January 2015 Reminders and Links
Jan. 5: ECEAP Eligibility Training completed
Jan. 9: ECEAP contractors and Head Start grantees survey due
Jan. 9: ECEAP and Head Start Family Support Staff survey due
Jan. 15: (optional) DSHS Confidential Client Contact Information form due
Feb. 18-19: New Coach Framework Training
Feb. 28: Teachers finalize the Winter checkpoint in GOLD® Online
March 15: Submit completed Funding Renewal Application for the following biennium
Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP)
WSIPP was directed by the Legislature in 2013 to conduct a comprehensive retrospective outcome and return on investment analysis of ECEAP. The study used existing data from 2003-2004 through 2008-2009. During this time period, ECEAP saw an increase in the number of class hours and implementation of family support case load requirements. The following is an abbreviated list of the results.
- ECEAP had a positive impact on third, fourth and fifth grade test scores. The impact was almost twice as large as the average effect found on research reviewed in other states’ early childhood programs.
- After six years, on average, the children who attended ECEAP are doing better on standardized tests than those who did not attend ECEAP.
- Washington’s ECEAP program had almost double the impact on children’s test scores as early childhood programs in other states
Download the full report here.
Federal Preschool Grant Update
While the Department of Early Learning (DEL) did not receive the Federal Preschool Grant, DEL continues to move forward with creating more Pathways to BA Degrees, implementing evidenced-based curriculum training, supporting shared services, and enhancing special services for at-risk children. More information on the successful federal preschool grant applicants can be found here.
The ECEAP contract amendments were emailed on December 12, 2014 from our contracts office. Please review the amendment, print two complete copies of the contract, and sign both signature pages with an original signature. Scan one signature page and email it to del.contracts@del.wa.gov and mail one complete contract amendment and both signature pages with original signatures to: DEL Contract Office, PO Box 40970, Olympia, WA 98504-0970. Please keep one complete copy of the contract for your records. One signature page will be returned to you with the DEL signature to complete your copy.
The logistics for the POWG meetings are being finalized. Here are the dates and locations for the remaining meetings:
- January 23, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Location: Green River Community College – Kent Station, 417 Ramsay Way, Kent, WA 98032
Register: Register here by January 9 and indicate any special dietary needs.
- February 20, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Location: St. Luke's Community Health Education Center, 3333 Squalicum Parkway Bellingham WA 98225
Register: Register here by February 2 and indicate any special dietary needs.
- March 24, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Location: Educational Service District 112, 2500 NE 65th Avenue Vancouver, WA 98661
Register: Register here by March 6 and indicate any special dietary needs.
- May 8, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Location: NEWESD 101, 4202 South Regal Street Spokane WA 99223
Register: Register here by April 24 and indicate any special dietary needs.
DEL plans to implement a differentiated approach to family support in the 2015-16 school year that tailors services to family strengths and needs. DEL is also establishing a menu of research-based ECEAP family support models to enhance children’s learning and development, family engagement and well-being. The surveys will help DEL learn about ways to promote alignment and offer resources and supports to help ECEAP contractors implement the menu for family support models in ECEAP. The surveys take approximately 15 minutes. If there are additional family support models to suggest, please send them to eceap@del.wa.gov before Jan. 23, 2015.
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ECEAP contractors and Head Start grantees survey
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Family support staff survey
Annually, DEL provides ECEAP contractors with the names and addresses of DSHS client families with children who may be eligible for ECEAP. If you want to receive this family contact information:
DEL is revising MERIT, the Managed Education and Registry Information Tool, to manage ECEAP staff qualifications. It will be ready for ECEAP by March 1. Please prepare to do the following:
- Between March 1 and June 30, 2015, all ECEAP lead teachers, assistant teachers, and family support specialists must enter their current employment record and staff qualifications in MERIT. Watch this newsletter for instructions.
- As part of the process, staff will need to mail copies of official transcripts, diplomas, and certificates. If necessary, this is a good time to order those transcripts. Exceptions: Staff who have been previously verified by DEL (or CTED in 2006 or earlier) as fully qualified for their positions will not need to mail transcripts.
- This process will trigger a financial award for staff based on MERIT participation and educational achievement, unless they have previous claimed the award.
ECEAP Eligibility Training module: By January 5, 2015, all staff who verify ECEAP eligibility are required by your contract with DEL to complete this online training. The training takes about one hour. You must pass the test with a score of 80% or higher. Please print out your certificate of completion and provide it to your supervisor. Contact elms@del.wa.gov if you encounter technical difficulty with the module.
Tip of the Month: Use the ELMS Alerts in Child Search to make sure child records are up-to-date:
- On the ELMS Child Search page, enter “Enrolled in Class” in the Status field and click the Search button.
- Notice any children with a red circle with exclamation point to the left of their name. These occur for children who need follow up on developmental screenings, IEPs, or health services.
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Click the red circle and read the popup to see what follow-up action is needed. Checking these monthly will save you time when you are exiting children at the end of the year.
ELMS was updated on December 18 with these and other improvements:
- Over-income status is now displayed as a small “OI” icon on the waiting list. Hover over the icon to see the federal poverty level.
- If a family has a change in parents, you can now make this change on the Child/Family Updates > Household page. Click the blue button “Change Household Situation.” The original information will still display in the child’s application.
- If a family has a change in work or training hours and you now want to qualify them for Extended Day ECEAP, you can now make this change on the Child/Family Updates > Household page. Click the blue button “Change Work/Training Situation.” The original information will still display in the child’s application.
