March Reminders and Links
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March 10: ECEAP Directors Webinar, 12:45
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March 15: Submit completed
2015-17 Funding Renewal Application
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March 18-19: Early Achievers Coach Framework Training, Ellensburg
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April 23-26: Early Achievers Institute, Wenatchee
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May 15: Submit updated and signed 2015-16 Service Area Agreements
2015 Legislative Session Update
Second Substitute House Bill 2SHB 1491, Early Start Act, removes the provision requiring that all providers administering ECEAP must maintain a full-day option by July 1, 2018.
House Bill 2009 was introduced in the Washington State Legislature, (http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=2009&year=2015). This bill removes the personal belief exemption for immunization requirements. The Office of Immunization, Child Profile and Governor Inslee are in support of this legislation.
DEL Town Halls
DEL is convening town halls in each of the local Child Care Aware regions around the state this month. These evening meetings are to hear from local early learning providers about Early Achievers and to share ECEAP information for those interested in becoming an ECEAP contractor. See Town Halls for more details.
Last month we welcomed Justin Chan, our new Program Coordinator; this month we are saying goodbye to Susan Franck, one of our Pre-K Specialists. Susan will be a Program Consultant with the Early Support for Infants and Toddlers (ESIT) program. We will miss her but are happy that she will be sharing her expertise with the birth-to-three world and will still be at DEL! Please join us in thanking Susan for all she has done in her time at DEL ECEAP.
This means we will be hiring a Pre-K Specialist position. We are interested in hiring from Eastern Washington, in order to continue having staff residing in the regions they support. The job posting will be on the DEL website soon and we encourage you to distribute the information widely.
Yesenia Chavez, a Washington State University graduate, says, “Even though my mom never learned to drive…she took initiative and found programs like ECEAP for us to be a part of. I don’t doubt that ECEAP helped pave my way through school…” During her first week as Kennewick ECEAP secretary she reconnected with Anita Torres. Anita, a Family Support Specialist, was Yesenia’s ECEAP home visitor from 1996-1997. Yesenia said, “My mother recalls how great Anita was and how pleasant she was every time she visited. I still see the same kindness in her that I saw when I was a child, it is still a shock to me that I remember who she is and that she is still impacting children’s lives, like she did mine.” Anita was born and raised in Laredo, Texas and, like her parents, a migrant worker. Her career in ECEAP began in 1988. Anita says, “I really enjoy working as a family support specialist because the families that I visit are dealing with the same life style that I was raised with. My…goal is to continue providing family support with quality home visits giving families that extra support to help empower their [lives].”
Thank you Kennewick ECEAP! We really appreciate Stephanie Tinsley, Yesenia Chavez and Anita Torres sharing this story with us all.
Join us for a webinar on Mar 10, 2015 at 1:00 PM PDT.
Register now! https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3307869001380224769
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
The Preschool Operational Work Group is an ad hoc work group convened to provide advice to, and share learning with, the Department of Early Learning concerning the implementation of the ECEAP expansion models. Tasks include the following:
- Identify an implementation strategy and prioritize resources and supports, needed to effectively implement a menu of differentiated and individualized family support and engagement in ECEAP expansion programs;
- Identify and prioritize resources and supports (such as training and coaching) needed to implement the ECEAP expansion menu of curricula with fidelity; and,
- Identify emergent lessons from the implementation of the new full-day and extended full-day models that can facilitate continuous improvement of early learning services.
The remaining POWG meetings are listed below. Please register for each meeting to ensure accurate counts for space and food:
March 24, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Location: Educational Service District 112, 2500 NE 65th Avenue, Vancouver, WA 98661
Register: Register here by March 6 and indicate any special dietary needs.
April 17, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Location: Green River Community College – Kent Station, 417 Ramsay Way, Kent, WA 98032
Register: Register here by April 3 and indicate any special dietary needs.
May 8, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Location: NEWESD 101, 4202 South Regal Street, Spokane, WA 99223
Register: Register here by April 24 and indicate any special dietary needs.
The 2015-17 Funding Renewal Application is now posted on the website. For those new to ECEAP, the Funding Renewal Application is your PLAN for how you will provide ECEAP in the next biennium. Some suggestions for developing your plan:
- Keep the ECEAP contract and the ECEAP Performance Standards by your side as you do your final editing of your Application.
- With staff, reflect on this year and what worked well and what you would do differently in the next two years.
- Include community partners and Parent Policy Council in developing your plan.
