The Office of Early Childhood plays a key role in how public schools serve and support the needs of children birth to age eight. The focus has been to coordinate efforts with leaders across APS departments, the City, County, and State along with national experts to play a noteworthy role in developing a delivery system that is responsive to family needs and that is child centered. The relationships, programs and networks that have evolved to date through the Office of Early Childhood require a systems alignment and direction from the District that will continue to build on the strengths of these partnerships and lay a foundation for the future growth of early childhood programs and initiatives.

Our vision is to provide a continuum of developmentally appropriate instructional programs and services that support children in prek-3rd that address the cultural and linguistic diversity of our families.

Our mission is to plan, develop, and implement early care and education (birth to age 8) programs through comprehensive services by developing a seamless system of services for sustainable improvement: infant, ages 3-5, prek-3rd with emphasis on language, literacy, math, science, technology, and the arts.

Our work is to be a gateway to the community and a support system to schools in providing relevant and timely information related to child development and learning issues specific to the young child.

Essential Functions:

• Convene and facilitate monthly community early childhood collaborative meetings and action planning
• Coordinate district-wide early childhood professional development and provide technical support for district initiatives
• Communicate across district departments to ensure alignment with state and district initiatives
• Manage NM PreK budget and compliance requirements
• Provide technical support to schools to comply with the NM PreK contractual requirements
• Communicate and report to PED regarding NM PreK program compliance issues
• Represent District at state level on taskforces related to NM PreK and birth to age 8 issues
• Respectfully engage families by recognizing and promoting the concept that the parent is the child's first teacher.
• Support the District's efforts to communicate early childhood best practices, which address the needs of the whole child, by administering a variety of programs, including: Parent as Teachers, Born to Learn®, and the Nurtured Heart Approach, and by offering parents and schools guidance on best practices for transitioning children from home to school.