December 9, 2019 Strengthening Relationships with Children, Families, and Colleagues Early childhood professionals are invited to attend “Strengthening Relationships with Children, Families, and Colleagues” to reflect on how their experiences, temperament, and backgrounds influence the relationships they have or want to build with children, families, and colleagues. Participants will reflect on their feelings about parent participation in their program and leave with ideas on ways to build a stronger home-school connection in their own program. Additionally, participants will share, discuss and implement best practices that can be used to develop and strengthen relationships with children, families, and colleagues. Interested individuals must attend both online sessions for PQAS credit. Available Dates January 13, 2020 | 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. | Event ID: 307704 February 17, 2020 | 8:45 a.m. – 3:15 p.m. | Event ID: 308423 To register and learn more, visit the PD Registry website. More Information For questions, please contact Annie Skamangas-Scaros at 412.608.2594 or ecetacademy@gmail.com. *Information provided by the Pennsylvania Key
November 11, 2019 Breaking Bold: Igniting a Love for Learning Join Weston Kieschnick, Senior Fellow at the International Center for Leadership in Education, on November 20 for his webinar, “Breaking Bold: Igniting a Love for Learning.” About More than pedagogical understanding, instructional strategies, or even content knowledge, the number one factor in predicting a child’s academic success is the absence, or presence, of positive teacher-student interactions. Leaders and teachers need a simple framework and process for cultivating a culture centered around high expectations, resilience, and creativity. Attendees will: explore the 12 research-based characteristics for cultivating masterful relationships, gain practical strategies for implementing these in everyday practice, and reflect on current practices and identify simple ways to build positive interactions with more students every day. This edWebinar will be of interest to K-12 teachers and school and district leaders. Time for questions will be provided. Registration To learn more and register, visit the edWeb website.
July 22, 2019 Family Check-Up Helps Families Build & Grow Together The day-to-day challenges of raising children aren’t easy, but families don’t have to do it alone. At the Homewood-Brushton Family Support Center, Family Check-Up offers an opportunity for all families to take a seat, talk about their challenges, and move forward with strategies to solve them. About Family Check-Up In family support centers across the nation, the Family Check-Up (FCU) model aims to promote child and family well-being by providing parents and caregivers with new skills and tools to strengthen family relationships. The program starts off with an initial interview and an assessment of the family’s strengths and needs, followed by creating tailored goals to meet the unique needs of each family. A final feedback session provides an opportunity to continue building parenting skills through the “Everyday Parenting Curriculum” and information on possible follow-up services. All services are free and confidential. Benefits of Participation For more than 20 years, research has shown that participating in FCU: increases parent and caregiver confidence, reduces family stress and conflict, and reduces challenging behaviors displayed by preschoolers, school-aged children, and teens. Schedule an Appointment Interested in signing up? Schedule an appointment by contacting Family Coach, Adriana Chung, at 412.727.6649. See our interview with Adriana to learn more.
June 14, 2019 RIF Pittsburgh Seeks Mentors for Elementary Students Reading Is FUNdamental Pittsburgh is seeking volunteers for its Everybody Wins! program. About Everybody Wins! is a school-based literacy mentoring program that pairs kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd-grade students with a caring adult to build a meaningful relationship while sharing conversation, good books, and literacy-related activities for one hour a week. These consistent, one-on-one experiences increase a child’s opportunity for success, both academically and in life. Help an elementary student build literacy skills and develop a lifelong love of reading by volunteering as a mentor today! Volunteer Interested in volunteering? Sign up by contacting: Nora Peters, Program Director 412.321.8022, ext. 298 npeters@rifpittsburgh.org Learn More To learn more, visit the Reading is FUNdamental Pittsburgh website. Share this flyer with your network.
