Detailed Overview
An Overview of the Initiative
- An overview of the Initiative
- Project Goals and Objectives
- Action Plans and Implications
- Creating a Community of Growth and Development
- Valuing Dialogue and Shared Learning
- Measurements of Success
In the Fall of 2002, the McCormick Tribune Foundation (MTF) approached Loyola University Chicago’s Center for Urban Research and Learning (CURL) to coordinate a new kind of project that would collaboratively create sustainable protocols for professional development in early childhood education programs. For this particular project, the Foundation defined “professional development” as teacher education, director education and training, board and administrative development, fundraising capacity building, and infrastructure support.
Ultimately, MTF sought to invest in agency-sponsored early childhood education programs to build their management capacity to recruit, train, and retain high quality directors and teachers, thereby sustaining high quality programming in Chicago’s underserved communities. The nine participating agencies represent a microcosm of community-based childcare in the city of Chicago. They serve culturally diverse populations and are located in low-income but rapidly changing communities throughout the city. While each faces their own unique challenges, they are representative of the common issues surrounding early childcare professional development including recruitment, training, retention, and overall organizational health.
As this project began, MTF provided goals for CURL as well as the standards and principles that each agency should strive for as they participated in this professional development initiative. Following those guidelines, CURL and the agencies worked to develop and begin implementation of professional development plans. The Foundation refunded the initiative an additional two years in order to deepen the implementation of the professional development plans as well as address issues of policy and increased inter-agency communication.
A Unique Collaboration: Bringing Better Healthcare for At-Risk Children in Chicago (.pdf), plus the accompanying Conference Handout (.pdf).