Dear Parents:

This is an exciting time for the state of New York, especially for parents of young children. As co-chairs of the NYS Early Childhood Advisory Council, we want to enlist your help in supporting an application to the Federal Departments of Education and Health and Human Services for the Race to the Top: Early Learning Challenge, a grant that would greatly benefit New York’s youngest citizens and their families. This $500 million initiative is designed to support states to develop early childhood systems that will increase access for children to high quality early childhood programs and services. This initiative is built around establishing and implementing a quality rating and improvement system which integrates health and emotional development and is linked to comprehensive child assessment, work force development, family engagement in early learning, and cross-agency data systems. These are initiatives that parents across New York have wanted to come to fruition for years.

New York is eligible to compete for $100 million and Governor Cuomo announced his decision to apply for this opportunity in July 2011 and has made it a priority of his education agenda. This new initiative represents an unprecedented opportunity for New York to develop a continuum of education that truly begins at birth and lasts a lifetime. Specifically, this grant will provide the essential infrastructure and tools to promote school readiness for all children, especially those with high needs.

As a parent, your support is critical to New York’s success in this effort A section of the proposal will feature letters of support from important stakeholders, including parents and parent organizations that represent the interests of young children and their families. Original letters that address your concerns and acknowledge the importance that this new funding can play in the future of our state’s youngest citizens will strengthen our position in this competition. For your reference, we enclose guidance that should be helpful in your efforts and we thank you in advance for your assistance. Your letter should be received in the Governor’s office no later than October 7, 2011.

Sincerely,

Robert G. Frawley	Sherry M. Cleary

Co-chair	Co-chair

Instructions for Parent Letters of Support

Letters should be addressed to:

Governor Andrew Cuomo
c/o Katie Campos, Asst. Secretary for Education
Executive Chamber
State Capitol
Albany, NY 12224

Deadline: Letters need to be received by October 7, 2011.

Suggestions for writing your letter:

It is important that letters are original and reflect parent support for the Early Learning Challenge Grant based upon your individual experiences or upon your representation of parents within a program or agency that will benefit from the ELCG being implemented in New York. Specifically the letters could describe benefits derived from implementation of one or all of the primary components of the ELCG proposal:

Implement QUALITYstarsNY, our tiered quality rating and improvement system

Develop and use high quality early learning and development standards

Support of effective use of comprehensive assessment systems, including the administration of a common state-wide kindergarten entry assessment so teachers will know how best to address the individual needs and skills of all children

Address health, behavioral, and developmental needs of children, including early identification of needs and referral to services on a timely basis.

Engage and support families within early care and learning programs

Implement New York Works for Children, which includes a common statewide competency-based knowledge framework and addresses a range of approaches to develop skill, knowledge and ability in the early childhood workforce.

Build an early learning data system

Your letter might detail how you’ve already contributed to the components of the grant. You might discuss how you expect to contribute to the components in the future and/or how you envision the receipt of this grant as a benefit to New York and its children and families.

user

2011-09-26

ty1657

The City University of New York