School Readiness is a state-funded initiative administered by the Office of Early Childhood (OEC) that provides access to quality educational programs for children ages 3 and 4.

• All families complete school readiness application to determine eligibility
• Eligible families meet with school administration for income verification
• Enrolled families are required to pay a weekly fee determined by the state sliding fee scale

 

The School Readiness Council selected three key outreach focus areas including:

Ellington School Readiness Council Policy

 

By-laws

 

As stated in the CT School Readiness General Policy C-01, the Ellington School Readiness Council will fill the following positions.

In order to satisfy the School Readiness Statute under Connecticut General Statutes (C.G.S.) section 10- 16r (a), local School Readiness Councils (SCRs) must be developed and include representatives from the following: The chief elected official of the town, or in the case of a regional school district, the chief elected officials of the towns in the school district and the superintendent of schools for the school district shall jointly appoint and convene such council. Each school readiness council shall be composed of: (1) The chief elected official, or the official's designee; (2) the superintendent of schools, or a management level staff person as the superintendent's designee; (3) at least twenty-five percent of the membership of the school readiness council shall be parents or guardians of children eligible to attend a school readiness program (4) representatives from local programs such as Head Start, child care providers receiving state financial assistance pursuant to section 8-210, family resource centers, nonprofit and for-profit child care centers, group child care homes, prekindergarten and nursery schools, and family child care home providers; (5) a representative from a health care provider in the community; (6) the local homeless education liaison designated by the local or regional board of education for the school district, pursuant to Subtitle B of Title VII of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, Substitute House Bill No. 6559 Public Act No. 21-172 18 of 37 42 USC 11431 et seq., as amended from time to time; (7) a representative from a workforce or job training entity in the community; (8) a representative from a local business in the community; and (9) other representatives from the community who provide services to children.

Responsibilities of the School Readiness Council:

As outlined in the School Readiness Statute under C.G.S. sections 10-16p, 10-16u, 17b-749a and 17b-749c; the local SRC shall:

· hold school readiness council meetings at times and locations that are convenient for the council members, including the parent and guardian members;

· document efforts to ensure that the racial, ethnic and socioeconomic composition of the council reflects that of its town or region, as applicable;

· Make recommendations to the chief elected official and the superintendent of schools on issues relating to School Readiness, including any applications for grants pursuant to sections 10-16p, 10- 16u, 17b-749a and 17b-749c of the C.G.S.;

· foster partnerships among providers of School Readiness programs:

· cooperate with the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood (OEC) in any program evaluation, use measures developed pursuant to section 10-16s of the C.G.S. for purposes of evaluating the effectiveness of School Readiness programs;

· identify existing and prospective resources and services available to children and families;

· facilitate the coordination of the delivery of services to children and families, including (1) referral procedures, and (2) before- and after-school child care for children attending kindergarten programs;

· exchange information with other SRCs and community organizations serving children and families;

· make recommendations to school officials concerning the transition from School Readiness programs to kindergarten; and

· encourage public participation.

· collaborate with the Office of Early Childhood related to planning improvements to the state early care and education governance structure.

Two or more towns or school districts and appropriate representatives of groups or entities interested in early childhood education in a region may establish a regional SRC. If a priority school is located in at least one of such school districts, the regional SRC may apply for a grant pursuant to subsection (d) of section 10-16p of the C.G.S. The regional SRC should perform the duties outlined in the section above.

 

School Readiness Council Structure:

Refer to SRC membership as outlined above in legislation. For further clarification:

· The chief elected official and the superintendent, or their designees, are members of the SRC. · The chief elected official convenes the SRC and leads in collaboration with the superintendent.

· The members of the council shall elect the chairperson(s).

 

To avoid administrative conflicts of interest, the following guidelines are provided:

· The OEC recommends having co-chairs for the SRC.

· Program directors that receive School Readiness funds, School Readiness liaisons, or direct supervisors of liaisons are not eligible to be chairs or co-chairs of the SRC.

