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 laska
System for Early Education Development (Alaska SEED) is
a system of professional development for Alaska's field of Early
Care and Education. Alaska SEED is housed at the University of Alaska Southeast. SEED was created in 2001, funded with federal grant dollars, to help Alaska meet the professional development standards for Head Start.
From 2001-2007 the SEED Council, comprised of 25 early childhood stakeholders and advocates, worked toward meeting the mission outcomes identified below.
Though federal funding ended in 2007, SEED continues its work with funding from the University of Alaska, the State of Alaska Departments of Education and Early Development and Health and Social Services.
Update: Summer -2008 — Alaska's Professional Development Plan for the Early Care and Education Workforce is now available. (.doc) .pdf)
In the fall of 2007, the SEED Council recommended that Alaska develop a statewide professional development plan for the early care and education workforce. The need for such a plan was brought to the Council by the State of Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, Child Care Programs Office. Many of the stakeholder entities have plans that include professional development such as the Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems Plan (ECCS) and Best Beginnings. However, there was no comprehensive plan that specifically addressed professional development for this sector.
The plan is intended for multiple sectors of the early care and education workforce including child care, Head Start, pre-kindergarten, early intervention and home visitor programs. Aspects of the plan may also be useful for school-age care and friend, family and neighbor care. This plan will be useful for all people who work with young children, though it may not be their primary profession. This could include community groups, parents, volunteers, religious organizations and others. In addition to those who work in the childcare workforce, policy makers and administrators will benefit from the articulation of a professional development plan as they seek to make decisions that benefit young children in Alaska.
SEED's Mission:
Advocate for the best interests
of Alaska's young children and support coordination of comprehensive services for them,
with an emphasis on professional development for teachers and caregivers of young
children through age 8.
Desired Outcomes
- Desired Outcome #1: All early care and education for children birth through age 8 is high quality.
- Desired Outcome #2: All children have the opportunities and supports they need to succeed in school.
- Desired Outcome #3: All children and families can find and access appropriate early care and education.
Strategic Planning Goals
Operational Work Plan Activities
- Support establishment of education standards for early care and education practitioners.
- Continue to refine professional development framework articulating career advancement
- Advocate for the requirement that K-3 teachers be endorsed in early childhood education
- Provide a statewide system of professional development in early childhood education and increased
access for early childhood teachers, providers and staff.
- Work with partners to provide quality campus-based and distance-delivered education in early childhood
- Develop and maintain the Early Childhood Education Professional Development Registry System
- Seek funds to provide assistance to early childhood providers seeking professional development in the
form of mentors and tutors, tuition and fees, and other means of support
- Maintain website that provides information on educational opportunities
- Develop and maintain trainer qualification standards for early childhood education across the state.
- Develop and maintain trainer criteria and trainer registry
- Fund and support activities that increase the quality of training such as "train the trainer" workshops
- Support the University of Alaska's qualifications for faculty and instructors
- Advocate for the improvement of wages and benefits of people who work in the early care and education field.
- Seek funds to provide incentive bonuses to early childhood providers for professional development advancement
- Promote analysis on wage and benefit issues related to early childcare providers
- Advocate for change through legislative and public policy process
- Establish markers of quality for early learning.
- Participate in the development of the Early Learning Guidelines for the State of Alaska
- Promote and support the State of Alaska Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems project
- Support efforts to establish quality rating systems and work toward NAEYC accreditation
- Encourage all care and education programs to have a family support component with strategies to foster child development.
- Support efforts to strengthen families with children zero to three years of age
- Advocate for strategies to reduce the incidence of child abuse and neglect
- Support strategies to meet the market demand for affordable, quality early care and education.
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