Overview

With support from the Buffett Early Childhood Fund, in 2006 the NGA Center awarded $10,000 grants to seven states to hold a Governor's Summit on Early Childhood. The intent of this project is to support Governors seeking to raise awareness and support for a comprehensive school readiness agenda for children ages birth to five.

To learn more about the goals, objectives and preliminary outcomes of each of the 2006-2007 summits, please click on the following links:

• Arizona
• Illinois
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Montana
• South Carolina
• Washington

In the summer of 2007 the NGA Center issued a second round of awards for the additional ten states to host Governor's Summits on Early Childhood. These grants are supported by the Buffett Early Childhood Fund and an anonymous donor.

• Alaska
• Connecticut
• Florida
• Kansas
• Maine
• Michigan
• Oregon
• South Dakota
• Utah
• Virginia

2007-2008 Summits

Alaska

Creating a system that improves access to early literacy and learning for children most in need was the focus of Gov. Sarah Palin’s Summit on Early Learning. Alaska legislators, policy-makers, parents, educators and representatives from business, nonprofit, philanthropic, tribal organizations, and faith-based organizations convened for a two-day summit in December 2007 to inform recommendations for Gov. Palin’s policy agenda.

The event opened with remarks from the governor on the importance of school readiness and improving the literacy of young children. Keynote speakers included Bill Millett, President of Scope and View Strategic Advantage in North Carolina; Dr. Ross Thompson, Developmental Psychology Professor, University of California Davis; and Illinois State Representative Elizabeth Coulson. Each speaker provided context on the economic impacts of early learning, brain development research, and policy-making. At their conclusion, a panel of Alaska leaders from the business, school, social services, university, Alaska Native, and health communities provided a local perspective on issues raised by the speakers.

On the second day participants prioritized points of action for the governor on issues of 1) developing a state early childhood system and infrastructure; 2) children’s needs in home settings; and 3) children’s needs in child care and early education programs (out-of-home settings).

The list of actions will be refined by Best Beginnings, Alaska’s early childhood public-private partnership, and given to the governor to inform her policy agenda in the 2008 legislative session.

Back to Top

Connecticut

Governor M. Jodi Rell has made early childhood investment a key focus of her policy agenda. The Connecticut Early Childhood Education Cabinet developed a multi-year Ready by Five, Fine by Nine investment framework to improve the school readiness and early academic performance of young children. She then commissioned an Early Childhood Research and Policy Council to align the cabinet’s recommendations with a five-year Early Childhood Investment Plan to inform state funding.

Building on the work of the Early Childhood Cabinet, Governor Rell’s Early Childhood summit focused specifically on the needs of children ages birth to three in the state’s 58 most at-risk communities. Held in January 2008, the goal of the summit event was to:

• Build cross-branch state and local leadership support for a family-focused system to improve developmental and learning outcomes for Connecticut’s target cohort of “at-risk” children ages birth to three;
• Promote public and private sector co-investment in strategic planning and systems change in target communities; and
• Develop and implement a strategic communications plan to support birth-to-three investment and systems development.

Participants included bipartisan, cross-branch state and local policy leaders as well as a group of key stakeholders.

Back to Top

Florida

The goal of Gov. Charlie Crist’s Partnerships & Possibilities: Governor’s Summit on Early Childhood Education was to engage state and community leaders in planning and taking action on behalf of young children at the state and local level.  National experts shared knowledge about the importance of the first five years of life and ideas about building effective partnerships and systems to support early care and education.  Participants of the three day event, held in January 2008, included leaders from the legislature, business sector, medical community, media, higher education, state agencies and the early childhood community.

Gov. Crist charged participants to make the future of Florida a priority and create actionable community plans to improve services for children and families.  National experts, including Dr. Mildred Warner of Cornell University; David Lawrence, President, Early Childhood Initiative Foundation; Dr. Sharon Lynn Kagan of Columbia University; Dr. Andrew Agwunobi, Secretary of the Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration and Anne Mitchell, Alliance for Early Childhood Finance, challenged participants to work across disciplines to build stronger supports and realize better outcomes for young children and their families.

