MDLatino State of the Union: Early Childhood edit Master subtitle style Education Committee Click to

Monday, May 21th, 2012

MD State Facts Setting the Preamble

Montgomery County Public Schools Department of Health and Human Services

Click icon to add clipart

Persons Contacted / Information Gathered Due to short notice, questions were sent to her via email, and she responded quickly and cordially. We have an appointment scheduled with her this week. Ms. Janine Bacquie/Director of Early Childhood
Programs and Services Montgomery County Public Schools Ms . Bacquie is in charge of Prekindergarten and Head Start (low-income families with children who will be three or four years old by 9/1/2012 can apply;

Responses by Ms Janine Bacquie, Director of Early Childhood Programs and Services, to our questions

1. Wed like to be able to get a list of all no-cost (or low-cost) early childhood (0-5 years of age) education programs in Montgomery County.

No single list of all low or no cost birth to age 5 early childhood program exists in Montgomery County. are encouraged to call Child Link and speak with a counselor who can help them identify which child care and other enrichment programs are in their area that they might qualify for.

2. Wed like to know what criteria need to be met for parents to qualify for the P.O.C. program, or determine how we can access this information.

The Purchase of Care and Working Parents Assistance subsidy programs are not part of Montgomery County Public Schools. This program rests in the county government, under the Department of Health and Human Services.

3. What methods do MCPS teachers use in the classroom when teaching children under 5 who do not speak English?

The ESOL services provided to young children (preschool) can be offered through different service delivery models: plug in and coteaching with small group instruction, pull out and reinforce concepts in small group, and also consultation with the teachers, etc

4. What steps the Division of Early Childhood Programs and Services is taking to end the P.O.C. waiting list.?

P.O.C. is operated under Department of Health and Human Services

5. Are MCPS early childhood education programs at risk of being cut back, as a result of reductions in state and federal funding?

The county budget process is not completely over, so I cannot say if there will be cuts. I certainly hope not, as the needs are greater than ever, and the numbers of young children being served has increased significantly over the past few years.

6. Do MCPS districts have programs to help children who have not benefited from early education at a child care facility or an Early Head Start program, and if so, how to reach them?

Children who may not qualify for Head Start or Pre-K may consider trying to enroll in the High School Child Development program located many of the MCPS High schools. Most are a few days a week and offer low cost tuition for the semester, compared to weekly child care program fees.. Preschool children can have an early learning experience, while high school students, supervised by their teachers, learn about careers in teaching and early childhood education.

Conclusions

We have a lot more work to do, including interviews to other local leaders, and defining the specifics of our proposal to the White House Action Hispanic Summit.

Next Steps in Our Engagement Process

We will be scheduling appointments:

Ms. Uma Ahluwalia, Director of Department of Health and Human Services Mr. Carl Eggleston, Director Office of Child Care Region 5. Both are key actors in early education and may be able to provide information for our presentation