Chapter 5: From Words to Action
Learning is the work. Professional development in workshops and courses is only an input to continuous learning. Successful growth is accomplished when the culture of the school supports the day-to-day learning of teachers and early childhood educators engaged in improving what they do.
Michael Fullan62
Removing the Obstacles
So many of the people I met asked why it has taken so long to get our act together for our youngest children. I do not have an answer, but I heard a lot of theories during my consultations. Here are a few. The labels are mine, but the quotes belong to some of those who provided input and represent the views of many others.
Fuzzy governance: “No one organization at Queen’s Park or in the community is responsible for driving change; process is important but without accountable leadership, it’s a pathway to nowhere.”
Hardening of the categories: “Too many cross-purpose legislative silos result in time spent filling out multiple budget forms, spending less time on service and preventing some key changes that would better serve kids and their parents.”
The obstacle of tradition: “While many in my community are sincerely dedicated to improving coordination of services, they are hampered by their own traditions. The Best Start table is a forum to keep an eye on each other, defend turf, and prevent anything more than marginal changes.”
Short-termism: “Perhaps the problem is the tendency to deal with complexity too simply in electoral time frames that do not allow for the longer term implementation intricacies to be worked out. This often creates the potential for key policy fields, like education and health care, to become political footballs. We need a non-partisan approach for doing the right things for a change.”
Resources for a change: “More money is nice but it is not the fundamental barrier if existing resources are not used effectively. Needed is some transition money with incentives to change the way business is done.”
Recommendations:
20. Beginning in 2012, the Province should coordinate a process with key ministries to modernize legislation that would produce a new Education and Family Supports Act that would:
- enable the outcomes noted in this report;
- reduce redundancies;
- eliminate outdated elements in various pieces of legislation and develop a single integrated piece of legislation.
We are at a crossroads, but we have an opportunity to make the right choices.
It is time to move from words to action – implementing full-day learning for 4- and 5-year-old children and beginning the process of transforming our patchwork of service delivery into an integrated system. It is time to close the divide between education and care. We must summon the leadership within the provincial government, school boards and municipal authorities, and among community organizations to create the changes that will make a difference in the lives of Ontario’s children and families.
We have a clear vision to guide our way, one that can steer us along a new pathway of progress and success. We have more understanding of the obstacles in the way and the signposts to help us stay on track or get back on track when we waver a bit. There is much to do, many little and big decisions to make. Each and every one of us – parents, practitioners, public servants – must be guided by a simple question: What’s best for children and their families?
Too many great ideas gather dust because of haphazard implementation. Success depends on an unrelenting focus on results and the ongoing development of, and effective partnering among, those leading change – from the educator and parent working hand in hand with each child in mind, to those leading the educators and those training them, to those leading provincial and community systems development.
We must learn from each other. There are excellent examples of critical elements of the new system across this province – teachers and ECEs working together, schoolbased child care and family supports, school leaders who know how to engage parents and embrace diversity, and community partners who know how to truly collaborate. The challenge is to learn from best practice and make it common practice, and then to keep inventing new best practices and spreading the word ... and actions.
Experts and practitioners across Ontario are ready to embrace the changes that are necessary. They will create the “lighthouse” early learning environments, modelling best practices from which others will learn. But not everyone will be ready for change. That is why we need to create momentum and cultural transformation forged by early success. And incentives must be built into the implementation process that reward doing the right things well.
One of the biggest obstacles to effective change is inertia informed by previous experience with failed implementation. As well, inattention to the little things that matter, such as release time for key leaders, can stall the process. Involving people ready and qualified to implement at the outset is imperative, as is proceeding quickly with in-service training. Implementation should not be too far ahead of capacity ... if at all.
While I see some recommendations being implemented on a longer timeline than others, that does not mean I consider them less important. I want to make sure that implementation proceeds in a timely way, but I understand that change like this is complex, requiring consideration of many important issues.
I have heard from people all over the province that getting this early learning program right is more important than getting it done too quickly. If it is to be sustainable for generations to come, quality needs to trump speed. That said, I believe that the timetable I have set out, while challenging, is doable.
