California Association for the Education of Young Children is looking for our next wave of leaders to serve on the CAEYC Board of Directors. CAEYC’s election process allows members to nominate another member or self-nominate for any state officer position that is open for election. This year, the positions open for elections are:

President-Elect (Two year term – July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2013)
Secretary (Two year term – July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2013)

The term for each position begins July 1, 2011.

Review the Nominations & Elections forms below and consider this opportunity for yourself or an Affiliate member to advocate for children and families.

Potential candidate applications are due to the CAEYC State Office on Friday, November 19, 2010 by 5:00 p.m.

Candidate Application Information
Candidate Application Checklist
Candidate Application Form

We encourage all members to participate in the process – these are your representatives. This is a wonderful opportunity to get involved by becoming an officer of the largest organization of early care and education professionals in California.

For questions please contact Kelly Lake, CAEYC Nominations & Elections Chair, at kellylake.caeyc@gmail.com

The California Association for the Education of Young Children is pleased to announce applications for six (6) Awards and Grants. The Awards and Grants are open to all members of CAEYC and are designed to promote professional growth and educational support.

Awards and Grants are designed to assist members to apply for one or more grants to enrich early childhood educational experiences and encourage members to continually strive for excellence with young children. Awards and Grants assist members to attend conferences, provide resources for program development and assistance to complete educational degrees. The Awards and Grants funds were donated by people who were dedicated to supporting young children and care about the people who work with young children.

Any member of CAEYC is eligible and may apply. To be considered, members must fill out an application and provide all supporting documentation. Only completed applications will be considered. All applications must be submitted to the CAEYC State Office no later than Wednesday, December 1, 2010. All applicants will be notified of the status of their application in a timely manner. For assistance or questions please contact the CAEYC state office.

CAEYC Awards and Grants

Beth A. Lake Award
Successful applicants will receive $500 to be used for training, attending conference, purchasing materials for a classroom or programs which have a direct benefit to elementary children.

Milton E. Akers CAEYC Conference Award
Successful applicants will receive complimentary registration to CAEYC Annual Conference and Expo, March 24-26, 2011.

Docia Zavitkovsky Educational Award
Successful applicant will receive $1,000 for undergraduate or graduate study in Early Childhood Education or Child Development.

Marcia Fochler Graduate/Post Graduate Award
Successful applicant will receive $500 to assist in professional growth through educational endeavors. The award must be used at a graduate or post-graduate level in Early Childhood Education or closely related field.

Marilyn M. Smith and J.D. Andrews Professional Development Fund Grant
Successful applicant will receive $500 toward attendance at an AEYC sponsored or co-sponsored event such as workshops, conferences, seminars or professional trainings.

Rose C. Engel Teacher Innovation Grant
Successful applicants will receive $100 toward programming or events which have an immediate or direct benefit to children and families.

CAEYC advocates for advancement in the early care and education profession and improvement of the lives of young children. Our Public Policy Committee reviews bills related to the importance of early childhood issues and communicates regularly to our legislators regarding these concerns. The Committee develops a policy platform yearly with consultation from the CAEYC Board of Directors.
View CAEYC Public Policy Goals

Contact
Fran Chasen, CAEYC Public Policy Chair
franchasen@msn.com
View Public Policy Commitee Reps

California Legislative Bill File
CAEYC reviews bills that we believe are of interest to early childhood professionals. If you have a bill that you would like our CAEYC Public Policy Committee to review, please contact CAEYC at info@caeyc.org.

Federal Legislative Bill File
Listed below are the Federal Legislative Bills currently being watched by CAEYC.

HR 460 - Right Start Child Care and Education Act of 2009 | Click here
S. 210 - Right Start Child Care and Education Act of 2009 | Click here

With the passage of Senate Bill 1629, California established a new advisory body to develop policy and an implementation plan for an Early Learning Quality Improvement System. The goal of the committee is to improve outcomes for children and reduce California's school readiness gap by improving the quality of early learning and care programs.

The Early Learning Quality Improvement System Advisory Committee (ELQIS) has 13 members. Each member is also a Chair or Co-Chair of various subcommittees charged with clarifying issues, outlining possible alternatives and presenting likely results.

In addition, the California State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care (ELAC) will build on the work of the California Early Learning Quality Improvement System Advisory Committee (CAEL QIS) in helping define the future policy direction for early learning in California. The ELAC is co-chaired by a representative from the Secretary of Education, Gavin Payne, State Superintendent of Public Instruction designee, and Kris Perry, California Children and Families Commission designee. The co-chairs invite stakeholders in early learning and members of the public to participate in the upcoming meetings of the ELAC.

CAEYC leadership, public policy committee and staff are attending the ELQIS meetings. Below is a brief update on the process and emerging issues from the subcommittees.

Design
This subcommittee is examining how a quality improvement rating system will look and function. Existing requirements (licensing, Title 5 and Title 22), third party accreditations, size ratios, educational level and more are all being discussed in the creation of a draft model. [more information]

Finance
This subcommittee is working on the determining how to finance the operation of a quality improvement rating system. Examination of current finance models has been done. This subcommittee will become increasingly active in 2010 once a draft system is more complete. [more information]

Workforce
This subcommittee is developing professional standards and a delivery system related to professional development that are linked to quality learning standards and financial incentives for enhanced training. This group is looking at: [more information]

• Possible combining of professional standards for Title 22 and Title 5
  
• How we set the minimum professional standards for all ECE programs
  
• What alternatives should be considered
  
• What defines a "quality" teacher
  
• How to create career pathways with multiple points of entry into the field
  
• Ways to improve compensation via this system
  
• Ways to make ECE education accessible to all
  

Data
This subcommittee's purpose is to identify information about current child, family, teacher, and program level data systems for children from birth to five years old, and identify attributes of data systems that will support continuous program improvement linked to better outcomes for children, reduced school readiness gaps, and improved school success. [more information]

Engagement and Outreach for Families, Providers, and Public
This subcommittee is charged with: 1) developing a communication plan to ensure broad input on the QRS design, and 2) developing an engagement and outreach plan for families, programs/providers, stakeholders, and the public for California's 'rating structure and process' and support systems. [more information]

To keep current on the California Early Learning Quality Improvement System Advisory Committee work and to check on the dates and locations of meetings, click here.