About the Howard County Early Childhood Advisory Council (HCECAC)
The Howard County Early Childhood Advisory Council (HCECAC) supports the care, education and health of our youngest learners. HCECAC was formed in 2012 under the auspices of the Maryland Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) Grant and is one of 24 Early Childhood Advisory Councils throughout Maryland. The Council’s mission is to ensure that all Howard County children come to school healthy and ready to succeed.
The Council’s goals are to ensure that:
- All children have access to high quality early learning and development programs;
- Families have access to resources needed to be effective as their child's first teacher;
- Children arrive at school with healthy minds and bodies.
Accomplishments:
- Intensive school readiness outreach in the community
- Learning Parties
- Fun with Friends play groups
- Annual Discovery Fair
- Promoting Reach Out and Read Program
- Coordination and collaboration of home visiting programs
- Conducting Road to Kindergarten parent presentations
- Connecting families to community events
- Building relationships and partnerships
Membership Information
The Advisory Council's membership is a broad representation of Howard County’s organizations and individuals that provide services for young children.
Meetings are held bi-monthly at various locations in Howard County. All meetings are open to the public.
HCECAC Co-Chairs
Lisa Davis, Howard County Public School System, 410-313-5659.
Erin Bonzon, Howard County Office of Children & Families, 410-313-6371
Subcommittees
Discovery Fair
Objective: Educate and expose children and families to activities that promote school readiness.
Home Visiting
Objective: Promote collaboration, coordination and awareness among programs that provide home visiting services to families in Howard County
Literacy
Objective: Broaden awareness, use of best practices and collaborations around the importance of early literacy.
Marketing
Objective: Develop effective strategies to communicate ECAC/School Readiness materials, events, etc. to target population.
Resource Library
Objective: Develop and compile resources relevant to early childhood issues
Transition to Kindergarten
Objective: Establish a smooth passage for Kindergarten transition for young children coming directly from the home setting and/or from an early care and education setting.
Launch Into Learning Quick Links
Readiness Matters
Content
Supporting Every Young Learner: Maryland’s Guide to Early Childhood Pedagogy, Birth to Age 8 - The latest tool produced by the Maryland State Department of Education’s (MSDE) Division of Early Childhood Development to inform and engage early educators of young children with evidence-based practices of teaching and learning.
The Early Childhood Family Engagement Framework: Maryland’s Vision for Engaging Families with Young Children - Outlines goals and strategies to support family engagement initiatives implemented by early care and education providers.