September 1, 2020 Virtual Community of Practice Meetings Are you interested in discussing topics of interest and current trends with fellow professionals in the early childhood field? Join ELRC Region 5 for their virtual Community of Practice sessions! About Community of Practice sessions provide early learning professionals with opportunities to discuss topics of interest, current trends in the early childhood field, and offer insight and inspiration to their fellow professionals. In November, these virtual sessions will discuss how to create Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) plans using approved program observation instruments, creating goals from the results of those instruments, identifying the steps it will take to reach the goals, and who is responsible for ensuring the goal is implemented. Participants will learn about the importance of including staffs’ professional development plans and how to use the CQI throughout the whole year. Available Sessions Saturday, November 14: Continuous Quality Improvement Plan 10 a.m. | Zoom Meetings | Attend the Session Thursday, November 19: Continuous Quality Improvement Plan 10 a.m. | Zoom Meetings | Attend the Session 1 p.m. | Zoom Meetings | Attend the Session More Information For questions, contact ELRC Region 5 at elrc5@alleghenycounty.us or 412.350.3577. Share this flyer with your network.
August 31, 2020 Virtual Community of Practice Meetings Are you interested in discussing topics of interest and current trends with fellow professionals in the early childhood field? Join ELRC Region 5 for their virtual Community of Practice sessions! About Community of Practice sessions provide early learning professionals with opportunities to discuss topics of interest, current trends in the early childhood field, and offer insight and inspiration to their fellow professionals. In October, these virtual sessions will focus on tips, how-tos, and tools for participants to navigate through Provider Self Service (PSS), where you can apply for or renew child care licensing, submit ELRC online attendance invoices, submit Keystone STARS requests, and update provider profiles; and STARS Management and Reliability Tracking (SMART), a document uploader for the Keystone STARS Designation process. Available Sessions Saturday, October 10: SMART Document Uploader, Provider Self Service & Keystone STARS Supporting Documents 10 a.m. | Zoom Meetings | Attend the Session Thursday, October 15: SMART Document Uploader, Provider Self Service & Keystone STARS Supporting Documents 10 a.m. | Zoom Meetings | Attend the Session 1 p.m. | Zoom Meetings | Attend the Session More Information For questions, contact ELRC Region 5 at elrc5@alleghenycounty.us or 412.350.3577. Share this flyer with your network.
May 13, 2020 Virtual Summer Conference for Out-of-School Time Join the Allegheny Partners for Out-of-School Time (APOST) from May 26 through June 5, 2020 for their Virtual Summer Conference for Out-of-School Time! About The Virtual Summer Conference for Out-of-School Time will offer relevant workshops to help professionals continue to provide quality programming for youth during this troubling time. This conference is open to any youth practitioners who desire to increase their skills in working with youth in out-of-school time programs or in mentoring relationships. Available Workshops The Virtual Conference will include the following workshops: Afterschool Programming and Communication Pivot during COVID-19 Tuesday, 5/26, 10 – 11 a.m. Presenter: Adeshewa Metzger, Assemble The Power of Parent Engagement: Parents as Partners Tuesday, 5/26, 3 – 4:30 p.m. Presenter: Shannon Prentiss, The Neighborhood Academy Building Resiliency: From Brain Development to Practicing Self-Care in a Virtual World Wednesday, 5/27, 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. Presenters: Courtney Smalt, Ling Deng, and Autumn Detchon, Adagio Health Fostering Healthy Transitions Wednesday, 5/27, 3 – 4 p.m. Presenter: Sophia Duck, The Mentoring Partnership Engaging Kids Outside Friday, 5/29, 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. Presenters: Lo Zemanek and Kelly Sarkis, Venture Outdoors Yes, And’ing Youth Voice During COVID-19 Friday, 5/29, 1 – 2 p.m. Presenter: Lori Crawford, Improviding The Culturally Inclusive Check-In Monday, 6/1, 1 – 2:30 p.m. Presenters: Adeshea Metzger and Ja’Sonta Roberts, Assemble Staff Wellness and Role Modeling Wednesday, 6/3, 10 – 11:30 a.m. Presenters: Shrenik Gadagkar and Jenny Park, UPMC Children’s Hospital Techniques to Address Helper’s Trauma in OST Providers Friday, 6/5, 10 – 11:30 a.m. Presenter: Debralyn Woodberry-Shaw, ELIE Circle To register and learn more, utilize the links above or view the full conference agenda. More Information For questions or more information, please contact Jaron Paul at jaron.paul@unitedwayswpa.org.
