Children's Program Collaborative

Serving New York City Council discretionary funded early childhood child care centers in New York City through intensive onsite coaching, innovative professional development, and technical assistance.

Services

CPC provides comprehensive program quality support covering many areas of opportunity, including:

• Budgeting and Resource Management
• Leadership and Supervision
• Center Vision and Community Relations/Marketing
• Program Excellence in Services

Starting in 2012, The Children's Program Collaborative (CPC) has been working with program directors and teachers to identify and overcome challenges in providing quality subsidized childcare and education to young children in NYC.

Over the past two years, we have helped programs with a wide variety of fiscal sustainability factors including; examining budgets and services, finding new sources of funding, and strategizing for increasing fiscal health. We have worked with programs to develop and hone program philosophy, mission, and policies; to assess current and developing strengths and areas of opportunity, to formulate and review their Quality Improvement Plans, and to target marketing strategies to ensure full enrollment. We have provided intensive technical assistance to Directors focusing on their own professional development in order to improve leadership, to foster sharing and collaboration among programs, and to develop strong internal supervisory support systems for all Center staff.

As we reflect on this work, we have seen growth in program capacity, an increase in willingness to adapt with the changing landscape, and renewed commitment to the field. We have identified particular teachers that show excellence in their commitment to their professional growth, which has resulted in the creation of the Master Teacher Institute (MTI). Our goal is to deepen their practice by providing them with access to practical resources and creative and dramatic strategies that have a strong connection to educational theory and child development. To our delight, we have been encouraged by the enthusiasm not only of the MTI participants, but also with their center colleagues who have shown great interest in building their own skills and expanding their knowledge. We have every hope of expanding this and other initiatives within the CPC to continue to serve the children and families of NYC.