Santa Clara Early Learning Master Plan 2017

Letter From the Superintendent The evidence is clear that providing equitable access to high-quality early care and education (ECE) is the most effective means of preventing the racial-ethnic and socioeconomic opportunity gaps that blight the futures of too many young people in our communities. Every year, over 3,000 low-income children in our county arrive at kindergarten without this vital preparation for school and life, and, despite the heroic efforts of their teachers and families, they may never catch up. In 2010, the Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE) launched the first countywide Early Learning Master Plan (ELMP) with the vision of creating an ECE system that provided every child with the quality supports they would need to be successful – to the benefit of the child, their family, and our community. Since its launch, there have been significant improvements to the landscape of ECE in our county – many of them recommendations from that first ELMP. Following the state’s successful Race to the Top – Early Learning Challenge grant application, FIRST 5 Santa Clara County has led the development of our county’s Quality Rating and Improvement System, QUALITY MATTERS ... a STRONG START for kids (QUALITY MATTERS). Santa Clara County’s own State Senator (and now County Supervisor) Joe Simitian led the creation of the Transitional Kindergarten program, providing a second year of kindergarten for the youngest enrollees in our public K-12 education system. Educare of California at Silicon Valley, a national model, high-quality early education and family support program, has opened, following a five-year development effort in which the SCCOE was a proud partner. The Strong Start Initiative, supported by the SCCOE and more than 30 other organizations, agencies, and districts and 150 community members, has come together to educate, identify, and advocate for local solutions to the needs of our ECE sector and the children and families it serves. But, despite these changes, the shared vision of the first ELMP has not yet been met. This second countywide ELMP serves as a marker of the progress we have made in our community, and the distance we have to go, toward making that vision a reality. It builds on the progress made in the last seven years and provides a strategic framework for continuing advances in providing access to quality programs, articulation between ECE and K-12 education, developing and sustaining facilities, family engagement, program quality, and workforce development. This plan represents the culmination of a year of engagement and effort by members of the county’s ECE community and is a demonstration of their shared commitment, ingenuity, and passion. The goals, milestones, and key actions describe the steps needed to achieve the goal of providing every child in our community with the strong start they need and deserve. I would like to offer my thanks to the Strong Start leadership and coalition, the many community organizations and individuals who volunteered their time to be part of this tremendous effort, and to the staff of the SCCOE who made it possible. Sincerely, Jon R. Gundry Santa Clara County Superintendent of Schools