Early Learning Partnership Coordinator

JOB TITLE: Early Learning Partnership Coordinator

REPORTS TO: Director of Programs and Contracts

COMMITTEE AFFILIATION: Professional Development, Preschool for All, Directors’ Roundtable, Family Child Care Professionals’ Roundtable

WHO WE ARE

The Collaboration for Early Childhood is a collective impact agency in the Chicago suburbs. Our primary goal is to build the capacity of the community around us to support children and their families, from prenatal to Kindergarten . We work with early childhood professionals, community leaders and families to raise our community’s ability to support young families. We are a professional agency with a big heart and an important mission. We care deeply about the work that we do, and are looking for someone who above all has a passion for impacting the lives of children. Our work is complex and thorough and our goal is to bring about real and lasting change in the community.

OVERVIEW

The Early Learning Partnership Coordinator is the primary point of contact with early learning programs in Oak Park and River Forest, Illinois, supporting the skill development of the early childhood workforce, motivating and supporting early learning programs to increase and maintain quality, and facilitating the alignment of early childhood education programs and the local elementary school curriculum. This support is performed in a community working to create a seamless continuum of high-quality education for children birth to kindergarten age.

The person for this role has significant experience guiding early learning programs and coaching early learning professionals, is used to working in a self-directed manner while being part of a team, and has tremendous dedication to and empathy for early learning providers.

CONTENT AREAS

• Program Quality, Professional Development, and Mentorship
• Transition to Kindergarten
• Equity and Access to Preschool
• Information Sharing and Resources

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES

Program Quality, Professional Development, and Mentorship

• With the Professional Development Committee, establish the Collaboration’s professional development offerings (typically once a month). Develop and implement programming in partnership with community resource providers whenever possible.
• Coordinate with staff and partners around the logistics of professional development offerings for workshops and the annual Early Childhood Symposium.
• Have an ongoing understanding of what the local early learning community needs for professional development and ensure the Collaboration’s professional development opportunities align with these needs.
• Support and advocate for provider engagement in Illinois Gateways to Opportunity, ExceleRate, trainings, the Collaboration’s Early Childhood Symposium and additional professional development and quality enhancement opportunities.
• Connect Early Learning Professionals by convening the Collaboration’s Directors’ Roundtable and Family Child Care Professionals’ Roundtable, as well as the Preschool for All Committee and Professional Development Committee.
• Participate in other local early learning groups as needed.
• Collaborate with staff and contractors to report on indicators related to early learning as required by funders. This includes collecting data and writing narrative summaries.
• Work with Collaboration staff and committees to identify indicators and data sources to collect accurate information about the number of early childhood slots available within the community, program enrollment levels/openings, and program quality ratings.
• Guide the Professional Development Committee to design and support opportunities to promote early learning quality enhancement, especially through oversight and direction of the content of its annual Early Childhood Symposium.
• Serve as the staff lead for content of the Collaboration’s Symposium, working with presenters on their topics and delivery as needed.
• Ensure that professional development offerings and Symposium workshops are submitted and approved for Gateways hours, Early Intervention credit, and professional learning hours (ISBE-issued PLH for licensed teachers) as appropriate.
• Maintain the Collaboration’s status as an Authorized Entity with Illinois Gateways to Opportunity training registry and ensure accurate and complete recording and reporting of all Collaboration affiliated activities and participation levels.
• Maintain the Collaboration’s status as an Illinois State-Approved Professional Development Provider authorized to issue professional learning hours to Illinois licensed educators through ISBE, maintaining required documents and the PD+ account.
• Respond to community partner requests for early learning information, program support, and mentorship.

Transition to Kindergarten

• Work with the elementary school district and other early education leaders to foster alignment with the kindergarten curriculum and shared expectations for kindergarten readiness, including supporting kindergarten readiness screenings in community-based programs
• Implement programming to address community and early learning kindergarten readiness and transition information needs, in partnership with community resource providers whenever possible.
• Ensure that the transition to Kindergarten experience maintains focus on equity and access to opportunity for ALL (but specifically those under-resourced) families and children.
• Support the community’s free preschool programs in their use of Teaching Strategies GOLD with the TSG account that the Collaboration manages on behalf of the programs. This includes ensuring data is entered in a timely manner and analysis of data trends within and across programs to inform classroom practices and professional development priorities.

