WA Continues to Support Diversity, Inclusiveness in Early Ed

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Hello Partners in Early Learning,

Following the Governor’s recent remarks on President Donald Trump’s Executive Order on Immigration, the Washington State Department of Early Learning (DEL) would like to reinforce our state’s commitment to supporting diversity and inclusion, not only for the general population, but within Washington’s team of high-quality early educators, early intervention service providers and our state’s smallest learners.

I want to make clear what our responsibilities as an agency entail – ensuring the health and safety of children and supporting high-quality early learning and intervention services. At DEL we work to help children in Washington prepare for success in school and life. We help families build resilience and ensure they have high-quality choices for the care of their children, no matter their race, religion, or place of birth. For nearly all of our programs, we do not collect data on immigration status or religious affiliation of the children and their parents, and we will not begin doing so. 

We are committed to supporting providers who offer high-quality and culturally relevant care, who reflect the communities they serve, and who have a deep degree of understanding and empathy for the challenges faced by many of our children and families.

Taken at Tacoma Day ECEAP site in Tacoma, WA.

Washington is becoming increasingly diverse, with 44 percent of the estimated 446,000 children under 5 years of age from racial and ethnic backgrounds that are either American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Black, Hispanic/Latino, multiracial, or Pacific Islander. These kids are the fastest growing subgroup of children under 5. Our state has a long legacy of inclusiveness and tolerance, and it’s our responsibility to keep it alive. The diversity of Washington families is crucial to our success and future. 

DEL will absolutely not discriminate or enact policy that discriminates based on nationality, race, or religion. As always, I welcome your feedback on this, and I encourage you to join me in supporting the potential of every child.

Sincerely,

Ross Hunter

Director, Washington State Department of Early Learning

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.

DEL Redesigns Scholarship Program

The Department of Early Learning is excited to announce the redesign of the scholarship program for early learning professionals! This will allow us to streamline services and support early learning professionals in their career development.

Beginning July 1, 2016:

• Early Achievers Grants: Students pursuing an Early Childhood Education certificate and/or Associate Degree offered through a Washington State community and technical college will apply to for an Early Achievers Grant through their local community and technical college. This scholarship program is managed by the State Board of Community and Technical Colleges.

• Washington Scholarships for Child Care Professionals: Students pursuing their Child Development Associate Credential (CDA), GED or attending a public University working towards a Bachelor’s degree will apply to Child Care Aware of Washington for a Washington Scholarship for Early Learning Professionals. This program is managed by Child Care Aware of Washington. Current Washington Scholarship recipients will continue to be funded by Washington Scholarships while actively enrolled and meeting eligibility criteria.

"We support a seamless transition for current scholarship recipients with continuous financial assistance, advising and uninterrupted course work," said DEL Assistant Director Nicole Rose.

DEL and state partners will develop a transition plan and will share additional information in the coming months regarding scholarship applications, eligibility and guiding resources for scholarship recipients (such as an FAQ document).

For more information about scholarships, educational programs and career options in early learning, please visit the newly-developed Early Childhood Education Career Planning Portal at http://ececareers.del.wa.gov.   If you have immediate questions, you may contact MERIT Support at MERIT@del.wa.gov.