Collaborating With Community-Based Organizations
Delivery of prekindergarten programs in °ÄÃÅÌØÂëÍõ is unique since it utilizes a mixed delivery system. Partnerships exist between Head Start programs, Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) and school districts to provide prekindergarten instruction to three- and four-year-old students.
To be successful, these partnerships require stakeholders to have a clear and shared understanding of:
- high quality early childhood education and care;
- community-wide benefits of the partnership;
- how to implement comprehensive services;
- differing policies and regulations that each partner operates under and how to coordinate these differences ; and
- how to manage, monitor and coordinate the partnership and associated services
Request for Proposal (RFP) Guidance
requires school districts to set aside, at a minimum, 10% of their allocation to collaborate with eligible agencies to assist in running a UPK program. This guidance document is intended to help school districts develop a process that ensures fair and open competition when seeking eligible agencies to collaborate with for prekindergartenprogramming. Using a Request for Proposal (RFP), the district should detail every aspect of therequirements of a proposed prekindergarten program. Districts can refer to for a detailed description of the Regulations of the Commissioner regarding the competitive process requirements.
The Office of Children and Family Services serves New York's public by promoting the safety, permanency and well-being of our children, families and communities.ÌýOCFS is dedicated to improving the integration of services for New York’s children, youth, families and vulnerable populations; to promoting their development; and to protecting them from violence, neglect, abuse and abandonment. The agency provides a system of family support, juvenile justice, child care and child welfare services that promote the safety and well-being of children and adults.Ìý
- : Search for OCFS licensed childcare providers and view their inspection histories.
- : Find contact information for regional OCFS offices.
Tip Sheet: Community-Based Organization/Head Start/ School District Prekindergarten Collaborations
This Tip SheetÌýis an outline of the areas that partners should consider before creating a formal partnership agreement. This document is intended to serve as a guide to aide in partnership formation and delegation of roles – it is for internal use and does not need to be turned in to the °ÄÃÅÌØÂëÍõ. It can also be used for an annual self-assessment.Ìý
Located on the NYS Council on Children and Families website, this guide is intended as a supplement to the Early Childhood Guide to Blending & Braiding in New York. The information is similar to the earlier guide; however, this one focuses more on braiding and blending action steps and scenarios related to all early childhood education program providers. This publication was developed as a practical tool to support the planning process that leads to a blended or braided fiscal model. It walks the reader through several scenarios of blending and braiding as a fiscal strategy and also contains detailed definitions on blending and braiding.
More resources are available at the .
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Recorded on July 26, 2022, provided informationÌýabout how school districts can contract with eligible agencies to meet the 10% collaboration requirement for state-administered prekindergarten.
Best Practices for UPK Collaboration Webinar
The Best Practices for UPK Collaboration webinar, which took place on March 13th, 2024, provides an overview of best practices for districts as they seek to partner with Community Based Organizations (CBOs) to provide prekindergarten programming. Presenters from the Office of Early Learning were joined by district and CBO representatives from Whitney Point CSD to share insights on building successful prekindergarten programs with agencies in the community.Ìý
NYS Prekindergarten Health and Safety Checklist
A school district that is operating a prekindergarten (PreK) program must follow uniform quality standards for PreK classrooms located in both school buildings and community-based organization (CBO) sites.Ìý The school district must ensure that facilities that house its PreK program are safe for the children in the program, as described inÌý.
To assist school districts in fulfilling these obligations, the Office of Early Learning has developed aÌýHealth and Safety Checklist. School districts are encouraged to complete this checklist for each of its PreK sites annually, at a minimum.Ìý School districts may revise the checklist to include additional items that are relevant to its specific partnership(s).Ìý In addition, districts should develop plans to ensure that identified deficiencies are corrected and documented.