Eight-AZ PBS First Things First

Eight-AZ PBS First Things First Eight-AZ PBS First Things First Eight-AZ PBS, a community education outreach department within Arizona State University, will be the administrative home to provide statewide professional development system services including: 1) promoting access to and participation in the Arizona Early Childhood Career and Professional Development Network; 2) implementing the Arizona Early Childhood Workforce Registry; and, 3) administering First Things First College Scholarships for Early Childhood Professionals. Based upon past experiences in implementing statewide professional development initiatives, AZ PBS has the capacity to respond quickly to new projects due to its statewide communications network, ready pool of qualified staff, expertise and experience with technology integration and security and cultural/tribal sensitivity. As a state agency, Arizona State University provides AZ PBS with business infrastructure, policies, procedures and legal support. To further enhance this capacity AZ PBS will subcontract with Arizona Association for the Education of Young Children (AzAEYC), the state affiliate with the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), one of the premier professional organizations representing the early childhood care and education workforce. Through NAEYC AzAEYC has access to national, evidence based professional development resources and a network of leaders through the country. It has statewide coverage through its 4 local affiliates and membership hubs. Combining these strengths, AZ PBS/AzAEYC will meet or exceed all Target Service Units within the grant timelines, including enrollment of 5,000 users in the Registry in fiscal year 2016. During May and June 2015, AZ PBS /AzAEYC will enroll all current TEACH scholars who wish to continue in the new scholarship program, and during the 2016 fiscal year will award a minimum of 932 full-time scholarships for CDA/AA. Outreach to students, community colleges and universities will result in 16 full-time scholarships for the BA degree. The creation of the Arizona Early Childhood Career and Professional Development Network marks a watershed in Arizonas progress toward a comprehensive system which collects and analyzes workforce data and ensures high quality professional development forArizonas early childhood professionals from entry to advanced levels. AZ PBS will grow the professional development website which houses information and resources on early childhood (birth to age 8) careers, degrees and credentials, as well as ongoing professional development opportunities and guidance documents; the Workforce Registry; and the enrollment portal and database for the FTF College Scholarship program. Upon award, AZ PBS/AzAEYC will immediately begin implementation, including continuing integration of the FTF College Scholarships with RegistryOne software. This connection will ensure accessibility to the scholarship application, the Registry with its career lattice calculation, and information about higher education degrees and professional development. Concurrently, AZ PBS/AzAEYC will conduct intensive outreach both to current TEACH scholarship recipients, including the TEACH BA students, and to the Registry target audience. AZ PBS/AzAEYC will implement its staffing plan and conduct both individualized and group training based upon the job responsibilities. Collaboration between the RegistryOne and the FTF IT team will be ongoing as the system is operationalized. Success and outcomes will be measured by regular review and adjustment of the implementation plan. Review of data on performance measures will be an ongoing responsibility assigned to the Project Director, with updates at weekly meetings to determine compliance and progress. Evidence of success will include evaluation reviews of system building with state agencies, collaboration with statewide projects and comparisons with national initiatives. AZ PBS will participate in evaluation efforts undertaken by First Things First. Eight-AZ PBS First Things First - Renewal