September 18, 2019 NAEYC Releases New Equity Position Statement As stated by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), “all children have the right to equitable learning opportunities that help them achieve their full potential as engaged learners and valued members of society.” That’s why, in support of equitable access and opportunities, NAEYC released their new position statement: “Advancing Equity in Early Education.” About Early childhood educators and professionals are in a unique position to advance equity in education. Early childhood education settings—including centers, family child care homes, and schools—are often among children’s first communities beyond their families. With the support of the early education system as a whole, they can create early learning environments that equitably distribute learning opportunities by helping all children experience responsive interactions that: nurture their full range of social, emotional, cognitive, physical, and linguistic abilities; reflect and model fundamental principles of fairness and justice; and help them accomplish the goals of anti-bias education. To learn more, read NAEYC’s full position statement. Recommendations Listed below are a few of NAEYC’s recommendations. For the full list, visit NAEYC’s website. Everyone Build awareness and understanding of your culture, personal beliefs, values, and biases. Recognize the power and benefits of diversity and inclusivity. Take responsibility for biased actions, even if unintended, and actively work to repair them. Acknowledge and seek to understand structural inequities and their impact over time. Administrators of Schools, Centers, Child Care, and Education Settings Take proactive steps with measurable goals to recruit and retain educators and leaders who reflect the diversity of children and families served and who meet professional expectations. Employ staff who speak the languages of the children and families served. Recognize the value of serving a diverse group of children and strive to increase the range of diversity among those served. Create meaningful, ongoing opportunities for multiple voices with diverse perspectives to engage in leadership and decision making. More Information For questions, contact NAEYC at 202.232.8777 or help@naeyc.org. *Information provided by the NAEYC
September 5, 2019 Registration Open for UnConference: The Business of Child Care On Saturday, October 19, Trying Together will host UnConference: The Business Side of Child Care to explore the fundamentals of running a successful child care business. About Child care centers play a vital role in the success of families and their young children. For parents and caregivers, access to care is necessary to remain or renter the workforce, an effort often needed to ensure financial security. For children, access to care means access to a world of social, emotional, physical, and cognitive growth opportunities. However, even with invaluable benefits, it can be expensive to establish, manage, and maintain a family, center-based, or relative child care facility. That’s why Trying Together is hosting UnConference: The Business of Child Care. From marketing and human resources to day-to-day accountability and business planning, this UnConference will dive deep into the business fundamentals of running a successful child care business. Participants will hear from Keynote Speaker Rona Nesbit, CFO of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, participate in hands-on workshops, enjoy panel discussions with audience Q&A sessions, and more. The event will also feature presenters from Trying Together, PNC Financial Services, Shared Source PA, and more. Conference Details UnConference: The Business of Child Care Saturday, October 19, 2019 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Allegheny Intermediate Unit 475 East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA 15120 What’s Included By attending the UnConference, professionals will: enjoy a light breakfast and lunch, participate in hands-on, interactive workshops, network with professional colleagues, and be eligible to receive 5.5 PQAS/DHS credits and/or Act 28 hours. Registration Registrations to attend must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Friday, October 11, 2019. For individuals or groups with less than six people, please register using the form below. For groups of more than six people, contact Yu-Ling at conference@tryingtogether.org to learn more about receiving a 10% discount. When workshops are finalized, participants will receive an email from Yu-Ling to select their preferred workshops. Due to limited space in each workshop, Trying Together recommends registering early as placement is dependent on the date of your registration. UnConference staff will do their best to match participants with their requested workshops, but placement is not guaranteed. More Information For more information, visit Trying Together’s UnConference webpage. Share this flyer with your network.
UnConference: The Business of Child Care Are you interested in learning about the business fundamentals of running a successful child care business? Join Trying Together in Homestead on Saturday, October 19 for UnConference: The Business of Child Care! About This UnConference dives into the business fundamentals of a successful child care business, from marketing and human resources to day-to-day accountability and business planning. Keynote Rona Nesbit, CFO of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, will share the benefits of shared services and how the award-winning Cultural District shared services model has provided growth, benefits, and smart business insights to downtown-based performing arts organizations. Following the keynote, Rachelle Duffy of Trying Together moderates a panel discussion and audience “Q&A” on how shared services can and does work for child care centers. Attendees will then engage in two workshops, featuring presenters from Trying Together, PNC Financial Services, Shared Source PA, and more. What Is Included 5.5 PQAS/DHS credits and/or Act 28 hours Light breakfast and lunch Networking with colleagues Hands-on, interactive workshops Refund policy Registration Registrations to attend must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Friday, October 11, 2019. For individuals or groups with less than six people, please register using the form below. There is a 10% discount for groups of more than six people. For more information, contact Yu-Ling at conference@tryingtogether.org. When workshops are finalized, you will receive an email from Yu-Ling to select your preferred workshops. Due to limited space in each workshop, we recommend registering early as placement is dependent on the date of your registration. We will do our best to place you in your requested workshop, but this is not guaranteed. Attendees can receive refunds if requested 30 days in advance of the UnConference date. For refunds, please email Yu-Ling at conference@tryingtogether.org. More Information For more information, please visit the event webpage. Share this flyer with your network.