January 2, 2020 Trying Together Friendraiser Are you interested in learning more about Trying Together, advocating for early childhood, and expanding your network? Join Executive Director Cara Ciminillo and Trying Together’s Board of Directors on February 27 for our 2020 Friendraiser! The event will feature a brief presentation and networking with early childhood professionals and stakeholders. Click here to learn more about Trying Together’s Board of Directors. Event Details Thursday, February 27, 2020 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. Southern Tier 316 N Shore Dr, Pittsburgh, PA 15212 Registration Registration is required and must be completed by February 25, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. During registration, if you do not know the email address(es) of your guest(s), please insert your email in the associated field. A copy of the registration receipt will be sent. To register, complete the form below.
October 21, 2019 Celebración Dia De Los Muertos Families and community members are invited to join La Escuelita Arcoiris on November 3 for a “Dia De Los Muertos” celebration in Squirrel Hill. About Hosted at the Squirrel Hill Farmers Market, Celebración Dia De Los Muertos is a family-friendly event that features colorful activities, delicious food, and fun music to commemorate the Mexican holiday dedicated to honoring of our loved ones who have passed. Activities will include: face painting, piñatas, flower-making, cookie decorating, a food truck, and more! The event will also feature pan dulce (Mexican sweet bread) and Mexican champurrado (traditional Mexican chocolate made from ground maize flour.) The event will take place at the Squirrel Hill Farmers Market, located on the corner of Bartlett Street and Murray Avenue. There will be a parade at 12:30 p.m. More Information For questions, contact La Escuelita Arcoiris at contactanos@laescuelitapgh.org or 412.421.4787. Share this flyer with your network.
July 9, 2019 DHS Licensed Providers: Plan of Correction Notice The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) is offering training for all DHS licensed providers on completing a Plan of Correction (POC). About This free, live webinar training will focus on the elements needed for the foundation of an acceptable POC. It is strongly recommended that all facility staff involved in completing POCs attend one webinar session. Each scheduled webinar will last approximately one hour. Only one webinar should be attended, as the material covered will be the same in each session. Webinar Dates The dates for the webinars are as follows: Tuesday, July 16, 9:30 – 10: 30 a.m. Tuesday, July 16, 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 17, 10:30 – 11: 30 a.m. Wednesday, July 17, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Tuesday, July 23, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Wednesday, July 24, 10:30 – 11: 30 a.m. Wednesday, July 24, 1:30 – 2: 30 p.m. Thursday, July 25, 9:30 – 10: 30 a.m. Registration To register for a training session, visit the registration web page. Space is limited and is offered on a first-come, first-served basis. After registering, you will receive a link to connect you to the webinar training. Unable to Attend? If you are unable to attend one of these webinar sessions, DHS will be offering a similar training in a self-paced format in late July 2019. Additional information will be shared on how to access the self-paced training in the future. *Information provided by the PA Office of Child Development and Early Learning
July 2, 2019 Free Dental Clinic: Mission of Mercy Mission of Mercy Pittsburgh is providing free dental clinic services on a first-come, first served basis on July 26 and 27th, with doors opening at 6 a.m. About If you, a loved one, or a friend are in need of free dental care, Mission of Mercy Pittsburgh (MOMPGH) is here to help! MOMPGH provides free dental services, with a limit of one dental procedure per patient per day, on a first-come, first serve basis until capacity is reached. The clinic doesn’t require specific eligibility or income requirements and is open to children (ages 2 to 17) and adults. If a child is present (anyone under 18), there must be a guardian available to watch the child at all times, meaning if one adult is receiving a procedure, another must be present to watch the child. Child care is not provided. Pre-registration is not required, but it is recommended to arrive early. Participants must enter through the PPG Paints Arena Highmark Gate, located next to the Epiphany Catholic Church on Centre Avenue. Services Provided The free dental clinic provides: cleanings, fillings root canal treatments on selective teeth, extractions, oral hygiene instruction, and a limited number of temporary partial dental appliances. Transportation Shuttle services will be provided for patients, with two routes available. The circuit for each route will on the hour, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. The last shuttle will depart PPG Paints Arena at 6 p.m. Route A Station Square T Station Carson Towers (2117 East Carson Street) Hillman Library (2960 Forbes Avenue) VA Pittsburgh Hospital – University Center Jubilee Kitchen (2005 Wyandotte Street) PPG Paints Arena (1001 Fifth Avenue) Route B Saint Stanislaus Church (57 21st Street) Giant Eagle on North Side (318-320 Cedar Avenue) Greyhound Station (55 11th Street) Market Square PPG Paints Arean (1001 Fifth Avenue) Click here to view the map. Learn More To learn more about available services, what to expect, and more, visit the MOMPGH page. For questions, email info@MOMpgh.org.
