The Mississippi Department of Education’s Office of Early Childhood will host a virtual informational session for superintendents about the Early Learning Collaborative (ELC) program at 11 a.m. Monday, Feb. 27.
This session will cover what it means to be a collaborative, how your community benefits from the program, and what the program requires. The purpose of the Early Learning Collaborative Act of 2013 is to provide funding to local communities to establish, enhance, expand, support, and facilitate the successful implementation of quality early childhood education and development services. An Early Learning Collaborative is a district or county(ies) wide council that participates in the voluntary pre-Kindergarten program.
Some ELC program requirements and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
Partner Requirements:
An Early Learning Collaborative is comprised of, at a minimum:
- a public-school district (This entity must have at least one classroom.)
- and a local Head Start affiliate, if in existence. (This entity must have at least one classroom.)
Other partners could include:
- one or more licensed childcare centers,
- private or parochial schools,
- agencies or other organizations that work with young children and their families to provide resources and coordination, even if those agencies or organizations are not pre-Kindergarten providers.
Responsibilities:
Early Learning Collaborative councils eligible to be selected must:
- Use state-adopted early learning standards;
- Use evidence-based curriculum;
- Use age-appropriate assessments;
- Plan to serve students with disabilities as indicated under IDEA; and
- Meet all program criteria established by the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) and the Mississippi Early Learning Guidelines for Classrooms Serving Three- and Four-Year-Old Children.
If you are interested, please join us for a virtual meeting to have an open discussion about this program on Monday, February 27, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. The session will be recorded and posted on the Early Childhood webpage if you are unable to attend.
Microsoft Teams meeting
Join on your computer, mobile app or room device
Click here to join the meeting
Meeting ID: 281 519 867 088
Passcode: RNWdq3
Download Teams | Join on the web
Or call in (audio only)
+1 601-680-9318,,794813533# United States, Jackson
Phone Conference ID: 794 813 533#