Waisman Center–Birth To 3 Program
WISCONSIN EARLY CHILDHOOD EFFORTS
Wisconsin is one of the few states that provides state funding for 4-year-old kindergarten programs that are open to all children regardless of developmental or income status. Over 100 school districts across Wisconsin now offer 4-year-old kindergarten programs to approximately 12,000 children. Another 100 districts are currently exploring the provision of 4K programs. Many of these districts are investigating community partnerships in these programs, with LaCrosse and Milwaukee taking the lead. LaCrosse has taken a wide community approach to serving 4-year-olds. Their model offers every family the choice for 4-year-old kindergarten programs from a variety of settings including a school setting, a child care setting with a school 4K teacher, a contracted child care center, or support for those parents electing to keep their child home. A DPI budget initiative would allow districts to receive membership aide full day 4K as well as part day.
Expansion of Full Day 5-Year-Old Kindergarten:
School districts have made significant increases in full
day 5-year-old kindergarten. In 1990 only 20% of the districts offered
full day 5K. In 2000, this number has increased to 80% of the districts
offering full day 5K.
Expansion
of Services to Young Children with Disabilities in Community Settings:
Wisconsin is wrapping up the efforts from the national
Map to Inclusive Child Care project. Highlights of this project
on the state level include the interagency delineation of roles
and responsibilities related to serving children with disabilities
in community settings, a listing of related resources, a listing
of related books for preschool children, a "inclusive child
care tool kit" and a traveling display board.
Several IDEA preschool grants are assisting district to provide
special education services to young children with disabilities in
community settings. These grants are developing and promoting itinerant
and co-located models for services in settings such as child care,
Head Start, and kindergarten. A web site will be created to highlight
these and other partnerships.
State
Level Collaboration and Planning Efforts Support Community Partnership:
Wisconsin Early Childhood Collaborating Partners (WECCP) is a collaboration
representing state, local, public and private groups and individuals
working together since 1993. Primary funding has come from DPI and
Goals 2000. The vision for WECCP is to create a blended system of
high quality, comprehensive early childhood care and education for
every child and family who wants it. WECCP is in the final stages
of developing an action plan to move toward the blended early childhood
care and education system.
Wisconsin was selected by the National Governor's Association (NGA)
to receive technical assistance for "Building Public and Political
Will for Early Care and Education." The NGA team made its first
site visit in April, which was followed by meeting bringing together
all the states in the project. The DWD Office of Child Care worked
closely with DPI, DHFS, and the Governor's office to develop the
application. The Wisconsin plan forms a state interagency team,
which is working in conjunction with the WECCP Action Plan to establish
priorities. A January conference will highlight some of the issues
related to building public and political will and policy development.
DPI worked with the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) on
a grant program to bring Child Development Block Grant/T ANF funds
directly to local communities. The funds could be utilized for a
wide variety of approaches to improve services and partnerships
around child care. Approximately 2/3 of the funded grants included
schools in the grant planning/implementation.
Development of comprehensive and articulated Early Childhood Profession:
The Wisconsin Technical College System and the Wisconsin University
System have entered into an agreement to make it easier to transfer
between systems. The "2 plus 2" program initiative will
start with alignment of course competencies for early childhood
education. This agreement supports several other early childhood
professional development trends:
- The move to competency
based teacher education programs and the new DPI teacher licensing
redesign.
- The creation of dually certified early childhood special education and early childhood general education degree programs at the university level, and
- Recognition that technical college child development courses need to include competencies related to inclusive child care.
DWD, the Office of Child Care, has received state funds to operate a scholarship and bonus program under the auspices of T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood @WISCONSIN. The program is designed to improve the quality of child care providers. A state/child care center agreement provides 10% of the tuition costs and a raise or a bonus at the completion of a course work leading to an associate and or bachelors degree.