A Message from the ECLC

On Nov. 10, the ECLC unanimously approved the Department of Early Childhood (DEC) Transition Plan, which has been submitted to the Governor and the Legislature. Since the plan’s approval, conversations have shifted to developing recommendations for the new statewide, voluntary, universal preschool program. A report outlining these recommendations will be submitted on Jan. 1, 2022, and the ECLC will have two weeks to approve them. 

On Dec. 7, the Transition Working Group (TWG) released the Draft Universal Preschool Recommendations, informed by the intensive work of the Transition Advisory Group (TAG), the subgroups and other stakeholder engagement through this process, as well as significant previous engagement efforts from stakeholders across Colorado. You can view the recording of the town hall as well as the slide presentation. 

In order to gather your feedback on these important recommendations, the TWG is hosting a series of Listening Sessions to gather input from stakeholders as these recommendations are finalized. See the opportunities below or click here to view a calendar of all the upcoming opportunities to engage. Additional feedback can be offered in this form through Dec. 15. 

We look forward to working alongside you in the next phase of this process to ensure  all children, their families, and the early childhood professionals who support them are valued, healthy, and thriving. 

Universal Preschool Recommendations Listening Sessions
The TWG is hosting listening sessions to gather feedback from all stakeholders on the draft universal preschool recommendations. Spanish language interpretation will be available at each session. These 90-minute sessions will take place:

• Sat, Dec 11 at 10am
• Mon, Dec 13 at 10am
• Mon, Dec 13 at 5:30pm
• Tues, Dec 14 at 11:30am

To learn more, please visit the ECLC Transition website.

Transition Advisory Group
The final TAG meeting will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 15, from 3 p.m.-5:30 p.m. The link and agenda will be posted to the TAG webpage in advance. In this meeting, TAG members will be offering feedback on the draft universal preschool recommendations.

Subgroups
The Innovative Data, Technology, Evaluation and Accountability Subgroup and the Transformative Governance, Operations and Funding Subgroup have finished meeting. Thank you to all the participants for your dedicated work!

The Special Education Service Delivery and Universal Preschool Implementation Subgroups are meeting for the final time this week and reviewing the draft universal preschool recommendations. Click the links below to learn more and register for the meetings.

• Special Education: Dec. 8, 2 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Universal Preschool: Dec. 9, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.

Other Ways to Engage

• Feedback on the Draft Universal Preschool Recommendations: We welcome  feedback on the draft universal preschool recommendations prior to Dec. 15 through this form.
• Feedback Form: We want to hear from you! A brief feedback form is available to share ideas, questions, suggestions or recommendations. All input will be public and shared with decision makers.

Recent Activity

• Department of Early Childhood (DEC) Transition Plan: On Nov. 10 the ECLC unanimously approved the DEC Transition Plan, and the plan has been submitted to the Governor and the Legislature. To view the plan, please click here. We could not have arrived at this moment without your help, and we thank you for your contribution!
• Transition Advisory Group (TAG): TAG met Dec. 1 to continue to discuss recommendations for the new voluntary, universal preschool program. It focused on recommendations for quality and evaluation, workforce, and special education.
  • For materials and recordings of this meeting and all previous TAG meetings, visit the TAG webpage.

We are committed to ensuring broad stakeholder engagement throughout the process.  We will continue to send updates and share information as dates and opportunities are confirmed.  

Please reach out to Kristina Heyl at [email protected] with any questions.  Thank you all for your commitment to this exciting work! 

For additional information about the transition process, visit www.earlychildhoodcolorado.org/transition