Small group opportunities included sessions by discipline to identify how different professions can support Florida’s current and future efforts to improve outcomes for young children as well as regional sessions in which participants developed community action plans based on the governor’s early childhood agenda.

Back to Top

Kansas

Governor Kathleen Sebelius has made early childhood a priority in her administration and seeks to emphasize the importance of early investment to stakeholders and policymakers throughout the state. The governor’s summit, Building Blocks: Readying Kids for a Growing Economy was held in September, 2007. The event provided an opportunity for key stakeholders to learn about the importance of healthy brain development on school and life success and the need for investments in early intervention strategies for at-risk children in the earliest years. Participants included leaders from the state legislature, executive agencies, business, philanthropy, communities, and K-12 and early childhood educators and service providers.

Jack P. Shonkoff, director of the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, delivered the keynote address on the science of child development and the implications for policy. J.B. Pritzker, founder of the Pritzker Consortium on Early Childhood Development, offered remarks on the importance of early childhood from a business and economic perspective. Two panels of legislators and business leaders focused on their interests and leadership roles in early childhood policy, investments, and action at the state and local levels.

Governor Sebelius charged summit participants with the task of communicating what they learned to their constituents, networks, and communities to build support for a significant early childhood policy agenda in the next legislative session.

Back to Top

Maine

Governor John Baldacci is looking to communities throughout the state to support his policy agenda for building an early childhood system in Maine. The governor’s agenda aims to strengthen:

• The quality and inclusiveness of early childhood services to optimize children’s readiness for school;
• The ability of families to work productively; and
• The capacity of the state to achieve its economic development goals.

The Maine Economic Summit on Early Childhood, held in November 2007, provided an opportunity for regional partnerships to identify strategies to support this agenda in their local communities. The summit raised the profile of early childhood in Maine and informed the legislature about the importance of supporting early childhood system development and investing in early childhood at the state and local levels. In early October, gearing up for the Summit, the Governor and First Lady hosted a breakfast with key employers, establishing the first Business Advisory Council for Early Childhood.

The governor opened the summit by outlining his policy agenda for young children. For the remainder of the two-day “think tank” activities were guided by the Future Search principles. The summit also provided key presentations on the importance of early childhood investments, featuring national speakers Dr. Hiro Yoshikawa, Harvard Graduate School of Education, George Kaiser, Kaiser-Francis Oil Company, and Robbin Johnson, Cargill Foundation. The event also included two panels of local Maine experts and visionaries and provided opportunities for community groups to discuss a shared vision for future work and next steps.

Invited participants included community teams constructed around Maine’s regional United Ways, legislators, business leaders, educators, media, and members of the law enforcement community through the Maine chapter of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids.

Back to Top

Michigan

With the launch of her Great Start initiative in 2004, Governor Jennifer Granholm set out to create public understanding that learning begins at birth and investing in early childhood is crucial to the state’s economic future. The goals of the first annual Michigan Early Childhood Challenge summit were to:

The Michigan planning team commissioned six briefing papers to inform the dialogue and subsequent recommendations of the summit participants.  The papers framed the cost of insufficient investment both in the short and long term and detail key policy changes Michigan needs to make to address: the impact of racial and social economic disparities on young children, pediatric and family health, early childhood social and emotional health, early care and education, family support and parenting education, and young children with special needs. 

Governor Granholm opened the summit with a call to action, after which participants prioritized needed policy changes to improve results for young children and their parents.

Back to Top

Oregon

Oregon’s leaders in the business community, private sector, foundation sector, and state and local government are working to develop and implement a coordinated early childhood system for the state.

Scheduled for the spring of 2008, the Governor’s Summit on Early Childhood will provide an opportunity to engage more partners in developing a joint strategy for advancing a comprehensive policy agenda for children ages birth to five at the state and local level.

At the summit, participants will be introduced to Early Childhood Matters: Oregon’s Framework for a Statewide Birth to Five Early Childhood System. In small groups, participants will review strategies to build a comprehensive system and identify specific actions related to the following three policy areas:

• Health, social, emotional development and mental health;
• Early care and education; and
• Safety/family support and parent education.

