Northam seeks input on improving toddler care, early schooling

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s management is seeking public enter on the way to enhance early training and baby care alternatives inside the kingdom.
Northam’s office introduced Thursday that the nation is in search of feedback through the stop of the month on the management’s proposed strategic plan to improve college readiness.
These days released desires evaluation found that forty% of the country’s kindergarten students are not ready for faculty. Nearly half of all low-income kindergarten students enter school unprepared.
The nation’s strategic plan’s goals encompass increasing availability for each public and private childcare alternatives for running dad and mom of infants. The state also desires to use incentives to assist make certain adequate pay for childcare workers.
You can provide feedback by way of analyzing over all of the documents at vecf.Org/ after which sending your comments to [email protected] by means of the cease of August.

Governor Ralph Northam these days introduced the crowning glory of a statewide Needs Assessment and draft Strategic Plan that were produced via the $9.Nine million federal Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-five) introduced in January. The Needs Assessment identifies gaps in Virginia’s early childhood machine and the draft Strategic Plan outlines the goals and priorities for unifying and strengthening early formative years care and schooling in Virginia. Both documents were evolved via near collaboration with stakeholders, families, and kingdom legislators to identify and cope with the specific wishes of Virginia kids ages delivery to five. Both documents at the moment are available on-line to solicit comments to assist shape the very last model of the Strategic Plan, in order to be launched later this 12 months.
“When children have to get entry to excellent, solid, less expensive care in the course of their earliest years, they build the inspiration they need for destiny fulfillment, not handiest for themselves, but for their groups,” said Governor Northam. “These collaborative efforts will drive our persevered work to strengthen the Commonwealth’s early early life device and improve the health, protection, and educational readiness of all of our youngest newcomers.”
The draft Strategic Plan articulates an overarching vision that all kids within the Commonwealth of Virginia will thrive with the help of available, great, and low-priced early formative years care and schooling added in secure and nurturing environments. This imaginative and prescient is guided by means of the standards that early adolescence care and education should be equitable, circle of relatives centered, excessive fine, strategic, and modern.
“This draft plan builds on years of work with our companions inside the General Assembly, the commercial enterprise network, state businesses, households, and neighborhood public and private early schooling carriers,” stated Gary Thomson, Chairman of the School Readiness Committee. “We can all agree that increasing get admission to satisfactory early care and training is one of the first-class investments we will make in the body of workers of the future.”
The Virginia Early Childhood Foundation has partnered with the Commonwealth to help acquire and process comments in this draft plan. All documents may be located at www.Vecf.Org and feedback at the draft Strategic Plan and its findings can be furnished to [email protected] The cut-off date for offering remarks is August 31, 2019.
“Assessing want, enforcing plans to move youngsters and families ahead, and focusing on lecture room first-class are practices that Head Start has used for years and we comprehend it takes collaboration,” stated Shikee Franklin, Director of Head Start at Hampton Roads Community Action Program. “We are waiting for the opportunity to preserve attractive with a diverse set of early childhood stakeholders, consisting of households, vendors, business leaders, and advocates to strengthen our early education machine.”
The PDG B-five is likewise supporting modern network paintings in 11 areas and communities to help improve school readiness across the Commonwealth. These communities are constructing relationships among family day domestic, child care, Head Start and preschool packages, measuring and strengthening first-rate and in search of to improve access for households. In recognition of the fantastic efforts of early life educators, Virginia is presenting as much as $1,500 for more than 3,000 collaborating early childhood educators.
“Some of the maximum creative and innovative solutions have come from the particular reports and insights of neighborhood communities across Virginia,” said First Lady Pamela Northam. “The upcoming regional listening classes and comment length offer an essential opportunity to receive extra network enter to in addition inform our efforts to make certain all Virginia kids have the possibility to enter school geared up.”
As a part of Governor Northam’s Executive Directive Four, the Commissioner of the Department of Social Services and the Superintendent of Public Instruction will lead a chain of regional stakeholder listening sessions. These listening classes will even offer an opportunity to share findings, talk shared goals and techniques, and solicit remarks from stakeholders throughout the Commonwealth. Dates and locations for listening classes may be discovered below.