The 2022-2023 Third Grade Reading Proficiency Work Group identified the following priority for action planning. Work group members engaged in discussions and review of best practices and resources related to reinforcing the talent pipeline for educators.

• Reinforce the talent pipeline for early educators for children from birth through third grade by increasing compensation through dedicated funding, ensuring pay parity, and sustaining investments in training and professional development

The Third Grade Reading Proficiency's proposed work included including help planning, promoting, and participating in the event, contacting legislators regarding current ECE bills, organizing local postcard writing campaigns with parents, etc. The work group considered this priority as the most urgent need at this time and opportunities for aligning with other initiatives and legislative asks. The work group also considered who were the decision-makers, key influences, and if there was alignment with another work group. 

Priority: Reinforce the talent pipeline for early educators for children from birth through third grade by increasing compensation through dedicated funding, ensuring pay parity, and sustaining investments in training and professional development

•  Strategies:
  • Promote engagement in Child Care for NC Advocacy Event on April 20th to help build awareness of policy priority and support for strategies/ legislative asks.
  • Regroup after April 20th to review budgets, event, and work group contributions to event, as needed, and discuss next steps.
• Tasks:
  • Confirm strategy with NC SHIP
  • Sign up for updates on website: https://childcarefornc.org/ 
  • Review toolkit and participate in upcoming trainings​​​​​​​
  • Sign Commitment Form
  • Work group members will choose tasks from toolkit below to implement as they are able: (Advocacy Toolkit https://express.adobe.com/page/YxSXBUPrsisc0/)​​​​​​​
    • Talk with my co-workers about Child Care for NC.
    • Talk with the parents in my child care program about Child Care for NC.
    • Talk with business leaders in my community about Child Care for NC.
    • Organize a group to come to Raleigh on April 20, 2023.
    • Serve as a local/regional contact to help mobilize your community.
    • Share materials about the event (hanging flyers, distributing postcards, buttons, etc.).
    • Spread the word on social media, write a letter to the editor/op-ed, or share in newsletters, blogs, etc.

The following policies were discussed by the Third Grade Reading Proficiency Work Group and were not prioritized for action planning for 2022-2023. 

• Increase access to evidence-based home-visiting, parent education, and early literacy programs
• Expand community and domestic violence prevention programs
• Expand statewide access to NC Pre-K, 4-, and 5-star early learning programs and other high-quality early childhood programs
• Fund statewide multisector community collaboration efforts to include children from low-income families and people of color
• Implement attendance interventions for chronically absent students
• Increase funding to public schools and early learning programs that serve those children with the highest barriers to success, including children from low-income families and people of color
• Invest in better data to readily identify households facing barriers to early childhood learning
• Strengthen Juvenile Crime Prevention Councils
• State campaign around building book access and culture of literacy in communities
• Focus on Medical home  for connecting early literacy and health, screening, etc.

March 27, 2023, 9:00 to 10:00 AM, Work Group Meeting

Co-Leads: Mary Mathew, Gerri Mattson; Absent: Jessica Lowery Clark

Attendees: Rhiannon Chavis-Wanson, Muffy Grant, Jenna Nelson, and Dan Tetreault

Discussion:

• Reviewed the purpose of the work group and the policy priority the work group selected. Discussed the action planning from the previous work group meeting.
  • Reinforce the talent pipeline for early educators for children from birth through third grade by increasing compensation through dedicated funding, ensuring pay parity, and sustaining investments in training and professional development.
• Reviewed legislative areas related to policy priority:
  • EdNC- Early childhood caucus shares priorities, including $300 million child care request
  • General Assembly of NC- House Bill 483- Auto Subsidy Eligibility/Childcare Teacher/Pilot
• Discussed Child Care for NC: United for Change event on April 20, 2023, from 10:00 to 12:00 pm. Reviewed ideas for promoting the event from the Advocacy Toolkit. Work group members shared what their organizations were doing to support the event and what could be done. 
• Action steps included:
  • Follow the House and Senate budgets to see appropriations for child care bills. (The NC Early Education Coalition is tracking and is a resource for information, https://ncearlyeducationcoalition.org/.)
  • Sign commitment form, including what work group members are able to do for the event. (Child Care for NC: United for Change Commitment Form)
  • Regroup as a work group after April 20 to review budgets, event, work group contributions to the event, and discuss next steps.

February 16, 2023, 11:00 to 12:15 pm, Work Group Meeting

Co-Leads: Jessica Lowery Clark, Mary Mathew, and Gerri Mattson

Discussion:

• Completed asset mapping and began action planning to address policy priority:
  • Reinforce the talent pipeline for early educators for children from birth through third grade by increasing compensation through dedicated funding, ensuring pay parity, and sustaining investments in training and professional development.
• Identified the following strategy and related tasks:
  • Promote engagement in Child Care for NC Advocacy Event on April 20, 2023, to help build awareness of policy priority and support for strategies/ legislative ask

January 19, 2023, 12:30 to 2:00 pm, Work Group Meeting

Co-Leads: Mary Mathew, Jessica Lowery Clark, Gerri Mattson

Attendees: Amber Pierce, Ashley Lindsay, Greer Cook, Jenna Nelson, Muffy Grant, Rhiannon Chavis-Wanson, Sara van Driel, Tonia Parrish,

Discussion:

• Reviewed meeting goals:
  • Finalize one or two policy areas to prioritize as a part of the NC SHIP to impact third grade reading proficiency.
  • Complete asset mapping for selected policy area(s).
  • Identify action steps for the work group to reasonably accomplish with others in the next six months.
• Reviewed that the following polices prioritized at the previous work group meeting.
  • Increase access to evidence-based home-visiting, parent education, and early literacy programs.
  • Reinforce the talent pipeline for early educators for children from birth through third grade by increasing compensation through dedicated funding, ensuring pay parity, and sustaining investments in training and professional development.
• Received presentations about the following programs and/or organizations and policy-level considerations related to third grade reading proficiency and the prioritized policies.
  • North Carolina Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home-Visiting (MIECHV) Program
  • Triple P- Positive Parenting Program
  • North Carolina Early Education Coalition
• Selected the following policy priority given the current urgency of this work and potential legislative asks and other actions that can support this in the next six months, which are also based on the voices of families, communities, educators and providers. Recognized the importance of increasing access to evidence-based home-visiting and parenting education programs (HVPE) and early literacy programs and suggest potentially focusing on this next year. This may include aligning with HVPE systems building work, future MIECHV (Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home-Visiting) expansion, health and education system-based early literacy efforts, etc., and being clearer about the policy focus and scope.
  • Reinforce the talent pipeline for early educators for children from birth through third grade by increasing compensation through dedicated funding, ensuring pay parity, and sustaining investments in training and professional development.

December 1, 2022, 12:30 to 1:30 pm, Work Group Meeting

Co-Leads: Mary Mathew, Jessica Lowery Clark, Gerri Mattson

Work Group Members Present: Muffy Grant, Rhiannon Chavis-Wanson, Amber Pierce, Paula Wilkins

Discussion:

• Shared and discussed ideas for new work group members.
• Reviewed policies prioritized during the work group meeting on October 19, 2022, and updated rankings. The work group felt all the proposed policies were important and prioritized the policies they felt they could make progress on by July 2023.
  • Increase access to evidence-based home visiting and parenting education, early intervention, and early literacy programs
  • Reinforce the talent pipeline for early educators for children from birth through third grade by increasing compensation through dedicated funding, ensuring pay parity, and sustaining investments in training and professional development
• Established the following action steps:
  • Share any ideas for new group members with Jessica and Mary.
  • Invite state and local organization leaders to the next meeting to understand current efforts for evidence-based home visiting and parenting education, early intervention, and early literacy programs. These conversations will be used to help with finalizing priorities and asset mapping.
• Scheduled next work group meeting for Thursday, January 19, 2023, from 12:30 to 2:00 pm. 

October 19, 2022, 9:00 to 11:00 am, Work Group Meeting (Short-Term Suspensions, Adverse Childhood Experiences, and Third Grade Reading Proficiency)

Co-Leads: Gerri Mattson, Jessica Lowery Clark, Laura Gerald, Letha Muhammad, Mary Mathew, Mebane Boyd (Absent), Wanda Boone

Work Group Members Present: Amber Pierce, Amber Robinson, Carlton Powell, Crystal Kelly, Crystal Taylor, Dawn Meskil, Devonya Govan-Hunt, Dr. Ronda Taylor Bullock, Elizabeth DeKonty, James E. Ford, Jess Bousquette, Karen Fairley, Kella Hatcher, Micha James, Morgan Forrester Ray, Na’im Akbar, Reverend Paul Robeson, Paula Wilkins, Peter Rawitsch, Rebecca Swofford, Stacie Kinlaw, Susanne Schmal, Trina Stephens, Trishana Jones, Vichi Jagannathan,

Discussion:

• Reviewed purpose of the work group, grounding/group norms, and overview Healthy North Carolina 2030 and North Carolina State Health Improvement Plan (NC SHIP).
• Divided into breakout sessions for Short-Term Suspensions, Adverse Childhood Experiences, and Third Grade Reading Proficiency to review, discuss, and prioritize policies. Prioritized policies by indicator breakout session are included below.
• Shared next steps were for the work group to complete asset mapping for each of the prioritized policies. The indicators will meet separately going forward and will discuss strategies and action planning at the December meetings. Work group members are welcome to join multiple indicator groups.

Indicator 6: Third Grade Reading Proficiency Breakout Session

• Co-Leads Present: Mary Mathew and Jessica Lowery Clark
• Work Group Members Present: Amber Pierce and Paula Wilkins
• Prioritized Policies:
  • Increase access to evidence-based parenting (including fatherhood programs), early intervention, and home visiting programs
  • Reinforce the talent pipeline for early educators for children from birth through third grade by increasing compensation through dedicated funding, ensuring pay parity, and sustaining investments in training and professional development

August 15, 2022, 2:00 to 4:00 pm, Co-Lead Planning Meeting (Short-Term Suspensions, Adverse Childhood Experiences, and Third Grade Reading Proficiency)

Co-Leads: Wanda Boone, Mebane Boyd, Laura Gerald, Jessica Lowery Clark, Mary Mathew, Gerri Mattson, and Letha Muhammad

Discussion:

• Set ground rules and norms for the co-leads and work group.
• Reviewed the proposed policy initiatives from the NC SHIP for Indicator 3: Short-Term Suspensions, Indicator 5: Adverse Childhood Experiences, and Indicator 6: Third Grade Reading Proficiency. Identified questions and discussed recommended revisions.
• Planned for work group meetings, including meeting structure and first meeting agenda topics.