· Program directors that receive School Readiness funds, School Readiness liaisons, or direct supervisors of liaisons may not be designees on behalf of the chief elected official or superintendent.

· When the chief elected official or superintendent and their designees attend SRC meetings, the chief elected official and the superintendent vote, the designees do not vote. When designees represent the chief elected official or the superintendent, the designees vote on their behalf.

 

School Readiness Council By-Laws and Decision-making:

Recommendations for funding and all SRC work shall not be overruled by the chief elected official or superintendent or any other governing body at the local level. The SRC is a collaborative network charged with planning to serve all 3- and 4-year-old children in high quality programs.

The intent is:

· To engage in shared and informed decision-making; for example, informed by the cross-sector membership of the SRC. Since the involvement of the chief elected official and superintendent offices is required, all matters and decisions are discussed and voted upon openly at SRC meetings;

· School Readiness liaisons do not vote on SRC matters;

· Early childhood providers do not vote on distribution of funds;

· The fiduciary (Ellington Public Schools) assists the SRC with fiscal responsibilities associated with the administration of the grant. The fiduciary’s governing body does not hold decision-making authority regarding the administration, coordination, or evaluation of the School Readiness grant, including funding decisions.

 

The Role of the SRC Liaison:

The liaison is responsible for the coordination, program evaluation and administration of the School Readiness Grant and serves as liaison between the local or regional SRC and the OEC. One of the primary responsibilities is to recruit eligible programs for potential funding (see appendix: Role of the Liaison). To ensure bias-free implementation of the grant, it is necessary that the Liaison remain impartial. The following guidance is provided:

· The liaison may be a contracted position with an independent consultant or an educational organization. The liaison may be employed by the municipality, RESC, Local Education Agency (LEA), Community Action Program, etc.

· The liaison must be supervised by an individual who is not directly overseeing programsthat receive School Readiness funds. o Example: Liaisons can be supervised by non-program administrators such as an assistant superintendent, mayor or administrative staff not directly overseeing funded programs. Program administrators receiving School Readiness funds may not supervise liaisons.

· Liaisons are specifically charged with the administration, coordination, and evaluation of the School Readiness grant in collaboration with the OEC. Program directors and/or staff who work in programs that receive School Readiness funds may not act as the liaison, however, exceptions may be granted. The School Readiness Council should seek assistance from the OEC program manager if an exception is being considered.

 

It is the responsibility of the SRCs and the liaisons to share this information with their sub-grantees and ensure that each program is in compliance with these guidelines in order for sub-grantees to receive funding as a School Readiness program.

 

School Readiness 11 Quality Components

The School Readiness Council is responsible for monitoring School Readiness funded sites on the 11 quality component under Section 10-16q of the Connecticut General Statutes are implemented for each program, as summarized below:

 

1. A plan for collaboration with other community programs and services including public libraries and for coordination of resources in order to facilitate full-day and year-round child care and education programs for children of working parents and parents in education or training programs;

2. Parent involvement, parenting education and outreach;

3. (A) record-keeping policies that require documentation of the name and address of each child’s doctor, primary care provider and health insurance company and information on whether the child is immunized and has had health screens pursuant to the federal Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment Services Program under 42 U.S.C. Section 1396d, and (B) referrals for health services, including referrals for appropriate immunizations and screenings;

4. A plan for the incorporation of appropriate pre-literacy practices and teacher training in such practices;

5. Nutrition services;

6. Referrals to family literacy programs that incorporate adult basic education and provide for the promotion of literacy through access to public library services;

7. Admission policies that promote enrollment of children from different racial, ethnic and economic backgrounds and from other communities;

8. A plan for transitioning participating children from a School Readiness program to kindergarten and provide for the transfer of records from the program to the kindergarten program;

9. A plan for professional development for staff, including but not limited to, training (A) in pre-literacy skills development, and (B) designed to assure respect for racial and ethnic diversity;

10. A sliding fee scale for families participating in the program; and

11. An annual evaluation of the effectiveness of the program.