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Pages to add or edit staff in ELMS have been revised. If you need assistance, email elms@del.wa.gov or check the ELMS Administrators manual after 1/1/15.
- Full School Day classes may now be scheduled in ELMS with 4 days a week and up to 7.5 hours a day to better match some of the schedules already in use.
- You may now sort columns in Bulk Updates.
Teachers finalize the Winter checkpoint in GOLD® Online by February 28. This date was inadvertently left out of the Deliverables Calendar in the ECEAP contract. Ratings are required for Social-Emotional, Physical, Language, Cognitive, Literacy and Mathematics. Please ensure that ECEAP is selected as the “funding source” even if a child transfers to another funding source such as Head Start or Migrant Seasonal Head Start. You can have more than one funding source selected for a child. This allows DEL to report outcomes on ECEAP children even if they have left the program.
Capital Region ESD 113, OSPI, DEL, Thrive-by-Five and other partners are hosting a three-day conference featuring keynote speakers and numerous breakout sessions focused on P-3 alignment and implementation including WaKIDS, Full-day Kindergarten, the Early Learning Guidelines and Common Core, Community Collaboration and much more! JOIN US at the Greater Tacoma Convention Center on Aug. 3-5, 2015. Superintendents, principals, K-3 teachers, child care providers and community agency partners will attend this special three-day event. There will not be a separate Full-day Kindergarten Institute this year: Instead Full-day Kindergarten sessions will be interwoven throughout the three-day Starting Strong Institute. Registration will begin April 1.
The purpose of the Institute is to bring together Early Learning Professionals and K-12 educators for discussions about innovation and alignment between systems.
Goals of the Starting Strong P-3 Institute:
- Increase connections between Early Learning and K-12 professionals;
- Apply theory to practice within a P-3 framework;
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Present information about Washington's Early Learning priorities, initiatives, and promising practices.
You are invited to submit a proposal to present at the 2015 conference. Starting Strong is well known within the State of Washington for providing high quality, evidence based training for professionals working with young children and their families. Last year, attendance exceeded 500 participants. To submit a proposal or for additional information email: http://startingstrong.net/presenters.html. The deadline to apply is February 15, 2015.
Preschool Teachers and Early Learning Directors are encouraged to apply for the 2015-2016 Teaching and Principal Ambassador Fellowship. Applications for ED’s 2015-2016 cohort of Teaching and Principal Ambassador Fellows are now available!
For more information about the application process, visit the Teaching and Principal Ambassador Fellowship program pages or go directly to the applications for the Teaching and Principal Fellowships on USAJobs.gov. The deadline to apply is January 20, 2015 at 11:59 pm, ET.
Quick Links:
Pay for Success National Conference and Technical Assistance
- Jan. 8; 5:00 p.m.; online
The South Carolina-based Institute for Child Success (ICS), a leader in Pay for Success (PFS) finance for early childhood programs nationally, offers jurisdictions interested in improving outcomes for children and bringing new resources to early childhood programs two exciting opportunities: a national conference on Early Childhood Pay for Success, and Technical assistance to help jurisdictions move from interest in Pay for Success to implementation.
New Coach Framework Training
- Feb. 18-19; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Location: Childcare Quality and Early Learning (CQEL) office, 5001 25th Ave. NE Suite 201E, Seattle, WA 98105
Registration: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/febcoach2015
Evaluating Early Childhood Educators: Prekindergarten Through Third Grade
This webinar provides a supplemental guide as an extension to the Center on Great Teachers and Leader's (GTL) resource, Practical Guide to Designing Comprehensive Teacher Evaluation Systems. Learn about the development, recommended uses and expected tools from the supplemental guide. Key state leaders will share successes and challenges their state agencies experienced when implementing evaluation systems for teachers in the early grades. Register here.
American Montessori Society 2015 Annual Conference
- March 12 to 15; Philadelphia
The American Montessori Society will be having their annual conference in Philadelphia. Find more information here.
Current Practice and Research
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A recent Early Childhood Research & Practice (ECRP) journal, shared an article on A Learning Combination: Coaching with CLASS and the Project Approach. The research focused on the effectiveness of coaching in improving the quality of teacher-child instructional interactions.
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The American Psychological Association blog, Psychology Benefits Society, recently featured the question “What Could Make Less Sense Than Expelling A Preschooler?” In addition to “common-sense recommendations” for programs, the blog found investing in systems of early childhood mental health consultation as showing promise in reducing expulsions and suspensions.
- Association of a Full-day vs. Part-day Preschool Intervention with School Readiness, Attendance, and Parent Involvement
A study by Arthur Reynolds on the Midwest Child Parent Center program considered the impact of half-day versus full-day preschool on more than 900 children. They found that children attending the full-day preschool program had greater gains on tests in 4 of 6 domains including socio-emotional development, math, and language, as well as higher attendance and lower chronic absence rates compared to those in a part-day program. See the study here.
Professional Development
The Child Care Exchange daily email recently shared the Alberta Family Wellness Initiative’s animated video, which presents the core story of brain development in an accessible and visually engaging format. This video, "How Brains are Built: The Core Story of Brain Development," can be used in staff development and parent education as well as advocacy efforts.
Family Engagement
Free parenting video series available from Zero to Three shows how adult interactions shape the growth and learning of infants and toddlers.
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