As part of the State’s effort to create a comprehensive early care, health, and education system the Iowa Department of Education and the Early Childhood Iowa (ECI) Professional Development Steering Committee convened an 18 member Professional Levels and Competencies Task Force.  Their charge is to identify performance levels for early care and education teaching staff (teachers and teacher assistants) and core competencies  associated with each performance level, organized by developmental level of the child with whom the teaching staff is interacting.  The five standards that organize the teaching staff core competencies are based on Preparing Early Childhood Professionals: NAEYC’s Standards for Programs (2003). 

As the PLC Task Force nears the conclusion of its work and prepares its final recommendations, it would like the benefit of input.  The Task Force is seeking input through various regional forums and meetings.  Details about the regional forums as well as questions to guide input are located under Regional Forums.  The Task Force’s final recommendations will be submitted to the Department of Education and to the ECI Professional Development Steering Committee in November.

 Stakeholder Input Sessions - Dates, Times & Locations 

 Questions for Stakeholders - The questions posed in the file are intended to guide the review of the Professional Levels and Competencies for both teachers and assistant teachers. These questions will be used by the facilitator at each Stakeholder Input Session.

Files to be reviewed at the Stakeholder Input Sessions:

•  Emerging Teacher Core Competencies
•  Emerging Assistant Teacher Core Competencies

The Iowa Department of Education (DE) has worked with Early Childhood Iowa’s (ECI) Professional Development Steering Committee and Component Workgroup to plan and develop various components of an early care, health, and education professional development system. Based upon previous efforts, the DE in conjunction with the Early Childhood Iowa Professional Development Steering Committee assembled a Task Force addressing performance levels and competencies of early care and education teaching staff who work with children from birth through kindergarten. The Professional Levels and Competencies (PLC) Task Force is charged with developing performance levels and competencies for early care and education teaching staff that align with Preparing Early Childhood Professionals: the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Standards for Personnel Preparation Programs. The Task Force’s recommendations will be submitted to the Department of Education and to the ECI Professional Development Steering Committee in September.

•  Charge to the Task Force on Professional Levels and Competencies 
•  PLC Task Force Membership
•  PLC Task Force Biographies
•  PLC Task Force Workgroups
• Meeting Dates, Agendas, Notes & Documents
• Recommendations

Early childhood stakeholders participated in a statewide interagency effort to create a comprehensive competency-based professional development system. Dr. Dan Haggard, Director of the New Mexico Office for Child Development, facilitated this challenging work of meeting professional development training needs of all individuals providing early care and education of Iowa’s children. He facilitated three two-day meetings for stakeholders to develop a framework for a statewide professional development system for early care, health and education. Dan was a consultant for Frank Porter Graham supporting statewide system building and has worked to establish professional development systems in New Mexico, North Dakota, and Illinois as well as Palm Beach County, Florida. Partners in this project include (but not limited to) Department of Education, Area Education Agencies, Community Colleges, Institutes of Higher Education, Department of Public Health, Empowerment, Department of Human Services, Child Care Resource & Referral, child care.

• Vision
• Framework
• Priorities
• Planning Meeting Summaries:  
  • ECPD Stakeholder Meetings March-June 2007
  • ECPD Stakeholder Meeting July 2007