Debra Silverman, PhD joined First 5 California in March 2013 as Program Administrator in First 5 California’s Program Management Division, Training and Continuous Quality Improvement Unit, where she brings her education and experience in program development and evaluation. She is responsible for statewide quality improvement projects such as coaching and training quality processes, guides workforce development and higher education supports, and works with the Research and Evaluation unit on various project-specific and statewide evaluation efforts.
Before joining First 5 California, Debra served as Program Officer at First 5 Contra Costa for 11 years, where she developed school readiness programs in four large school districts leading to a countywide QRIS and Contra Costa’s participation in the state’s Race-to-the-Top Early Learning Challenge Grant. She also led development of parenting education resources and curriculum used by the county’s home visitors and family resource centers. During this time, she also was a trainer on the Classroom Assessment Scoring System tools, and faculty at Brandman University. Prior to that, she was a Preschool Director for a large public preschool in Contra Costa and an Educational Researcher at RPP International for several federally funded school reform studies.
Debra is a graduate of University of Colorado, Denver, where she earned a PhD in Educational Leadership and Innovation and a Masters’ Degree in Educational Administration.
Forum Presentation
Current Status of Early Childhood Education in California
Part A: Spotlight on the Role of Higher Education in Quality Counts California
Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) play an integral role in preparing early childhood educators to meet the emerging expectations of California’s high quality, unified early childhood system, and reducing barriers to participation. When faculty are fully engaged in local QCC efforts, educators are more likely to acquire a strong knowledge base, competencies and skills to participate fully in QCC, develop mutual understanding around the language of quality, and cultivate a continuous quality improvement stance. Session participants will provide feedback on proposed QCC goals and action steps for reducing barriers and engaging faculty as full partners in local consortia.