✉️ VDOE Readiness Connections Update: December 17, 2024

Virginia Department of Education sent this bulletin at 01/07/2025 12:00 PM EST

Tuesday, January 7, 2025

Save the Date

January 22 at 5:30 p.m. - In-Person Event: Western Regional Listening Session.

January 24 at 12 p.m. - Webinar: VQB5 Mid-Year Refresher for Program Leaders. Register.

January 30 at 1 p.m. - Webinar: Feeding Two Birds: Tips for Improving Instructionally Supportive Interactions and Social-Emotional Learning. Register.

LAST CHANCE to Share Your Experiences as a Child Care Provider and Earn $30!

Do you lead a center or family day home serving children 0-5? If so, you may be eligible to take an important, confidential survey that will help shape how Virginia supports child care providers.

Our partners from the Study of Early Education through Partnerships at UVA sent an email invitation (from noreply@surveys.virginia.edu) with an individual, unique survey link to all eligible site leaders. Eligible site leaders who complete the survey by Friday, January 10 will receive a $30 gift card and be entered into a $100 raffle.

Questions? See the FAQ (www.see-partnerships.com/providersurveyfaq.html) with any questions, or contact our UVA partners at see-partnerships@virginia.edu or 434-297-6882.

Child Care Centers and Family Day Homes

Free Trainings for Virginia Child Care Providers

Child Care Aware of VA (CCAoVA) offers online and in-person trainings designed to support child care providers statewide. These FREE classes include essentials like First Aid & CPR, Child Care Subsidy Program Orientation, Health and Safety Requirements, and Tips for Becoming a Subsidy Vendor. Whether you’re a child care center or family day home provider, these trainings are a great way to refresh your skills and deepen your understanding of expectations. Join live discussions with trainers and get your questions answered. Explore the January training schedule on the Child Care Aware of VA webpage.

Office of Background Investigations Provider Portal Update

The VDOE and the VDSS Office of Background Investigations (OBI) are aware of the difficulties providers are facing when attempting to register for an account through the OBI provider portal. In an effort to better support providers during this time of transition, the OBI team has released a new Account Registration Quick Reference Guide (QRG), that is now available on the VDOE background checks webpage. Please review this resource and the Submitting a Central Registry Search Request QRG to better assist you with accessing the portal. If you need assistance with account registration, please email backgrounds@dss.virginia.gov.

Child Care Provider Western Regional Listening Session on January 22

Join the Office of Child Care Health and Safety (OCCHS) for an in-person listening session in Abingdon. Come any time during the session to share your questions and thoughts with leadership of the OCCHS.

Event: Western Regional Listening Session
Date: January 22, from 5:30-7 p.m.
Location: 128 Pecan, 128 Pecan Street SE, Abingdon, Virginia 24210 (Note: Food will not be provided but can be purchased. Attendees are responsible for the cost of any food and beverages purchased.)

Potable Water Lead Testing

The VDOE is now 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 have submitted 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 VA website and VDH website.

Virginia Preschool Initiative

To learn more about Virginia Preschool Initiative, visit the VPI webpage.

Early Childhood Special Education

Registration Available: Training and Reliability Session for Indicator 7: Early Childhood Outcomes

This interactive session is designed for team members who participate in the Child Outcomes Summary (COS) process to rate children at entry and exit from early childhood special education services. The purpose is to assist local school division teams in completing the COS process accurately and with consistency. The COS process is designed to be completed by a team of individuals who know the child, providing multiple sources of information for consideration when completing the ratings. Teams are encouraged to attend the session together and work collaboratively through case studies provided.

Event: Training and Reliability Session for Indicator 7: Early Childhood Outcomes
Date: February 20, from 3 – 5 p.m.

Head Start

New Office of Head Start webpage

The Office of Head Start (OHS) has announced that the Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center (ECLKC) website will be transitioning to HeadStart.gov in January 2025. This change aims to improve your access to resources and streamline how you find and share information related to Head Start programs. After the transition, any visits to the ECLKC website will automatically redirect to the new website address, and all existing resources such as training materials and the Head Start Locator will still be accessible. OHS is committed to ensuring minimal disruption during this transition, users are encouraged to begin updating any ECLKC website references to HeadStart.gov in all resource materials and communications as soon as possible.

VQB5 - Virginia's Unified Measurement and Improvement System

Mid-Year Refresher Webinar for Site Leaders - Webinar on January 24

On January 24, the VDOE will host a webinar for site administrators who are participating in VQB5. Information about local and external CLASS observations, curriculum requirements, and classroom lists will be shared.

Webinar: VQB5 Mid-Year Refresher for Program Leaders
Date: January 24 at 12 p.m.
Register

Supporting Improvement

This past fall, over 11,000+ classrooms completed CLASS observations and shared information about their use of VDOE approved curriculum. Site leaders and educators can use this information to access professional development supports that meet their unique needs. Learn more by visiting the VQB5 Supporting Continuous Quality Improvement webpage.

Early Learning Support

Join STREAMin³ for Professional Development in the New Year!

Good news! STREAMin³ monthly PD sessions will continue in 2025! Check out January offerings below and register at the STREAMin3 Training and Events Page.

January STREAMin³ Webinar (30mins): January 8 - New Year, New Transitions!
January STREAMin³ Live Online (90 mins): January 21 - Planning for Effective Transitions

Save the Date: VECC presents Feeding Two Birds: Tips for Improving Instructionally Supportive Interactions and Social-Emotional Learning – Webinar on January 30

Virginia Early Childhood Consultation (VECC) is providing FREE quarterly webinars for leaders, providers and teachers at sites serving children birth-to-five across Virginia. Join VECC at their next webinar on Thursday, January 30 at 1 p.m. to learn how social-emotional teaching practices promote instructionally supportive interactions (measured by CLASS® PreK and CLASS® Toddler), and how to grow both at the same time. Live Spanish interpretation will be available.

Webinar: Feeding Two Birds: Tips for Improving Instructionally Supportive Interactions and Social-Emotional Learning
Date: January 30 at 1 p.m.
Register
Contact vecc@virginia.edu for more information

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.

Join STREAMin³ Office Hours
Weekly on Tuesdays, 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

New to STREAMin³?

Get started on the right foot by taking the On-Demand Onboarding Course, now available through Canvas.

Ready B5 Recap Winter Edition is Here!

Click to view the winter edition of Ready B5 Recap, the Quarterly Newsletter for Early Childhood Care and Education in Virginia.

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