Input gathered from the summit will inform recommendations for Oregon’s Public-Private Partnership’s current activities five-to-ten year plans for building a comprehensive early childhood system. Feedback from the summit will also be used to advise recommendations for the governor’s policy agenda in the 2009 legislative session.

Lisbeth Shorr, director of the Project on Effective Interventions at Harvard University and of the Pathways Initiative, will provide the keynote address and facilitate discussions to identify the policy outcomes of the summit.

Back to Top

South Dakota

Gov. Mike Rounds is seeking to strengthen his 2010 Education Initiative by supporting the school readiness of young children ages birth to five. The South Dakota summit is taking place in three phases.

The first event was held in the summer 2007 conjunction with the Infant-Toddler Training conference. The newly established South Dakota Kid’s Cabinet shared results from an analysis of gaps and opportunities of South Dakota’s early childhood programs. Dr. J. Ronald Lally, from the Program for Infant-Toddler Care, provided the keynote address and facilitated a follow-up discussion of early care and education issues with participants.  This event gave policy makers, stakeholders and others an opportunity to learn about the developmental needs of children ages birth to three and to discuss the gaps and opportunities relating to early childhood in South Dakota. 

The second phase, held in the fall 2007 convened a broader group of state and local leaders to identify the best practices for children ages three to five. Dr. Gera Jacobs, University of South Dakota provided a keynote address on early childhood brain development and the importance of high quality preschool. In addition, representatives from the Sioux Falls School District provided an overview of the Sioux Falls pilot preschool program, called "Sioux Empire Starting Strong". Discussions in the afternoon focused on an upcoming bill to seek authority to establish preschool standards.

The third phase event, to be held in the spring 2008, will reconvene the Kid’s Cabinet Members to develop a plan of action for the governor, using the findings from the previous two events.

Back to Top

Utah

At a kickoff lunch in fall 2007, Gov. Jon Huntsman invited key early childhood state agency leaders to serve on the Governor’s Task Force on Early Childhood. The governor charged the task force with developing a strategic plan to create an Early Childhood Commission, which will be formally established in the spring of 2008 to develop long-term policy and funding recommendations. Dr. Bruce Perry provided keynote remarks at the luncheon on the science of brain development.

Since fall, the Governor’s Task Force has met monthly to study the accessibility and availability of early childhood programs in the state. The task force is also developing strategies that will increase the coordination of services and collaboration of state agencies to develop a state early childhood system that addresses the needs of young children and their families.

The Governor’s Summit on Early Childhood will be held on in the spring 2007. Members of the Governor’s Task Force on Early Childhood will inform state and local stakeholders of findings from their study. The Task Force members will also present recommendations for improvement to inform the Governor’s policy on early childhood issues. Keynote speakers include Dr. Sharon Lynn Kagan of Columbia University, Bruce Lesley President of First Focus, and Art Rolnick of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank.

Back to Top

Virginia

Since elected into office, Governor Tim Kaine has made early childhood a top priority. In 2006, Governor Kaine launched the Smart Beginnings initiative, which promotes investments in early childhood development for families, communities, and business  leaders. In 2007, the governor continued to promote investments in early childhood through three summit events held throughout the summer.

At the first event Virginia launched a variety of resources designed to strengthen both the birth-to-five continuum and professional development, such as the state’s early learning guidelines for children ages birth to five and career competencies for early childhood professionals.

The second event, Early Childhood Development as Economic Development, was hosted by the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce and featured keynote speakers Jeff Lacker, Chair, Richmond Federal Reserve Bank and David Kass, President, Fight Crime: Invest in Kids. The event brought together business and community leaders to discuss the economic and crime-reduction benefits from investment in early childhood.

The third event, Opportunity to Start Strong, featured keynote speakers Dr. James Heckman, University of Chicago, Nobel Laureate in Economic, James B. Hunt, former Governor of North Carolina, and Dr. William Gormley, Georgetown University. Governor Kaine called upon policymakers, business, and education leaders to support the Start Strong initiative to expand existing preschool programs, implement a quality rating system, and strengthen and support the early childhood workforce. Participants at the third event, which was presented in partnership with the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation, included state legislators and community and business leaders.

