Webster Ready Start
2024 BlueprintThe Webster Parish Early Childhood Ready Start Network serves 10 Early Learning Centers, 5 school sites, and 3 Head Start centers. As of October 1, 2024, we currently serve 505 students in these eligible seats. Webster Ready Start Network’s 2023-2024 CLASS score, which measures quality teacher-child interactions, averaged (5.27), which remains in the high proficient range. Our Emotional Support, Classroom Organization, and Emotional and Behavioral Support CLASS scores are in the High Proficient/Excellent range for all site types, while our Instructional Support and Engaged Support for Learning CLASS scores fall in the Approaching Proficient/Proficient range for each site type for 2023-2024. This indicates a need for additional professional development in these two areas. Another
factor is the workforce turnover in these programs. In the Spring of 2020, we became a part of the Cohort 3 Ready Start Network initiative. We have formed our Ready Start Network Advisory Council who works collaboratively to execute a bold local vision to improve opportunities and inspire change for children birth to age five. Council members focus on improving the quality, accessibility, and affordability of early childhood services throughout our network. The LDOE Birth to 3 seats initiative awarded Webster Ready Start these tuition free, high quality childcare seats to 48 families in our community (2022-23), increased to 61 CCAP B3 seats for 2023-24 and due to a reduction in funding, we
currently provide 53 CCAP B3 seats to Webster Parish families. Through local fundraising and the state match of the Early Childhood Education Fund, an additional toddler seat is provided tuition-free to a qualifying family. (See graph for performance data)
Louisiana is ranked 8th in the country for its early childhood education policies. Even with this achievement, there continues to be significant access and quality challenges. Webster Ready Start Network builds on Louisiana’s success by bringing our local community members together to create, implement, and support early childhood to address challenges. We are committed to creating and
implementing a bold local vision for our early childhood network. Driven by local data and context, Webster Ready Start Network will continue to do this in three key ways: create a specific plan for our network, develop an advisory council and governing board made up of community stakeholders, and secure resources to improve opportunities and inspire change for our Webster Parish birth to age five children.
Webster Ready Start Goals
Goal 1
Increase Birth-3 seats by 5% per year by 2025-2026 to insure families have access to affordable, high quality early childhood care and
education in Webster Parish
Goal 2
Increase the overall CLASS average by 0.05 points by the 2024-2025 performance prole release in the fall of 2025.
Goal 3
Increase community awareness of the Webster Ready Start Network early childhood programs and their opportunities for child
development by 2025-2026.
Goal 4
Equip and empower families to boost their children’s early brain and vocabulary development by providing current research findings, books, educational materials, and hands-on opportunities to improve their children's
kindergarten readiness by 2025.
Strategic Plan
Please select the purple plus circles in each section to learn more about each goal.
Goal 1:
Request coordinated funding for B3 seats at early learning centers in the network
● Use fundraising from local efforts to increase capacity of locally funded seats
● Increase awareness of early learning centers in the Webster Network
● Provide more opportunities for parents to become knowledgeable of Webster Early
Childhood Ready Start Network
- Promote Webster Ready Start Network website
○ Host virtual and in-person parent awareness meetings to provide information
about our coordinated enrollment
○ Extend enrollment period & increase access to our coordinated enrollment events
○ CCAP B3 seats initiative-53 seats currently filled- tuition free to eligible families - Capital Campaign (KTBS Marketing) launched in December 2023 to raise local
funds 100% matched by the state if received by Jan 31, 2024. One seat is
currently funded through ECEF with a goal to fund three seats for 2025-26.
○ Continue to reach Webster Parish community stakeholders to donate to local
fundraising to provide B3 seats.
- ○ Local funds to support additional Birth-3 seats, which include support for certified
personnel, Tier I curriculum, and professional development for teachers
○ Data from LDOE on unserved children in Webster Parish
Goal 2:
Professional Development on curriculum provided by vendors
● Local job embedded coaching
● Professional Development on Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) through
MMCI classes focusing on Instructional Support
● Secure materials and resources needed through grant funds to help teachers and staff
promote high quality experiences for the children
● Ensure materials are utilized and accessible to students in classrooms
- Implement high quality Tier 1 curriculum
○ Maintain a strong working relationship with NSU Child Care Resource &
Referral Agency for training and coaching needs.
○ Use existing financial support through early childhood grants and Title I funds to
support quality professional development and training of teachers and
administrators in the Network.
■ Making the Most of Classroom Interactions (MMCI)
Infant, Toddler & PreK (instructors from NSU Child and Family Network)
■ CLASS Observer Reliability training
○ Provide continued buy-in from program partners to provide high quality
professional learning opportunities to staff
○ Analyze overall performance profile data to address current performance profile
needs of Webster Ready Start Network.
○ As teachers retire and staff changes at all program partner sites, Instructional
Support (PK Domain) and Engaged Support for Learning (Infant/Toddler
Domain) scores are showing a decline indicating that more Professional
Development to target these specific areas is needed.
Goal 3:
- Promote Webster Ready Start website to develop and implement marketing strategies
● Collaborate with WRSN Advisory Council
● Utilize social media for Coordinated Enrollment, outreach, community involvement and
branding the Webster Ready Start Network
- Modified annual coordinated enrollment efforts with program partners
○ Implemented a new digital plan to launch Online Registration
○ Utilized Ready Start Network funds to hire a web designer to create and maintain
a webpage for the network
○ Formed an Advisory Council that meets quarterly (more frequently as needed)
and actively participates in network events
○ Increased community support through local partnerships with Webster Parish
Libraries
○ Distributed brochures to business partners & community members
○ Shared WRSN video with Chamber of Commerce and local community leaders
○ December 2023- Capital Campaign with KTBS Marketing to raise local funding
for B3 seats tuitions for eligible families (funds will be matched 100% by LDOE)
○ Shared this publication with past donors and to recruit new donors
○ Developed a publication Why Donate? Giving is as Easy as 1.2.3 to share with
prospective donors- levels of donations such as: Childhood Champion, Impact Investor, Future Funder, Pathway Paver and Community Contributor to be
collected by January 30, 2025.
- Advisory Council members to share the importance of increasing access to B-3
seats through local funds/state match
Goal 4:
- Partner with Webster Parish libraries to plan & host family engagement activities
● Participate in WEE READ “1000 books by Kindergarten” initiative- provide WEE
READ tote bag and book
● Host multiple Family Engagement activities at various locations to promote the
importance of early literacy, such as Trunk or Treat events, Christmas Activities, Spring
events where books are provided to each family.
● Implement an ASQ family event to offer information and guidance on the Developmental
Screener tool.
- ○ Family engagement events/ partnership with Webster Parish libraries
○ Funding from Ready Start
○ ASQ training for all program partners
○ Born to Read bags delivered to Minden Medical Center for all new moms to
receive after child’s birth
- ○ Outreach to local pediatricians and medical facilities to assist in forming parental
connections for early screening opportunities and proper/accurate interventions if
needed.
○ Construct a mobile children’s museum to actively involve families in
developmentally appropriate play and STEM activities.