📣 VDOE Readiness Connections Update: March 22, 2022

Tuesday, March 22, 2022

Child Care Centers and Family Day Homes  |  Virginia Preschool Initiative  | Early Childhood Special Education  |  Head Start  | VQB5  | Early Learning

Child Care Centers and Family Day Homes

Accepting ARPA Child Care Stabilization Grant applications through March 30 (CORRECTED DATE)

March 30, 2022 is the LAST day to apply for the Child Care Stabilization Grant Program. Visit https://doe.virginia.gov/childcaregrants for application details, a link to the application portal, and an updated FAQ guide. Additional resources will be posted to the grant website within the coming weeks.

For technical assistance or additional informational resources, please visit our partners at the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation at www.vecf.org/arpa. 

Online Reporting Tool for Reporting Serious Injuries Requiring Outside Medical Treatment

Subsidy vendors and licensed child day centers are required to notify the Department of all occurrences of an injury to a child in care requiring outside medical treatment, but all child care providers are encouraged to report serious injuries that occur in their settings.  An online Child Requiring Outside Medical Treatment form is available on the VDOE’s website to assist providers in meeting this reporting requirement.

Virginia Preschool Initiative

VPI Spring Access and Inclusion - Webinar Series for VPI Coordinators, Two Parts Remaining

This informational series will address expansions and enhancements to VPI, ways to expand enrollment, and updates to the VPI Guidelines. This is an excellent way to prepare for Spring Application and the upcoming school year.  All meetings will be recorded and shared following the session. All meetings are scheduled for 2:00 p.m.

• VPI Spring Access and Inclusion Webinar
• March 30 & April 13 at 2 PM
• Registration Required - Link will register for all events
  
  

VPI Spring Access and Inclusion- Webinar 1 Recording

This is the recording of the first webinar, Expanded Pathways for Access and Choice, presented on March 16, 2022. 

Office Hours: VPI Spring Access and Inclusion

Office hours will be every Thursday at 2:00 p.m. for the duration of the series. This is an opportunity to ask questions and clarify items related to the webinar series. There is also an opportunity to brainstorm with VDOE staff and other division VPI staff. 

• Office Hours: VPI Spring Access and Inclusion
• Thursdays at 2 PM March 17 - April 14
• Register once for all days

Early Childhood Special Education

Nominations for the Aspiring Special Education Leaders Academy, Cohort XV

The VDOE is planning for the fifteenth cohort of its Aspiring Special Education Leaders Academy. This special education leadership initiative is a yearlong program (August 2022-August 2023) designed to help prepare potential leaders for administrative positions in special education. The VDOE is now accepting one application per school division, state-operated program, regional program, and training and technical assistance center, for Academy participation.

• Nominations for the Aspiring Special Education Leaders Academy, Cohort XV
  
  

Standards-Based Individualized Education Program Guidance and Resources

Superintendent's Memo # 053-22 provides information about updated training and guidance documents on the development of Individualized Education Programs (IEP). To supplement the current Standards-Based Individualized Education Program Guidance Document, the VDOE developed Models for Developing High-Quality Present Level of Academic and Functional Performance Descriptions and Goals in a Standards-Based Individualized Education Program. Additionally, Meaningful IEP Online Training Modules were created to increase IEP Team members’ understanding of the IEP process.

• Standards-Based Individualized Education Program Guidance and Resources

Head Start

Maternal Health Intervention

Early Head Start and Head Start programs provide essential services to prenatal families in the communities they serve.  To continue those services the National Center on Health, Behavioral Health and Safety is providing a webinar co-facilitated by the Centers for Disease Control that will focus on maternal and infant birth outcomes.  The resources that participants will acquire  include supports that can be implemented through Health Services for prenatal families. Spanish interpretation will be available.

• March 30, 2022 from 2 PM - 3 PM
• Register

VQB5 - Virginia's Unified Measurement and Improvement System

VQB5 Practice Years Update 

Last week during the Quality Matters: Practice Years Update Webinar, VDOE shared a progress update on current Practice Year 1 activities, along with an overview of the plans and enhancements for Practice Year 2 (2022-2023).  The Proposed Guidelines for Practice Year 2 will be shared with the Early Childhood Advisory Committee (ECAC) on March 24th and then with the Board of Education in April. 

• March 16th Webinar Recording 

Link to Practice Year 2 Proposal Feedback Survey. Survey will remain open until April 15th, 2022

Early childhood programs interested in learning more about VQB5 Practice Year 2, can complete this form and a Ready Regions representative will follow up to provide additional information and next steps. 

Early Learning Support

Update on Early Childhood Curriculum in VQB5 - Webinar Recording 

As a follow up to the Quality Matters: Practice Years Update Webinar, VDOE has released a pre-recorded webinar which focuses on the multiple ways Virginia is expanding access to quality early childhood curriculum options for programs participating in VQB5. 

• VQB5 Curriculum Options and Access (Practice Years 1 and 2) Pre-Recorded Webinar (32:48 minutes)
• Presentation Slides (PDF)

Important reminder: Programs participating in VQB Practice Years have multiple options for selecting a VDOE-approved curriculum, including accessing STREAMin3. Read about Early Childhood Curriculum Options for VQB5.

Get to Know STREAMin3 - Spring Webinar Series Begins April 7

The STREAMin3 curriculum model is an open-resource curriculum option available to all publicly-funded birth to five programs in Virginia at low-to-no cost. Watch the STREAMin3 Introduction Video (1.46 minutes).

The STREAMin3 team is hosting an introductory webinar on Thursday, April 7th at 12:30 PM, the first in a series of spring sessions about STREAMin3. Register to attend the live session or to receive the recording via email following the April 7th event. 

Waterford Upstart Summer Learning Program Available Again for Virginia’s Rising Kindergarteners

The Waterford Upstart Summer Learning Program, which was piloted in Virginia last summer, will again be available at no cost to families with children preparing to enter kindergarten in Fall 2022. Families can call 888-982-9898 or go to this link to apply for the Summer Learning Path. 

Waterford Upstart Summer Learning Program - flyer