Back to Top

2006-2007 Summits

ARIZONA

Date
January 22, 2007

Summit Goal
To build knowledge, capacity, and momentum among community leaders for the Governor's School Readiness Action Plan, and to support the plan's implementation at the local level.

Objectives
Strengthen and build Regional School Readiness Partnerships (Partnerships) selected through a competitive proposal process and funded through private donations.

• Convene Partnerships, state leaders, business leaders, local United Way representatives, and other community stakeholders for a 1-day event to hear from the Governor and national experts in early child care education and health, and discuss implementation strategies and challenges in small groups.

Event Highlights

• Welcome Remarks, Governor Janet Napolitano
• Building an Early Childhood System, Dr. Anne Mitchell, President of the National Association for the Education of Young Children
• History, Development and Lessons Learned from North Carolina Smart Start, Karen Ponder, former President, North Carolina Partnership for Children

Preliminary Outcomes
Participants:

• Gained content knowledge on the research and recommendations of the School Readiness Action Plan;
• Shared best practices and challenges in the coalition-building process;
• Offered input and sought consensus on the next steps for state-level action;
• Developed a communication mechanism among local Partnerships to mobilize support for the system reforms contained in the School Readiness Action Plan.
• Addressed the following themes:
• Local communities can and should be the catalyst for implementing a school readiness agenda;
• High -quality programs for young children must be encouraged through the development and implementation of quality improvement plans that help set the standards for quality care;
• Child Care Health Consultants can be resources to improve health and safety for young children;
• Scholarships for college coursework, mentoring programs and other innovative education and training programs will produce quality teachers; and
• Clear channels of communication within local communities and between local partnerships and the appropriate state agencies are necessary to obtain these objectives.

Planning Team
Staff and members of the Arizona School Readiness Board, Governor's Office of Children, Youth and Families; community stakeholders, and regional partnership members.

Back to Top

ILLINOIS

Date
October 16, 2006

Summit Goals
To address anticipated challenges of implementing Governor Blagojevich's Preschool for All program, including:

• Expanding space capacity in communities;
• Using best practices to meet the needs of bilingual/bicultural children and families;
• Enrolling new children through effective outreach strategies; and
• Helping communities develop plans for birth to three services.

Objectives

• Develop Issue Briefs to identify the need, challenges, and possible strategies to address each of the four challenges, to serve as a starting point for discussion at the Summit.
• Convene the 52 members of the Governor's Early Learning Council (ELC) and other critical stakeholders for one day to identify strategic priorities for all four challenges and make recommendations for continued action by the ELC.

Event Highlights

• Welcome Remarks, Governor Rod Blagojevich
• Small Group Tracks: Building Consensus, Prioritizing Strategies and Recommending Next Steps (for each of four challenges)

Preliminary Outcomes
Summit attendees presented recommendations for action by the Early Learning Council, including:

• Creating a committee that will focus on helping communities with facility planning
• Supporting bilingual/bicultural education teacher training programs and developing a "best practices" document for bilingual/bicultural education
• Targeting outreach efforts to non-English speaking and middle-income families
• Establishing community-based collaborations for infant and toddler care and articulating a vision for a statewide plan for infant and toddler care

The Governor's proposed fiscal 2007 budget would increase funding for the Early Childhood Block Grant by $69 million to accelerate the pace of preschool expansion. It also includes $10 million for a matching capital grant program to increase physical capacity for early childhood programs.

Planning Team
Governor's Office, The Ounce of Prevention Fund, The Early Learning Council

Back to Top

MINNESOTA

Date
Phase 1: June 13-14, 2006
Phase 2: July 13, 2006

Summit Goal
To improve and coordinate Minnesota's early childhood programs so as to increase the school readiness of children at risk of not being fully prepared for kindergarten.

Objectives

• Phase I: Convene core state-level stakeholders for one day to identify gaps and opportunities in each of Minnesota's early childhood programs as compared to a set of research-based best practices.
• Phase 2: Convene broader state and local stakeholders for one day to identify methods for improving existing early childhood programs to inform the Governor's agenda for 2007.

