North Carolina Task Force on Child Care and Early Education

October 2026 meeting

Transcript

1. LT. GOV. RACHEL HUNT CO -CHAIR SEN. JIM BURGIN CO -CHAIR October 26, 2026
2. GREETINGS & LOGISTICS LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR RACHEL HUNT CO -CHAIR NC TASK FORCE ON CHILD CARE AND EARLY EDUCATION SENATOR JIM BURGIN CO -CHAIR NC TASK FORCE ON CHILD CARE AND EARLY EDUCATION
3. PUBLIC MEETINGS REMINDER • NC TASK FORCE ON CHILD CARE AND EARLY EDUCATION MEETINGS ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC • THIS MEETING HAS BEEN PUBLICLY NOTICED ON THE NORTH CAROLINA SECRETARY OF STATE’S WEBSITE • STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA PUBLIC RECORDS POLICY APPLIES TO OUR WORK
4. CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE STATE GOVERNMENT ETHICS ACT , IT IS THE DUTY OF EVERY COMMITTEE MEMBER TO AVOID BOTH CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AND THE APPEARANCE OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST. IF ANY COMMITTEE MEMBER HAS ANY KNOWN CONFLICT OF INTEREST OR IS AWARE OF FACTS THAT MIGHT CREATE THE APPEARANCE OF SUCH CONFLICT, WITH RESPECT TO ANY MATTERS COMING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE TODAY, PLEASE IDENTIFY THE CONFLICT OR THE FACTS THAT MIGHT CREATE THE APPEARANCE OF A CONFLICT TO ENSURE THAT ANY INAPPROPRIATE PARTICIPATION IN THAT MATTER MAY BE AVOIDED. IF AT ANY TIME, ANY NEW MATTER RAISES A CONFLICT DURING THE MEETING, PLEASE BE SURE TO IDENTIFY IT AT THAT TIME.
5. TASK FORCE UPDATES • INVEST EARLY NC 10 -YEAR PLAN • SHARED LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES AMONG NC CHILD CARE AND EARLY EDUCATION ADVOCATES • OTHER MEMBER UPDATES?
6. PRESENTATION NC PRE -K OVERVIEW JENNA RAMSEY DEPUTY DIRECTOR DIVISION OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND EARLY EDUCATION NC DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
7. Spotlighting NC Pre-K Jenna Ramsey, Deputy Director October 26, 2026
8. History
9. What is NC Pre-K • NC Pre-K provides high-quality educational experiences that strengthen school readiness for eligible four-year-old children in a full day program. • Program standards are based on the principle that children must be prepared across five developmental domains to succeed in school. • These domains, from the NC Foundations for Early Learning and Development, are: – Approaches to play and learning – Emotional and social development – Health and physical development – Language development and communication – Cognitive development • B-K Licensed Teacher; IA with CDA or equivalent • 6.5 hour school day for 36 weeks per year
10. Participation snapshot • ~30,000 enrolled statewide • Age/Date cut-off is consistent with K-12, must be 4 by August 31st • Eligibility: age and income or age and categorical eligibility: ➢Income: at or below 75% of the State Median Income • Categorical: ➢Experiencing homelessness ➢In foster care ➢Receiving refugee services ➢Receiving Public Assistance ➢WIC ➢Public Housing ➢TANF/Work First ➢Medicaid ➢SSI ➢SNAP/ Food and Nutrition Services (Food Stamps)
11. General Landscape 1,159 Total Sites 2,057 Total Classrooms Public Schools – 54% Head Start – 13% Private Sites – 33%
12. Funding Landscape $68 M 32% $67.9 M 32% $78.4M 37% State Lottery TANF (Federal)
13. Current Rates Per child, per month rate • Private- $758 • Head Start - $459 • Public School - $535 • Admin funding- Minimum of 8.25% of the Contractor's total allocation or $30,000, whichever is greater.
14. Why does NC Pre-K matter? • NC Pre-K has long term benefits for all students. • As the percentage of former NC Pre-K students increases in an elementary school, teacher working conditions improve, and teacher and principal retention increases. Muschkin, C. G., Ladd, H. F., & Sauval, M. (2024). Pre-K enrollments and teaching environments in North Carolina elementary schools. Children and Youth Services Review, 164, 107832
15. Why does NC Pre-K matter? • NC Pre-K boosts language skills in high-proficiency elementary schools. • NC Pre-K strengthens working memory in high-growth schools. • Evidence of dynamic complementarity: high-quality elementary schools amplify NC Pre-K gains. • Positive effects on two “unconstrained” foundational skills: language and working memory. • NC Pre-K’s benefits align with previous long-term studies showing lasting academic and developmental gains. Carr, R. C., Peisner-Feinberg, E. S., Kaplan, R., & Mokrova, I. L. (2021). Effects of North Carolina’s pre-kindergarten program at the end of kindergarten: Contributions of school-wide quality. [Journal Name Unknown]. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34764526/
16. Progress Data • NC Pre-K children showed significant growth in Social-Emotional development, increasing from 37% meeting expectations in the fall to 87% in the spring.
17. Progress Data • Mathematics showed strong progress, increasing from 23% of children meeting expectations in the fall to 77% in the spring.
18. Progress Data • Language development saw a big jump, rising from 43% of children meeting expectations in the fall to 84% in the spring.
19. Challenges and Opportunities Funding Stability/ Access Quality Diverse needs/ Instructional support
20. What’s Next? • Continued collaboration with NCDPI, Head Start, Smart Start, and LEAs to create a well-informed Early Childhood system • Increasing program quality and supporting diverse learners • Revising and updating public facing information • Creating shared expectations regarding topics of state-wide concern
21. Thank you for supporting our children!
22. GUIDED CONVERSATION: NC PRE -K AND OUR EARLY EDUCATION LANDSCAPE DR. CYNTHIA BARBER SENIOR DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF EARLY LEARNING NC DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION RHONDA CURTIS PRINCIPAL VANDORA SPRINGS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL GAYLE HEADEN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR WAKE COUNTY SMART START DAN TETREAULT (MODERATOR) ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF EARLY LEARNING NC DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION MEMBER, NC TASK FORCE ON CHILD CARE AND EARLY EDUCATION DR. MICHAEL LITTLE ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, EDUCATIONAL EVALUATION AND POLICY ANALYSIS, NC STATE UNIVERSITY DR. SARAH SIMMONS PRINCIPAL BANKS ROAD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
23. CLOSING LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR RACHEL HUNT CO -CHAIR NC TASK FORCE ON CHILD CARE AND EARLY EDUCATION SENATOR JIM BURGIN CO -CHAIR NC TASK FORCE ON CHILD CARE AND EARLY EDUCATION