Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care
Department of Early Education and Care
Request for Nominations
Centers of Excellence in Early Childhood Education
Recognizing Head Start and Early Head Start Programs
of Exceptional Quality
FY2010 Application
1
Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care
Background:
The Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) provides the foundation that
supports all children in their development as lifelong learners and contributing members of the
community, and supports families in their essential work as parents and caregivers. EEC provides
services for children in Massachusetts through a mixed delivery system, which includes child care
centers, out-of-school time programs, family child care homes, public preschool programs, private
school preschool and kindergarten, and Head Start programs.EEC is responsible for licensing early
education and care and out-of-school time programs throughout Massachusetts and for providing child
care financial assistance to low-income families with children birth to 13 years of age. In addition,
EEC provides support for information and referral services, inclusive programming for children with
special needs, parenting and family support, and professional development opportunities for educators
in the early education and out-of-school time fields. These efforts affect thousands of early education
and out-of-school time providers, who serve more than 275,000 children each day. In its broadest
role, EEC also serves as a source of information to the families of more than one million children in
Massachusetts.
EEC is committed to helping to ensure that all children have access to quality programs. The creation
and implementation of a system to improve and support quality statewide is a key strategic direction
in the EEC’s Board Strategic Five-Year Plan
(http://www.eec.state.ma.us/docs/StrategicPlanFormatted.pdf).
Purpose:
EEC is pleased to announce an opportunity for Head Start and Early Head Start grantees to apply to be
nominated by the Governor of Massachusetts as Centers of Excellence in Early Childhood. The
Centers of Excellence program will recognize Head Start and Early Head Start grantees that are
performing at the highest levels of quality. The Centers of Excellence program was established in the
2007 amendments to the Head Start Act (Section 657 B-42 U.S.C. § 9831 et seq.). Congress has
appropriated $2 million in Public Law 111-8 for Fiscal Year 2009 for the Centers of Excellence
program. Section 657B of the Head Start Act authorizes Centers of Excellence in Early Childhood to
recognize programs of exceptional quality that can serve as exemplary models for other programs. The
Office of Head Start plans to fund 10 Centers of Excellence nationally in the upcoming year.
The Centers of Excellence program will recognize Head Start and Early Head Start grantees that are
performing at the highest levels of quality. Excellent and effective programs are those that have
achieved and are actively building upon full compliance with the Program Performance Standards and
are implementing comprehensive, innovative and targeted approaches to enhance program services.
Such programs are producing positive, measurable outcomes for children’s school success;
encouraging families in supporting children’s learning, and increasing staff competency.
The initial process being implemented this year will allow the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services Office of Head Start to fund 10 Centers of Excellence. Each designated grantee will be
awarded $200,000 a year for a period of 5 years, subject to the availability of funds. Should
additional funds become available, the Office of Head Start plans to designate at least one Center of
Excellence in Early Childhood in each State, The District of Columbia, and the commonwealth of
Puerto Rico, as well as in the American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start programs and Migrant
and Seasonal Head Start programs.
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Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care
Priorities:
The Head Start and Early Head Start programs recognized as Centers of Excellence in Massachusetts
will support and enhance the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care’s commitment
to ensure that all children have access to quality programs and promote the creation and
implementation of a system to improve and support quality statewide. In addition, the recognized
Centers of Excellence should support EEC’s key strategic directions as listed in the EEC’s Board
Strategic Five-Year Plan (http://www.eec.state.ma.us/docs/StrategicPlanFormatted.pdf) and the goals
of the Readiness Project which outlines the Executive Office of Education’s 10-year strategic plan for
the new era of education reform in the Commonwealth
(http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=eoetopic&L=2&L0=Home&L1=Commonwealth+Readiness+Project
&sid=Eeoe). To do so, the selected programs are expected to:
1. Provide all Head Start programs and early childhood programs in the Massachusetts mixeddelivery system as described below with opportunities to benefit from best practices that guide
programs on a path to excellence. These should include the implementation of comprehensive,
innovative, and targeted approaches to enhance program services.
2. Establish collaborative partnerships with other early childhood programs in the mixed-delivery
system in Massachusetts, which includes child care centers, out-of-school time programs, family
child care homes, public preschool programs, private schools, preschool and kindergarten
programs, and Head Start programs as well as the regional Readiness Center once it is operational.