Event Highlights
Phase 1:

• Top 10 Critical Features and Practices for Effective Early Childhood Programs: Dr. Susan Neuman, PhD, Professor in Educational Studies, University of Michigan and Dr. Arthur Reynolds, PhD, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota.
• Small Groups: Analysis of current programs and identified gaps and areas of alignment compared to the Top 10 Critical Features

Phase 2:

• Welcome Remarks, Governor Tim Pawlenty
• Small Groups: Identification of policy and program improvement strategies
• Whole group reconvened and heard reports from small groups

Preliminary Outcomes
Participants agreed to a slate of policy considerations for executive and legislative action to improve program features and practices in early childhood programs. In his FY08-09 biennial budget, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty has proposed $29 million in targeted funding for early learning programs and services for at-risk children.

Planning Team
Governor's Office, Department of Human Services and the Department of Education

Back to Top

MISSISSIPPI

Date
Tuesday October 24, 2006

Summit Goals
To enhance the quality of educational experiences for children prior to school entrance by:

• building a system of funding incentives and other enticements for early care and education programs that would reward quality programming;
• developing more public awareness about the importance of quality early care and education programs; and
• developing a mechanism by which early learning guidelines for teachers of young children are utilized across the state in order to promote high quality and age appropriate learning activities to children in learning environments of all types.

Objectives
Convene leaders in the areas of business, philanthropic activities, early childhood education, state agency directors, legislators, public relations and faith-based organizations for one day to study and develop recommendations for action on four topics:

• Implementing the Mississippi Child Care Quality Step System across the state;
• Identifying issues related to implementing a state funded pre-kindergarten program;
• Developing a Child Care Resource and Referral System ;
• Developing more public awareness about the importance of quality early care and education among business leaders, early childhood program directors and teachers, parents of young children, and policy makers.

Event Highlights

• Welcome Remarks, Governor Haley Barbour
• The Importance of Early Childhood, Sarah Daily, Senior Policy Analyst, NGA Center for Best Practices
• Sharing Best Practices from South Carolina, Susan Devenny, Director, South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness
• Four small group discussions around the four focus areas.

Preliminary Outcomes
Demonstrating his commitment to early childhood, Governor Barbour announced a $5 million early childhood initiative for 2007 in his welcome to Summit participants.

Planning Team
Governor's Head Start Collaboration Office

Back to Top

MONTANA

Dates
School Readiness Summit: June 15 – 16, 2006
Business Partnerships Summit on School Readiness: October 4, 2006

Summit Goals
To engage and support communities, state leaders, and the business community in efforts to build and implement a comprehensive school readiness agenda at the state and local levels based on a Ready Child Equation (Ready Families + Ready Communities + Ready Services + Ready Schools = Children Ready For School) to build a Ready Workforce for tomorrow.

Objectives

• Summit: Convene 12-15 community teams, including tribal nations, of early childhood providers and practitioners, and state leaders in the fields of education, health, prevention, public assistance, legislators and economic development to share innovative practices, develop local school readiness plans and craft a state wide birth to five agenda.
• Business Partnership Summit: Use the School Readiness Summit proceedings to inform a summit for private sector leaders to increase their awareness of the importance of early childhood and build partnerships among government, businesses, and philanthropists in Montana.

Event Highlights
School Readiness Summit:

• Welcome Remarks, Governor Brian Schweitzer
• School Readiness Equation Overviews by
• Anne Mitchell, President of the Early Childhood Policy Research and the National Association of the Education of Young Children
• Dr. Neal Horen, clinical psychologist and research instructor at Georgetown University's Child Development Center
• John Sommers Flanagan, PhD, Assistant Professor in Counselor Education, University of Montana
• Libby Hancock, Director, Montana Early Care and Education Career Development, Early Childhood Project, Montana State University
• Breakout sessions: Developing community school readiness agendas

Business Partnerships Summit:

• Welcome Remarks, Governor Brian Schweitzer
• Early Childhood: Why it Matters?, Anna Lovejoy, Program Director for Early Childhood, NGA Center for Best Practices
• Dollars and $ense: An Economic Analysis of Early Childhood, Art Rolnick, Senior Vice President and Director of Research Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
• Panel Discussion: Communities Investing in Montana's Youngest

Preliminary Outcomes

• Community teams developed school readiness plans and have recieved $3,000 grants from the Governor's Head Start Collaboration Office to support their implementation.
• Local and statewide businesses, philanthropy, and early childhood community leaders built relationships that will support implementation of local school readiness plans.

