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Tuesday, December 10, 2024
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One More Chance to Share Your Experiences and Help improve Early Care and Education in Virginia
To hear from as many providers as possible, our partners at UVA have extended the deadline for the Child Care Provider Survey!
If you are not one of the 1,700 center and family day home leaders who have already done so, you now have until January 10 to complete it and receive a $30 gift card! Eligible respondents will also be entered in a $100 raffle.
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Child Care Centers and Family Day Homes
Potable Water Lead Testing
January 1, 2025, VDOE will begin determining compliance with the potable water lead testing law, § 22.1-289.057 of the Code of Virginia impacting all licensed child day programs, and certified preschools and religious exempt child day centers that serve preschool age children. Programs should submit their testing plans to the Virginia Department of Health Office of Drinking Water (VDH ODW) prior to January 1. Resources and technical assistance can be found on the child care website and VDH website.
National Safe Toys and Gifts Month
Join VDOE in recognizing December as National Safe Toys and Gifts month to promote the safety of toys and gifts for children. Caregivers and educators are reminded to select toys that align with the child’s age and developmental stage to ensure the well-being of children during this gift giving season. Be sure to check labels, follow the manufacturer’s recommendations, and avoid small parts that can be choking hazards for young children.
Enhancements to the Office of Background Investigations Provider Portal
The Office of Background Investigations (OBI) distributed a memo on December 4 announcing that the current Central Registry Search (CRS) Provider Portal will undergo a major transformation on December 9. Please refer to the memo for more details and required actions. If you have any questions regarding the CRS portal changes, please contact the appropriate program area of OBI, the Central Registry Search unit or the Criminal Background Fingerprint unit.
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Virginia Preschool Initiative
To learn more about Virginia Preschool Initiative, visit the VPI webpage.
Early Childhood Special Education
Virtual Learning Communities in Autism (VLCA)
Join one of the Autism Center for Education’s (VCU-ACE) VLCAs and unlock powerful strategies for supporting young students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Each VLCA covers a different strategy. Collaborate with peers to learn about key strategies, including antecedent-based instruction, systematic instruction, reinforcement, and social communication. Sessions meet once a week from 3-4 p.m. for four weeks. Check out the VLCA schedule and register at the VCU-ACE VLCA webpage or email Teresa Cogar at tlcogar@vcu.edu for more information.
Head Start
Head Start Forecasted Grant Funding Opportunities
The Office of Head Start has posted the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for several communities in Virginia. Applications are available by the grant opportunity number listed below and are due for submission by December 20. Interested entities or agencies please review the grant opportunities, and forward any questions to OHSgrants@koniag-gs.com.
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Early Head Start Partnerships
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Charles City; Gloucester, King William, King and Queen, Middlesex, Mathews, New Kent, and West Point Counties
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Head Start and Early Head Start
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City of Charlottesville, Albemarle, Fluvanna, Louisa, and Nelson Counties
Charles City; Gloucester, King William, King and Queen, Middlesex, Mathews, New Kent, and West Point Counties
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Head Start Compensation Spotlight Webinar
Join the Office of Head Start as they facilitate a panel discussion featuring Head Start programs that have successfully achieved pay parity or significantly have improved wages and benefits for their workforce. This webinar will provide innovative funding approaches to achieve pay equity, funding strategies for restructuring budget allocations, and key resources to support compensation improvements.
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Webinar: Head Start Compensation
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Date: December 17 at 2:30 p.m.
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VQB5 - Virginia's Unified Measurement and Improvement System
2 Weeks Remaining to Complete Fall Local CLASS Observations and Classroom Lists!
Local CLASS Observations – Completed and Verified by December 22
This fall all VQB5 classrooms must complete a local CLASS observation coordinated by their Ready Region, with scores entered and verified in LinkB5 by December 22. Once scores are verified, site leaders can access their local CLASS scores via the LinkB5 Reports.
VQB5 Classroom Lists – Parents Notified and Classroom Lists Entered by December 22
This fall, VQB5 site leaders must inform all parents/legal guardians about VQB5 and classroom lists. This means every parent/legal guardian should be aware that your site is participating in VQB5, and child-level information is gathered safely and securely through the completion of classroom lists in a secure data portal, called LinkB5. Depending on how a child’s early care and education is funded (i.e., private pay versus public funds) there are different requirements for obtaining parent permission for classroom lists. See Section 2, in the toolkit linked below for parent permission requirements and resources.
The resources below are available to support site leaders with informing families and entering classroom lists by December 22.
Early Learning Support
VECC Fall Webinar Recording and Resources Now Available!
Interested providers and stakeholders have access to Virginia Early Childhood Consultation's (VECC) webinar Connecting the Dots: Teacher-Child Interactions and Social-Emotional Teaching Practices. This recorded webinar focuses on learning about how teacher-child interactions (measured by CLASS) compare with social-emotional teaching practices, and how to deepen both sets of skills at the same time.
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STREAMin3 Office Hours every Tuesday!
Join STREAMin3 coaches live on Zoom anytime between 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. to ask a coach your questions. Spanish-speaking coach available.
New to STREAMin3?
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Ready B5 Recap Winter Edition is Coming!
Click to view the fall edition of Ready B5 Recap, the Quarterly Newsletter for Early Childhood Care and Education in Virginia.
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