Arlington Alliance of Early Childhood Professionals

(click here for the AAECP website)
 

An important part of the Arlington Child Care Councils' Ready for School strategic plan was to attempt to bring Arlington child care professionals together. 

With 50% of the children who enter Arlington ISD kindergarten coming through the formal child care system, it was clear that if the ACCC wanted those children to all be ready for school then all of those providers would need to somehow work together.

In March 2005, the ACCC brought representatives from the following child care provider communities together:

   - Family Child Care

   - For Profit: chains and independent

   - Non Profit:  social service, faith-based, Head Start

   - AISD Pre-K

   - Mothers Day Out

   - Montessori

By Summer 2005, representatives from the Arlington child care community created a new organization: 
        Arlington Alliance of Early Childhood Professionals

In addition to forming the AAECP, members:

1. Determined the needs they have in common (prioritized by importance):

   - for quality staff training/staff development 

   - to increase access to formal child care for low-income  
parents

   - to identify, recruit and retain quality staff

   - for a unifying principle such as standardized outcomes, curriculum, best practices

   - for parent involvement/parent education

   - to improve the community perception of Child Care Professionals

   - a coordinated fund development effort for the Arlington child care industry

2. Chose two Arlington early childhood professionals to co-chair the AAECP:

   - Kim Bihm, a family child care provider
   - Pam Dunbar, Head of School, The Montessori Academy

3. Developed organizational guidelines for the AAECP