Planning Team
Governor's Office, Montana Department of Public Health, Early Child Services Bureau and Head Start Collaboration Office

Back to Top

SOUTH CAROLINA

Dates
Kick-off Breakfast: Thursday May 18, 2006
Governor's Summit on Early Childhood: Monday January 8, 2007

Summit Goals

• To design a statewide school readiness plan for all children and target comprehensive, research-based interventions for children at-risk for early school failure;
• To promote strategic coordination among the public and private school readiness efforts; and
• To improve data-driven decision making and resource allocation through improvements of the state's early childhood data systems.

Objectives

• Kick-off Breakfast: To convene members of the South Carolina Office of First Steps Board leadership and the Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems Executive Committee. The Governor charged participants with the responsibility of working together on recommendations for the 2007 legislative session.
• Governor's Summit on Early Childhood: Scheduled just prior to the start of the 2007 legislative session, the Governor's Early Childhood Summit provided an opportunity for the working group to share the recommendations with a broader policy community.

Event Highlights
Kick-off Breakfast:

• Call to Action and charge to the working group by Governor Mark Sanford
• $1 Million Commitment to South Carolina First Steps, Kim Wilkerson, President of Bank of America, South Carolina
• South Carolina's Challenge and Opportunity, Dane Linn, Education Division Director, NGA Center for Best Practices

Governor's Summit on Early Childhood:

• Welcoming Remarks, Governor Mark Sanford
• Presentation of South Carolina's Ready State Report Card
• Pre-publication briefing on the Preliminary Report of the South Carolina Task Force on Early Childhood Quality Standards
• Shifting the Odds, Dan Pedersen, Buffett Early Childhood Foundation

Planning Team
South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness
Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems Grant Partners

Preliminary Outcomes

• Focused participation of nearly 90 South Carolina lawmakers, business, faith and early childhood leaders on the eve of the 2007 Legislative Session.
• Publication and distribution of South Carolina's Ready State Report Card, a statewide analysis of SC's early childhood systems featuring both current strengths and opportunities for growth. The report used the recommendations of the NGA Task Force on School Readiness as a guiding framework.

Back to Top

WASHINGTON

Date
November 14, 2006

Summit Goals

• To develop collaborative relationships between state agencies and local entities at the community level, and between communities throughout the state, in a shared effort to build an integrated early learning system.

Objectives

• Invite communities to form regional delegations that would inform the Summit agenda and represent local stakeholders at the event. (Delegates include parents, providers and caregivers from early learning environments, physical and mental health care, and foster care, as well as municipalities; tribal communities, civic organizations; public libraries, school districts, community and technical colleges, family support centers, and social service agents.)
• Convene regional delegations and state leaders for a one-day event to share best practices and create action plans to link their early learning efforts within the community and across the state.

Event Highlights

• Opening Remarks, Governor Chris Gregoire
• Beyond Parallel Play, Charles Bruner, PhD, Executive Director, Child and Family Policy Center and Julia Coffman, PhD, Evaluation & Strategy Consultant, Harvard Family Research Project
• Large Group Session: Sharing of Community Experiences
• Small Group Discussions: Moving from Parallel Play to cooperative Play; Governance Structures and Connections

Planning Team
Governor's Office of Financial Management, Washington State Association of Head Start and ECEAP, Washington State Department of Health, Washington State Child Care Resource and Referral Network, Docs for Tots, Educational Service District 105, Washington State Department of Early Learning, Governor's Early Learning Council, Foundation for Early Learning and the Comprehensive Health Education Foundation (private foundations), Thrive by Five (non-profit public-private partnership), the Early Care and Education Coalition, and independent research consultants.

Preliminary Outcomes
Results of the Summit included:

• The creation of proposals for ongoing statewide coordination;
• The promotion of new (and recognition of existing) community-level public-private partnerships;
• The development of a communications network between regional delegations and the Department of Early Learning; and
• $2,500 mini-grants to all regional delegations from the Department of Early Learning to promote further collaboration.

Back to Top