Dear WSA Members:
Thanks again for all of your work and support. I know it is the busy season with children and families enrolling in your program. But we wanted to give you a short update from the board of directors meeting that took place yesterday. Please take a minute and give us some feedback if you would like. If you are coming to the WSA Fall Meeting October 15th through October 17th in Pasco, WA you will also have a chance to weigh in and vote as well.
Strategic Plan
The board approved a 3 year strategic plan for the organization starting January 2015 and running through 2017. The strategic plan sets the priorities for WSA moving forward. Here are the 5 new things to be on the lookout for:
- The creation of professional learning communities. As an example we are hoping to launch an education coordinator learning community in partnership with DEL and Region X T/TA.
- Regular webinars. We are planning on introducing a series of webinars on relevant policy or professional development topics at least every other month and eventually every month.
- New professional development opportunities. With Portland State no longer putting together the Early Head Start conference WSA will be putting this event together. We are also launching the first early childhood STEM Institute in partnership with Thrive by Five Washington. We are tentatively scheduling the STEM institute for December.
- More opportunities for staff and parents to engage within the WSA community. This fall we will be launching a series of regular conference calls for policy councils chairs and WSA representatives to more deeply engage our community on key policy and professional development issues.
- An expanded set of advocacy tools. We plan on really building up our web site so that you have the tools you need to be an effective advocate. This will include tips on setting site visits with your lawmakers, talking points, advocacy videos, and power point presentations.
As you can imagine the strategic plan is fairly comprehensive. You will have an opportunity to tell us what you think should be in our strategic plan and any edits you want to make at our fall meeting. We hope to see you there!
New Staff
For the last year we have had a part-time staff person in Hana Gregory. The board agreed to bring Hana on as a full time staff person which is very exciting. Hana has a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood and Family Studies from the University of Washington. As our new Project Manager, Hana will be responsible for putting together our webinar series, supporting all of our professional development events, supporting our advocacy work, and a variety of projects that help sustain our work. We are very excited to have her join us full time.
Support for Board Participation
Starting this fall WSA plans to offer small and limited scholarships to support WSA board participation. We have heard from several members that the cost of board participation can sometimes be a barrier to service on the WSA board. We hope to offer some support to help offset some of the costs. We want to ease the burden of board participation so that all WSA member programs can have the opportunity of representation.
Budget
We are still putting the final touches on the budget for 2014 to 2015. But I did want to let you know that we are going to end the fiscal year on the positive side. We also have a nice cushion in our bank account and overall the organization is very healthy. The new budget will also not include any dues increases. I believe that this at least the 7th straight year that we did not increase dues. We know you guys pay plenty of dues to us and we are very appreciative and use your dollars carefully and wisely. As you can see we are also increasing the number of professional development opportunities so that you get the most for your dues. You will have an opportunity at the fall meeting in October to approve the final budget as well.
Basic Education
The board agreed to open the door to including ECEAP in the definition of basic education. They decided that if the opportunity was presented WSA would support ECEAP being included. This action was a direct result of several conversations and chatter in policy circles about the inclusion of ECEAP in basic education. However, it was also decided that more conversation with members was needed and that we would move out judiciously. We would also work to see that ECEAP remained connected to DEL, was delivered through a mixed delivery system, and that the comprehensive nature of the program was not diluted in anyway. We are not sure what direction this may take us when the legislative session starts up in January but we know three key things: 1) that the state is under court order to fund basic education; 2) that the state does have the resources to fund everything in basic education without drastic cuts or increases in revenue or both; and 3) some lawmakers are considering including early education within basic education. As you recall WSA supported including ECEAP in basic education in 2011 and we want to keep our options open if this becomes the most viable funding source for ECEAP. We look forward to dialoguing with everyone about this issue.
Seattle Pre-K
The board also voted to support the Seattle Pre-K initiative. The initiative calls for a 4 year demonstration program. The initiative would fund 2,000 children to participate in Seattle Pre-K. All Seattle Pre-K sites will be required to have a BA degree, use a rigorous curriculum, and provide at least 6 hours of services. The program is free for families up to 300% of the poverty level, with families above that level paying a graduated co-pay. Our City’s ECEAP and Head Start programs are excited for the opportunity to receive these dollars to support the children they serve. The initiative is on the ballot this November.
Thanks again for everything you do. We are very appreciative of your continuing support and membership. (They also say something when the plane lands…oh I remember “we know you have a lot of choices when you fly and are grateful that you are choosing WSA airlines.” This is where I usually make some wisecrack at the flight attendant but anyway…) Again thank you for the work you are doing to support the most at risk the families in our state. We look forward to seeing many of you in October.
Joel Ryan