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The Vermont Community Preschool Collaborative (VCPC) Project
Editor’s note: The following article is being printed at the request of the writer. With the passage of the Pre-Kindergarten law, Act 62 of 2007, Mr. Sustic’s work with the Preschool Collaborative described below will be of interest to school districts that are considering utilizing existing preschool providers in programs for three and four year olds.
The primary purpose of the VCPC project is to provide support and resources to communities in Vermont so that public schools, childcare providers and others can collaborate on establishing and sustaining high quality learning experiences for three and four year olds that qualify for public education funding. We hope that the project will help communities move toward achieving a universally available, voluntary system of high quality experiences for three and four year olds that qualify for public education reimbursement, and that it will be part of a comprehensive system of high quality opportunities for all children, birth to school age.
Funding and Management
The project is supported by several philanthropists and funding partners through the Vermont Community Foundation. I work as a consultant for the Vermont Community Foundation and as director of the project. I also work with a ‘Kitchen Cabinet’ that functions as a combination advisory/management group, consisting of financial supporters and staff from the Vermont Community Foundation. The project also has an advisory group consisting of legislators (past and present), state government leaders (past and present), pediatricians, parents of preschoolers, and others. A variety of other potential financial backers are interested in supporting future projects, and more partners will allow us to expand the number of funded projects and the technical assistance offered.
Projects
At this point there are 13 VCPC funded projects in their first or second years of funding, and three projects finished a two-year cycle in September (Bennington, Highgate and Manchester). Five projects were approved over the summer and are in their first year (Lyndonville, Newfane, Rutland, St. Johnsbury and Wallingford). Six projects are in their second year of funding (Brattleboro, Cavendish, Grand Isle, Middlebury, Vergennes and Westminster), and two projects were newly approved this fall (Bridport and Dummerston). The funded projects are designed to ensure the strengthening and sustaining of partnerships between public schools and childcare providers.
Six additional communities are not currently being funded but are working on possibilities for VCPC start up projects within the coming year. The project currently also provides technical assistance to more than 20 other communities around the state. The non-funded projects are engaged in planning activities to help determine community’s goals regarding young children, to assess assets, and to identify needs, with the possibility of project funding in the future.
Criteria
There are several criteria we look for when selecting projects for funding, and the general categories in which we provide technical assistance: leadership, partnerships, linkages and results. These are the critical elements we have come to believe are important in this work.
Leadership: There needs to be a designated coordinator/leader with early education expertise and credibility who will serve as the primary liaison and responsible person for early education, and who can participate in a ‘community of practice’ consisting of coordinators/leaders from other communities. Also there needs to be key leaders representing constituencies outside early education who are involved, and have endorsed and made commitments to focusing on early education.
Partnerships: There should be agreements, letters of understanding, and/or other documents that articulate relationships between the local public school and non-public school providers of early education services. There should be resources dedicated to early education from private and other non-government sources, not just the typical sources of support for early education.
Linkages: The local public school, including its board and administration, should have made commitments to using early education as a primary strategy in improving student achievement, have dedicated an amount of money at least equal to the ADM generated by preschoolers to services for preschoolers, and considered the re-dedication of some level of existing public education funds to early education. The community should be involved in working with the Vermont Department of Education and others on addressing issues related to endorsement of preschool teachers, early education linkages with curriculum and standards, and preschool program accreditation and quality standards. Early education should be a component of school action planning activities, and the school should be engaging non-public school providers of early education services in the development of early education components of the school’s action plan. The regional Early Childhood Council or its equivalent should be participating in discussion, making decisions, and keeping informed and updated.
Results: There should a commitment to successful start up, implementation, and tangible results within a relatively short period of time. Children participating in preschool should be tracked throughout their public school careers to help determine the long-term impact of project activities. And there should be a commitment that some percentage of all three and four year olds will participate in a high quality preschool within a specific period of time.
Other Considerations
There needs to be enough people involved in planning to suggest a cross-section of the community/region and a variety of perspectives. Critical participants in these planning activities are childcare providers and public education representatives. If the project is focused on a single community, there should be some planning related to how efforts might be expanded to other communities. If the project is more regionally focused, there needs to be some planning about where to start first, and what the plan is for expanding from there. Communities also need to have a long-term commitment and plan for sustaining their efforts beyond initial planning or funding from something like the VCPC project.
We are seeking additional high quality proposals. If you’re interested in learning more, please contact Mark Sustic at mrksustc@together.net or 802-849-6968.