3. Disseminate best practices to educate early childhood programs in the mixed-delivery system
described above. Best practices should include, but not be limited to, the following:
a. Producing positive, measurable outcomes for children’s school success
b. Encouraging families in supporting children’s learning, and
c. Increasing staff competency.
4. Promote EEC’s priorities that support programs and practitioners to move through the
Massachusetts Quality Rating Improvement System (QRIS), EEC’s Core Competency Areas, and
the Head Start State Collaboration Office priority areas. Support for these areas include, but are
not limited to the following:
 Curriculum and Learning
 Workforce Qualifications
 Environment
 Leadership, Management and Administration
 Family Involvement
 Early Education/Child Development (i.e. alignment with K-12, transition services
from preschool to K-12 and from part C to part B, services to children with
disabilities, family literacy, etc)
 Dual Language Learners
 Homeless Children and other at-risk children, their families, and pregnant women
 Professional Development (i.e. cross training and interagency training opportunities,
staff qualifications, credentialing, access to higher education programs, etc.)
 Health Care Services (i.e. oral health, mental health, etc.)
5. Use at least 15 percent of funds to disseminate best practices for achieving early academic
success including the provision of high-quality comprehensive services to children and families.
Eligibility:
To be eligible for nomination as a Center of Excellence in Early Childhood Education by the
Governor, an agency must provide evidence that the program:
1. is designated as a grantee by the Office of Head Start, at the U.S Department of Health and
Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, to provide Head Start and/or
Early Head Start services;
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Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care
2. has achieved or is actively building upon full compliance with the Program Performance
Standards and is implementing comprehensive, innovative and targeted approaches for
children’s school success and encouraging families in supporting children’s learning. This
includes:
a. No finding(s) of deficiency within the three past calendar years.
b. A Plan to align program with the Massachusetts Quality Rating Improvement System
which is equitable to HS Gold and Blue Letters of Program Performance and
Compliance ( see QRIS information at http://www.eec.state.ma.us/QRIS.aspx) ;
3. is making progress toward meeting the staff qualifications and development described in
section 9843 of the Head Start Act of 2007;
4. is willing to establish collaborative partnerships with other early childhood programs in the
Massachusetts mixed-delivery system described in the “Goals Section” above, and meet the
requirements of Section 657B(c)(B) of the Head Start Act; and
5. has the ability and a vision for disseminating their best practices to educate others.
Funding:
10 Centers will be selected nationally to receive up to $200,000 a year for five years.
Fund Use:
A Center of Excellence receiving a grant through this program:
Applicant
Process/Timeline:

shall use at least 15 percent of the funds made available through the grant to disseminate best
practices for achieving early academic success to other early education and care programs in
the Massachusetts mixed-delivery system, and

shall use the remaining funds in a manner consistent with the purposes listed in Section
657B(c)(4)(d)(2) of the Head Start Act
Any Head Start and Early Head Start grantee that can demonstrate that it is a program of exceptional
quality is encouraged to apply during this competitive process coordinated by the Department of Early
Education and Care. The selected applicants will be nominated as a prospective Center of Excellence
by the Governor of Massachusetts no later than December 1, 2009. The following outlines the
Applicant process:
A. Nomination Process –Applications must be submitted by November 27, 2009
Each Head Start or Early Head Start Program interested in applying for the nomination to be
designated as a prospective Center of Excellence in Massachusetts must do the following:
1. Complete the nomination application, (See required forms to be submitted)
2. Meet the applicant eligibility; and (See information listed in Applicant Eligibility section)
3. Submit all the required forms and appendices (See Required Forms section below)
B. Review Process of Applications-by November 30, 2009:
All applications submitted will be reviewed and evaluated by a selection committee. The selection
committee team will include, but not be limited to, a representative from the Head Start State
Collaboration Office, a representative from the Department of Early Education and Care, a
representative from the Massachusetts Head Start Association, and a representative from the Office of
Head Start/Administration of Children and Families Region-1. Note: a selection criteria tool will be
used to select applications based on all required information provided by each grantee
C. Submission of Selected Applicants to the Governor’s Office-by Nov. 30, 2009
All selected applications for prospective nominations will be submitted by the Commissioner of the
Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care to the Governor’s Office. In order to ensure
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Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care
grantees in Massachusetts are able to apply to be a Center of Excellence, the Governor needs to
complete the nomination process by Dec 1, 2009.
