DeSoto Ready Start
2022 - 2023 BlueprintThe DeSoto Ready Start Network is a small rural early childhood network in northwest Louisiana. The network is rated as “High Proficient” within the early childhood rating system. In the 2022/2023 school year, 381 children, ages birth to five, are being served in the community. 100% of our sites use a Tier 1 curriculum. The Network has made steady growth on the district performance profiles over the last five years, increasing to a ‘High Proficient” rating for the network. The number of early childhood sites with a High Proficient rate continues to rise. Currently, one site is rated ‘Excellent’ and five are rated ‘High Proficient’. We added 2 new Type III centers, The Little School of Child Development 2 in November of 2021 and GBaby’s Development Center in May of 2022. We also have added two Type III classes for three year olds at two of our public schools. Those new centers and sites do not have ratings yet.
DeSoto Ready Start Goals
Goal 1
Equip and empower families to increase social, motor, brain and vocabulary development by providing educational materials, books, and hands-on activities.
Goal 2
By year 2025, increase the number of children, ages birth to four, in quality centers by 25%, using 2022 numbers as a guide.
Goal 3
By 2025, the quality of early care and education in the network will improve by increasing the number of “high proficient” or “excellent” centers.
Strategic Plan
Please select the green plus circles in each section to learn more about each goal.
Goal 1:
- Provide a mobile unit that will go out into the community to assist parents with enrollment and provide educational opportunities and supplies for parents to utilize with their children.
- Publish videos on our website to highlight strategies that parents can use with their children.
- Provide parent training that educates parents on developmental milestones, how to recognize deficits and how to advocate for their child.
DeSoto Ready Start website, mobile unit is in the process of being equipped to go out into the community, partnership with Fundamental Pediatric Therapy who will provide developmental videos for the website.
Training platform for parents, supplies for parents to access for child’s development, partner with local libraries to provide information to parents.
Goal 2:
Advertise for Type III childcare centers in the parish. Assist in finding teachers for those centers.
Open a type III 3-year old classroom at North DeSoto Lower Elementary, a public school site in the parish.
Assist in opening a Type III Childcare center in Logansport where there is no available care for children, birth to three.
DeSoto Parish currently has 3 Type III child care centers and one Head Start program operated under the direction of Save The Children The DeSoto Parish School System has a universal four-year old program. We have a Type III Pre-k 3 class at Logansport High School and at Mansfield Elementary. We currently serve 381 children.
Teachers are needed for centers to expand. Open a three-year old classroom with certified instructors at North DeSoto Lower Elementary to reach children who do not qualify for CCAP or Head Start. A Type III center in the Logansport area to provide care for children, birth to three
Track center/school enrollment to see if there is an increase in enrollment.
Goal 3:
- Continued job embedded coaching provided weekly.
- Professional Development on curriculum provided to Type III centers by vendors.
- Professional Development on CLASS through online Teachstone modules and MMCI for new teachers.
- Secure materials and resources needed to help teachers and staff promote high quality experiences for children.
- Provide accurate intervention support using an itinerant early childhood interventionist across the early childhood network.
MMCI training has been provided to all early childhood centers in the parish. Weekly job-embedded professional development clusters are scheduled weekly at all the PK sites. The Type III centers have received professional development from Northwestern State University.
MMCI training is needed for new teachers. The Type III centers and Head Start have higher turnover. There is a need to find and develop employees for these centers.
Track CLASS scores for improvement in the Instructional Domain.