Hello, COAEYC members and friends! In this issue you will find our newest spotlight feature, information on upcoming trainings and webinars, resources for talking to children about race, information on ECCLA's Family Child Care Home Grant Facilities Improvement Grant, and the recently updated Early Learning and Development Guidelines.
We're halfway through the year! Can you believe it? Though things are opening up again, we would still love to hear how COVID-19 has impacted you and the work that you do. Have you been working throughout the pandemic? Were you furloughed? Are you working at reduced hours or wages? Do you feel safe being back at your center? Are you a home-based provider who was denied a Paycheck Protection Program loan? Your stories allow us to share these experiences with people inside and outside the early childhood field. They also help us understand your challenges so that we can best represent you when collaborating with other organizations and communicating with state and federal policymakers!
To submit your story or read the stories of fellow early childhood professionals, you can visit us at www.coloradoaeyc.org/covidstories.
|
|
Your continued support allows NAEYC and COAEYC to continue advocating for early childhood and to create affordable professional development opportunities for educators.
Click here to renew your membership or join.
|
|
|
This month we're shining a spotlight on Roman Hollowell, the owner and director of Kids 4 Real, Inc. in Denver, CO. An early educator of 8 years, Roman made a decision to stop his career as a college administrator to take over his mother's business and continue her legacy when she passed away in 2012. "It's the best decision I ever made," he says.
When asked what he enjoys most about his job, he said, "Sending my kids off better than they came and developing my staff. Seeing my staff become the employees they strive to be is awesome!"
|
|
|
|
How did you get into early childhood?
Assisting my mother with her business from time to time.
What is your favorite thing about working with children?
Interaction with children and witnessing the development/growth. When your kids grow and come back to visit you is a plus too.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
Sending my kids off better than they came and developing my staff. Seeing my staff become the employees they strive to be is awesome!
|
|
How do you impact children and families in Colorado?
By serving their needs.
What would you change about the early childhood field if you could?
Higher wage/benefits for teachers. Teachers are underappreciated. Teachers are a launching pad for kids to get them started in the right direction. 0 to 5 years of age are critical.
Do you have a special moment from working with children and families that you would like to share? Our annual graduations are always a special moment to see children and families smiling and grateful for the time teachers have spent with their child during the school year to make it to that point.
|
|
|
Thank you for participating in this month's spotlight feature, Roman! To nominate a friend or colleague, you can visit the Spotlight Nomination Form.
|
|
Deadline to apply for ECCLA's Family Child Care Home Facilities Improvement Grant is August 28th, 2020.
To address the declining number of licensed slots within family child care homes and to improve quality within home-based learning environments, the Buell Foundation granted funds to the Early Childhood Council Leadership Alliance (ECCLA) to provide facility improvement funding to family child care homes. This opportunity is intended to help family child care homes start up, expand, or maintain consistent operations, increase capacity and reduce the number of family child care homes closing their doors due to financial restrictions.
Applications for the second round of funding are due by Friday, August 28, 2020.
The funding priorities for the Family Child Care Home Facilities Improvement Grant include: 1) statewide geographic distribution with 50 percent of funding provided outside the Denver Metro area, (Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Boulder, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson) 2) addressing unmet service gaps, and 3) increasing capacity and access to family child care home programs. In addition, priority will be given to applicants that serve vulnerable families and children.
|
|
Upcoming Webinars and Virtual Trainings
NAEYC Virtual Institute
NAEYC is offering over 100 free presentations with content shared by NAEYC experts and presenters from different sectors of the early childhood field. Click here to learn more.
COAEYC Book Club: Infant Toddler Experiences in the Classroom
Starts June 25th
Experience plays an important role in the development of infants. A  responsive curriculum focuses on strategies that support exploration and learning of their environments - social, emotional, language, motor, cognitive, and physical. This class will learn ways to deepen our relationships with infants and fine-tune our approaches to extend experiences and learning opportunities for infants and toddlers. Participants will implement six strategies to increase the quality of interactions and learning opportunities in their own classroom while attending this course.
This course is worth 6 clock hours in PDIS and will meet on Google Meet every other week on June 25, July 9, and July 23. This course will be comprised of three 2-hour long sessions.
Register
COAEYC Book Club: Leadership in ECE
Starts August 6th
Maurice Sykes has made advocating for and advancing high-quality early childhood education his life’s work. In this book, he shares stories of the hills and valleys of his personal and professional journeys as he outlines eight core leadership values: human potential, knowledge, social justice, competence, fun and enjoyment, personal renewal, perseverance, and courage. Use this book to develop the skills, knowledge, and habits of mind to be a successful leader—and do the right thing for children, whether you serve at the individual, organizational, or classroom level.
This course is worth 6 clock hours in PDIS and will meet on Google Meet every other week on August 6, August 20, and September 3. This course will be comprised of three 2-hour long sessions.
Register
|
|
A Message from NAEYC: We Stand Together
Our hearts are heavy this week with the images of George Floyd being suffocated in police custody. On the heels of the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Corey Jones, Oscar Grant, Botham Jean, Sandra Bland and more, we need to look no further than our own communities to find current examples that build upon more than 400 years of injustice for black people in America. We see this in the striking, gaping disparities in how police and policymakers have responded to protests throughout the past month and the disproportionate sickness and death African-American, Latinx and Native American communities are experiencing from this pandemic.
While we all grieve, we want to speak directly to those of you in our NAEYC family who root your identities in communities of color. Today, like too many other days, the trauma black, brown and multiracial families and children are experiencing is a national crisis that requires action. As an organization, NAEYC sees your pain, and stands with you in grief. We condemn the generations of injustice along with the structural bias that causes disparities in outcomes based on where you live. We also want to speak directly to those of you who identify as an ally, and support you in recognizing personal implicit and explicit biases, and talking about, confronting, and responding to racism in our homes, neighborhoods, communities and schools.
|
|
Resources on Talking to Children About Race, Racism, and Resistance
|
|
Books for Children
Videos for Children
Educator-Focused Resources
Parent-Focused Resources
|
|
Updated Early Learning and Development Guidelines
 Colorado's Early Learning and Development Guidelines (ELDGs) have received an update, thanks to funding from year one of the Preschool Development Grant (PDG).
The ELDGs provide practical tips and points of reference that any caregiver can use to help kids grow physically, intellectually and emotionally. The Guidelines support children with different cultures, languages and abilities. The refreshed Guidelines incorporate new research in child development, and better align with the 2015 Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework and the 2020 Colorado Academic Standards.
New digital features including parent experience videos and a searchable version of the Guidelines. Head to earlylearningco.org to find the ELDG's in English and Spanish, plus fun videos, parent engagement opportunities and more.
|
|
|
|
