Colorado Statewide Strategic Plan

In 2018, the Colorado Shines Brighter Strategic Plan was endorsed by the Early Childhood Leadership Commission and includes opportunities to maximize the availability of high-quality early care and education options for low-income and underserved families across providers and partners; improve the quality of care; streamline administrative infrastructure; and improve state-level early care and education funding efficiencies.

In 2023, we are updating and rebranding the Statewide Strategic Plan in order to reflect the changes that have taken place over the last five year, respond to newly identified statewide needs, and to create a more comprehensive plan inclusive of the full range of early childhood services.

New Strategic Plan Working Group

The Colorado Statewide Strategic Plan working group will be tasked with creating an updated statewide strategic plan which will guide the state of Colorado's work in Early Childhood for the next five years. The new Strategic Plan will be an update and rebrand the Colorado Shines Brighter Birth through Five Strategic Plan. The work is being completed as part of the state’s Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5) Planning Grant and led by the Colorado Department of Early Childhood and the Early Childhood Leadership Commission in partnership with Start Early. The Strategic Plan Working Group will guide the update plan based on findings from this year’s statewide B-5 Needs Assessment, the refreshed Colorado Early Childhood Framework, other recent strategic initiatives, and stakeholder engagement.

Working Group Meeting Information

Previous Meetings

Friday, October 13, 2023 - 9:00-1:00

Monday, September 18, 2023 - 11:00-1:00

Monday, August 28, 2023 - 10:00-12:00

Wednesday, July 26, 2023 - 1:30-3:00

Colorado Shines Brighter Updates

In 2022, the final year of the Preschool Development Renewal Grant, Marzano Research once again led the work to update the Colorado Shines Brighter Strategic Plan based on the current early childhood environment, new findings from needs assessment activities, recommendations from program evaluation and continuous quality improvement, stakeholder feedback with an emphasis on families and caregivers of children birth through five, and recommendations from the Colorado Shines Brighter Working Group.

2022 Family Survey Results
2022 Workforce Survey Results
Revised Strategic Plan At-A-Glance - Updated Jan 2023

 

PDG OPPORTUNITIES AND RESOURCES:

The NEW Colorado Early Childhood Family Engagement Framework is Available!
The new Colorado Early Childhood Family Engagement Framework (Framework) identifies important family engagement concepts to be applied across early childhood sectors and agencies to support the vision that all Colorado children and families be valued, healthy and thriving. The Framework will help entities engaging with families organize their thinking and to mobilize action. It provides an anchor to which organizations and individuals can align their own strategies and activities. The Framework was developed through a collaborative effort led by the Office of Early Childhood with the support of the Early Childhood Leadership Commission, funded by the state’s Preschool Development Grant Birth-Five.

View the full report here.
View the interactive one-pager here. 
View the graphic here.

Learn more about current Preschool Development Grant opportunities!

 

COLORADO SHINES BRIGHTER WORKING GROUP:

In Fall 2020, the Colorado Shines Brighter Working Group, guided by Marzano Research, embarked on an effort to understand current initiatives that organizations throughout Colorado were implementing that advance strategies within the Strategic Plan through a Landscape Analysis. The Working Group made recommendations for updates to the strategies informed by 1) data from the Landscape Analysis, 2) ongoing needs assessment activities, 3) the current early childhood environment, and 4) a response to continuous quality improvement.

  • Colorado Shines Brighter Strategic Plan - Landscape Analysis: The Landscape Analysis is a searchable excel file to learn more about what organizations throughout Colorado are doing to advance strategies within the Strategic Plan.

  • How to use the Landscape Analysis: Watch this five minute video to learn more about the Landscape Analysis and how to search for organizations doing work under each strategy:

  • Recommendations for Updates to the Colorado Shines Brighter Strategic Plan:

The Early Childhood Leadership Commission reviewed the recommended updates to the Colorado Shines Brighter Strategic Plan at the December 17, 2020 meeting. They voted unanimously to approve the recommended updates.

In November 2021, the Colorado Shines Brighter Working Group met again to make recommendations to update the Strategic Plan.

The Early Childhood Leadership Commission reviewed and unanimously approved the recommended updates to the Colorado Shines Brighter Strategic Plan at the December 16, 2021 meeting.

In November 2022, the Working Group met again to develop its final set of recommended updates.

The Early Childhood Leadership Commission reviewed the 2022 recommendations and voted unanimously to approve the updates at their meeting on December 15, 2022. View the updated Strategic Plan At-A-Glance documents in English and Spanish.

Working Group Meetings and Materials:

2022
2022 Colorado Shines Brighter Working Group Member List
November 18, 2022
AGENDA

October 28, 2022
AGENDA | CSB At-A-Glance (January 2022) | CSB SP Working Group Folder with pre-reads

2021
2021 Colorado Shines Brighter Working Group Member List
November 17, 2021
AGENDA

November 3, 2021
AGENDA | CSB Strategic Plan At-A-Glance | Working Group Folder & Pre Reading

2020
2020 Colorado Shines Brighter Working Group Member List
November 18, 2020
AGENDA | PQA Summary of Feedback | CSB Working Group Survey | Synthesis of Recommended Changes

October 30, 2020
AGENDA

Thank you to the Colorado Shines Brighter Working Group members and to Marzano Research for your work to develop recommendations and Update the Strategic plan!

For more information on the Colorado Shines Brighter Birth through Five Grant, please visit the Office of Early Childhood Website HERE.