Facts In Action

Earlier this year the state Board of Education approved the Early Childhood Program Standards and Guidelines for Preschool Learning Experiences. The standards were developed by a subcommittee of the Early Childhood Advisory Council to the Board of Education, which included representation from the Massachusetts Association of Day Care Agencies, the Massachusetts Independent Child Care Organization, Head Start, the Department of Health, the YMCA, child care resource and referral agencies, and higher education, as well as many other agencies and organizations involved in early education and child care.

The Program Standards, largely based on OCCS licensing standars, cover a number of areas from interactions between staff and children to accreditation and evaluation and are intended to ensure that programs that serve three- and four-year olds are of high quality. Based on research showing that teacher training and qualifications are the best indicators of program quality, the Standards require that by the year 2010 all newly hired teachers hold at least an Associate's Degree, and by the year 2017, at least a Bachelor's degree.

The Standards also require that programs document use of the Guidelines for Preschool Learning Experiences to plan curriculum. This can be done in a variety of ways including weekly calendars, plan books, journals or parent newsletters. The intent is not to change the way programs plan curriculum, but to support and assist preschool program staff in planning comprehensive curriculum that will provide strong foundations for learning.

The Guidelines for Preschool Learning Experiences, based on the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks, are founded in play and developmentally appropriate practice for young children. They cover learning in several different areas and include basic suggestions for adaptations for children with disabilities.

The new standards apply only to those center-based programs that receive funds through the Community Partnerships for Children. This includes public school, Head Start and private preschool/child care programs. They do not apply to family child care providers because they were designed for center-based settings, but family child care providers are encouraged to use the Guidelines to plan curriculum for the three- and four-year olds in their care.

To help programs become familiar with the new standards and guidelines, the DOE has planned four regional trainings for CPC Coordinators. The department will also hire teams of consultants to provide training at the local level. In addition, DOE is working with OCCS to plan a "Train the Trainers" institute in January, followed by one full day of local training for each CPC partnership between February and June of 2004 for preschool administrators and teachers. Finally, DOE is working with institutions of higher education to ensure that the Standards and Guidelines are incorporated into coursework for teacher training programs, and they are discussing ways to create articulation plans and career ladders.

The Standards and Guidelines are now available for downloading on the DOE website at www.doe.mass.edu/ELS. The DOE plans to mail copies to all OCCS-licensed center-based programs and additional hard copies of both documents are also available at the state bookstore.

Questions about the Standards and Guidelines may be directed to sputnam-franklin@doe.mass.edu.

Facts in Action, November/December 2003