Vision, Goals, and History
For more than ten years, a dedicated group of early childhood collaborators representing various aspects of the early childhood community in North Dakota have worked to design and develop the Growing Futures system. The following vision and goals have been identified to guide early childhood professional development in North Dakota.
Vision
A coordinated system that grows the knowledge and competencies of individuals who provide care and education to children ages birth to 8-years, promotes the development of successful careers in early care and education, and strengthens early childhood programs to support healthy development and learning outcomes for children.
Goals
- Facilitate coordination of training and education opportunities for early childhood practitioners
- Ensure that training and education approved for professional development aligns with Core Competencies and equips practitioners with the knowledge, skills, and tools necessary to support children's development and learning
- Provide continual access to all systems components to practitioners, trainers, and others regardless of location, income, or background
- Establish training and educational opportunities for early childhood practitioners that are progressive and cumulative, and linked to Growing Futures Career Pathways and the Quality Rating and Improvement System
Outcomes
- Increased number of practitioners who have a valid professional credential or degree in Early Childhood Education or Child Development
- Increased number of programs that participate in Quality Rating and Improvement
- Increased number of accredited programs
- Enhanced training infrastructure to support ongoing professional development of early childhood care and education practitioners
- Increased participation in the professional development system
- Increased access to professional development services and support
- Increased program start-up and practitioner retention
- Improved competence, professionalism, and recognition of individuals in the field
History
The concept of a statewide system for early childhood professional development is not a new one. In fact, the need for an early childhood professional development system has been recognized by early childhood professionals and organizations in North Dakota for a number of years. A brief time line of the project includes:
- 1992: A five-year visioning plan identified professional development as a key issue to be addressed and call for the development and implementation of an Early Childhood Development Plan.
- 2000: A comprehensive effort was launched to design and develop a system for early childhood professional development in the state. The planning process, funded by the North Dakota Head Start Collaborative Office, identified "improving the status of child care professional" as a major goal and formulated action steps to address the issue. It was at this time that the name "Growing Futures" was adopted as the official designation for the state's professional development efforts and the process of creating the Growing Futures plan and system were fully launched.
- 2003: The first draft of the Growing Futures plan was released and reviewed by focus groups across the state. The plan was rewritten in 2005 with revisions in 2006.
- 2007: The Higher Education Consortium was convened to coordinate credit-bearing professional development and develop a common course numbering system for ECE coursework at state colleges and universities offering early childhood education degree programs.
- 2008: The Higher Education Consortium was convened to coordinate coursework at state colleges and universities offering early childhood education degree programs.
- 2008: The state adapted the Core Competencies for Early Education and Care Practitioners.
- 2009: The voluntary Career Pathways document was developed.
- 2010: The current draft of the plan was completed in 2010 to reflect the many changes to the early childhood system that had occurred in the intervening years, such as the development and implementation of Core Competencies, Early Learning Guidelines, and a QRIS system piloted in Cass County of North Dakota in 2010.
- 2011: The online Registry was launched (users already here; not necessary to include address - "at www.ndgrowingfutures.org"; can simply say "on this site") to include the Trainer and Training Approval system. Beginning 7/1/2011, all trainers and training must be approved by the Growing Futures Registry.
Though a great deal of work has been accomplished, a professional development system is never complete. It must continually adapt to include changes in the systems that impact the early childhood profession and to build cohesive connections between those systems. This means that the history of Growing Futures is still being written. Growing Futures really is about growth: growth of individual practitioner's skills and knowledge, growth of program quality of care, growth of the supports and systems that work to prepare practitioners for their work, and of course, growth of the children who count on us every day to meet their developmental and learning needs.
System Funding
Administration of the Growing Futures Registry is funded through a contract from the North Dakota Department of Human Services to ND Child Care Resource and Referral.