Cohorts
Small Group Coaching cohorts
What are Small Group Coaching Cohorts?
Small group coaching cohorts are groups of three programs, individuals, or leadership teams. Each cohort typically is comprised of participants from different locations in Montana. Cohorts are limited to no more than three participants or participating programs. Each cohort comes together to learn about a specific tool, resource, or to work on the same type of project at the same time. Small group cohort participants learn from each other, act as thought partners, hold each other accountable, and the cohort’s coach shares best practices and provides foundational background.
How do I participate?
Participation in small group coaching cohorts is based on submission of an enrollment form for the type of cohort you’re interested in. Enrollment for all small group cohorts is open. Enrollment forms are processed as they are received. Groups are built as enrollment forms come in. Scheduling of cohorts will vary depending on the participants in the group based on daily, weekly, and monthly availability of the individual participants.
Can I get ECP credits?
Yes. Participants in each cohort will receive credit at the end of the cohort for attendance at all cohort sessions, participation in all cohort sessions, and successful completion of required homework. The number of ECP credits varies based on the duration of each cohort.
Peer Pods (Enrollment open!)
In Zero to Five Montana and Montana Child Care Business Connect’s ongoing efforts to provide unique learning environments to support starting, growing, expanding, stabilizing, and exiting child care businesses across Montana, we have created a new approach to Business Technical Assistance (TA). Peer to Peer support groups are nothing new. These types of forums are used as part of entrepreneurial development, within organizations as part of staff development strategies, in professional associations, and in colleges and universities. The goals and objectives vary by intended outcome, but can be valuable methods for sharing, problem solving, and creating accountability to get a project done or make an actionable decision.
Now enrolling:
- Family & Employee Handbooks
- Starting a Child Care Business – The Idea Stage
- Starting a Child Care Business – The Planning Stage
- Starting a Child Care Business – The Launch Stage
Questions? Contact Jason Nitschke at jasonn@zerotofive.org
Program Excellence and Administration Knowledge (PEAK)
Are you a child care provider interested in improving overall program quality? Montana Child Care Business Connect’s Program Excellence and Administration Knowledge (PEAK) small group coaching cohort focuses on improving the business administration practices of your program. PEAK is led by Jason Nitschke, a certified, accredited, and nationally recognized business advisor.
PEAK uses research-backed recommendations developed and published by the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership. During these cohorts, Jason leads participants through monthly meetings, informal self-assessments, and peer-to-peer feedback to create action plans designed to increase quality business practices.
PEAK cohorts are created based on a participant’s licensed or registered program type, Family-Friend-Neighbor (FFN), Family (F), Group (G), or Center (C). PEAK for F/G utilizes McCormick Center’s Business Administration Scale Second Edition (BAS-2). PEAK for Centers utilizes McCormick’s Program Administration Scale Third Edition (PAS-3). Both PAS and BAS are utilized in formal assessments in Montana Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS).
PEAK for F/G cohorts meet five times, typically over a span of five months. Participants step through BAS-2 and its 10 subscales. Each session lasts roughly 60 minutes. Eight ECP credits are awarded upon successful completion. Homework includes informal, self-assessments of the participating program’s business practices specific to each scale being learned.
Enroll in PEAK for Family/Group
PEAK for Centers cohorts meet nine times, typically over nine months. Participants step through PAS-3 and 23 of its 25 subscales. Each session lasts roughly 90 minutes. Eighteen ECP credits are awarded upon successful completion. Homework includes informal, self-assessments of the participating program’s business practices specific to each scale being learned.
Community Child Care Capacity Building Cohorts
Zero to Five Montana’s Community Child Care Capacity Building Cohorts bring together local leaders from across sectors to build sustainable solutions to child care challenges. These cohorts are designed for community members such as early childhood coalition members, local government leaders, business owners, economic development professionals, school representatives, child care providers, parents, and other leaders who want to work collaboratively to improve child care access and quality in their region.
Each cohort is facilitated by our Community Navigator, Shelby Whelan and guided through community development processies and strategies. Participants work together over a six-month to one-year period to better understand their local child care landscape and develop actionable strategies for strengthening their community’s child care system.
During the cohort, participants will engage in collaborative discussions, attend detailed trainings, and gain access to customizable tools and resources that will help them complete the following milestones:
- Build a strong local leadership team
- Collect and analyze community data to understand local child care needs
- Identify community-driven solutions and priorities
- Develop a clear, well-informed action plan
- Implement community-driven, and data-informed solutions
Peer learning with other local leaders on similar journeys, will play a key role in navigating challenges, celebrating successes, and growing the movement of community action for child care systems growth,
By the end of the cohort, communities will have a locally informed action plan and a stronger cross-sector leadership team prepared to advance child care solutions that support families, providers, and the local workforce.