June 4, 2019 Empowering and Strengthening Relationships Across Early Childhood Settings Join the Harvard Graduate School of Education on June 27 and 28 for “Empowering and Strengthening Relationships Across Early Childhood Settings,” a new program intended for early education leaders, principals, program directors, administrators, and teacher leaders. About “Empowering and Strengthening Relationships Across Early Childhood Settings” is offered as part of the Zaentz Professional Learning Academy, featuring the tools and resources of “Simple Interactions,” a collaboration between the Fred Rogers Center on Early Learning and Children’s Media and the Zaentz Initiative. Led by Faculty Co-Chairs Junlei Li, Nonie Lesaux, and Stephanie Jones, this two-day on-campus institute offers participants a combination of practice-based learning experiences, research and theoretical insights from both within and beyond the early childhood field, and community-supported problem-solving. Program Objectives Participants will: Define what is a developmental human interaction and how such interactions contribute to the full range of child development goals from language to social and emotional learning; Envision and plan how to support the development of young children’s helpers and empower adult-child human interactions; and Engage in practice-based conversations for professional learning settings and re-examine early childhood systems with a relationship-focused lens. Program Costs The program will be hosted on campus and will require a $199 tuition payment per person. Special rates are available for Program, Community, District, and Network Teams. Participants will receive a certificate of participation and a letter confirming clock hours of instruction. Tuition includes all instructional materials, however, participants will have to pay for associated travel expenses and hotel accommodations. For more information, visit their Payment page. Registration Registrations must be submitted by June 20, 2019, via the event website. More Information For more information, visit the event webpage or email ppe@gse.harvard.edu. Share this flyer with your network.
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 23, 2019 Addressing Domestic Violence in ECE Programs Join Promising Futures on May 30 for a webinar exploring ways in which early childhood professionals and programs can support children and families affected by domestic violence. About Domestic violence harms many families with young children. However, early childhood teachers and caregivers can help children heal. Further, early childhood programs can support healthy development and work to stop domestic violence in their communities. Join Promising Futures for this upcoming webinar to learn how early childhood programs can help families affected by domestic violence. Presenters will share strategies, tools, and resources created in partnership with The National Center on Parent, Family and Community Engagement. Presenters: Virginia Duplessis, MSW, Program Director, Futures Without Violence Mie Fukuda, MA, Senior Program Specialist, Futures Without Violence Registration To register for this event, visit their webinar page. Questions For more information, contact Graciela Olguin at golguin@futureswithoutviolence.org. Share this flyer with your network.
December 20, 2018 OCDEL Reports Progress on Infant/Toddler Policies In 2017, the PA Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) and stakeholders completed a policy scan with National State Capacity Building Center that identified short, medium, and long-term policy goals to support infants and toddlers in Pennsylvania. Goal Progress OCDEL is proud to report progress on those goals: Short-Term Goal The short-term goal to “adopt a shared definition of relationship-based care” across the ECE system is underway. OCDEL and Early Learning Resource Center (ELRC) staff, in partnership with the National Center on Parent, Family, and Community Engagement, are focusing on Relationship-Based Competencies and developing shared definitions and language across systems. Medium-Term Goal The medium-term goal is to “develop a triaging protocol that creates a system akin to Early Head Start that will connect families of infants and toddlers in child care with comprehensive health (including oral) and family support services in their community.” This goal is reflected in the work of the ELRCs which are charged with ensuring all families have access to needed services beyond child care, such as CHIP, WIC, and family supports, including home visiting. Long-Term Goal The long-term goal is to “explore vouchers and contracts that fund the true cost of serving infants and toddlers.” Through the Infant/Toddler Contracted Slot Pilot, OCDEL is piloting contracted slots for infants and toddlers in Keystone STAR 3 and 4 programs. The pilot seeks to understand how contracted slots can support continuity of care for infants, toddlers, and their families and the financial impact on high-quality providers interested in seeking financial stability for the classrooms serving their youngest learners. More Information Additional details will be released in later editions of the PA Early Ed News. *Information provided by the PA Early Ed News
