The New World of Early Learning in Louisiana
Community Collaborations/Mixed (Diverse) Delivery
Across the country, states are building and expanding early learning systems to make pre-k available to more children and to give parents more high quality choices in their local communities.
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Referred to as “Mixed” or “Diverse Delivery,” this national best practice refers to offering public pre-k in community settings, including private for- and non-profit child care centers, and Head Start programs, as well as on public school sites.
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Nationally, over 30% of all publicly funded pre-k children are in private child care settings; however, in Louisiana less than 1% of LA 4, 8g or Title I pre-k programs are offered on non-school sites. By contrast, in West Virginia, 74% of pre-k classrooms are in community-based settings including child care centers and Head Start[1]; similarly, in New Jersey, 60% of their public pre-k program is offered in community-based settings.[2]
A mixed/diverse delivery system has been central to building strong pre-k systems in other states. Mixed delivery systems offer the following benefits to children, families and communities:
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Expand overall pre-k access
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Allow parents to choose an appropriate environment for their children
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Promote quality and accountability across settings
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Save public funds by using existing facilities
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Merge existing professional development and technical assistance resources;
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Establish linkages between service providers and special education resources
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Expand the program time to full-day and/or full-year to provide high quality early learning settings for young children with working parents
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Avoid the serious, negative financial impact on child care of centers of losing 4 year olds, which threatens the availability and quality of early care and education for children birth through age 3
The current rapid growth in state pre-k makes such partnerships valuable and cost-efficient for all partners. Working together to develop a seamless system of coordinated programs results in success for all the programs with significant benefits for parents and their young children.
Additional Resources:
Louisiana Department of Education: Diverse Delivery in Louisiana
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PowerPoint: Linked Here
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Questions and Answers: Linked Here
Pre-K is path to success: New model could reduce the costs of early education, but where’s the funding? Linked Here
Partnering for Preschool: A Study of Center Directors in New Jersey’s Mixed Delivery Abbott Program
Beyond the School Yard: Pre-K Collaborations with Community Based Partners Linked Here
Partners for Success: Case Studies of Collaboration Between Head Start and Pre-K Linked Here
[1] West Virginia Department of Education website, Office of Early Learning, An Overview of WVA Universal Pre-K at http://static.k12.wv.us/oel/docs/WV-PreK-Overview-2013-14.pdf retrieved on August 25, 2014.
[2] Commonwealth, Irene Sege, New Jersey pre-K holds lessons for Mass. March 21, 2013
http://www.commonwealthmagazine.org/Voices/Perspective/2013/Winter/004-New-Jersey-preK-holds-lessons-for-Mass.aspx retrieved on August 25, 2014.