- Review your current ECEAP contract so you are up-to-date with ECEAP requirements before starting to write the Application.
Beginning approximately April 1, 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 between April 1 and 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).
- You can prepare now by gathering copies of your teaching certificate, diplomas, official transcripts, and/or workshop certificates. You will need to mail in copies of the documents that show the specific way you qualify for your ECEAP role according to the ECEAP Performance Standards. Do not send extra documents; for example, you will not mail in workshop certificates, unless workshops were used to qualify you for your role.
- Watch for more detailed instructions in the April Reminders and Links.
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Starting the New School Year: Beginning April 1, the 2015-16 school year will be available in ELMS. You will be able to update your sites and classes and enter child data. The revised paper versions of Child Applications will be available online by that date. Please watch the April edition of this newsletter for details.
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Federal Poverty Level Updates: The federal poverty level guidelines have been updated for 2015. These changes are now integrated into ELMS. The chart is available at http://www.del.wa.gov/publications/eceap/docs/PovertyLevelChart2015.pdf.
- New children are added from ELMS to GOLD every Wednesday.
IMPORTANT: You must enter a child's actual start date in ELMS before they can be uploaded into GOLD.
- GOLD is not currently archiving records for children who exit ECEAP in ELMS. This function will be built soon. You may archive these children manually in GOLD if you choose.
- GOLD is not always entering ECEAP as the funding source for children uploaded from ELMS. This will be automated later and you do not need to do anything.
- Do these in ELMS, not in GOLD:
1. Name changes for sites, classes, teachers and children.
2. Birthdate or other corrections.
3. IEPs and IEP dates. If you previously put an IEP in GOLD only, it is being removed from GOLD and it is now necessary to add it to ELMS.
- If you use the Child Plus bridge to 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 GOLD.
- If it is necessary to add a site, class, teacher, or child to GOLD before the next upload, please make sure the names, birthdates and any other selections are exactly as in ELMS. If data is manually entered into GOLD that does not exactly match ELMS, GOLD will create duplicates. For example, if a child has a middle initial in ELMS and not in GOLD, GOLD will create a duplicate record. If names entered into GOLD exactly match ELMS, they will be synchronized once the ELMS to GOLD data feed resumes.
The
National Training Institute is ZERO TO THREE’s multidisciplinary conference requests
proposal from those interested in presenting, particularly in the following
areas:
- Early care and education/child care
- Early Head Start
- Mental health/infant mental health
- Early intervention
- Child welfare
Visit
www.zttnticonference.org to submit a proposal by March 9,
2015. This year’s conference will be held in Seattle, December 2-4, 2015.
Early Achievers Coach Framework Training
Participants will be responsible to arrange their own travel/accommodations and meals.
Early Achievers Head Start/ECEAP Orientation Webinar
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
Save the Date: Teaching Strategies GOLD® Webinar for ECEAP Administrators
- April 11, 2015 at 11:00 a.m.
- Registration information coming soon!
12th Annual National Training Institute of Effective Practices: Addressing Challenging Behavior
- April 21-24, 2015
- Location: St. Petersburg, Florida
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Register now.
NTI’s format is designed to provide an in-depth learning experience built around the Pyramid Model. Experts from around the country will present workshops offering practical, ready-to-use information on social and emotional development. Learn more about the Institute.
Early Achievers Institute
- April 23-26, Wenatchee Convention Center
A great opportunity to spend time learning more about Early Achievers, exploring the Early Achievers tools (Environmental Rating Scale (ERS) and the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS), attending workshops on dual language learners and P-3 alignment work, as well as other topics in early learning.
2015 National Early Childhood Inclusion Institute
- May 12 – 14; 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
- May 12; Chapel Hill, North Carolina
A new workshop based on a novel approach for helping teachers improve their well-being will premier in May... [more]
Opal School Summer Symposium - Extending Our Image of Children: Connecting Literacy, Creativity and Sustainability
- June 18–20; 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
- July 16 – 19; Three Rivers Convention Center, Pasco
Early Achievers Institute
- July 31 - August 2; Tacoma Convention Center
Starting Strong Institute
- August 3-5; Tacoma Convention Center
Current Resources
Building Executive Function Skills in the Early Years
A January 2015 brief from the Institute for Child Success entitled “When Brain Science Meets Public Policy: Strategies for Building Executive Function Skills in the Early Years" provides a clear, multimedia overview of executive function and self-regulatory skills (what they are and how they develop) and the importance of reciprocal, responsive relationships in building those skills. In addition, the brief offers policy recommendations to support executive function skills in young children, including the adoption of dual-generation strategies, place-based approaches and developmental screenings. http://www.instituteforchildsuccess.org/mydocuments/brain_science.pdf
Young immigrants and dual language learners: Participation in pre-K and Kindergarten entry gaps
A new blog from Milagros Nores, Associate Director of Research for NIEER, highlights findings from a recent CEELO webinar. Both discuss what it means to be Hispanic and a DLL (a dual language learner) or Hispanic and come from a home with immigrant parents and the impact of each factor on Kindergarten readiness.
