Thursday, October 27, 2016

Support for WA Dual Language Learners to Grow

This month, the Department of Early Learning and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction convened nearly 30 dual language learning experts and advocates for a state-wide Brain Trust on Dual Language Learners (DLLs). 

The group included:
  • educators, 
  • parents, 
  • administrators, 
  • researchers, 
  • academics, 
  • state agency representatives, 
  • representatives of the philanthropic community, and 
  • early childhood advocates from some of Washington’s most diverse communities. 
The result was lively discussion about how best to recognize, support, and cultivate Washington’s rich language diversity in preschool through third grade settings.

Washington State is growing increasingly diverse: in May 2014, approximately 10.5% of children enrolled in Washington public schools were speaking English as a second language. By 2025, The National Education Association predicts that nearly one out of every four students will be an English language learner (OSPI, 2016).  

At DEL, we know that the brain science tells us that children learn language easily when they’re young, and dual language learners are an asset to our state. However, we recognize that our early learning system is not well equipped to support these young learners in the best way possible, and our early learning professionals don’t have the tools they need to ensure these children thrive.

The Brain Trust convening explored the need for a more culturally and linguistically responsive system at all levels, including family and community engagement, classroom practice, professional development, assessment, and administrative support. Joanne Knapp-Philo, Ph.D., the former director of the National Center on Cultural and Linguistic Responsiveness, facilitated the discussion and helped the group understand this work in the context of other promising efforts around the nation. This includes the recently released White House policy statement on Supporting Dual Language Learners in Early Learning Settings. We are excited to join the federal government in forging new ground to support all of our diverse students.


Attendees of the first DEL/OSPI-sponsored Brain Trust on Dual Language Learners pose together for a photo after two days of information sharing and deliberation.
While this meeting was a major step forward for prioritizing DLLs across our early childhood education systems we hope to continue getting input from the field before ultimately deciding on a shared vision for the state. We hope that, in gathering wisdom from such a wide range of stakeholders, we can honor the many complexities of this issue while promoting collaboration at every level.

As one of the most diverse states in the country, Washington is uniquely poised in the national movement in working to ensure the early childhood field has the resources and guidance they need to embrace the cultural and linguistic assets of this large and growing population of children. As we work to get 90% of kids ready for kindergarten by 2020 and eliminate race and income as a predictor of that success, celebrating and supporting the diverse linguistic talents among our children will be one of the keys to achieving that goal. 

Resources: 
Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (2016). A call for equity and excellence for English language learners in Washington. Olympia, WA: OSPI Bilingual Education Advisory Committee. Retrieved from, http://www.k12.wa.us/MigrantBilingual/pubdocs/2016CallToActionPaper.pdf



Monday, October 24, 2016

Early Learning Health Update: October 2016

Healthy Active Living Learning Collaborative

Call for Applications!

One in four U.S. children under age five is either overweight or obese. These children experience greater school absenteeism, miss learning opportunities, and have increased medical costs. Early education centers have a chance to support national obesity prevention efforts through interventions and supportive policies that promote nutrition and physical activity. The National Center on Early Childhood Health and Wellness (NCECHW) is now accepting applications from programs to
participate in a Learning Collaborative process. This professional development initiative will give 10 teams the chance to implement healthy active living interventions in their program.

About the Learning Collaborative

Participants will engage in two in-person trainings to build fundamental knowledge and skills. Activities will promote team building and peer-to-peer learning for healthy active living initiatives around several areas. These include staff wellness, nutrition education, physical activity, and family engagement.

In addition, quarterly virtual training and technical assistance will be offered between learning sessions. Teams will use an action planning process to improve program quality. The teams will participate in a final in-person session in order to document successes, best practices, barriers, and implementation strategies.

Who Should Apply?
  • Head Start programs,
  • Early Head Start programs,
  • child care centers,
  • family home child care programs, and
  • preschool programs are eligible to apply.
This training is open to programs with previous experience in implementing policies and practices related to healthy active living, as well as those programs seeking to begin this work in this area.

The Application Process

Selected programs will receive $3,000 each to assist with the costs of facilitating activities that focus on programmatic and policy interventions. For more details about the award, please:

Important Dates and Deadlines

Applications are due no later than 4 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016. This includes the Online Application and completed Budget Template. Applicants will be notified of an award decision the week of Nov. 21, 2016. For all other dates, review the full Call for Application Guidelines.

Immunization Reporting: Centers, ECEAP and Head Start

Family home child care programs are not required to report at this time.