D. Once nominated, the grantee(s) will be required to submit a full application to the Office of Head
Start which will be available on the Grants.gov website. State nominees will be notified by December
1, 2009.
Required Forms
to be Submitted:
Electronically:




Application
Deadline and
Submission
Instructions:
Part I:Cover Page/Eligibility Criteria
Part II: Narrative Statement
Part III: Required Appendices
Part IV: Evaluation Criteria
All applications must be submitted electronically (including appendices) to [email protected] no later than 4:00 pm on November 27, 2009.
Questions regarding this application should be referred to:
Jennifer Amaya-Thompson
MA Head Start Collaboration Office Assistant Director
Phone: 617-988-6634
Email: [email protected]
Sherri Killins
Commissioner / Head Start Collaboration Director
MA State Department of Early Education and Care
Phone: 617-988-6600
E-mail: [email protected]
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Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care
PART I-Cover Page/Eligibility Certification
CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
Application
Cover Page/Eligibility Certification
Type of Program: (check all that apply)
Head Start
Early Head Start
Name of Director: Click here to enter text.
Official Program Name: Click here to enter text.
Program Mailing Address: (street, city, zip Code) Click here to enter text.
Program Street Address: (if different than mailing address) Click here to enter text.
Telephone:
Click here to enter text.
E-mail:
Click here to enter text.
Web site/URL: Click here to enter text.
Typing your signature below indicates that you have reviewed the information in this application, including
eligibility requirements and certify that to the best of your knowledge all information is accurate.
Director’s Signature:
Policy Council Chairperson’s Signature:
Date:
Date:
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Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care
Part II – Narrative Statement
Narrative Statement
EEC is particularly interested in recognizing areas of excellence that support programs and providers in moving
through the Massachusetts Quality Rating Improvement System (QRIS) and the Head Start State Collaboration
Office priority areas and support EEC’s key strategic directions as listed in the EEC’s Board Strategic Five-Year
Plan (http://www.eec.state.ma.us/docs/StrategicPlanFormatted.pdf) which includes but are not limited to the
following areas:










Curriculum and Learning
Workforce Qualifications
Environment
Leadership, Management and Administration
Family Involvement
Early Education/Child Development (i.e. alignment with K-12, transition services from preschool to
K-12 and from part C to part B, services to children with disabilities, family literacy, etc)
Dual Language Learners
Homeless Children and other at-risk children, their families, and pregnant women
Professional Development (i.e. cross training and interagency training opportunities, staff
qualifications, credentialing, access to higher education programs, etc.)
Health Care Services (i.e. oral health, mental health, etc.)
Describe in 8 to 10 pages how the program demonstrates excellence in one or more of the areas listed above.
Please address the following two topics and points addressed under those topics:
1. Identifying best practices ( 40 points- 10 per area)
a. Clearly identify the specific area(s) of excellence that you are focusing on. Explain the process that
was used to identify a need in this area/these areas, such as
1. how results of your self assessment, community assessment, or other processes directed your
action;
2. how you designed your approach and any specific methods or resources that you used in
your approach to the problem(s);
3. data has been used to measure outcomes and indicators of success.
b. Include Program Information Report data and any particular measures that were used and how they
were used.
c. You should be able to clearly connect your identified area of critical need, how you monitored your
progress in addressing this need and what outcomes demonstrate positive results.
d. Provide specific information about the community including demographic information as
appropriate and about those individuals involved in the process of identifying and monitoring the
impact on the targeted area(s). The narrative should provide detailed information about the
challenges encountered in the pursuit of excellence and how they were managed or overcome
2. Expanding best practices (60 points- 10 per areas 1-4, and 20 for area 5)
a. Describe the major learning you experienced that would be valuable to share with other early
childhood programs and professionals, your proposed methods to disseminate this information and
your target audience. Specifically address how you would:
1. provide other early education and care programs in the Massachusetts mixed delivery system
opportunities to benefit from best practices that guide programs on a path to excellence
which may include, but are not limited to:
a. the dissemination and implementation of comprehensive, innovative, and targeted
approaches to enhance program services;
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Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care
b. producing positive and measurable outcomes for children’s school success;
c. encouraging families in supporting children’s learning; and
d. increasing staff competency.