The famous ‘word gap’ doesn’t hurt only the young. It affects many educators, too.
The word gap has been cited by many experts as a key reason that at-risk children need focused literacy instruction. In this post, Elizabeth A. Gilbert explains that there is a related problem: Many early childhood educators have the same problem. Gilbert is the coordinator of the “Learn at Work Early Childhood Educator Program Labor” in the Labor Management Workplace Education Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Classroom Practice
The Tools of STEM
There is hardly a better piece of equipment to foster such tinkering than the work bench. Once a familiar noise in preschools, the sound of kids using real tools to construct and deconstruct various creations has all but vanished from classrooms. Now, with the renewed emphasis on teaching STEM skills in the early years, it’s time to bring back the woodworking bench. Read on.
Rethinking Holidays from an Anti-Bias Perspective
The “holiday question” is a big one among preschool up to high school teachers. Uncertainty about how to handle holidays in classrooms has skyrocketed in recent years. In Rethinking Holidays, Julie Bisson addresses misconceptions and misuses of holidays, the essential characteristics of effective holiday practices and questions to consider when creating a holiday policy.
What is Inclusion?
Does simply having children with disabilities in your class make it “inclusive”? As early childhood professionals we have the responsibility to ensure that every young child has the best possible start. But without a common understanding of inclusion it is difficult to put it into practice. How can we make a high quality educational experience the starting point for each child instead of a distant goal? Read the article.
Lessons from the Bowerbird
This is an invitation to think beyond the ordinary. Think beyond the pictures in the early childhood catalog. Think beyond the room next door. Think like a bowerbird. Although an unlikely role model for teachers, this small native of the South Pacific may have a lot to teach us about intentional, creative, classroom décor. Read on.
Behold The Humble Block! Tools of the Trade
“Measurement. Balance. Math. Negotiation. Collaboration. And fun. The smooth maple pieces need no recharging, no downloading.” This four-minute segment from npr.org confirms the value and importance of block play.
http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=384347659&m=390351269
Family Engagement
Money Smart Guide for Parents and Caregivers of Children in Grades Pre-K-2
This resource is full of activities for parents and children to do together. Programs can use this resource to support family conversations about money and decision making related to earning, saving, and spending.
https://www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/moneysmart/youngp/PreK-2Parent%20Guide.pdf
The Secret to Raising Smart Kids
In an article in Scientific American (Winter 2015), Carol Dweck, writes, "Many people assume that superior intelligence or ability is a key to success. But more than three decades of research shows that an overemphasis on intellect or talent — and the implication that such traits are innate or fixed — leaves people vulnerable to failure, fearful of challenges, and unmotivated to learn.” http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-secret-to-raising-smart-kids1/
Health
The Role of Drink with Sugar in Children’s Oral Health
Some parents don’t realize that many drinks they serve to young children contain natural or added sugar. Drinks with natural or added sugar are a major contributor to tooth decay.
http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/health/docs/health-services-newsletter-201502.pdf
New Bleach Guidelines for Childcare
A new document providing guidelines for disinfection in child care and early learning settings has been posted on the Washington State Department of Health, H.E.R.E website. Disinfecting and Sanitizing with Bleach: Guidelines for Mixing Bleach Solutions for Child Care and Similar Environments was created by a workgroup led by the Department of Health. The document provides recipes for disinfecting and sanitizing solutions using various strengths of chlorine bleach and water and was created in response to changes in the concentration of commonly used household bleach products. The document can be accessed and downloaded using the following link: http://here.doh.wa.gov/materials/guidelines-for-bleach-solutions/13_Disinfect_E15L.pdf
Workgroup members included staff from Department of Health, Department of Early Learning, Snohomish County Health District, Local Hazardous Waste Management Program in King County, Washington State Department of Ecology, and the Coalition for Safety and Health in Early Learning.
A
person's maturity consists in having found again the seriousness one had as a
child, at play.
Friedrich Nietzsche
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