With the creation of the Early Childhood Development and Health Board and the sunsetting of the State School Readiness Board, the GOCYF division formerly known as the School Readiness Board was renamed the Division for School Readiness.  Division staff now focuses on three primary areas:

Linkages to First Things First and the Governor’s P-20 Council
The Division Director serves as Governor Napolitano’s Early Childhood Policy Advisor and acts as a liaison between the Governor’s Office and the Early Childhood Development and Health Board/First Things First.  The Division also staffs an ad hoc early childhood committee of the Governor’s P-20 Council which is working to better align early childhood with the rest of the P-20 education continuum and infuse early childhood policy conversations into the ongoing work of the Council.

Head Start State Collaboration Office
The Division for School Readiness houses the Head Start State Collaboration Office, which helps create a visible presence for Head Start at the state level and to assist in the development of multi-agency and public-private partnerships among Head Start and other interested stakeholders.  Every state is required to have a Head Start Collaboration Office to ensure that Head Start programs, which receive their funding directly from the federal government, are included in state policy and implementation discussions. The Collaboration Director works to integrate the Head Start goals and philosophies into the development of a coordinated statewide system for early care and education.

Partnering with Community and National Stakeholders
The Division partners with community stakeholders on a number of special projects and public/private partnerships, which include a survey of Arizona’s early education workforce’s compensation and credentials, Educare, and the Arizona Early Education Funds. The Division also participates in dialogues related to early childhood education policy and practice for the purpose of sharing information on best practices and effective policy and program development through collaboration with other key state agencies and nonprofits and through participation with national networks such as the National Governor’s Association.  In 2008, Arizona was identified by the Kellogg Foundation and Education Commission of the States as the first of five states to conduct a Governor’s Forum: Linking Ready Kids to Ready Schools.  The 2008 forums – which also will be held in Connecticut, Ohio, Colorado and Pennsylvania – will create a body of knowledge intended to instruct policy makers in state and national government, culminating in a session in Washington in early 2009.

Staff Listing

Contact Us
Division for School Readiness - Director, Eva Lester
1700 West Washington Street, Suite 101
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Phone: (602) 542-3620
Fax: (602) 542-4644