Equity and Access to Preschool

• Convene the Collaboration’s Preschool for All committee monthly.
• Prioritize professional development programming that examines cultural competence, preschool expulsion, implicit bias, and equity issues in the classroom.
• Advocate for the pro-active utilization of infant/early childhood mental health consultation services in early learning partner programs.
• Promote and support outreach efforts to find and engage children who qualify for free preschool or additional services.

Information Sharing and Resources

• Accurately collect data (including child, service and system outcomes), establish benchmarks, and monitor progress. Compile data for monthly early learning reports to Collaboration’s Board of Directors and leadership staff.
• Collect and summarize data (quantitative and qualitative as appropriate) aligned to identified outcomes for the Collaboration for analysis by partner organizations and for semi-annual reporting to governing agencies.
• Identify relevant and important early learning information and share widely with community partners and families on a regular basis.
• Collaborate with the Communications Coordinator to streamline information to early learning partners, including but not limited to newsletters, emails, blogs, and social media posts.
• Maintain and update program and community listings in the Early Childhood Resource Directory.

General

• Create and contribute to a positive and collaborative environment for staff, contractors and community members through positive communication and a commitment to relationship building.
• Demonstrate a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion through continuous development, modeling inclusive behaviors, and proactively managing bias.
• Ensure equitable experiences and promote a culture of inclusivity and belonging that embraces the contributions of all community partners.
• Contribute positively to the future growth and expansion opportunities for the agency.
• Additional activities upon the request of the Director of Programs and Contracts or Executive Director.

ESSENTIAL SKILLS

• Excellent interpersonal, relationship building and convening skills.
• Strong organizational skills, excellent writing and communication skills, with the ability to effectively write and communicate with a variety of audiences and stakeholders.
• Experience teaching in early learning programs and supporting equity in education.
• Solid knowledge of and ability to implement principles and practices of adult learning.
• Ability to coach and teach adults in classroom and web-based settings.
• Demonstrated success in facilitating training in the early learning environment.
• Experience with data collection and using data to inform programming.
• Knowledge of and experience with ExceleRate, Illinois Gateways to Opportunity and the professional pathways for Early Childhood Credentials preferred.
• Knowledge of and experience with Teaching Strategies GOLD.
• Ability to work respectfully with racially and culturally diverse people with differing professional skills, backgrounds, incomes, and experiences.
• Proven ability to problem-solve within a team context and a strong commitment to collaborative work.
• Deliberate and self-reflective about the team and culture that we are building and care deeply about supporting team members’ growth as well as that of our community partners.
• Ability to think proactively about the needs of community partners to create programs to advance the Collaboration’s work in the community.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office suite. Google suites, Basecamp, MailChimp and Qualtrics a plus.
• Flexible schedule to accommodate occasional evening and weekend events.
• Organizational and strategic thinking skills related to development of new initiatives and programs that support early learning partners and carrying out initiatives in support of the organization’s strategic plan.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelor's degree (or significant experience) in Early Childhood, Child Development, or related field.
• Knowledge of DCFS Licensing Standards, Illinois Gateways to Opportunity, ExceleRate, early learning program evaluation tools (ECERS, FCRS, etc.). Knowledge of NAEYC Accreditation requirements a plus.
• Experience working with diverse (racial, ethnic, ability, economic, gender, geographical setting, etc.) populations.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES: Volunteers assigned to the Early Learning Partnership content area.

CONTRACTOR OVERSIGHT:  Equity support, authentic assessment (TS Gold), social emotional classroom support, early learning trainers and workshop providers.

WORK FORMAT: This position is full-time, office-based (hybrid), and located in Oak Park, IL. This role is expected to perform functions in person in Oak Park, IL and nearby areas.

The Collaboration will make reasonable accommodations in compliance with the Americans with Disability Act of 1990. Unless exempted by the ADA, the person hired for this position will be required to perform all the tasks required to fulfill job responsibilities including having the ability to lift up to 25 pounds.

Elements of each job position at the Collaboration for Early Childhood are subject to change as the agency grows and evolves. Staff may be asked to assume responsibilities not listed on this form.

APPLY: To apply, please send a resume and cover letter to info@collab4kids.org