6.4 Early Learning and Developmental Guidelines

Lead Agencies must develop, maintain, or implement early learning and developmental guidelines appropriate for children from birth to kindergarten entry. Early learning and developmental guidelines should describe what children should know and be able to do at different ages and cover the essential domains of early childhood development, which at a minimum includes cognition, including language arts and mathematics; social, emotional, and physical development; and approaches toward learning. 6.4.1 Early learning and developmental guidelines a. Check the boxes below to certify the Lead Agency’s early learning and developmental guidelines are: i. [x] Research-based. ii. [x] Developmentally appropriate. iii. [x] Culturally and linguistically appropriate. iv. [x] Aligned with kindergarten entry. v. [x] Appropriate for all children from birth to kindergarten entry. vi. [x] Implemented in consultation with the educational agency and the State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care or similar coordinating body. vii. If any components above are not checked, describe: N/A b. Check the boxes below to certify that the required domains are included in the Lead Agency’s early learning and developmental guidelines. i. [x] Cognition, including language arts and mathematics. ii. [x] Social development. iii. [x] Emotional development. iv. [x] Physical development. v. [x] Approaches toward learning. vi. [ ] Other optional domains. Describe any optional domains: vii. If any components above are not checked, describe: The following additional domains are also included in Vermont Early Learning Standards: Learning and Development, Growth, Moving and Being Healthy, Literacy Development, Creative Arts and Expression, Science and Social Studies. c. When were the Lead Agency’s early learning and developmental guidelines most recently updated and for what reason? The first edition of the Vermont Early Learning Standards ("VELS"), a significant milestone in 2004, outlined the knowledge and skills children should possess from age 3 until they enter kindergarten. This common standardization fostered a shared understanding among parents, educators, leaders, and policymakers. The VELS, with its emphasis on play in all domains, united us in the belief that children's play is the cornerstone of learning across all developmental and content areas. Critical advances in early childhood education, such as universal public prekindergarten education for 3, 4, and 5-year-olds, Children's Integrated Services bringing early intervention, family support, and early childhood and family mental health services under one umbrella, greater emphasis on valid and reliable ways to assess young children's learning, The Vermont Early Childhood Action Plan, and Multi-tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) that acknowledge meeting children where they are at with universal high-quality instruction, environments, and relationships for all children have created the need to revise the VELS. VELS was most recently updated in 2017. d. Provide the Web link to the Lead Agency's early learning and developmental guidelines. https://education.vermont.gov/documents/early-education-early-learning-standards and https://education.vermont.gov/student-support/early-education/vermont-early-learning- standards 6.4.2 Use of early learning and developmental guidelines a. Describe how the Lead Agency uses its early learning and developmental guidelines. The Vermont Early Learning Standards are incorporated into workforce trainings offered by NL at CCV. Training embeds educational, play-based strategies and individualized curriculum such as Creating Culturally Responsive Classrooms: Lessons from Children's Literature, Music in the Garden, and Multi-Aged Care: Strategies and Solutions. The most robust training that incorporates the Vermont Early Learning Standards is Fundamentals, a forty- five (45) hour training for new educators that is embedded into Vermont's STep Ahead Recognition Systems ("STARS"). Redesign work of this training will be completed and a pilot will be underway by Spring 2025. b. Check the boxes below to certify that CCDF funds are not used to develop or implement an assessment for children that: i. [x] Will be the primary or sole basis to determine a child care provider ineligible to participate in the CCDF. ii. [x] Will be used as the primary or sole basis to provide a reward or sanction for an individual provider. iii. [x] Will be used as the primary or sole method for assessing program effectiveness. iv. [x] Will be used to deny children eligibility to participate in CCDF. v. If any components above are not checked, describe: N/A 7 Quality Improvement Activities The quality of child care directly affects children’s safety and healthy development while in care settings, and high-quality child care can be foundational across the lifespan. Lead Agencies may use CCDF for quality improvement activities for all children in care, not just those receiving child care subsidies. OCC will collect the most detailed Lead Agency information about quality improvement activities in annual reports instead of this Plan. Lead Agencies must report on CCDF child care quality improvement investments in three ways: 1. In this Plan, Lead Agencies will describe the types of activities supported by quality investments over the 3-year period. 2. An annual expenditure report (the ACF-696). Lead Agencies will provide data on how much CCDF funding is spent on quality activities. This report will be used to determine compliance with the required quality and infant and toddler spending requirements. 3. An annual Quality Progress Report (the ACF-218). Lead Agencies will provide a description of activities funded by quality expenditures, the measures used to evaluate its progress in improving the quality of child care programs and services within the State/Territory, and progress or barriers encountered on those measures. In this section of the Plan, Lead Agencies will describe their quality activities needs assessment and identify the types of quality improvement activities where CCDF investments are being made using quality set-aside funds.