Child Care Bureau: A Guide to Good Start, Grow Smart and Other Federal Early Learning Initiatives

**A Tribal Guide to the Good Start, Grow Smart Early Learning Initiative**

Contents: Early Childhood Education Reform Timeline, Good Start, Grow Smart Summary and Background, Frequently Asked Questions, State Contact Information (PDF Version 2,178 KB, Word Version 113 KB)

Good Start, Grow Smart Summary

BACKGROUND

In 2001 Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act, the Bush Administration’s Education Reform Bill. This Act drew attention to the need for young children to be given the opportunity to learn fundamental skills that will prepare them for success in school.

The Good Start, Grow Smart (GSGS) Initiative was introduced by the Bush Administration in April 2002 as the next step in education reform. The goal of the Initiative is to ensure that young children are equipped with the skills they will need to start school ready to learn. The Initiative focuses on strengthening Head Start; partnering with States to improve early learning; and providing parents, teachers, and caregivers with information on early learning.

The Child Care Bureau (CCB) has been focusing on three key areas within the Good Start, Grow Smart Initiative:

Early Learning Guidelines (ELGs): States are asked to develop guidelines — or content standards — on early literacy, language, pre-reading and mathematics for children ages 3 to 5 that align with State K-12 standards and describe what children need to know and be able to do to succeed in kindergarten. The Early Learning Guidelines are voluntary at the program level, unless required by the State.
Professional Development Plans: State plans for the professional development and training of child care teachers, providers and administrators to enable them to support the school readiness of young children, and are linked to the Early Learning Guidelines.
Program Coordination: State plans for coordination across early childhood programs and funding streams to expand the availability and affordability of high-quality early care and education programs.

Although these are not legislative mandates, States are strongly encouraged to address all three areas. A new section was added to the FY 2004-2005 State Plan Preprint requesting information on State progress and planning in each of these three key areas.

THE CHILD CARE BUREAU’S APPROACH TO GSGS
The Child Care Bureau’s approach to working with Tribes on Good Start, Grow Smart has been an intentionally slower process to ensure that tribal differences (such as size, geography, culture and language) are taken into account. Through discussion groups and conference sessions, the Child Care Bureau is encouraging input from Tribes on the best ways to adapt Good Start, Grow Smart in tribal communities.

The Child Care Bureau’s current strategies include:

Encouraging State/Tribal collaboration on the development of State ELGs;
Developing Tribal Cluster Trainings that address the three key areas in the Good Start, Grow Smart Initiative;
Encouraging collaboration between tribal child care programs and Head Start, local school systems, Johnson-O’Malley, Family and Child Education (FACE), Even Start, and other early childhood education programs; and
Promoting early language development, math concepts, and basic skill building activities through training sessions at the annual American Indian and Alaska Native Child Care Conference, ACF Regional Office tribal child care meetings, and Tribal Cluster Trainings.

As a component of the Good Start, Grow Smart Initiative, the Head Start Bureau introduced the Early Learning and Literacy Effort (“STEP Training”) in the Summer of 2002. Several of the key elements of this training have been incorporated into the literacy trainings presented to tribal CCDF grantees at the annual American Indian and Alaska Native Child Care Conference and Tribal Cluster Trainings.

WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED FROM TRIBES
Discussions regarding the CCB’s approach to GSGS in tribal communities were held at the 2003 American Indian and Alaska Native Child Care Conference, with the CCB’s Tribal Work Group and as part of the 2003 CCDF Tribal Cluster Trainings. The overarching comment from Tribes has been that the CCB approach to tribal GSGS should respect sovereignty and take into account cultural and linguistic differences.

Other comments include:

Early Learning Guidelines

Tribes should be involved in the development of their State’s ELGs.
Tribal Early Learning Guidelines should be optional.
Funding for implementation must be made available.

Professional Development

Access to training opportunities and qualified trainers can be challenging.
Culturally-based curricula should be valued.
Funding is needed to support professional development activities.

Program Coordination

Tribal service areas sometimes encompass large geographic areas and multiple jurisdictions making it difficult to obtain consensus.
Tribes should encourage increased coordination/collaboration at the tribal level.
Barriers to collaboration exist based on regulations and attitudes.

WHAT IS EXPECTED OF TRIBES
Tribes are encouraged to continue working with the Child Care Bureau and ACF Regional Offices on the applicability of Good Start, Grow Smart in their tribal communities. Most importantly, Tribes are encouraged to move forward with their efforts in building and enhancing quality tribal child care environments that prepare children to enter school ready to learn and provide school-aged children with the necessary supports to succeed in school.

The following chart summarizes what is specifically expected of Tribes.

WHAT IS EXPECTED OF TRIBES

EARLY LEARNING GUIDELINES

Tribes are encouraged to work with their State Lead Agencies around the development of ELGs. (See pages 11-16 of this Guide for State Contact Information.) States, in turn, are expected to include tribal representatives in the development of State ELGs.
Tribes are encouraged to participate in State efforts to implement the early learning guidelines, particularly specific training or other technical assistance resources that the State may make available. Tribes could take the lead in developing culturally relevant implementation strategies and tools for tribal child care programs.
Reminder:
Tribes are not required to develop ELGs.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Tribes are encouraged to plan professional development strategies that take into consideration the full range of child care provider settings.
Tribes should consider aligning their professional development activities with their State’s Early Learning Guidelines to ensure that tribal child care providers have the skills necessary to prepare children for school.
In many tribal communities, Tribal Colleges and Universities are a valuable resource for professional development opportunities, including distance learning. Tribes are encouraged to consult with Tribal Colleges and Universities, and other local higher education institutions, as appropriate, as they design their professional development strategies. (See www.aihec.org for a list of Tribal Colleges and Universities)
Reminders:
Tribes are not required to develop a comprehensive professional development plan.

Non-Exempt Tribes (those with annual CCDF grant awards of $500,000 or more) are reminded that no less than 4 percent of their funds must be spent on “quality” activities, which may include professional development activities.

COORDINATION

Tribes have requirements in their two-year CCDF plans to coordinate the delivery of services with other tribal, Federal, State, and local child care, early childhood development programs, and before and after-school care services.
For example, Tribes could coordinate with Head Start and Early Head Start programs; TANF; 2lst Century Community Learning Centers programs; Bureau of Indian Affairs school programs; and the local school system’s before and after-school program(s) in their efforts to offer professional development opportunities to the full range of providers.
Reminder:
Indian children are dually eligible to receive CCDF services from the Tribe or State. Tribes should coordinate with their State CCDF program to maximize services available to all eligible Indian families. (See State Contact Information.)

Frequently Asked Questions>>