August 30, 2019 Enrolling and Supporting Families Experiencing Homelessness Join the National Center on Parent, Family, and Community Engagement on October 1 for their upcoming webinar, “Enrolling and Supporting Families Experiencing Homelessness: Conversations with Families about Living Experiences and Housing Goals.” About Staff in Head Start, Early Head Start, and child care programs are often in a position to have talks with families about their living situation. They can use the definition of homelessness included in the McKinney-Vento Act as a blueprint for providing information and support to families. In this webinar, develop a shared understanding of McKinney-Vento definition and common terms as they appear in regulation and practice. Learn how relationship building and exemplary practices are key when in engaging in sensitive conversations with families. This is the first webinar in the Enrolling and Supporting Families Experiencing Homelessness Webinar Series. Register To register and learn more, visit the event webpage! *Information provided by ECLKC
August 19, 2019 First Up Annual Conference Early childhood professionals are invited to join First Up on March 6, 2020 for their Annual Conference! About First Up’s Annual Conference will feature national and local experts presenting on a range of topics, including managing challenging behaviors, negotiating risky play, practicing mindfulness, and stress management for parents, children, and professionals! Come prepared to enjoy a full day of professional development, networking, and inspiration – all centered around building strong classroom curricula and engaging learning environments for young learners. Space is limited. Registration To register and for information on fees, please visit the First Up website. More Information For more information, including a complete workshop listing, visit the conference website. For questions, contact Rebecca Tyrrell at rebecca.tyrrell@firstup.org.
August 16, 2019 Pre-K Assessments the Right Way (Webinar) Community members are invited to join Keith Kline and Valerie Zaryczny on August 28 for a webinar on formal and informal pre-k assessments. About Pre-k assessments, both formal and informal, are a powerful tool in identifying students’ progress, discovering areas that need attention for remediation, and providing insight into how professionals can adjust their curriculum to meet all student needs. Pre-k assessments enable professionals to assess their children holistically in the areas of writing, language, literacy, and math and offer a way to communicate student progress. This edWebinar will be of interest to pre-k teachers and school leaders. Time for questions will be provided. Learning Objectives This edWebinar will help participants: understand the purpose of informal assessments; maintain student portfolios and information gathering; implement three informal assessments on readiness, writing, literacy, and math; learn observational skills needed to assess students in the classroom; utilize three observation checklists that will help guide assessments; use the collected information to focus on instruction; and effectively communicate with the families and others involved in the child’s education. Registration To register for this webinar, visit the edWeb website.
August 14, 2019 A Tapestry by Design (Online) In this online professional development course, participants will discuss early education content and pedagogy, based upon an understanding of how young children grow and learn. Topics such as interculturalism, family engagement, inclusion, and the importance of play will be highlighted. Three PQAS and Act 48 hours will be awarded. Course Timeline This course will be available online from October 28 through November 15, 2019. More Information For more information, contact Jasmine Davis at 412.567.3933 or jasmine@tryingtogether.org. Share this flyer with your network. Registration To participate in this course, complete the registration process below.
Working With Diverse Families: Supporting Dual Language Learners (Online) In this online course, participants will engage in an interactive professional development session to build and strengthen knowledge in working with diverse children ages birth to five and families. To support early childhood practitioners serving this population, this session will focus on current research strategies when teaching dual language learners, and techniques to engage families. Three PQAS and Act 48 hours will be awarded. Course Timeline This course will be available online from September 16 through October 4, 2019. More Information For more information, contact Jasmine Davis at 412.567.3933 or jasmine@tryingtogether.org. Registration To participate in this course, complete the registration process below.
August 13, 2019 Come Play! Guided by the staff at Trying Together, Come Play! is an opportunity for group and family child care providers to bring their enrolled children for hands-on professional learning. Provider Benefits By participating, providers will receive: PQAS / Act 48 Hours Mentoring Program Resources Questions For more information or to ask questions, contact Mimi Loughead at 412.567.5163 or mimi@tryingtogether.org. Share this flyer with your networks.
Community Members Encouraged to “Call It Child Care” In June 2018, the Pennsylvania state legislature passed House Bill 1677 to update Pennsylvania’s regulations and code to use the term “child care” rather than “day care” to reflect the work of early learning programs more accurately. Trying Together worked closely with the bill’s prime sponsor, Representative Jason Ortitay, who represents Allegheny and Washington counties. To further support this effort, Trying Together is launching the “Call It Child Care” initiative. Why Call It Child Care? Trying Together recognizes that shifting commonly used language can be difficult. However, by using the term “child care” instead of “day care,” you recognize that: 1. The impact of child care is much longer than a day. Early childhood programs support lifelong success for children and families. Research has shown that high-quality child care builds a strong foundation from which children grow and thrive. By having access to early care and education programming, families experience multi-generational benefits, with young children achieving higher test scores and graduation rates, committing fewer crimes, and earning higher wages, to name a few. Caregivers are able to reenter the workforce, increasing the financial stability of the family and the long-term professional success of the caregiver. 2. The words we use matter. The words we use affect the public’s perception of the early care and education field and affect the field’s own accountability in providing high-quality care. Using “child care” rather than “day care” recognizes the important work of these professionals, in addition to the work children put in to learn, develop, and grow. Accurate language is critical to gaining respect, validation, and investments in currently under-resourced systems. 3. “Child care” acknowledges the complexity of high-quality early care and education programs. High-quality child care programs employ, develop, and retain educated credentialed staff. Child care professionals use a curriculum, lesson plans, and family engagement activities to promote the cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development of the children they serve. How You Can Help Please join us in the coming months as an advocate for the “Call It Child Care” initiative. If you’re an early care and education professional, use the term “child care” when speaking about your work and update your materials as needed. If you’re a family or community member, embrace the term “child care” and use it when referencing your child’s program! Digital Resource Toolkit Interested in doing more? Use our digital resource toolkit to advocate for “Call It Child Care” today! Help spread the word about using the term “child care” by having conversations with your colleagues, family, and friends. Share a graphic on social media and tell your followers about the initiative. Write a letter or email to the families in your early learning program. Print the Call It Child Care posters and post them around your office or program. Read a letter from the Trying Together Executive Director. Learn More To learn more about the initiative, visit our Call It Child Care page.
