📣 VDOE Readiness Connections Update: November 8, 2022

Tuesday, November 8, 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

Free Lead Poisoning Prevention Resources - Recorded Webinar

The Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program with the Virginia Health Department (VDH) has announced that lead poisoning prevention toolkit resources, educational materials and a recording of the Child Care & Lead Poisoning Prevention webinar held on October 18 are now available on the VDH website.  Childhood lead poisoning is considered the most preventable environmental disease among children.  Check out these resources today to learn how to prevent lead exposure in children.

Virginia Preschool Initiative 

Early Childhood Provisionally Licensed Teacher Incentive Program - For School Divisions - Application Closes November 11

The application for the Early Childhood Provisionally Licensed Teacher Program are due on November 11. This grant is only open to teachers in pre-k programs operated by school divisions (VPI, ECSE, or others). This program provides up to $30,000 each for school divisions for the sole purpose of providing financial incentives to provisionally licensed teachers that are working in preschool programs operated by a school division applications are due by November 11.  For detailed information and the application, please see Superintendent’s Memo #202-22.

Early Childhood Special Education

Inclusive Classroom Profile (ICP) Virtual Overview Session - Webinar on November 28

The ICP is a structured observation rating scale designed to assess the quality of classroom practices that support the developmental needs of children with disabilities in early childhood settings. Early childhood administrators and coaches are invited to attend this free virtual overview session. Participants will learn more about the ICP, including how to administer and score the measure in inclusive early childhood settings. Registration is limited to 30 participants.

• November 28, 2022, 12:00 – 4:30 p.m.
• Registration

Recording Available: Autism Center for Excellence (ACE) Webcast on Social Communication 

VCU ACE presented a webcast on November 1 featuring Dr. Connie Kasari, leading expert on joint attention in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The webcast explores early core challenges in social communication, including joint attention, among young children with ASD. The webcast was recorded. 

Early Childhood Provisionally Licensed Teacher Incentive Program- Applications due November 11 - For School Divisions - See VPI Section for more information.

Head Start

Conducting Background Checks in Head Start Programs

To gauge the implementation of the updated Head Start Program Performance Standard 45 CFR §1302.90(b) which became effective September 30, 2021, the Office of Head Start is encouraging programs to participate in upcoming opportunities to share data specific to workforce requirements and concerns. Survey invitations will be forwarded to Head Start Directors via the Head Start Enterprise System. Additionally, for answers to questions regarding comprehensive background check processes, review the new OHS Background Check FAQ’s.

Enrollment Reductions and Conversion of Head Start Slots to Early Head Start Slots

As recipient agencies are continuing to focus on recovery, the Office of Head Start (OHS) recognizes that agencies may need to shift their level of services based on community needs. To support administrative decisions OHS has released information memorandum ACF-IM-HS-22-09 that highlights considerations for enrollment reduction or conversions. A change in scope request must be submitted as part of a continuation grant or amendment through the Head Start Enterprise System at least 90 days prior to implementation date.

VQB5 - Virginia's Unified Measurement and Improvement System

VQB5 Coaching Services 2022-2023

In VQB5, several organizations are funded through VDOE state and federal sources to provide coaching to VQB5 programs focused on improving teacher-child interactions, as measured by CLASS. Ready Regions lead agencies work with these organizations to ensure coaching options are available to the VQB5 programs who need support the most. 

• Learn more about VQB5 Coaching Services for Practice Year 2

Click here to learn more about VQB5!

Click here to learn more about Ready Regions!

Early Learning Support

Fall PreK Language and Literacy Screener Term Closes this Friday, November 11

Friday, November 11 marks the end of the assessment term for the Virginia Literacy Partnerships’ (VLP)- PreK Language and Literacy Screener. Thank you for your hard work and dedication to collect actionable literacy data on Virginia’s youngest learners! 

Read about  term/window reminders and post-assessment recommendations on the VKRP Blog (sign-up for updates). As a reminder, the VKRP fall assessment term ended on 11/4. Have you explored your reports yet?

Need support with assessment completion or have other questions? Contact:

• VKRP at vkrp@virginia.edu or by telephone at (866) 301-8278
• VLP at literacy@virginia.edu or by telephone at (888) 882-7257
• Chat options are also available while you are logged into the system.
  
  

Spanish Translation of Virginia’s Early Learning and Development Standards Now Available

New! Spanish translation of Virginia’s Early Learning and Development Standards (ELDS), Birth-Five Learning Guidelines now available to educators and families. Please download and/or share the link to this new digital resource as helpful.