Perfection will not be around the corner. Implementation at times will be as messy as a child’s first attempt at finger-painting. With all of the significant gains made, mistakes need to foster learning. The desire for immediate perfection should not get in the way of focusing on the essentials, celebrating early success, and deliberately building a remarkable springboard for our collective future.
As always, the work of improving practice on the ground is never-ending.
Phase 1 Implementation: Local Success Criteria
Implementation is scheduled to begin in school year 2010–11. Most of the full-day learning components should be in place across Ontario at the end of three years (2012–13). Phase 1 is the first year of implementation. It is critical that implementation get off on the right foot and that we set ourselves up for success to create momentum for positive results. Critical success factors should be present at the start:
Planning: development of Early Years Service Plans, co-determined and co-signed by local partners and the Province;
Leadership: the track record of accomplishments of the principal regarding implementing positive and effective change; partnership skills within the school that creates a “whole school commitment” to innovation and change; an effective parent engagement strategy in place; passion for seeking and using sound information for improvement; in sum, Phase 1 schools should have stable, willing, and effective leadership and a board guarantee regarding leadership stability;
Early child development/learning capacity: the skill set and knowledge base of those who will enable the children’s learning; teachers and ECEs with excellent child development knowledge, skills, and experience already in place; passion for diversity; use of board-wide coaching; opportunities to consolidate new initiatives with existing resources such as literacy and numeracy personnel within schools/boards;
Learning environment: appropriate and supportive space, as per early learning guidelines, with appropriate curriculum material, appropriate learning stations, and food preparation capability available;
Best Start Child and Family Centres: appropriate space and partnerships to support the development of integrated child and family services, including child care for children up to 4 years old;
Children’s services: effective connectivity with community services and a track record in responding to special needs children in a timely and effective manner;
Getting ready: detailed plans for in-service preparation of educators regarding use of curriculum; parental engagement to encourage parents’ participation and determine their preferences for enrolling their children; other details required to ensure smooth implementation; plans for schools for each subsequent phase, and communication plans to ensure transparent knowledge for parents regarding “when is this coming to my neighborhood?”; “getting ready for Phase 2” plans that would include partial release of a key point person for Phase 2 schools to work with and learn from Phase 1 schools; capital plans.
Service plans for Phase 1 must also consider, describe, and document other important elements such as:
- plans to include a portion of high-risk, low-income neighborhoods, with special initiatives to reach out to vulnerable families;
- special initiatives/needs for rural and remote areas;
- plans for non-school-based programming under the auspices of schools;
- special initiatives for Aboriginal children;
- special supports for children with special needs.
Specific documentation of effective collaboration and communications plans that involve all key community partners in development of these plans is central to implementation.
ASAP: Provincial Readiness
There are some very important items to consider acting on as soon as possible to enable implementation to begin in 2010.
The Deputy Minister of Education should be directed to develop and establish the Early Years Division as a first step to readiness. The new Early Years Division would initiate, facilitate, and monitor the development of an integrated child and family service system for Ontario, working with school boards, municipal authorities, communities, and other government ministries and departments.
The Early Years Division should:
- send out a memorandum to municipal authorities, school boards, and appropriate agencies that initiates the planning process;
- develop and implement a plan to draft, consult on, and finalize the Early Years Policy Framework;
- develop and implement a plan to finalize the Early Learning Program Curriculum;
- establish a regularly updated “best practice inventory” that enables practitioners and change leaders throughout Ontario to learn together from the creative and effective strategies that exist now and will continue to evolve.
The Province should communicate to municipalities its intention to secure the Best Start resources the federal government has indicated it will discontinue in March 2010.
With the assistance of the Special Advisor on Early Learning, an implementation reference group, comprising practitioners and other “on the ground” leaders, should be formed to provide advice on major aspects of implementation, such as identifying and removing barriers, professional development strategies, consolidated funding, and an accountable process that will inform the development of the Early Years Policy Framework.
