Snohomish County Children's Commission

One of the very active committee’s of the Children’s
Commission is the Early Learning Committee (ELC). During
the past year, the Early Learning Committee has
developed a strategic plan that is aligned with the state
Kids Matter framework and the regional early learning
strategic plan being implemented by NWESD #189.

Our vision is that all children have high quality early care
and learning experiences that support optimal growth and
development leading to success in school and life; all
children are ready for school and all schools are ready for
children.

It is the goal of the ELC to develop relationships with local champions and inspire
community stakeholders and leaders to partner with the Snohomish County Children’s
Commission to ensure children in our community are healthy and ready for success in
school and life. We invite you to stand with us in our efforts to grow “ready children” in
Snohomish County.

The Early Learning Committee meets quarterly, and has pledged to:

• Develop strategies and enhance the existing early learning infrastructure in our County
• Develop county-wide and region-wide system goals that align with the WA state’s Kids
Matter framework
• Strengthen connections between the early learning community and school districts
• Begin to determine the activities we feel are necessary to assure that all children enter
kindergarten ready to succeed in school and in life
• Identify future steps the group would like to take to support children, birth to eight, and
their families in Snohomish County

What we are doing now
The ELC is currently working on developing a business plan for the group. A Foundation
for Early Learning Grant has allowed us to hire Dovetailing Consulting to do this work. For
the business plan/roadmap, we are looking at our three main strategies (school linkages
to early learning; parent connections/support; and child social emotional wellness) and
flushing out the various activities that our county would need to do to achieve our goals.
In addition we are looking at our governance structure and how the group will conduct it's
work.

Meetings
Anyone who is interested can attend one of our five subcommittees that meet monthly:

• Steering
• Professional Development
• Family, Friends and Neighbors
• Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender
• Social Emotional Wellness

For all intents and purposes, these subcommittees are where the 'real work' of the ELC is
being done.

Contact
If you'd like to visit us for any of our committee or subcommittee meetings, please don't
hesitate to email the ELC Co-Chairs, Elaine Larson at elaine.larson@del.wa.gov or Caterina
Tassara-Vaubel at ctassara-vaubel@voaww.org.

Committee Members
American Federation of Teachers/Child Care Workforce Alliance • Child Care Providers •
Community Service Agencies • Department of Early Learning • Edmonds Community
College • Everett Community College • Family Support Centers of Snohomish County •
Family, Friend and Neighbor Caregivers • Housing Hope • Little Red School House •
Lutheran Community Services Northwest • North Sound 2-1-1 • Snohomish County Human
Services Department • Providence Children’s Center • Public, Private, and Faith Based
Preschools • School Districts • Sherwood Community Services • Snohomish County
Association for the Education of Young Children • Snohomish County Child Care Resource
& Referral,Volunteers of America Western Washington • Snohomish County Division of
Developmental Disabilities • Snohomish County Early Childhood Education and Assistance
Program • Snohomish County Early Head Start and Head Start Programs • Snohomish
County Family Interagency Coordinating Council • Snohomish County Health District •
Snohomish County Infant Toddler • Early Intervention Program, Department of
Developmental Disabilities, Department of Social and Health Services • Sno-Isle Libraries •
United Way of Snohomish County Success By 6® • Wonderland Developmental Center •
YMCA of Snohomish County