Early Childhood Education Initiative: Future Directions

• Continue to provide professional development opportunities to support the State’s priorities of closing CT’s Achievement Gaps, and expanding the delivery of education services in the Least Restrictive Environment.

• Continue to support the State’s efforts to establish Universal Preschool.

• Continue to coordinate opportunities for Kindergarten teachers to network, and provide information for administrators about best practice in Kindergarten. The focus of the 2003-4 kindergarten conference is successful transition from preschool to kindergarten. In 2003-4 six regional roundtables were held to provide kindergarten teachers with networking opportunities and inform future efforts by the CSDE regarding kindergarten.

• Encourage districts to include preschool when completing district wide professional development plans, so that initiatives that support inclusive practices such as Positive Behavior Supports, and Co-teaching are introduced at the preschool level.

• Continue to identify models of best practice in high quality inclusive early childhood settings.

• Increase the number of in depth, job embedded professional development opportunities available, in addition to awareness level opportunities.

• Continue to collaborate with the multiagency planning team to coordinate an annual conference for early childhood/ early childhood special education professionals- Together We Will. The conference theme for 2003-4 is Together We Will Embrace the Use of Technology to meet the needs of all children.

• Continue to develop a cadre of reliable Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS) raters.

• Disseminate information about the revised National Association for Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Accreditation Criteria.

• Maintain SERC’s comprehensive library collection of Early Childhood Education resources.