Orange County Preschool Planning Collaborative - Workgroup Descriptions
The purpose of the Work Group is to envision and propose the operational dimensions of a preschool system. The Work Groups make the vision come alive through particular organizational models, with system components housed in one or more agencies or organizations throughout the county. Each Work Group will be working from a framework of a seven year plan. It is expected that each Work Group will choose to review the ideas in place or offered in other county plans. This local work can be expedited within the current time frame if we build upon the existing knowledge base.
The Six Work Groups are:
1.) Workforce/Professional Development
Work Group Chair: Gwen Morgan-Beazell, Santa Ana College, morgan_beazell_gwen@sac.edu
Work Group Liaison: Cathy Wietstock cwietstock@ocde.us
2.) Program Quality and Monitoring
Co-Chair: Robin Hunter, Special Education Preschool Administrator, Irvine Unified School District, rhunter@iusd.org
Co-Chair: Laura Long, Director, Children and Youth Initiatives, Orange County United Way, laural@unitedwayoc.org
Liaisons: Shelia Arnold and Dillon Henry, sarnold@ocde.us and dhenry@ocde.us
3.) Parent and Community Engagement
Chair: Paul Ramirez, Chair, Orange County Child Care and Development Planning Council, paul@bgcgg.org
Liaison: Jeanne Awrey, jawrey@ocde.us
4.) Articulation and Coordination
Co-Chair: Alma Padilla, School Readiness Coordinator, Placentia Yorba Linda Unified School District, apadilla@pylusd.k12.ca.us
Co-Chair: Judy Wolfe, Consultant, judykwolfe@hotmail.com
Liaison: Christie Baird, cbaird@ocde.us
5.) Data
Chair: Sharon Seidman, Ph.D., California State University, Fullerton, sseidman@fullerton.edu
Liaison: Jean Barbre, jbarbre@ocde.us
6.) Facilities
Chair: Mary Kaarma, Orange County Community Care Licensing Agency, mkaarmaa@dss.ca.gov
Liaison: Jan Peterson, jpeterson@ocde.us
The operational components of a preschool system need to align with each other. With each month of the planning process, the Work Groups will report out on their progress and in July, there will be a formal opportunity for the Work Groups to compare goals, notes, and timelines. This exercise will be known as the "crosswalk." In September, each Work Group will report out to the body as a whole with a short Power Point presentation, and through some additional group exercises and graphical note-taking, we will leave the September meeting with a firm sense of what the Orange County preschool system could look like and how it will evolve over the next seven years.
If you follow the links to the right, each workgroup page detailes the expected work of each group. There are six meetings to accomplish this work. During the seventh meeting (September), each Work Group will present a Power Point about their contribution to the overall system plan.
