The Early Learning Coalition of Osceola County, Inc. (Coalition) is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization that was created in 1999 by Florida Legislators, with the enactment of Florida Statue 411.  Like its 49 counterparts throughout Florida, the Coalition is responsible for overseeing and funding early childhood and childcare programs using federal, state, lottery and local funding sources.  With a budget of over $6,300,000, the Coalition currently serves approximately 2000 children who meet eligibility requirements in a wide variety of settings including public and private child care centers, family child care homes, and informal settings.

OUR PURPOSE
“The object of all work is production or accomplishment and to either of these ends there must be forethought, system, planning, intelligence, and honest purpose, as well as perspiration. Seeming to do is not doing.”

Thomas A. Edison

The purpose of the Early Learning Coalition of Osceola County is to develop, implement, and monitor a School Readiness Program in which children ages birth to 5 will receive quality, comprehensive services appropriate to their needs to assure their readiness to enter kindergarten.

The Coalition, made up of a volunteer board of community leaders, has invested hundreds of hours in the development and implementation of a community wide strategic plan designed to achieve this goal.

The foundation of the strategic plan is built on the utilization of the existing community infrastructure and available services to respond to the needs of Osceola’s families and children. Key strategies to foster optimal child development, based on research and promising practices, have been incorporated into the plan and adapted to Florida’s cultural and linguistic populations to maximize the culturally diverse needs of our community.

By doing this, Osceola County’s School Readiness programs will provide a seamless system of services that will:

• Ensure optimal child development

• Support and assist all parents in the importance of participating in their child's development and readiness for school

• Increase knowledge to child care providers in the coordination, delivery, maintenance, and quality control of these services

Early Learning Coalition Plan

COALITION OBJECTIVES
Overall objectives that the Coalition is striving to accomplish with the implementation of our strategic plan include:

• Create a collaborative and coordinated quality system of education and care, responsive to community, school and system needs

• Provide leadership through advocacy for school readiness programs and services

• Improve monitoring and reporting of program activities and results to ensure the increased availability and access to quality early education and care services

• Support a variety of programs designed to meet  individual children’s needs and including children from all backgrounds

• Provide coordinated professional development activities

• Increase the number of licensed providers in Osceola County

• Increase awareness and knowledge in parents, providers, and the community at large regarding school readiness issues

• Increase involvement opportunities with individuals, community groups and corporations in school readiness initiatives