Best Selling Books by Early Learning

This stand-alone document incorporates the revisions to the Early Literacy section from the Language Development and Communication Domain. This document was created for those who already have the 2011 Third Edition document and only need the updated section.

The Illinois Early Leaning Council coordinates existing programs and services for children from birth to five years of age in order to better meet the early learning needs of children and their families.

House Bill 2519, sponsored by Representative Tana Senn, was passed during the 2014 legislative session and signed into law by Governor Jay Inslee. HB 2519 directs the Department of Early Learning (DEL) and the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) to jointly develop recommendations on methods to "better partner to ensure children involved in the child welfare system have access to early learning services and developmentally appropriate child care services and report these recommendations to the governor and appropriate legislative committees." (See the full bill language) In developing the content for this report, Department of Early Learning and Department of Social and Health Services staff conducted interviews with stakeholders. The stakeholders included philanthropic and non-profit organizations, advocacy groups, early learning providers and Children''s Administration veteran parents. There was consensus about the importance of high quality early learning environments for all children, but especially for children involved in the child welfare system. Stakeholders echoed the same areas of success detailed in the report and urged DEL and DSHS to continue to look for or create more opportunities for linkages and collaboration. There was agreement on the importance of cross sector, cross agency trainings on child development, parent engagement and available resources. Veteran Parents credited peer-mentoring as one of major reasons they were able to successfully regain custody of their children. One veteran parent called a peer-mentor a "culture navigator." For the purposes of this report: (1) DEL and DSHS are defining "children involved in the child welfare system" as both children involved in Child Protective Services programs [Family Assessment Response (FAR) and investigations] and children involved in Child and Family Welfare Services; and (2) DEL and DSHS are defining "early learning services and developmentally appropriate child care services" to include home visiting offered through the Home Visiting Services Account; child care subsidy programs; the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP), and the Early Support for Infants and Toddlers (ESIT ) program. Staff from DEL and DSHS met multiple times during the summer and fall of 2014 to discuss what is working well in linking children involved in the child welfare system with early learning services, and how we can improve our communication and collaboration on behalf of these children. Staff also spoke with early learning advocates and veteran parents from the child welfare system to get their perspective on what is working well and what could be improved. This report articulates successes, challenges and opportunities for DEL and DSHS in providing children involved in the child welfare system with high-quality early learning services.

"The Early Learning Program Guide has been organized around foundational elements of a high quality early learning program. The focus is on learning from contemporary literature and practices. Part I describes the vision and principles around which the Guide has been developed. Part II, Children as Competent Learners, explores how beliefs about children and their capabilities impact program design, interactions and, ultimately, children''s learning. Part III, Changing Role for Educators, reviews how seeing children as competent learners has caused educators to examine their practices and expand their roles. Part IV, How Young Children Learn, revisits active, experiential learning and why it is vital to child development. The role of exploration in children''s learning is examined, as is the importance of holistic learning. Part V, Observation and Reflection--Critical Skills, describes how these powerful practices are foundational to the design of high quality programming. Part VI, High Quality Programming--What Does it Look Like?, highlights three key components of program design--the environment, relationships and planning--and how these are impacted by the foundational elements described in Parts I to V. The remaining portions of the document, Resource Sheets, Appendices and References, provide additional information. Readers will also notice Reflection and Decision Making pages. These are provided to assist educators in reflecting and discussing the foundational elements and planning for implementation."--Document.

While fiscal year 2012-2013 was a year of transition for the Office of Early Learning (OEL), fiscal year 2013-2014 proved to be a year when new leadership, organizational structure, direction and vision coalesced, producing results that demonstrated the office was moving in the right direction. The first day of the fiscal year--July 1, 2013--was also the day that House Bill 7165 went into effect. Designed to improve quality, while increasing accountability and transparency for the state''s early learning programs, this important legislation moved OEL into the Florida Department of Education. The law consolidated department duties and responsibilities for voluntary prekindergarten within early learning, and directed a number of additional changes to the early learning system across the state. This annual report provides an overview of the activities and accomplishments of OEL, early learning coalitions and partner organizations across the state during the 2013-2014 fiscal year period. The following are appended: (1) Map of Early Learning Coalitions; (2) Percentage of Children in School Readiness Compared to Children in Poverty by Early Learning Coalition; (3) Percentage of Children in School Readiness Compared to Children in Poverty by County; and (4) Coalition Service Delivery.