May Reminders and Links
May 6: Deadline to submit questions regarding the RFA process.
May 15: Submit updated and signed 2015-2016 Service Area Agreements.
May 30: Teachers finalize the spring checkpoint in Teaching
Strategies GOLD® Online.
June 1: Deadline to submit ECEAP Request for Application 2015-2016.
June 15: Submit Self-Assessment.
2015 Legislative
Session
April 29 was the start of a 30 day special session. Both Legislative Chambers are working on a final version of the budget and House Bill 1491, Early Start Act.
On April 16,
First Lady Trudi Inslee visited ESD 113 Sound to Harbor Head Start/ECEAP’s West
Olympia center with Secretary of Health John Wiesman and Director of Early
Learning Dr. Bette Hyde. This visit was part of Governor Inslee’s Healthiest
Next Generation Initiative — a partnership between the Department of Health, the
Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Department of Early
Learning. Sandy Nelson, Assistant Superintendent at ESD 113 shared, “…They were
warm and gracious, engaged with children in the classroom and had good
conversation with Beth Schilling, our site director and Jennifer Helseth, our
Health Specialist.” See some photos at the Department of Health’s twitter feed
at https://twitter.com/WA_DeptofHealth/media.
Beginning May 7, the MERIT data system will be ready for ECEAP Staff Qualifications.
- All ECEAP lead teachers, assistant teachers, and family support staff must enter the education that qualifies them for their ECEAP role into the MERIT system. This must be completed by June 30, 2015.
- There is a substantial financial award to the individual staff member based on the education entered (unless the staff person has already received their full award).
- Read the full instructions here.
The updated
Professional Development Plan (PDP) samples are now posted on the DEL website on the ECEAP publications page. This revision brings the forms in
alignment with current Performance Standards
and processes used in MERIT. This is also where to find the instructions for
entering staff qualifications into MERIT (now expected to be released in early
May.)
Families
who need to transition from an ECEAP contracted slot to a subsidized child care
voucher with the same provider or a new provider must re-apply for Working
Connections Child Care (WCCC). Families should apply at least three, but no
more than four weeks before their last day of ECEAP services to avoid a break
in services. Families need to be employed or have a TANF grant, and be in
an active IRP to be eligible for WCCC. When an application has been
completed families can fax the required information to (888) 338-7410 with
their client ID number on each page.
When
families apply they must have:
-
A completed paper application, have applied by phone, OR applied online;
- Three months of wage/income verification.
-
A written schedule verification from their employer;
- The provider name and SSPS provider number and;
- The last date of ECEAP services and the first date with the new provider.
If the
family is staying with the same provider, it would be helpful for the provider
to give the client a written statement to submit with their application
advising of the last date of ECEAP services and the date that they will
transferring to a WCCC voucher. If the family is changing providers, it
would be helpful to know the new provider’s name, their SSPS provider number,
the last date of ECEAP services and the date the child will begin with the new
provider.
The Preschool Operation Work Group convened on March 24 in Vancouver, Washington. Highlights from this meeting include:
- DEL will move forward with two foundational curricula in the 2015-16 school year: Creative Curriculum, 5th Edition and High Scope.
The Preschool Operational Work Group discussed parent conversation themes, lessons learned from implementing Full School Day and Extended Day models, guiding questions and resources for selection of curricula and alternative curricula.
- DEL provided a refresher on the Crittenton Mobility Mentoring Model (one model for differentiated family support) and introduced the Family Development Matrix (FDM).
- The FDM provides tools and indicators developed from a database of core indicators with identified interventions and resources for families, customized by local sites to meet their needs.
- Next steps for DEL include finalizing the menu of curricula resources for the 2015-16 school year and outlining next steps for the differentiated family support pilot.
ECEAP “paper” child applications
forms are now posted here. They are
in English and Spanish and match the changes in ELMS that were released in
early April for 2015-16. There is no longer a “Supplemental Application.”
The 2015-16 school year is available now in ELMS.
- See the three-page instructions: Starting the New School Year in ELMS.
All of this year’s 3-year-olds will automatically rollover to the next school year in ELMS.
- You can set up 2015-16 classes and begin enrolling children in classes.
- For 2015-16, you must enter funds per slot given to any subcontractors.
- The paper versions of the prescreen and application are available for download April 1.
To end the 2014-15 school year in ELMS:
- You must exit all children from their classes, before ELMS will allow you to submit your Monthly Report for the final month of class. One week before your last class day, a Bulk Exit button will be available on the Monthly Report class page and on the Class Roster page.
- ELMS Administrators should remove ELMS access from any staff who will not be returning to your program for the coming school year.
