In this Issue:

• Plan4Preschool on Facebook and Twitter
• RAND Preschool Study 4: Preschool Adequacy and Efficiency in California
• New At Plan4Preschool: Curriculum Updates
• Santa Clara Preschool Planning Initiative Update
• June County Showcase: Tehama County
• Plan4Preschool Quick FAQ

RAND Preschool Study 4: Preschool Adequacy and Efficiency in California

The fourth and final RAND preschool study has been added to Plan4Preschool. This study examines the adequacy and efficiency of preschool education in California. integrates the results from the entire series of studies and makes recommendations for preschool policy in the state.

New At Plan4Preschool: Curriculum Updates

We have added four curriculum models to Plan4Preschool.

• Opening the World of Learning
• Houghton Mifflin Pre-K
• Scholastic Early Childhood Program
• the Letter People Curriculum

These curriculum models are now listed on the site for you to view with links to curriculum information, lesson plans and resources.

Santa Clara Preschool Planning Initiative Update

Santa Clara County has recently begun a public, community-based preschool planning process, coordinated by the Santa Clara Office of Education. The Santa Clara County Preschool Planning Initiative has already held two meetings, in May and June, and aims to build upon the foundation of prior work produced by county stakeholders like First 5 Santa Clara, the E3 Institute, and the Santa Clara County Local Planning Council, among others. Click here to see the content and polling results from Meeting 1 of the planning initiative.

The goal of the Santa Clara County Preschool Planning Initiative is to catalyze increased collaboration between early education program silos, and to develop a comprehensive preschool plan for 3 and 4 year olds within the context of developmental continuums. Two more public meetings of key stakeholders and interested parties are scheduled for September 17 and November 3, and you can always access meeting outputs, presentations and resource documents that support the planning initiative by visiting the Santa Clara County Showcase Page.

Do you know of areas where preschool planning is happening? Do you know of a particular ECE program that is doing phenomenal work?

Give us a heads up and let us know. You could be featured in next month's newsletter and on the Plan4Preschool website!

June County Showcase: Tehama County

Tehama County's vision for preschool is to be able to provide State Preschool Programs on every elementary school campus. Working closely with the Tehama County Local Child Care Planning Council and the elementary school districts including Antelope School District, Corning Elementary School District, Evergreen School District, Gerber Union Elementary School District, Los Molinos Unified School District, Red Bluff Union Elementary School District and Richfield School District, 15 State Preschool classes have opened on elementary school campus since 1999 by the Tehama County Department of Education (TCDE).

In 2002, TCDE applied for and received the first Early Reading First grant in California from the U.S. Department of Education. The focus was Red Bluff, Antelope and Gerber State Preschools. This grant created Preschool Centers of Educational Excellence by focusing on early literacy development for the preschoolers as well as professional development for the staff and parents. In 2003, TCDE was awarded the Early Childhood Professional Development Grant, CAL-NET by the U.S. Department of Education. It was a regional grant that provided online college courses, reimbursement for college classes and carried the Early Reading First model to all of Region 2. In 2004, TCDE received an additional Tehama Early Literacy and Language (TELL) award from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Early Learning Opportunities Act (ELOA). This award provided early literacy staff development for all child care providers, preschool staff and parents. In 2006, TCDE was awarded a second Early Reading First award for the State Preschools in the Corning area as well as one private preschool. TCDE provides staff development for all early childhood educators in our county by having an ECE Summer Teacher Institute as well as monthly staff development.

Since 2004, Tehama County Department of Education has acted as the LEA for California Preschool Instructional Networks (CPIN). The Tehama County Local Child Care Planning Council works closely with other preschool programs in Tehama county including Northern California Child Development, Inc (NCCDI) who administers the Head Start Program as well as Shasta Child Care Resource and Referral. TCDE also collaborates with Tehama First Five, who funds the School Readiness Program administered by TCDE. In addition, there are two employer sponsored child care centers sponsored by districts. Evergreen Elementary School District and Red Bluff Union High School Districts provide full day child care programs including a preschool program for their employee's children. Northern California Child Development, Inc. has partnered with Head Start, California Department of Education's Child Development Division and Educare to provide full day programs for preschoolers.

Tehama First 5 provides funding for the School Readiness Program which focuses on reaching children who have no preschool experience. They provide resource visits for families on the Central Eligibility List (CEL) as well as home visits for those families unable to access preschool or children zero to three. School Readiness also partners with the School Districts including Gerber, Los Molinos, Corning, Red Bluff and Antelope to provide Kinder Kamps which are 4-6 weeks programs the summer before the preschoolers enter Kindergarten. They also provide the Family and Schools Together (FAST) program which offers parent education and social interaction among the preschools for 10 weeks.

Plan4Preschool Quick FAQ

How do I use P4P? Log in and visit our orientation page to learn about Plan4Preschool’s tools and features.

I want my friends to register and participate! You can send them to our Registration page or just give them a link to the P4P Homepage.

I have ideas on how you can improve! 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? We'd LOVE to! 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! Join our Facebook fanpage, follow us on Twitter and 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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