The ECE Higher Education Database
• New "Search within Section" Abilities
• and User Landing Pages for Advocates, Providers, Parents and Students.

Learn more about how these tools, and Plan4Preschool's library of content can work for you by watching the P4P Webinar webcast. https://karenhillscottevents.webex.com/karenhillscottevents/lsr.php?AT=pb&SP=EC&rID=1310272&rKey=F11C6AE9581BE044

April County Showcase: Santa Cruz County

With a $150,000 grant from the David and Lucille Packard Foundation, the Santa Cruz County Office of Education (SCCOE),the Local Child Care Planning Council and First 5 Santa Cruz, are planning a countywide effort to produce a preschool plan " All for Preschool"- offering voluntary preschool to un-served 3 and 4 year old children within the county.

According to SCCOE Superintendent Michael Watkins, there are an estimated 6,000 three to four year old children in Santa Cruz County, 3,000 of whom are not attending licensed preschool. Development of "The All for Preschool" plan is especially focused on students who have not previously had access to preschool, either due to finances or geographic barriers. Plans are underway for students to have "access to a high quality preschool regardless of their families' economic status."

Currently SCCOE runs preschool programs for children with special needs and increased services for preschoolers with autism. The SCCOE also operates a Cal-Safe program for teen parents and their children. School districts provide Head Start, Migrant Head Start and State Preschool programs throughout the county. SCCOE has an extensive AB212 Professional Development program, participates with California Preschool Instructional Network, and the Growing Learning and Caring Project to improve quality, access and stability to early care and education providers. Together with First 5, family friends and neighbors receive training to increase their skills and to promote the importance of early literacy for the children in their care.

In June 2008, First 5 Santa Cruz County was awarded a $1.8 million matching grant by First 5 California to bolster its School Readiness Program. First 5 Santa Cruz contributed $1.4 million towards the effort. In addition to doubling the number of children served by early head start programs over the next four years, these funds will help maintain First 5 Santa Cruz' current projects, expand its Health Access and Comprehensive Screening and Assessment programs and fund new school readiness programs for local agencies.

Sign up as a Plan4Preschool User

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Plan4Preschool News and Notes

How do I use Plan4Preschool? Log in and visit our orientation page to learn about Plan4Preschool’s tools and features.

Can I send you my recommendations? We welcome and encourage your feedback! Please fill out our Feedback Form or send us an email and let us know how we can improve P4P.

Can you give my organization a demonstration of how to use Plan4Preschool? Sure! Contact Ariana Sani for more information on getting P4P presenters out to your organization or classroom.

I want to help promote P4P! Expand P4P by word-of-mouth and demonstrate the power of community networking! Forward these newsletters on to your friends, co-workers, students and anyone who is working towards the cause of advancing preschool in California.

We encourage you to use P4P to help to build and strengthen preschool in your community and in California!

Karen Hill Scott, Ed.D.
Plan4Preschool

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