-
New email address to contact Teaching Strategies GOLD® to resolve issues: del.wa@teachingstrategies.com. You may cc elms@del.wa.gov.
-
Frequency of data transfer: Teaching Strategies GOLD® and DEL have been working closely to refine the ELMS to Teaching Strategies GOLD® data transfer process. Teaching Strategies GOLD® is now updated from ELMS data each Wednesday. You must enter a child's actual start date in ELMS before they will load into Teaching Strategies GOLD®.
-
Duplicate child records in GOLD: You may still have duplicates of children in Teaching Strategies GOLD®. This is usually because the child was entered differently into Teaching Strategies GOLD® and ELMS. The systems have no way of knowing if Maria Smith is the same or different child as Marie Smith or Maria Smith-Garcia. It only works if there is an exact match on First Name, Last Name, Date of Birth, & Gender. If you have duplicate child records in Teaching Strategies GOLD®:
- Work with your teachers to choose the record that has the most data.
- Update Teaching Strategies GOLD® or ELMS so First Name, Last Name, Date of Birth, & Gender match exactly.
- Archive the other (duplicate) child record.
-
Updating child records: Do all changes to the following in ELMS (not in GOLD):
- New children, site, classes or teachers (or name changes for existing ones).
Birthdate or other corrections.
- IEPs and IEP dates. If you previously put an IEP in Teaching Strategies GOLD® only, it is removed from Teaching Strategies GOLD®.
-
Child Plus bridge to GOLD: If you use the Child Plus bridge to Teaching Strategies GOLD®, all site, class, teacher, and child names in Child Plus must exactly match ELMS. Also, be sure to mark ECEAP as the Funding Source for these children in Teaching Strategies GOLD®.
-
Future enhancements:
- Teaching Strategies GOLD® will archive records for children who exit ECEAP in ELMS. Until this is built, you may archive these children manually in Teaching Strategies GOLD®.
- Teaching Strategies GOLD® will mark ECEAP as the funding source for children uploaded from ELMS.
ECERS Reliability and Train-the-Trainer Trainer
Date/Time: May 5 – 8
Location: Vancouver, WA
Space is limited; contact Melissa Brown at mbrown26@uw.edu or (206) 886-9218.
Infant and Early Childhood Conference
Date/Time: May 6 – 8; Greater Tacoma Convention Center
Conference program: https://www.ieccwa.org/2015/program/daily_schedule.php
Registration: https://www.ieccwa.org/2015/registration/
2015 National Early Childhood Inclusion Institute
Date/Time: May 12 – 14
Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina
This year's Inclusion Institute features Ann and Kate Turnbull, a federal panel of early childhood experts, workshops on mindfulness, and dozens more sessions... [more]
The Mindful Classroom: How Cutting-Edge Research Can Help Teachers and their Children
Date/Time: May 12
Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina
The Mindful Classroom is based on a novel approach for helping teachers improve their well-being... [more]
Coach Framework Training
Date/Time: May 14 – 15, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Location: Opportunity Council Building Performance Center, 3406 Redwood Ave, Bellingham, WA 98225
Registration: http://www.regonline.com/CoachTrainingMay2015
Registration Deadline: Thursday, April 30th, 5:00 pm. Participants will be responsible to arrange their own travel/accommodations and meals.
Pre-K CLASS Observation and Reliability Training
Date/Time: May 18 – 19
Location: ESD 112 – 2500 NE 65th Ave, Vancouver, WA 98661
Registration: http://www.regonline.com/toddlerCLASSmay2015
Registration Deadline: Monday, April 27th, 5:00 pm. Participants will be responsible to arrange their own travel/accommodations and meals.
June 1, FCCERS 1-Day Training
Date/Time: June 1, 8:30 am – 5:00 pm
Location: The Northcut Landing, 5001 25th Ave NE, Seattle WA 98105
Registration Link: https://www.regonline.com/FCCERSjune1daytraining
Registration Deadline: Monday, May 18th, 5:00 pm. Participants will be responsible to arrange their own travel/accommodations and meals.
June 1, ITERS 1-Day Training
Date/Time: June 1, 8:30 am – 5:00 pm
Location: The Northcut Landing, 5001 25th Ave NE, Seattle WA 98105
Registration Link: https://www.regonline.com/ITERSjune1daytraining
Registration Deadline: Monday, May 18th, 5:00 pm. Participants will be responsible to arrange their own travel/accommodations and meals.
