June 14, 2005

Minutes

Present: Amelia Stone, Liz Adams, Karen Ortleib, Suzanne Wozniak, Deb Gass, Anne Wainwright, Linda Evans, Margot Torrey, Mike Mrowicki, Ea Maples, Moriah Brown-Tirrell, Carrie Allen, Janice Stockman, Connie Fitch, Lyssa Papazian, Rev. Susan Tarolli, Anne Fines, Will Parmelee, Jan Blanchard, Gretchen Horton Kuebler, Mary Heller Osgood, Sandy Klein, Virginia Scholl, Peter May, Ellen Pratt, Kim Friedman (facilitator)

Purpose of Forum: For the forum’s sponsors to get a better sense from the community about its hopes for and the needs of Putney’s young children, with the goal of using this information to inform future planning efforts.

Hopes (these were hopes expressed by individuals at the forum. They do not reflect consensus).

Have a Head Start program in every elementary school
Have full-day kindergarten
Change the cut-off for kindergarten from September 1^st to December 1^st
Create after-school opportunities for school-age children
Don’t move towards a “one-size-fits-all” preschool
Increase children’s school readiness

Needs (these were needs expressed by individuals at the forum. They do not reflect consensus).

Several needs that require more long-term action were identified:

Increase early childhood educators’ wages
Increase child care fees
Increase subsidy rates for state’s Child Care Subsidy Program

The rest of the needs identified fell into two major categories:

Improved Communication, Collaboration and Support

Notify Early Learning Center families immediately about summer options for their children

Gretchen Horton Kuebler (Windham Child Care Association) and Amelia Stone (Putney Central School principal) will get something to school families before school ends

Increase collaboration between Head Start and community-based early childhood programs (assistance with paperwork would encourage collaboration)

Early Education Services may want to consider doing outreach to early childhood educators on an individual basis to gauge interest in collaborating with Head Start
Early childhood educators are encouraged to attend information sessions, held by Early Education Services, regarding collaboration with Head Start.
Early childhood educators would like Early Education Services to refer parents to them whom Head Start cannot accommodate.

Increase parents’ awareness of community resources (e.g. health and mental health services) and the importance of preschool readiness

Provide early childhood educators with more support for formal documentation, child assessment, etc. (written tools such as checklists would be helpful)

Gretchen Horton Kuebler from Windham Child Care Association will follow up on this.

Coordinated Planning

Get a better handle on child care need and supply in Putney

Is there a need for more child care programs? (look at infants/toddlers separate from preschoolers)
Do existing programs need to make adjustments, such as hours of operation and fees, to meet families’ needs?
Is there a need for programs to stay open longer (3-6 p.m.)? Can existing programs meet this need?

Increase after-school opportunities for school-age children

Do more to bring community resources to family child care programs

Address early childhood educators’ need for transportation to off-site activities/resources (lack of transportation increases feelings of isolation, especially among family child care providers)

Address families’ transportation needs

to and from early childhood programs before school, during mid-day transitions, in the afternoon
to dental appointments, doctor visits, etc.

Increase early care and education (child care) options for families (relates to getting a better handle on families’ particular needs)

School Board should consider filling the Putney Central School Outreach Specialist position (this person is particularly important for children who are not in out-of-home programs)

Next Steps

Re-convene the School Board’s Early Education Advisory Committee to explore the issues raised at the forum related to communication/collaboration/support and coordinated planning.

Consider re-naming the committee the “Community Early Education Advisory Committee.”
This committee can help advise the School Board as needed.

Expand committee’s membership to include other stakeholders, such as early childhood educators (child care providers)