June 3, 2019 APOST Summer Conference for Out-of-School Time Join Allegheny Partners for Out-of-School-Time (APOST) on June 14 for their Summer Conference for Out-of-School Time. PQAS/Act 48 credit available upon request. About The APOST Summer Conference for Out-of-School Time is a professional development conference that shares best practices in youth development. This conference is open to youth practitioners who desire to increase their skills in working with youth in out-of-school time programs or in mentoring relationships. This year’s event will feature Keynote Speaker Timothy Jones, an expert in youth development and hip-hop culture/pedagogy who has developed, implemented, and evaluated out-of-school time programs inside and outside of schools for over 20 years. Limited free parking is available, but carpooling is recommended. More Information To learn more and register, visit APOST’s Eventbrite page. For questions, contact APOST via phone at 412.456.6876.
May 22, 2019 City Receives Grant to Support Safe Travel for Schoolchildren On May 22, 2019, officials from Mayor William Peduto’s administration discussed a state grant of more than $450,000 to support safe routes to school for elementary and middle school students in Pittsburgh. About A bill was discussed at Pittsburgh City Council’s standing committees meeting accepting $464,000 from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s (PennDOT) Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside Program, which provides assistance to municipalities to support the creation of safe and appealing alternatives to single occupant vehicle travel. More than 30 million Americans nationwide transport their children to and from schools every day, which research shows increases hazardous road conditions and harms the environment. The Safe Routes to School program seeks to address that by supporting walking and biking to school, leading to eased traffic conditions and better health for schoolchildren. “The ability to walk or bike to school has long been one of the classic characteristics of Pittsburgh, but over recent decades it has become increasingly hazardous for children, who are our most valuable and vulnerable travelers,” said Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI) Director Karina Ricks. “This grant will allow us to dedicate resources to help us collaborate with school leaders and parents to identify areas where low-cost improvements can be rapidly implemented.” What’s Next? DOMI is proposing using the PennDOT grant to hire a Safe Routes to School coordinator who is part educator, part engineer and will work on programming for students to walk and bike more easily. The coordinator will work on traffic calming and other safety improvements on streets near schools best suited for walking and biking. Once approved, DOMI plans to have a person in the position by the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year. Learn More To learn more about PennDOT’s Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside program, visit their website. *Information provided by the City of Pittsburgh
May 20, 2019 Allegheny County Children’s Fund Community Meeting Spanish-speaking community members are invited to join the Allegheny County Children’s Fund Working Group on June 18 at the YWCA Building in Downtown Pittsburgh to share their views on what works best and what additional support is needed when it comes to early learning and out-of-school time. About Allegheny County’s goal is to make sure that every child can benefit from quality early learning and out-of-school time. A series of six Community Meetings are being held across the County to learn from families, caregivers, and educators what access to quality early learning and out-of-school time looks like today—from your perspective and in your community. Each meeting will include child care, refreshments, and opportunities for community members to voice their input on how Allegheny County can be a leader for kids moving forward. Community Meeting Dates The Allegheny County Children’s Fund Working Group and community members will convene on the following dates: City Meeting – May 30 | 6:30 p.m. | Jeron X Grayson Center, Hill District West Meeting – June 3 | 6:30 p.m. | The Landing Community Center, Moon Township South Meeting – June 4 | 6:30 p.m. | Bethel Park Community Center North Meeting – June 5 | 6:00 p.m. | Shaler North Hills Library East Meeting – June 12 | 6:30 p.m. | Founders Hall Middle School, McKeesport Spanish-Language Meeting – June 18 | 6:30 p.m. | YWCA Building, Downtown Pittsburgh Registration & Questions Visit the Community Meeting website to learn more, RSVP, or contact event organizers.