Pre-K CLASS Observation and Reliability Training
Date/Time: June 8 – 9, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Location: United Way of Benton and Franklin Counties, 401 Young Street, Kennewick WA 99336
Registration Link: https://www.regonline.com/prekCLASSjune2015
Registration Deadline: Monday, May 18th, 5:00 pm. Participants will be responsible to arrange their own travel/accommodations and meals. For more information and to sign up contact Melissa Brown at mbrown26@uw.edu or (206) 886-9218.
Early Achievers Coach Framework
Date/Time: June 16 – 17, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Location: United Way of Benton and Franklin Counties, 401 Young Street, Kennewick WA 99336
Registration Link: https://www.regonline.com/CoachTrainingJune2015
Registration Deadline: Tuesday, June 2nd, 5:00 pm. Participants will be responsible to arrange their own travel/accommodations and meals. For more information and to sign up contact Melissa Brown at mbrown26@uw.edu or (206) 886-9218.
Opal School Summer Symposium – Extending Our Image of Children: Connecting Literacy, Creativity and Sustainability
Date/Time: June 18 – 20
Location: Portland, Oregon
This year’s theme examines the ways in which literacy and the arts build upon each other. Guest speaker will be Ann Pelo, author of The Goodness of Rain, Rethinking Early Childhood Education and The Language of Art. For more information go to www.portlandcm.org.
Early Achievers Institute
Date/Time: July 16 – 19
Location: Three Rivers Convention Center, 7016 W Grandridge Blvd, Kennewick, WA 99336
Early Achievers Institute
Date/Time: July 30 – August 2
Location: Marriott-Seattle Airport, 3201 S 176th St, Seattle, WA 98188
Sessions will be offered in English, Spanish and Somali.
Starting Strong Annual P-3rd Grade Institute
Date/Time: August 3 – 5
Location: Tacoma Convention Center, 1500 Broadway, Tacoma, WA 98402
Registration: Register by May 31 for early bird prices.
For additional information, visit www.startingstrong.net. Hotel Murano is walking distance from the Tacoma Convention Center and offering a special conference rate. Click on this link to make a reservation.
Early Achievers Institute
Date/Time: Nov. 19 – 22
Location: Edward D. Hansen Conference Center, 2000 Hewitt Ave, Everett, WA 98201
Current Resources
Dual Language Learners Resource
A new annotated bibliography from the Center on Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes (CEELO), Resources for Supporting Teachers and Administrators to Improve Outcomes for Dual Language Learners in Pre-K through Third Grade (March 2015), identifies selected resources on best practices and policy to support effective teaching and learning for dual language learners (DLL) in early childhood programs and early elementary school.
Four Important Things Research Tells Us About the Transition to School The Harvard Family Research Project defines transition to school as a process — not just a one-time event — that begins during children’s preschool years and continues into and through 3rd grade. Transition is a time when children begin to take part in an increasing number of learning settings, both in and out of school. This commentary addresses four important things that research tells us about the transition to school.
Need for High Quality Early Learning Programs
The U.S. Department of Education just released a new report outlining the unmet need for high-quality early learning programs in America. Because of geography, race and income, not every child will start school ready for success.
The Power of High-Quality Early Education
In her talk "The Healthy Child: Assembly Required,” Kathleen Gallagher, talks about the most famous study on early education watch it here. She talks about the assembly required to build physically, emotionally, cognitively, and socially healthy children
Video-on-Demand Children’s TV Programming Now Accessible for Thousands of Children with Visual or Hearing Disabilities
The U.S. Department of Education announced the availability of free, video-on-demand children’s television programming for thousands of children who are blind, visually impaired, deaf or hard of hearing through the Education Department’s Accessible Television Portal project. Among the shows are: “Ocean Mysteries,” “Magic School Bus,” “Bill Nye the Science Guy,” “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood,” “Expedition Wild” and “Peg + Cat.”
Family Engagement
Supporting Family Financial Capability
Read a message from the Administration on Children and Families (ACF) for the latest information and resources about family financial capability. Learn more about what is working for human services programs, like Head Start and Early Head Start. Find out which resources are available to help support family financial capability.
Take Time. Talk!
On April 13, Los Angeles Universal Preschool launched its “Take Time. Talk!” tool, as part of the rollout of its Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) America commitment. The vocabulary-building tool, Take Time. Talk! Giving Children the Words They Need, will help parents and caregivers increase the number of positive words that children, ages 0-5, hear each day.
Health
Healthy Eating on a Budget
Eating healthy doesn’t have to be expensive. Use these tips and materials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to make healthy choices while staying within your budget.
Early Developments Health Issue
From dieting to immunology to mindfulness, in this issue of Early Developments the stories behind some of Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute’s groundbreaking research and outreach on physical, social, emotional, and mental health.
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