BALTIMORE \u2013 The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), Maryland Department of Health (MDH), and the Maryland Department of Human Services (MSDH), in partnership with Ready At Five, will host the third of nine Regional Town Halls on Tuesday, April 16.<\/p>\n
The town hall series focuses on the State\u2019s early care and education system. This week\u2019s town hall is designed to engage the communities of Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne\u2019s and Talbot Counties in a conversation about how to improve access to high-quality early childhood programs and services. In Caroline, Dorchester and Talbot Counties fewer than half of the students demonstrated school readiness on Maryland\u2019s Kindergarten Readiness Assessment. More than half of the students in Kent and Queen Anne\u2019s Counties demonstrated school readiness; both counties exceeded the state average of 47%. Research shows that high-quality opportunities, especially for children from low-income families, can help provide students with the skills and knowledge they need for success in school. <\/p>\n
Meetings will be held both in the morning and evening at Chesapeake College.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal is to identify the needs of the Upper Shore communities from our most important partners: parents, caregivers, early childhood educators, policymakers, business leaders and other stakeholders,\u201d said Steven Hills, Assistant State Superintendent for MSDE\u2019s Division of Early Childhood Development. \u201cTheir insight into our greatest challenges and opportunities to building a well-coordinated and integrated early care and education system will help shape the future for children in Maryland.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maryland was recently awarded a Preschool Development Birth through Five (PDG B-5) Grant, a $10.6 million federal grant that will help states conduct a comprehensive statewide birth through five needs assessment followed by in-depth strategic planning. The grant also focuses on enhancing parent choice and expanding the current mixed-delivery system consisting of a wide range of provider types and settings, including child care centers and home-based child care providers, Head Start and Early Head Start, state pre-kindergarten, early intervention and special education services, and home visiting services across the public, private and faith-based sectors.<\/p>\n
Representatives from the State, Ready At Five, and local child- and family-serving agencies will share updates on a variety of topics related to early childhood care and education, family supports, new data from Maryland\u2019s Kindergarten Readiness Assessment, and opportunities through the new PDG B-5 grant. Each session will also include opportunities for the public to contribute to developing the State\u2019s prenatal to age five needs assessment.<\/p>\n
Feedback and findings from the town hall meeting will be used to develop and inform a new prenatal to age five strategic plan for Maryland by identifying significant needs and priorities. More information about the Regional Town Halls, including registration and handouts, can be found at https:\/\/earlychildhood.marylandpublicschools.org\/townhalls<\/a>.<\/p>\n Chesapeake College Morning Session:Location:<\/h3>\n
\nThe Higher Education Building
\n1000 College Circle
\nWye Mills, MD 21679<\/p>\nSchedule:<\/h3>\n
\nRegistration 8:30 AM-9:15 AM
\nProgram 9:30AM-11:30AM
\nEvening Session:
\nRegistration 5:00PM-6:00PM
\nProgram 6:00PM-8:00PM
\nContinental breakfast will be provided at the morning session registration, and a light dinner will be served at the evening session registration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"