Thank you to all of you for reviewing your children’s immunization forms and for those who have already reported! Please remember to submit the required report by November 1, per state law (WAC 246-105-060). Here are a few important immunization updates and resources for early learning programs.

Email all questions related to reporting to: oicpschools@doh.wa.gov.


Annual Immunization Reporting
·        All child care centers, ECEAP and Head Start programs must fill out a reporting form and email or mail it to us rather than filling out a report online. The reporting form can be accessed here. Family home child care programs are not required to report at this time.

·        Look at our web page to find general information about child care reporting.

Immunization Requirements Resources
Parents can request a copy of their child’s Certificate of Immunization Status from our Immunization Information System (IIS). Click here for more information.

·        A new Certificate of Immunization Status will be available in the IIS in the near future. Click here to watch a recorded webinar to learn more about the new CIS.

Thank you very much for all your efforts to promote healthy children!

Department of Health Office of Immunization and Child Profile
PO Box 47843
Olympia, WA 98504-7843
Phone: 360-236-3595
Email: oicpschools@doh.wa.gov


“The Department of Health works to protect and improve the health of people in Washington State.”  

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Provider Highlight: ABC Kidcare (Mount Vernon)

ABC Kidcare is a licensed child care provider in Washington State's Northwestern region, in Mount Vernon. This provider has used social emotional learning, healthy activity and parent engagement to prepare kids for Kindergarten!
Kids in licensed child care practicing healthy activity.

Learn more about this provider's successes in this short video courtesy of ABC Kidcare: Provider Highlight.

Please find the script for this video below or downloadable here: SCRIPT.
  • ABC Kidcare offers a unique small group setting where children generally begin their journey with us as infants and continue in the program through graduation into Kindergarten.
  • The transition fosters compassion, life skills, diversity and community-centered love for others and themselves. 
  • Children help each other thrive through responsibility and independence as they move from infancy to self-sufficiency, into preschool years. 
  • We strive to teach acceptance, compassion and love through exposure of diverse cultures, needs and community outreach programs. 
  • Our parent volunteer program encourages parents to come into the child care to teach about their careers, interest and heritage. 
  • Parents are always welcomed and our small group setting, with flexible agenda allows us to accommodate parent’s schedules and availability. 
  • On this day, one mom came to offer a glimpse into her marine biology career with a lesson on ocean life. 
  • To encourage an active lifestyle, this mom shares her interest, turned career, with weekly yoga lessons. 
  • To help promote our inclusive family approach through self-awareness, one of the first welcoming scenes in ABC Kidcare is the child cubbies with their family photos. 
  • This is continued throughout the children’s day beginning in infancy with our family photo albums. 
  • Our strong parent support network is built on group outings, parent support groups and cooperative babysitting exchanges—allowing parents to be connected with each other. This not only fosters an important teacher/parent relationship, but it is a community approach to parent-to-parent support. 
  • There is a huge benefit for the children to see the adults in their lives working together. 
  • The strong sense of community continues long after the children’s time at ABC Kidcare. With a smooth transition into Kindergarten, many families will continue to come to group events and stay connected to one another.
Know of a child care provider in your community that is willing to share positive experiences within their curriculum? Reach out to communications@del.wa.gov.

The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Washington State Department of Early Learning and its affiliates, or its employees.

Monday, October 10, 2016

State Tests How to Best Support ECEAP Providers

Last summer, the Legislature passed the Early Start Act (ESA) and Governor J. Inslee signed it into law. The ESA improves access to high-quality early learning opportunities and is key to improving child outcomes and strengthening school readiness. To assist with this, DEL explores ways to help child care providers prepare to offer integrated child care and ECEAP services.

DEL contracted with Child Care Aware of Washington (CCA of WA) to conduct a two-year pilot to:

  • Learn what child care providers need to be successful in providing joint ECEAP and child care services. 
  • Develop and test the training and coaching approaches needed in addition to the existing support provided through Early Achievers.
  • The pilot training, toolkit, and methodology (with individualized coaching between each training sessions) worked. Some refinements to training, sequencing, and other supports were also identified. 

Highlighted recommendations:

Training and coaching. Allow time for providers and coaches to build relationships and improve programs. This is key to success.

In the pilot, training cohorts helped providers explore potential consortium or subcontracting relationships early. All participants made progress in their understanding of Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) implementation and are eager to continue despite lack of ECEAP slots. Most participants wanted to reach Early Achievers level four before adding ECEAP.
“The training really sparked my thinking of next steps regarding staffing, professional development, program oversight and implementation of the standards.”

