The New Hampshire Preschool Development Grant (PDG) focuses on five key activities: conducting annual needs assessments to identify changing community needs, supporting strategic plan initiatives for continuous improvement, enhancing family engagement through partnerships and planning for full-service community schools, sharing best practices with professional development and coaching on play-based learning, and strengthening early childhood governance through the Council for Thriving Children. These initiatives aim to create a comprehensive, high-quality early childhood system across the state.
Understanding New Hampshire's Early Childhood System: Needs Assessment
- Annual update of PDG-funded Needs Assessments to identify changing community and family needs across the state.
- 2023-2024 activities focus on synthesis of existing research and materials for use by stakeholders, and primary collection of data related to pre-kindergarten offerings in public school settings as well as implementation of play-based learning.
- New Hampshire's 2022 Early Childhood Needs Assessment
- Read the 2020-2021 statewide early childhood system needs assessment
- Watch the 2020-2021 statewide early childhood system needs assessment webinar
- View the 2019-2020 Statewide B-5 System Needs Assessment
The Preschool Development Grant is sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (Award# 90TP0110). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.
New Hampshire's Strategic Plan for Early Childhood:
- Inform and drive continuous quality improvement and sustainability planning with analysis of Strategic Plan initiatives and identified Measures of Success.
- Support action plans for 2023-2025 Strategic Plan initiatives.
- Read the 2023-2025 Strategic Plan
- Recommendations Based on the Analysis of the Crosswalk of NH’s Strategic Plan
for Early Childhood and Current Plans and Initiatives - Read the 2020-2022 Strategic Plan
- Read the 2021 Strategic Plan Update: Measures for Success
- Read the 2021 Strategic Plan Update
The Preschool Development Grant is sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (Award# 90TP0110). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.
Family Voice in the in the Early Childhood System
NH PDG has partnered with Parent Information Center/NH Family Voices (PIC/NHFV) to develop resources and infrastructure for authentic, meaningful family voice, engagement, and representation at all levels of the early childhood system.
Planning for Full-Service Community Schools
Family engagement in the early childhood system includes the choices of families related to the care and education of their children. In the 2023 planning grant, NH proposed expanding those choices by supporting preparation necessary for the coordination of academic, social, and health services (also known as "full-service community schools"). Through an RFP process, NH PDG awarded the following districts/proxies support for the planning and collaboration activities necessary to effectively coordinate and integrate services:
- Concord School District
- Coos Coalition for Young Children and Families in partnership with Berlin Public Schools and White Mountains Regional School District
- Jaffrey-Rindge Cooperative School District
- Manchester School District
- Seabrook School District
- Somersworth Ready Together and Granite United Way Greater Seacoast in partnership with Somersworth School District
Early Childhood Initiatives and Activities
Full-Service Community Schools Planning Grant awardees recognize developing communities where young children can thrive requires innovative strategies and intentional outreach. Initiatives under the community school planning grants that strengthen local early childhood systems and reduce barriers to learning include:
- Sharing professional development opportunities with local child care providers.
- Enhancing professional development for public preschool teachers.
- Providing early childhood screenings in community-based child care centers.
- Hosting educational family engagement events. Including family members, teachers, community stakeholders, and school administration on collaborative leadership teams.
- Creating and maintaining playgroups for children 0-5 and their families.
- Supporting the development of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support for Behavioral Health and Wellness (MTSS-B) in school districts.
- Creating a school-based child care center for school district employees with opportunities for high schoolers to participate in paid internships.
- Creating and expanding community-wide early literacy initiatives.
- Partnering to provide early childhood vision screenings in an elementary school.
- Creating school-based family centers for families with children 0-5. These provide calm spaces for informal visits with families, early childhood screenings, and early intervention service providers.
- Participating in efforts to establish after-care for preschoolers.
- Connecting parents of young children with community resources through improved websites, direct outreach, and enhanced communication between schools and community-based organizations.
- Strategic planning.
Broader Initiatives and Activities
Community schools acknowledge the need to support learners and their families in a variety of ways across developmental stages. In addition to their early childhood efforts, planning grant awardees implemented initiatives to support all learners, all school employees, and community members. These include:
- Providing outreach and individualized support to families who are new to America.
- Creating an English language program for adults in the community.
- Implementing comprehensive social-emotional curricula at all school levels.
- Expanding extended learning opportunities.
- Establishing and enhancing professional learning communities for school employees.
Community School Partnerships
Over the 14 months of the Full-Service Community Schools Planning Grant, awardees helped strengthen partnerships between school districts and community-based organizations, with the goal of increasing opportunities and supports for young children and their families. Partners include:
- Family Resource Centers
- Early Childhood Regional Leads
- Early childhood coalitions
- Public health networks
- Health care providers (dental, vision)
- Community Mental Health Centers
- Other mental health service providers
- Recreation centers
- Libraries
- Head Start
- Community-based child care providers
- Police departments (Adverse Childhood Experiences Response Teams)
- DCYF agencies
- Food pantries
- Institutes of higher education
- Community organizations and businesses
Read the Full-Service Community Schools RFP
The Preschool Development Grant is sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (Award# 90TP0110). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.
Professional Development (PD)
New Hampshire's vision is to create a fully integrated cross-sector professional development system that, through pre-service and in-service training, supports all early childhood professionals across health, early learning, and family support to be well-educated, highly-skilled, and culturally competent. The grant supported a series of project reports to reduce duplication of effort, leverage financial and other resources, and increase program quality. View the Project Reports and Research Instruments.
NH PDG is partnering with UNH’s College of Professional Studies to expand tuition assistance programs for child care providers as well as paraeducators in NH public schools.
Play-Based Learning and Practice-based Coaching
Provide embedded coaching on play-based learning to preschool and kindergarten teachers and include evaluation of effectiveness.
Expanding Availability
Build a pipeline of new family child care providers and maintain and stabilize the current family child care workforce through a family child care provider network. Support the development and implementation of a coordinated and comprehensive plan to increase the number of family child care businesses and increase access to new infant/toddler care and education spaces.
The Preschool Development Grant is sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (Award# 90TP0110). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.
Early Childhood Governance and Interagency Coordination
Support for current state department efforts to increase alignment and capacity, including NH’s childhood governance model, the Council for Thriving Children. New Hampshire's Early Childhood Governance Structure is charged with developing and advancing the state’s vision for children, families, and communities; formalizing collaborations and connections to foster efficient high-quality services for children and families; and using a strong equity lens to guide implementation based on agreed principles and goals. The Governor's Appointed Council for Thriving Children meets the federal Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007, Public Law 110-134, which requires establishment of a state advisory council. Established by Executive Order 2020-03, the Council for Thriving Children, is New Hampshire's advisory council on early childhood and is co-led by the Departments of Health and Human Services and Education.
- Read the 2022-2023 Annual Report
- Read the 2021 year in review Report
- Read the 2020 year in review report
- Visit the Website: Council for Thriving Children
The Preschool Development Grant is sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (Award# 90TP0110). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.
