State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond has appointed Stephen Propheter as the new Director of the Early Learning and Care Division at the California Department of Education. The division provides leadership and support to contractors and the child development community, ensuring high-quality early education programs are provided to children ages birth to 13 years. “Stephen’s wealth of management knowledge, innovative leadership approach, and collaborative skills will enable his division to provide crucial support to the child development community,” said Thurmond, in a news release. “His passion, expertise, and compassion will be well-utilized in ensuring that California’s youngest learners have the supports needed to succeed in school and life.” Propheter joined the CDE 12 years ago, serving in a variety of capacities in the Child Development and Nutrition Fiscal Services Unit in the Fiscal and Administrative Services Division, including budget and fiscal policy. He joined the ELCD as Associate Director in April 2019, overseeing the ELCD’s monitoring and administrative operations.  As the ELCD Associate Director, he provided leadership in the implementation of the ELCD Strategic Plan, including continuing to build on the division’s work on equity and improving access to high-quality early learning and care programs. Propheter brings to the ELCD a track record of building strong relationships with early learning and care stakeholders and contractors at the local and state level. Additionally, as a licensed family child care provider for several years, he gained insight into some of the challenges and opportunities in operating California’s mixed-delivery early learning and care programs.  As the new ELCD Director, Propheter will provide leadership to continue the division’s work to improve access, partnering with other divisions in the Opportunities for All Branch to ensure that all of California’s youngest learners thrive. Propheter earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from California State University, Sacramento. He replaces Sarah-Neville Morgan, who was appointed the Deputy Superintendent of the Opportunities for All Branch in June. Propheter started his new role as ELCD Division Director on Oct. 11.

In an effort to help spread awareness and further understanding, The Sikh Council on Religion and Education and ValleyPBS have partnered to create and air video shorts that showcase realistic interactions between Sikh children and non-Sikh children.  The four 15-second public service announcements explore common questions kids have about Sikh values, such as why Sikhs wear a turban and why many Sikhs have the same last name. The public service announcements, airing during episodes of Caillou, Sesame Street and other popular PBS kids shows, explain that the Sikh turban/patka (head-covering often worn by Sikh males) is a reminder to treat everyone equally and with kindness. According to a Sikh Coalition survey, “60 percent of young Sikh males who maintain turbans/patkas state that they have been harassed and verbally or physically abused because of their faith.” Therefore, the primary goal of this effort is to educate non-Sikh children about the visual identity of Sikhs and the faith’s core belief in equality in order to prevent this kind of bullying. “As a mother of two young boys who wear patkas, this effort is personally relevant and incredibly important in raising awareness of our faith,” said Anjleen Kaur Gumer, executive director of the National Sikh Campaign. “Our aim is to connect with young children who interact with Sikh children, especially kids aged 2-10 and their parents who often watch PBS shows together.” ValleyPBS has also worked with the We Are Sikhs campaign to produce three interstitials to share the stories of three Sikh Americans that live in California’s Central Valley. These stories focus on the hard work and contributions of Sikh Americans in this region and the Sikh values of gender equality and service to others.  ValleyPBS is the Central Valley’s only community licensed public television station, serving homes from Merced to Bakersfield.  Educators who wish to learn more about this anti-bullying campaign and view or share these videos in classrooms, can visit .

The California Department of Education has been awarded a $37.5 million federal Comprehensive Literacy State Development grant that will provide the necessary funds to allow for the expansion of current literacy efforts statewide over the next five years. “Many of the students who are struggling with reading comprehension or are not reading at grade level are our most vulnerable students — economically disadvantaged students, English language learners, students with disabilities, and students in rural communities,” State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said in an news release. “This grant will allow us to promote and support equitable access to high-quality literacy instruction that will benefit not only our high-need students but all of our students from pre-K to high school.” The CDE is partnering with WestEd, the Region 15 Comprehensive Center, the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association, First 5, and the California Subject Matter Projects to carry out the grant’s three objectives:

• Build state capacity to support literacy instruction.
• Develop and implement a comprehensive state literacy plan.
• Build local capacity to establish, align, and implement literacy initiatives.