Pilot participant 
Additional coaching is needed in offering comprehensive services, serving English language learners (ELL), and serving children with developmental delays or challenging behaviors. ELL participants needed more time to clarify the meaning of some materials. 
 
Toolkit. The ECEAP Pathway Toolkit (containing visual modules) helped participants to:
  • see what is involved, 
  • understand what implementation looks like, 
  • compare to current practices, and 
  • identify where they need to augment (or confirm what they are already doing); see examples, and reflect on their business to create a realistic plan of action. 
Coach Experience. Have coaches experienced in licensing, Early Achievers and ECEAP, as well as running a child care business. This promotes streamlined conversations, coaching, and participant understanding.

Considerable flexibility was needed to schedule coaching with busy providers. 

DEL also learned from a variety of issues that arose during the pilot, including:


System Issues. Availability of adequate facilities continues to be a challenge in ECEAP expansion. Some providers need increased funding for start-up and/or expansion of their facilities to add ECEAP.

Availability of Early Achievers scholarships and flexibility of the Professional Development plan within the ECEAP Performance Standards provided enough support to meet educational requirements. However, required course offerings are often not available at times or in ways that providers can participate.

Items Requiring Additional Exploration. Because of the lack of available ECEAP slots to implement during the pilot, year two of the pilot will need to explore several topic including, but not limited to:
  • Additional supports for completing the ECEAP application process which can be arduous.
  • Alignment of marketing, prioritization, and enrollment across existing and new contractors.
  • Peer networking so pilot (and future) providers can continue to strengthen relationships.

To read the report and complementary appendices, visit the following links:

To learn more about ECEAP or any of DEL’s programs, go to www.del.wa.gov.



Friday, October 7, 2016

Let's Celebrate 30 years of Early Childhood provisions of IDEA

This October marks the 30th Anniversary of the passage of Public Law 99-457,
which established early intervention and mandated preschool special education services as part of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).  These early childhood programs have played a critical role in improving results and upholding the rights of infants, toddlers, and preschool children with disabilities and their families.

Do you know a family that has benefited from early intervention services made available through the IDEA programs?  Invite them to share their story with DEL or the Office of Special Education (OSEP) using the following social media platforms. 

The Early Support for Infant and Toddlers (ESIT) Team will be celebrating the 30th Anniversary of IDEA Part B, Section 619 and Part C later this month at the SICC meeting.
  
The next SICC meeting will be held on October 19, 2016, at: 

       Wenatchee School District Board Room 
       235 Sunset Avenue 
       Wenatchee, WA 98801  

The SICC meeting will be held from 9:00 AM –3:00 PM, and plan to join us immediately following the SICC for the anniversary celebration for PL 99-457!  

If you have questions, please contact: alma.quinden@del.wa.gov


Tuesday, October 4, 2016

ECEAP Pilots Best Way to Support Families

The Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program, or ECEAP, (Washington’s state-funded pre-kindergarten program) is designed to prepare 3- and 4-year-old children from low-income and at-risk families for success in school and in life. Its comprehensive approach includes:
  • Preschool education; 
  • Family support; 
  • Parent involvement; and 
  • Health and nutrition services.

The program is doing a two-year pilot to help learn what helps families most and what resources are needed. To get a full look at the year-one report, go here: http://bit.ly/2cYIREH.  