2. establish collaborative partnerships with other early childhood programs in the
Massachusetts mixed delivery system; and
3. use at least 15 percent of funds to disseminate best practices to the provision of
comprehensive services to children and families;
4. build upon this area of excellence to increase statewide capacity and improve outcomes for
children throughout the state;
5. define a method for disseminating best practices to educate and work with other early
educators and partners including Institutions of Higher Education.
Part III-Required Appendices
Required Appendices
o A letter from the Region I Office of Head Start stating that the results of the most recent program monitoring
indicate achievement of or building upon full compliance with the Head Start Program Performance
Standards and implementation of comprehensive, innovative and targeted approaches for children’s school
success, encouraging families in supporting children’s learning and staff competence. The letter shall
include a statement that the grantee has received no findings of deficiency within the past three calendar
years.
o Other documents, as appropriate, to support the narrative statement. These documents may include but are
not limited to, NAEYC accreditation certificate/accreditation report(s), evidence of Region I or National
Head Start Association excellence awards or other designations of excellence; specific needs assessment,
program self assessment, and/or community assessment data resulting in a focus on the Area(s) of
Excellence; data demonstrating positive impact in Area(s) of Excellence, including data on positive
outcomes for children and families, and progress on building staff competencies, etc.
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Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care
Part IV – Evaluation Criteria
Evaluation Process & Role of Evaluators
Summary of Nomination Process and Evaluation Scoring
All Centers of Excellence in Early Childhood Education request for nomination applications submitted by Head Start
and Early Head Start grantees will be reviewed and evaluated by a selection committee. Each nomination
application will be reviewed by the selection committee team members and evaluated based on the scoring guidelines
below. The top five scoring applications will be submitted to the Governor as nominations.
Maximum Points – 40 (10 per area)
AREA 1: Process used to identify the specific area(s) of excellence focused on in supporting the
QRIS and HSSCO priority areas. Areas should include:
1.
2.
3.
Responden
t’s Score
Narrative – Identifying Best Practices
Maximum
Points
Available
Guidelines for Scoring Part II: Narrative Statements
For scoring responses, the evaluation team will use the following guidelines. Each answer is worth up to 10 points,
with the exception of Area 5 in Expanding Best Practices section, which is worth up to 20 points.
10
how results of self assessment, community assessment, or other process directed your
action;
how you designed your approach and any specific methods or resources that you used
in your approach to the problem(s);
data that has been used to measure outcomes and indicators of success.
Reviewers Comments:
AREA 2: Included Program Information Report Data and other measures that were used and
described how they were used.
10
Reviewers Comments:
AREA 3: Able to clearly connect identified area of critical need, how it was monitored and progress
in addressing this need and how outcomes demonstrate positive results.
10
Reviewers Comments:
AREA 4: Provided specific information about the community including demographic information as
appropriate and about those individuals involved in the process of identifying and monitoring the
impact on the targeted area(s). The narrative should provide detailed information about the
challenges encountered in the pursuit of excellence and how they were overcome or managed.
10
Reviewers Comments:
Total Score
9
Maximum Points – 60 (10 per areas 1-4, 20 for area 5)
Describe the major learning experienced that would be valuable to share with other early
childhood programs and professionals, proposed methods to disseminate this information
and target audience
AREA 1: Plan on how program will provide all early education and care programs in the
Massachusetts mixed delivery system opportunities to benefit from best practices that guide
programs on a path to excellence which may include, but not be limited to:
a. the dissemination and implementation of comprehensive, innovative, and targeted
approaches to enhance program services
b. producing positive and measurable outcomes for children’s school success;
c. encouraging families in supporting children’s learning, and
d. increasing staff competency
Respondent’s Score
Narrative – Expanding best practices
Maximum Points Available
Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care
10
Reviewers Comments:
AREA 2: Plan to establish collaborative partnerships with other early childhood programs in
the Massachusetts mixed delivery system
10
Reviewers Comments:
AREA 3: Demonstrates use of at least 15 percent of funds to disseminate best practices to the
provision of comprehensive services to children and families
10
Reviewers Comments:
AREA 4: Builds upon this area of excellence to increase statewide capacity and improve
outcomes for children throughout the state.
10
Reviewers Comments:
AREA 5 (worth up to 20 points): Ability to define a method for disseminating best practices
to educate and work with other early educators and partners including theories, practices,
strategies, and reflective implementation
20
Reviewers Comments:
Total Score
10