Upcoming Opportunity for Technical Support Related to Early Childhood Education

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May 2, 2018

TO THE ADMINISTRATOR ADDRESSED:

Subject: Upcoming Opportunity for Technical Support Related to Early Childhood Education

The following information should be shared with early childhood education administrators at the school district and/or open-enrollment charter school level.

The Early Childhood Education Support Networks program provides technical assistance, focused on quality, access, or partnerships, to select local education agencies (LEAs) based on their specific needs in those areas.

The Early Childhood Education Division at the Texas Education Agency (TEA) seeks to support LEAs in improving the quality and utilization of their prekindergarten programs through a new program called Early Childhood Education (ECE) Support Networks. This program will provide targeted technical assistance for a maximum of five groups of up to 15 LEAs, with each group focusing on an aspect of ECE (quality, access, or partnerships). Technical assistance will take place in the form of monthly calls with TEA staff, webinars, virtual professional learning community meetings, resource development and sharing, activities, and assignments.

LEAs that apply for this one-year program will have the opportunity to select the area in which they wish to participate. It is estimated that LEAs choosing to participate will spend approximately three hours per each four- to six-week unit participating in webinars, phone calls, and virtual professional learning community meetings. This new program offers a high-degree of customization in the technical support available to LEAs as they work towards achieving their program quality- and access/enrollment-related early childhood goals.

Timeline
The application will be available on May 2, 2018 and will be due on May 18, 2018. Applicants chosen to participate will be notified by May 25, 2018. Each participating LEA will complete a phone call with their assigned TEA program specialist by June 30, 2018 to help guide the content for the program implementation that begins on September 10, 2018.

For complete program details visit the Early Childhood Education Support Networks web page.

To apply to participate in the Early Childhood Education Support Networks program, complete the online application.

For any additional questions, please contact Scott Bodnar at scott.bodnar@tea.texas.gov.

Sincerely,

Jacquie Porter, Director
Early Childhood Education Division