We Want to:
  1. Learn about the best ways to help families advance their goals, well-being and self-reliance; 
  2. Test a statewide Family Strengths and Needs Assessment. The assessment helps to see family strengths, needs, and goals and note the progress that families are making. 
What Did We Learn from Year One?
ECEAP contractors tested two family support models, EMPath Mobility Mentoring® and the Family Development Matrix model. These models were chosen because they helped families in other states improve their well-being and family goals.
EMPath’s Mobility Mentoring® Model. This approach, grounded in EMPath’s Bridge to Self-Sufficiency™, articulates a family’s transformative journey from poverty to economic self-sufficiency by optimizing the family’s life in five domains: family stability; well-being; financial management; education; and career management. ECEAP family support staff act as Mobility Mentoring® coaches who partner with families to help them acquire resources and skills, and sustain behavior changes. EMPath outcomes include dramatic increases in education and training participation (45%) and household savings (63%).
Family Development Matrix Model. The Family Development Matrix (FDM) model is a family decision-making and goal-setting model that uses an assessment tool and online database with indicators to measure family and program outcomes. A 2014 California evaluation showed increases of between 10.8 and 15.9 points in percentages of families at the safe/self-sufficient levels in areas such as: children’s social and emotional development, and parental resilience.
Who Participated? 
Fourteen ECEAP sites serving families in cities and towns across the State tested each model. 1,552 families of different races, ethnicities, and home languages participated for the complete year.
What Were the Results? 
Families in both models made gains between the beginning and end of the year. ECEAP staff said they liked how the tools from these models helped them have deeper conversations with families, so they could make sure that services and resources fit each family’s needs. They also enjoyed seeing families meet their goals.
What is Happening in Year Two of the Pilot?
  1. Based on the information gathered in year one, DEL decided that Mobility Mentoring® was the best model for ECEAP. Staff from 20 contractors attended the EMPath Mobility Mentoring® training in August, 2016. These staff will train the family advocates. Family support services will begin when ECEAP starts in September. DEL ECEAP will provide ongoing training and support to contractors who are using Mobility Mentoring®. 
  2. Family support conversations will be guided by ECEAP Bridge to Child and Family Self-Reliance.
  3. DEL will ask all ECEAP families to take a survey at the end of the year. This will help us learn what services helped most and what else we can do to improve services. 
  4. DEL will review the data and results. We will use this to recommend the next steps for family support in ECEAP.

Monday, October 3, 2016

ECEAP Pilots Best Way to Support Families

­
ECEAP (Washington’s state-funded pre-kindergarten program) is designed to prepare 3- and 4-year-old children from low-income and at-risk families for success in school and in life. Its comprehensive approach includes: preschool education; family support; parent involvement; and, health and nutrition services.

The program is doing a two-year pilot to help learn what helps families most and what resources are needed. To get a full look at the year-one report, go here: http://bit.ly/2cYIREH.  

We Want to:
  1. Learn about the best ways to help families advance their goals, well-being and self-reliance; 
  2. Test a statewide Family Strengths and Needs Assessment. The assessment helps to see family strengths, needs, and goals and note the progress that families are making. 
What Did We Learn from Year One?
ECEAP contractors tested two family support models, EMPath Mobility Mentoring® and the Family Development Matrix model. These models were chosen because they helped families in other states improve their well-being and family goals.

EMPath’s Mobility Mentoring® Model. This approach, grounded in EMPath’s Bridge to Self-Sufficiency™, articulates a family’s transformative journey from poverty to economic self-sufficiency by optimizing the family’s life in five domains: family stability; well-being; financial management; education; and career management. ECEAP family support staff act as Mobility Mentoring® coaches who partner with families to help them acquire resources and skills, and sustain behavior changes. EMPath outcomes include dramatic increases in education and training participation (45%) and household savings (63%).
Family Development Matrix Model. The Family Development Matrix (FDM) model is a family decision-making and goal-setting model that uses an assessment tool and online database with indicators to measure family and program outcomes. A 2014 California evaluation showed increases of between 10.8 and 15.9 points in percentages of families at the safe/self-sufficient levels in areas such as: children’s social and emotional development, and parental resilience.

Who Participated? 
Fourteen ECEAP sites serving families in cities and towns across the State tested each model. 1,552 families of different races, ethnicities, and home languages participated for the complete year.
“The biggest thing . . .that family support helped my family with was teaching me how to be a productive father and family member.”
--Puget Sound ESD Parent Participant
What Were the Results? 
Families in both models made gains between the beginning and end of the year. ECEAP staff said they liked how the tools from these models helped them have deeper conversations with families, so they could make sure that services and resources fit each family’s needs. They also enjoyed seeing families meet their goals.

What is Happening in Year Two of the Pilot?
  1. Based on the information gathered in year one, DEL decided that Mobility Mentoring® was the best model for ECEAP. Staff from 20 contractors attended the EMPath Mobility Mentoring® training in August, 2016. These staff will train the family advocates. Family support services will begin when ECEAP starts in September. DEL ECEAP will provide ongoing training and support to contractors who are using Mobility Mentoring®. 
  2. Family support conversations will be guided by ECEAP Bridge to Child and Family Self-Reliance.
  3. DEL will ask all ECEAP families to take a survey at the end of the year. This will help us learn what services helped most and what else we can do to improve services. 
  4. DEL will review the data and results. We will use this to recommend the next steps for family support in ECEAP.