Building Early Learning Leaders (BELL)
School leaders are best equipped to lead exemplary early learning programs when provided with the right resources and a community of peers, to learn and strategize together. Learn, grow, lead, as part of the Building Early Learning Leaders network improvement community.
Purpose
Building Early Learning Leaders (BELL) is a cohort-based program designed for school leaders and administrators to strengthen their leadership of early learning programs in their schools by identifying and implementing strong early learning practices. Expert early learning leadership coaches from VOCEL partner closely with you to determine the most pressing challenges in your early learning program and develop a tailored action plan, working alongside you and your team to support implementation and improve outcomes for our earliest learners.
Benefits for Participating Leaders
BELL members receive:
Group professional development, with accompanying ISBE professional development hours
On the ground implementation support via coaching for your school’s leadership team
Progress monitoring for the 2024-25 school year
Access to online modules and ready-to-use resources
Invitations to learning and social events with panel discussions, guest speakers, and networking
A network of CPS school leaders committed to early learning excellence
Program Commitments
To get the most out of the improvement community, we ask for participants to:
Virtually attend quarterly 2-hour community learning events
Attend additional networking and in-person events (Optional)
Engage in monthly coaching visits with BELL coaches
Occasionally serve as an ambassador of BELL and refer other school leaders and teachers to VOCEL's program offerings
Eligibility
We are prioritizing accepting schools who meet a combination of the following criteria:
Commit to two years as the programming is built on a two-year model
Schools with Title I designation
At least one Pre-K classroom
Identified Early Childhood focus on CIWP or in other school priorities
Ability to dedicate time and human resources (school leader and up to 2 additional adult-facing staff members) to focused improvement effort
We are accepting priority applications now through Monday, September 16, 2024! Rolling admissions thereafter depending on space availability.
Have any questions? Join us for a virtual info session on Tuesday, September 10 from 3-4 pm. Click here to RSVP!