Early Childhood Advisory Committee (ECAC)

ECAC Meeting Announcement- November 21

The Early Childhood Advisory Committee (ECAC) will convene on Thursday, November 21, from 1 PM—3 PM to receive updates on ECAC Term Limits, Commission on Early Childhood Care and Education, Virginia Quality Birth to Five (VQB5) Quality Profiles, Head Start Final Rule, and Virginia’s Preservice Training. Additional details can be found in the meeting agenda below in the 2024 ECAC Meeting Schedule section.  

 The meeting will be live streamed for public viewing via the VDOE YouTube Channel. If the live stream is unavailable, please contact earlychildhoodaccess@doe.virginia.gov, and the team will troubleshoot the issue. The recording will be posted within five business days.     

Written and oral public comments will be accepted. The ECAC will accept written public comments in advance of the meeting through the ECAC Comment Form. This form collects public comments for review by the members of ECAC. All comments received by 8 AM on Thursday, November 21, will be shared with ECAC members during the meeting. Any comments received after that time will be shared at the next ECAC meeting.  There will also be an opportunity to sign up for oral public comment during the meeting by providing your name and affiliation. The agenda for this meeting can be found below under the 2024 ECAC Meeting Schedule heading.

Mission of the ECAC

In July 2020, Governor Northam signed early childhood legislation (SB578/HB1012) that transitions oversight of the birth-five early childhood care and education system to the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE). This legislation establishes the Virginia Board of Education (BOE) and VDOE as responsible for oversight and administration of early care and education and creates a single point of accountability for school readiness, effective July 1, 2021.

§ 22.1-289.03 of the Code of Virginia directs the Board of Education (BOE) to establish a unified public-private early childhood care and education system in the Commonwealth. This legislation establishes a single point of accountability for school readiness and makes the BOE and VDOE responsible for overseeing and administering early childhood care and education effective July 1, 2021.

The legislation also establishes the Early Childhood Advisory Committee (ECAC), which is responsible for advising the BOE on all programs, systems, and regulations related to Virginia’s unified early childhood system.

Membership Criteria

In January 2021, the Board selected 22 members to serve on the inaugural ECAC. These members were selected from a pool of over 160 applications. Members will serve a three year term. The members were determined to meet the following categories:

• Publicly-funded, licensed ECEC provider
• ECEC provider that is not publicly funded
• Publicly-funded family day home (FDH) provider
• License-exempt ECEC provider
• Head Start provider
• Local school division or school board that operates an early childhood program
• Nonprofit advocacy organization focused on ECEC
• Professional or faculty member with expertise in child development or ECEC from a Virginia college, university, or other institute of higher education
• Virginia chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
• Advocacy or service organization that focuses on serving children with disabilities
• Business owner, operator, or employee in Virginia
• Parent of a child enrolled in a publicly-funded early childhood program
• Virginia Council on Private Education
• Statewide nonprofit association representing before- and after-school nonprofit child care and preschool providers
• Nonprofit entity that provides child care resource and referral services

ECAC members (PDF) include 22 representatives spanning the diversity of child care and early education programs, advocacy groups, and child development experts in the Commonwealth as required by law. Officials from VDOE and other agencies concerned with the health and welfare of young children serve in a non-voting capacity on the Committee.

• Representing publicly-funded, licensed ECCE providers
  • Cecilia Suarez, Director, Creative Learning School
  • Jennifer Parish, Executive Director, Peake Childhood Center
• Representing ECCE providers that are not publicly funded
  • Clark Andrs, Owner, River’s Bend Children’s Center 
• Representing publicly-funded family day home providers
  • Cheryl Morman, Licensed Family Day Home Provider 
• Representing license-exempt ECCE providers
  • Christen Johnson, Director, First Presbyterian Weekday School and Adjunct Faculty, Lord Fairfax Community College
  •  Erin Edmonson, Preschool Director, Thrasher Preschool / Thrasher United Methodist Church
• Representing Head Start providers
  • Shikee Franklin, Head Start/Early Head Start Director, Hampton Roads Community Action Program
  • Malinda Langford, Vice President, Northern Virginia Family Service
  • Vacant
• Representing local school divisions or school boards that operate early childhood programs
  • Darrell Turner, Virginia Preschool Initiative Teacher, Richmond Public Schools
  • Gina Wohlford, Superintendent, Norton City Schools and Adjunct Professor, Mountain Empire Community College and UVA Wise
• Representing nonprofit ECCE advocacy organizations
  • Vivien McMahan, Vice President of Community Impact, United Way Roanoke Valley
  • Michelle Howard, Executive Director, Kids’ First Years 
• Professional or faculty member with expertise in early childhood from a college or university in Virginia
  • Maryam Sharifian, Assistant Professor, James Madison University
  • Bweikia Foster Steen, Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education, George Mason University
• Representing the Virginia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
  • Bergen Nelson, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU 
• Representing an advocacy or service organization for children with disabilities
  • Sandra Wilberger, Co-Director, Training and Technical Assistance Center at VCU
• Representing business owners, operators, and employees in Virginia
  • Elizabeth Yanez, Corporate Recruiter, K-VA-T Food Stores, INC.
  • Christopher Quinn, President and CEO, Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce
• Representing parents with children enrolled in publicly-funded ECCE programs
  • Valerie Irizarry, Parent and Career Development Teacher, Stafford County Schools
• Representing Virginia Council for Private Education
  • Wendy Lipscomb, Director of Learning, The Blessed Sacrament Huguenot School
• Statewide nonprofit association representing before- and after-school nonprofit child care and preschool providers
  • Holly McCartney, Consultant, Virginia Partnership for Out of School Time
• Representing a nonprofit entity that provides child care resource and referral services
  • Susan Patrick, Director of Childhood Success, EO

ECAC Meeting Schedule

The ECAC will meet periodically throughout the year to review information related to the programs, systems, and regulations related to Virginia’s unified early childhood system. The ECAC abides by the General Policy For Remote Participation in Committee Meetings and Meetings Conducted Virtually.   All meetings are open to the public.

2024 Committee Meeting Dates

2023 Committee Meeting Dates

2022 Committee Meeting Dates

Child Care Licensing Regulatory Work Groups

VDOE is in the process of conducting a comprehensive review of child care licensing regulations and is convening a series of work groups related to the standards for licensed child day centers and family day homes to inform the revised regulations. Information about these work groups and meetings are available below.

2022-2023 Work Group Meeting Dates