Early Childhood Education

The Early Childhood Advisory Council or “ECAC” is an advisory group of community stakeholders interested in the education and welfare of children in preschool through grade 3 that is assembled by the school district.

(N.J.A.C.6A:13A-1.2)

• Council Affairs
• Needs Assessment
• Community Engagement
• Transition

• Ensures each member has a clearly defined and executable role
• Coordinates the nomination process and assists with the review of applications to help fill vacancies
• Works with the Community Parent Involvement Specialist to make sure that all materials are accessible and current on the district website.

This committee works closely with administration to:

• Generate survey items
• Supports survey data collection and entry
• Compiles and analyzes results and interprets themes and significant findings
• Shares survey results with the Council, Bergenfield’s BOE, and families

The Community Engagement Committee works closely with our Community Parent Involvement Specialist to elevate Bergenfield’s Early Childhood Program profile within the community by actively engaging the community at large and sharing the program’s accomplishments. They will create and leverage innovative outreach tools, including social media vehicles like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, in an effort to communicate with families and the greater Bergenfield community.

This committee provides transition guidance and support for Pre-Kindergarten through Kindergarten families by

• Using existing resources or by identifying and creating new resources
• Identifying and creating new resources that can help ease the transition to and from pre-kindergarten, into Kindergarten, and through grade three
• Suggest adaptations corresponding with local needs/composition/community dynamics

• Contracting private providers, if applicable
• Head Start agency, if applicable
• School district personnel
• Parents
• Community stakeholders
• District community parent involvement specialist

Include but not limited to:

• Participate in obtaining specific community needs and resources as they pertain to the implementation of high-quality preschool services
• Serve as the conduit between community needs and resources
• Ensure no duplication between other community/education councils, but rather alignment and coordination
• Review and comment on the district’s self-assessment of the program and other plans as they pertain to the implementation of high-quality preschool services

• Meet at least quarterly
• Elect its own leadership and adopt its own bylaws
• Be led by the CPIS and one elected co-chair community representative
• Concentrate on preschool, as well as, the preschool through third grade continuum
• Design an evaluation method to assess the effectiveness of the ECAC in meeting their goals and objectives
• Create sub-groups to work independently and in tandem on issues relevant to the their expertise on identified needs and projects