Cross-Sector Work

Introduction

Goal & Strategies*

Mechanisms, resources, and structures exist that reflect, support, and sustain shared vision, collaborative relationships, and mutual accountabilities between 0-5 and K-12.

Governance

Governance

Establish and support collaborative (cross-organizational and crosssector) board or committee that formalizes decision-making roles and responsibilities among partners and prioritizes PreK-3rd efforts.

Example Implementation Indicators

District Administrators/Community Leaders

• Establish board, committee, or other entity with explicit responsibility for guiding and making decisions about PreK-3rd efforts.
• Identify and engage both school- and community-based partners as key participants

Principals/Site Administrators

• Identify and create formal linkages with the primary early learning programs that send children to particular elementary schools (feeder patterns).
• Establish a PreK-3rd leadership group that includes both school- and community-based teachers and is responsible for building teamwork across age/grade levels.

Teachers/Families

• Perceive the entities responsible for guiding PreK-3rd efforts to have credibility and influence.
• Demonstrate shared language and understanding of PreK-3rd.

Strategic Plans

Strategic Plans

Develop, share, and regularly update a strategic plan for the PreK-3rd work that reflects shared commitment to improving outcomes for children.

Example Implementation Indicators

District Administrators/Community Leaders

• Lead the development, and regular updating, of community-based needs assessments that identify child/ family demographics and feeder/mobility patterns for public schools.
• Develop a shared vision and a strategic plan for PreK-3rd.
• Publicly release the PreK-3rd vision and plan.
• Incorporate shared PreK-3rd language, goals, and metrics into the district’s or organization’s own strategic plan and public statements.

Principals, Teachers

• Demonstrate support of the PreK-3rd vision and strategic plan and understand their role(s).
• Integrate PreK-3rd goals into school improvement plans.

Funding

Funding

Generate, reallocate, leverage, connect, and/or blend public and private funds to ensure PreK-3rd efforts are adequately funded to ensure effective implementation.

Example Implementation Indicators

District Administrators/Community Leaders

• Increase allocated funding for PreK-3rd.
• Identify the variety of federal, state, local, and private funding sources (e.g., Title I, Title II, Special Education, Head Start, Child Care Development Block Grant, philanthropic grants) that include services for children, PreK-3rd, and combine and blend resources to address PreK-3rd goals.
• Partner with private philanthropic partners to secure "glue funding" that supports collaborative, cross-sector work.

Principals/Site Administrators

• Use funding sources (e.g., combine and blend) to ensure that staff with instructional responsibilities in supplemental and intervention programs are full-time employees, consistently and meaningfully work with teacher teams, and engage with families.

Resources

An Evidence-Based Approach to Estimating the National and State Costs of PreK-3rd
Click Here, Foundation for Child Development

Blending and Braiding Early Childhood Program Funding Streams Toolkit: Enhancing Financing for High-Quality Early Learning Programs
Click Here Ounce of Prevention Fund, Version 2, November 2013.

How Much Does Quality Preschool Cost?
Click Here, by W. Steven Barnett & Kenneth B. Robin

Learning to Read: A Guide to Federal Funding for Grade-Level Reading Proficiency
Click Here, Cheryl D. Hayes, Soumya Bhat, Lori Connors-Tadros, and Laura Martinez (2012). The Finance Project

Making Strategic Use of Existing Resources
Click Here

PreK-3rd: What is the Price Tag?
Click Here, Rima Shore, Foundation for Child Development

Resources

Continuing Education

Continuing Education

Laws, Regulations, Statutes

Laws, Regulations, Statutes

Links

Links

Building Community Partnerships for Kansas Preschool Programs
Click Here

UCLA: Online Clearinghouse for Collaboration - School, Community, Interagency, Community Schools
Click Here

Literature

Literature

Achieving the Anchor Promise:mImproving Outcomes for Low-Income Children, Families and Communities
Click Here, Steve Dubb, Sarah McKinley and Ted Howard, The Democracy Collaborative at the University of Maryland, 2013

A PreK-3rd Coalition: How Three School Districts Accomplished More Together than Alone
Click Here, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Beyond the School Yard: Pre-K Collaborations with Community-Based Partners
Click Here, Albert Wat & Chrisanne Gayl, (2009), The Pew Center on the States

Cities Focus on the PreK-3rd Continuum
by Laura Bornfreund, New America Foundation
Click Here

Engaging School Districts in Early Childhood Collaborations
Click Here, Illinois

Hartford Community Schools Collaborative Leadership Framework
Click Here

How Schools Work and How to Work with Schools: A Primer For Those Who Want To Serve Children and Youth In Schools
Click Here, National Association of State Boards of Education

Partners for Success: Case Studies of Collaboration Between Head Start and Pre-K
Click Here, National Head Start Association, Emmalie Dropkin, July 2013

Ohio Community Collaboration Model for School Improvement, The
Click Here
Click Here for Manual
Click Here for Appendix A Design Principles Self Assessment

Seattle Public Schools: The Community Alignment Initiative at a Glance
Click Here

Seattle Public Schools: Community Alignment Initiative: Overview, Terms and Conditions
Click Here

Understanding Community Schools as Collaboratives for System Building to Address Barriers and Promote Well-Being
Click Here, Center for Mental Health in Schools at UCLA, March 2011

Minnesota Examples

Minnesota Examples

St. Paul Public Schools - Partnerships Districtwide Action Team
Click Here

Presentations

Presentations

Research

Research

Go to Research & Studies

Tools

Tools

Marin Community Foundation‐Haas Family Fund Pre K‐3 Promoting Early School Success for All Strategies That Work
Click Here,

Webinars & Videos

Webinars & Videos

* Kauerz, K. & Coffman, J. (2013). Framework for Planning, Implementing, and Evaluating PreK-3rd Grade Approaches. Seattle, WA: College of Education, University of Washington.