MEMORANDUM
DATE: July 18, 2022
TO: Honorable Mayor Victor Gordo and City Council
FROM: Dr. Vera J. Vignes, Chair
Early Child Development and Early Learning Task Force
SUBJECT: MIDTERM REPORT ON THE WORK OF THE EARLY CHILD
DEVELOPMENT & EARLY LEARNING TASK FORCE
Through our presentation at the Council meeting of July 18, 2022, we will provide you with details of the work of the Task Force since our 1s meeting of April 20, 2022.
The Task Force has been focused on the City of Pasadena's Early Child Development Policy, adopted by the City Council on March 23, 2015, with the purpose of reviewing the status of the implementation of the Policy and the City's progress toward becoming an Early Learning City by the year 2025.
Per the Work Plan as approved by the City Council on February 28, 2022, we are focusing on the following: (1) The current status of implementation of the Policy; (2) The Policy's alignment with the most recent science regarding best practices on implementing early childhood programs and supporting our youngest children and their families; (3) Any policy changes needed to support the City's children in their youngest years and their families, especially in light of COVID, racism, social justice, economic instability, health disparities, cycles of violence, and culturally specific programs for all learners; and (4) the City's vital role as convenor of the larger community in building and sustaining partnerships in this effort and its role as a catalyst for new approaches and ideas to take root.
We will share with you the following:
Our progress to date;
The process of analysis and discussion that we have used in our considerations; The consensus that we have reached thus far regarding a variety of core elements of the Policy;
The key strategies and framework we believe are key for us to achieve the Vision for Pasadena that is at the heart of the Policy; and
Our strong agreement that we must continually collect data and information on children and families' health and well-being and we must focus on data use to understand our progress and path toward continuous improvement.
07/18/2022
Item 8
Midterm Report on the Work of the Early Child Development & Early Learning Task Force July 18,2022
Our Task Force represents a talented, experienced, and dedicated cross-section of our community: Parents from across the city representing diverse parental needs in our city; Early Childhood and Early Learning experts; Early Childhood staff of the Pasadena Unified School District and the City of Pasadena; Child-care professionals and Directors of Child Care Centers; research experts; and well-known community leaders in Public Health and Child and Maternal Care. Collectively and individually, our Task Force represent a broad coalition of partners whose life work is across issues that affect our youngest children and their futures.
We are also fortunate to have the consulting experience of Patricia Bowie, who serves as a project lead for a national cross-site learning community dedicated to early childhood outcomes.
Those who were on the City Council when the Policy was adopted in March of 2015 will remember Pat as the expert who presented before the City Council at that time.
We know this for certain: "When we support children and their families in their youngest years, infants grow into healthy babies and healthy babies grow into healthy kids - equipped with the confidence and empathy to take on school and life. More so than at any later point, this early investment reaps lifelong benefits, strengthening our future communities, workforce and economy....Let's recognize young children as our greatest resource and treat them as our highest priority." (KidsAreEssential, 2021).
We look forward to providing our Task Force Update on Monday, July 18, 2022.
On behalf of the Task Force members, thank you for giving us this opportunity to re-focus our City's efforts as the leader in Pasadena becoming An Early Learning City by 2025.
Respectfully submitted,
^^ Q. ^
Vera J. Vignes,
Chair, Early Child Development
and Early Learning Task Force
ec: Cynthia Kurtz, City Manager
Tim McDonald, Acting Director of Library and Information Services Early Child Development and Early Learning Task Force Members