Note: The html version of the newsletter has been condensed for easy reading. For the complete newsletter, please download the pdf.

In this Issue:

• Welcome
• Updates to P4P
• June County Showcase: Sacramento County
• Plan4Preschool News and Notes

Welcome

Happy Father's Day from Plan4Preschool!

Updates to P4P

Thank you to our users Dee Dee Wong and Cheri Garamendi for their recent information uploads for San Mateo and Amador Counties. User activity and contributions are vital to the improvement and expansion of Plan4Preschool. Click on "view all posts by this member" to see the documents they have uploaded.

One of the documents uploaded by Dee Dee Wong, Preschool for All - Touring a Quality Preschool Classroom, highlights the features of a classroom that are imperative to creating and maintaining a quality program. Amador County Community Assessment 2005, uploaded by Cheri Garamendi, is a broad-based comprehensive community assessment conducted in Amador County. You can also view these documents on the San Mateo and Amador county showcase pages!

Other than our user contributions this month, the 2007 California Child Care Portfolio has also been added to the portal. We will be adding the updated 2007 county portfolios to the portal in the next few days.

June County Showcase: Sacramento County

SCOE Coordinates Preschool Activity

Sacramento County Office of Education serves as the lead agency in the planning and development of increased quality preschool programs for young children. Through collaborative partnerships in Sacramento County and funding from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, SCOE School Readiness Department staff support local efforts focused on expanding quality preschool services for children. Projects include a series of community forums, a parent survey, a Web site, and the Superintendent's Preschool Expansion Committee.

The Preschool Bridging Model

The Preschool Bridging Model was a pilot project developed and funded by the First 5 Sacramento Commission. The first cycle of the project started in June 2006 and will end in July 2008. The project provides quality preschool services to three and four-year old children living within the Elk Grove Unified School District. The Bridging Model is based upon existing district services, with the goal of piloting a mixed delivery system for serving eligible children in their existing childcare settings, both in licensed child care centers and family child care homes. This is achieved through workforce development strategies that include onsite team-teaching and coaching support for private childcare centers and family childcare homes, educational and quality improvement planning, and instructional materials to enhance classroom environments.

First 5 Funds Preschool Expansion

First 5 Sacramento recently submitted and received approval from First 5 California for Cycle 2 - Round 3 (FY2008-12) School Readiness state-match funding. Under this proposal Sacramento will adopt countywide standardized strategies to promote school readiness for children ages 0-5, including an expansion of a First 5 Preschool Bridging Model. Most of the currently funded school readiness programs include preschool for students ages 3-4, while all districts will participate in the Preschool Bridging Model. Sacramento County Office of Education is the lead agency for the Preschool Bridging Model strategy.

The Sacramento County Showcase page at Plan4Preschool.org hosts a large variety of articles, from a variety of organizations, including the 2005 California Child Care Portfolio for Sacramento County and the Sacramento Strategic Plan for 2006-2010.

Have we missed something? Plan4Preschool.org hosts County Showcase pages for all 58 California counties. Please visit your county’s homepage, and if you don’t see a document or local event that you think should be there, contact us or upload it yourself! We encourage our users to take active participation in showcasing your county efforts towards improving early childhood education.

NEXT MONTH’S FEATURED COUNTY SHOWCASE: SANTA CLARA