Shenandoah Valley HS Wins “I Can” Grant
Shenandoah Valley Head Start is one of 50 grantees nationwide to win an I CAN grant. I CAN is a health literacy initiative & sponsored by the Office of Head Start, Johnson and Johnson, and UCLA. This program works to enable parents to take a proactive role with their child’s health care needs. The expected outcomes of this program in the lives of SVHS families will be fewer missed days of work for parents, less time spent in emergency rooms and clinics, and children who are ready to learn when they come to school! SVHS will bring this program to four of their seven divisions. They look forward to working with parents, empowering them in their ability to be proactive in their children’s healthcare needs. Congratulations SVHS!!
National Center Pilots Project in Virginia
The National Center on Parent, Family and Community Engagement piloted its “Friends and Family” Professional Development System (PDS) in Virginia in late April.
The PDS Pilot Training took place in Williamsburg, VA on April 26-27, 2012. The training focused on individual and program practice change around family engagement. The training provided an opportunity for participants to examine their own practice around developing positive, goal-oriented relationships with families, colleagues and community partners. The 19 participants included Early Head Start (EHS) and Head Start (HS) staff from six programs within an hour of the Williamsburg area. These participants were chosen because of their strong family engagement practices and desire to want to know more about increasing effectiveness in this area.
Virginia is pleased to be a part of this important effort and to have input in the system in its early stages.
New web portal resource for Head Start programs
The Office of Head Start (OHS) is pleased to announce the launch of the National Center on Quality Teaching and Learning (NCQTL) portal on the ECLKC. The new portal features many resources to support school readiness for children including:
The NCQTL House: A Framework for Effective Everyday Practice - Each of the five clickable sections of the NCQTL House represents a specific area of quality teaching and learning. The foundation symbolizes the importance of engaging interactions and environments. One pillar of the house addresses ongoing assessment and the other pillar highlights curricula and teaching practices. Finally, the roof covers individualized instruction. In addition, 15 minute in-service suites, designed as a professional development resource, are located throughout the house. Teaching teams may use the suites to watch an overview video of a teaching practice, download tips for teaching, or to try a technique in the classroom. Teaching teams may also download a longer version of the in-service suites with supplemental materials to use during trainings.
Transition to Kindergarten - Are you interested in children’s impressions of kindergarten? Check out the children’s perspective video located in the Transition to Kindergarten section of the NCQTL portal.
Teacher Development – Teaching teams may explore the Teacher Development section of the portal to learn the top ten tips for coaching and other professional development strategies and resources.
Front Porch Series Broadcast Calls - Front Porch Series Broadcast Calls are held the fourth Monday of each month and each call presents a research topic and its practical application. Visit the Front Porch Series Broadcast Call page of the NCQTL portal to find out more information about upcoming broadcast calls. If you missed a broadcast call, recordings and materials are available on the Front Porch Series Archives page.
Visit the NCQTL portal on the ECLKC for these resources and much more. Explore the portal and share it with your colleagues.
Lawson named Virginia’s Head Start State Collaboration Office Director
After a competitive recruitment, the VDSS has selected Aleta Lawson for the position of Virginia’s Head Start State Collaboration Office Director, effective May 25, 2012. Aleta has a Bachelor’s degree in education from Radford University, a Master’s degree in child development from Virginia Tech and a Post-graduate Professional Teaching License in early education. She brings five years of Head Start Program Director experience; five years of state program level experience; college, community college and elementary teaching experience; as well as several years of executive level management to the position. Please join us in congratulating Aleta in her new role at VDSS!
Webinar: Bullying Prevention Starts in Early Childhood (Hosted by Wingspan, LLC)
There are increased concerns nationwide about young children displaying bullying behavior. Bullying and the peer rejection that often accompanies this antisocial behavior interfere with children’s developmental progress and learning and are two key risk factors for serious future problems such as violence, school failure, and substance abuse.
Wingspan, developers of the nationally recognized, evidence-based early childhood program, Al’s Pals: Kids Making Healthy Choices, is offering a three hour webinar to address this issue.
May 22 and 24, 2012
1 - 2:30 pm, EST
This two-part webinar will help early childhood educators learn:
- to identify bullying behavior patterns in early childhood settings
- how to tell the difference between age-appropriate aggression and bullying
- ways to establish a more peaceful and caring classroom environment
- teaching approaches which reduce bullying
- strategies for responding to bullying behaviors and teaching children new positive behaviors
This webinar is offered to all individuals working in early education and care.
To register, please download the registration form:
Bullying Prevention Webinar Registration Form
Please fax the completed form and a copy of a purchase order to 804-967-9003 or mail the form with payment to: Wingspan, LLC.
Deadline for registration is May 15th.
For additional information please contact Wingspan at (804) 967-9002 or visit www.wingspanworks.com.
Make this Mother’s Day Smoke-free in your Community
With Mother’s Day a couple of weeks away, think about what you can do in your program to raise awareness about the impact of tobacco use on women and families in your community and to stimulate interest in and support for tobacco control activities. Think about identifying a woman in your community who is willing to speak to how she has successfully quit with the help of a tobacco control program or who is willing to share her ongoing struggle with tobacco.
The below mom-related tobacco datasheets could be used for special Mother’s Day events and could also be used to publicize and support whatever tobacco control measures you are working on.
More women and girls related factsheets can be found at www.tobaccofreekids.org
Kiwanis/Head Start Program Still Going Strong
Since February 2007, the Kiwanis Club of Marion, Virginia has been making sure that Head Start children in their community have access to healthy, nutritious snacks over the weekends. The Kiwanis Club spearheads the “Snack-in-a-Pack” program but has help from other community businesses and organizations: Wal-Mart, Smyth County Community Foundation, the Second Harvest Food Bank, and the Senior Citizens Center. The seniors prepare backpacks with fruit, fruit juice, fresh vegetables and snacks low in sugar, fat and calories. These backpacks are then distributed to Head Start centers on Friday to take home with them over the weekend; the empty backpacks are returned on Monday.
Studies have shown that many children are at risk with diets that are irregular or lacking in good nutritional content. This, in turn, can increase their risk of developing health-related problems such obesity and diabetes, lead to behavior problems and adversely affect their learning ability. Conversely, children who consume nutritious foods are found to be better students, concentrate better, retain more information and perform better on tests.
Senator Warner’s Staff Visits Head Start Program
Elizabeth Falcone and Marvin Figueroa from Senator Mark Warner’s Capitol Hill staff paid a visit last week to the Orange County Early Head Start/Head Start program. Falcone and Figueroa work on health and education issues for the Senator. They took part of the Congressional “recess” to get out into the field to experience some of the issues they work on. Beckie Phillips, Orange County director, reports that this was their first visit to a Head Start program and they spent about an hour on-site, playing with the children, meeting some parents and staff. The Orange program provided them the opportunity to see a 0-5 program—and it was close to their next stop in Charlottesville!
We encourage all Head Start programs to reach out to the legislators and invite them for a visit when they are in the district.
Janney-Schultz to receive Outstanding Service to Children Award
Congratulations to our own Ann Janney-Schultz who is being honored at the 2012 VAECE Conference. Ann will receive the Outstanding Service to Children Award, given annually by VAECE. The program says she has been a part of VAECE for 40 years, so clearly she joined in middle school! Ann’s service to children reaches far beyond Head Start and Early Head Start, and we are delighted to see the larger early childhood development community recognize her outstanding work.