Until new legislation is in place, implementation would be guided by the Early Years Policy Framework, the policy and funding authority that would outline the goals, mandate, mechanisms, timelines, targets, and accountability benchmarks and establish quality standards in Best Start Child and Family Centres and extended programming offered by school boards.
Legislating for a Change
A holistic, comprehensive, and integrated approach to supporting the learning and care of young children and their families is necessary if we are to reap the benefits of this important investment in our future.
Many community practitioners and local public servants noted the problems associated with multiple pieces of legislation that are either outdated or incompatible in enabling the kind of consistent support for children and families that is necessary. In the short run, as implementation rolls out, short-term legislative tools should be used. For example, certain aspects of the Day Nurseries Act and the Education Act may need to be addressed to enable implementation of this new initiative.
Beginning in 2012–13, the Province should undertake the process of developing a new Education and Family Supports Act. I anticipate that the consultative process to write new legislation would coincide with the third year of implementation of the child and family service system so that the “doing” and implementation experience can provide some excellent ideas for developing and refining the legislation.
Implementation Timeline
The recommendations in this report outline a specific implementation timeline and critical path that acknowledges the need to phase in change, build capacity, and build up resources. Implementation should proceed at a predictable and manageable pace, with quality as the main driver. While I fully understand the complexities of assuring quality programming and services throughout the province, timing goals, however ambitious, need to drive implementation.
I propose implementing the following within three years (by the end of 2012–13):
- Provide the full-day Early Learning Program for all of Ontario’s 4- and 5-year-old children, including extended day/year options for parents.
- Vest accountability for system change in an Early Years Division in the Ministry of Education.
- Create an Early Years Policy Framework for a coherent, comprehensive, and accountable child and family service system.
- Establish ELECT and the Continuum of Development as the curriculum and pedagogical framework for all early childhood settings and develop a province-wide training plan to support their use.
- Improve parent engagement strategies in all schools.
- Mandate municipal authorities to consolidate and reengineer child/family programs and child care for children up to age 4 into Best Start Child and Family Centres.
- Allocate sufficient funding to support the strategy.
Within five years (by the end of school year 2014–15):
- Require all teachers holding a position in the Early Learning Program to have an early childhood Additional Qualification or its equivalent.
- Refocus ECE diploma programs on children from 0 to 8 years old.
- Re-engineer and consolidate special needs resources under Best Start Child and Family Centres, consolidating the school as a community hub concept.
- Introduce a new Education and Family Supports Act.
In years 5 to 10 (by 2020):
- Expand parental leave.
- Make available a new early childhood specialty degree.
From the beginning ... and forever:
- Build on universal screening opportunities to support children’s development.
- Drive continuous improvement through comprehensive and coordinated data collection, analysis, and public reporting.
- Promote ongoing development of early learning leaders.
If Not Now, When?
The question is no longer if we should help prepare children for school and life beyond school, but how.
This is all about getting kids ready for school and schools getting ready for kids. It is about an approach to integrated community supports for children and families that acknowledges that while it takes a village to raise a child, we need our “villages” to be more effective in raising children.
We need to build on the best of what we have now and reposition existing resources. We must provide sound information at all levels to let parents know how their children are doing and help practitioners improve practice. We must inform taxpayers about the value of this effort, and keep them informed about how implementation is going.
With a clear direction set by the government, a citizenry that is strongly behind this initiative, many building blocks in place, and overwhelming evidence regarding the importance of investment in early learning, the question is if not now, when?
Establishing a strong foundation in the early years, and building on it, is the single most powerful factor in Ontario’s social and economic future. It would be shortsighted folly not to maximize the opportunity before us.
Ontario has the vision and the talent to do something very special, something sustainable and long-lasting for its children and families, something that will inspire those who live in other places to take note, as we move from words to action with our best future in mind.
Chapter 1: An Early Years Vision for Ontario
Chapter 2: A Brief Review of the Evidence
Chapter 3: Full-Day Learning: Leaving the Patchwork Behind
Chapter 4: Funding Our Best Future
Chapter 5: From Words to Action
Acknowledging the "We" of Authorship
Footnotes
