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FRANKFORT – The Kentucky Department of Education’s Preschool Coordinator Advisory Group (PCAG) held its first meeting on Jan. 28, choosing officers and setting priorities for its quarterly meetings.

The PCAG was formed to advise the Kentucky Department of Education’s (KDE’s) Office of Special Education and Early Learning (OSEEL) on unmet needs and issues relevant to state-funded preschool. Each of the group’s 10 members represent districts from all five  of the state’s Early Childhood Regional Training Centers.

After members and KDE staff introduced themselves, the group chose officers:

• Chair, Whitney Stevenson, Fayette County
• Co-chair, Kristy Lewis, Paducah Independent
• Secretary, Monica Heavrin, Grayson County

Starting from a tentative list proposed by OSEEL staff, PCAG set its priorities for district preschool issues. They are:

• Data quality
• Quality programming/preschool through grade 3 curriculum alignment/equity and diversity
• Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS)
• Teacher preparation and certification (recruitment and retention)
• Family engagement and parental support
• Creative ways to address communication and transition

Finally, the group set its meeting schedule and proposed agendas for future discussion. The next PCAG meeting will take place on April 29.

At that meeting, PCAG members plan to dive into data quality, communication, curriculum alignment, diversity and quality programming.

“Quality programming is going to be (a topic), maybe every time. That’s a big one that has a lot of topics under it,” said Andrea Bartholomew, school readiness branch manager in the KDE Division of IDEA Implementation and Preschool.

For more information about the new advisory group, visit the KDE Preschool Coordinator Advisory Group webpage.