November 13, 2020 2021 Terri Lynne Lokoff Teacher Awards: Apply Do you know an exceptional child care professional or are you one yourself? Apply for the 2021 Terri Lynne Lokoff Teacher Awards to nominate that person for a chance to win the Helene Marks Award, a $1,000 cash prize, and more! About In collaboration with the Terri Lynne Lokoff Child Care Foundation (TLLCCF), First Up is hosting the 2021 Terri Lynne Lokoff Teacher Awards to honor exceptional child care professionals. In 1987, Kay and Fred Lokoff formed the TLLCCF to honor the memory of their daughter. Terri was a passionate child care teacher who knew the incredible value of Early Childhood Education and was committed to making a difference by giving children a strong start in their lives. Applications for the 2021 Terri Lynne Lokoff Teacher Awards are now available. Child care teachers from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and on U.S. Military bases and installations around the world are invited to apply. Fifty awards are presented each year. What Will Recipients Win? Every award recipient receives: a $1,000 cash prize, a trip to Philadelphia for the award ceremony (COVID permitting), and a chance to win the Helene Marks Award with the additional honor of being named the National Child Care Teacher of the Year. Application To apply, complete the online application. For those who would like to print and mail their completed application, a downloadable PDF version is available. Applications are due by January 29, 2021. More Information For more information, please contact Sharon Bell at Sharon.Bell@firstup.org.
April 15, 2020 Family Strengths Survey Now Available During the COVID-19 pandemic, parents and adult caregivers are vital in supporting the care, education, and healthy development of young children. Each caregiver and family will have their own unique experiences during these tough times, with many requiring assistance to acquire food, pay bills, and access other critical services. To better understand which resources have been the most helpful and to ensure that these resources remain available, the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics launched the “Family Strengths Survey.” The survey is open to the public and all answers will be submitted anonymously. Take the Survey If you are interested in submitting the Family Strengths survey in English, please visit the survey webpage or call 412.692.8026. The survey is also available in Spanish. You Could Win At the end of the survey, participants will have the choice to enter your name and contact information for a chance to receive a $100 gift card. Five people will be randomly selected each week from everyone who answers the survey. The contact information that you provide will never be linked to your answers in the survey. Visit the survey webpage to learn more. More Information For more information about the survey or to see weekly updates on survey results, please visit the Family Strengths Survey webpage. For questions, please contact PGHstudy@pitt.edu. For more information on COVID-19, including daily updates, please click here to visit our COVID-19 resources page.
December 20, 2018 PA Wins Brandon Hall Group Excellence Bronze Award In August 2018, the PA Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) and PA Key course, Assessment: Beyond the Basics of Observation and Data Utilization, won the prestigious Brandon Hall Group Excellence Bronze Award for best in Custom Content. The Excellence Awards The Excellence Awards recognize the best organizations that have successfully deployed programs, strategies, modalities, processes, systems, and tools that have achieved measurable results. Award entries were evaluated by a panel of veteran, independent senior industry experts, Brandon Hall Group analysts, and executives based upon the following criteria: Fit the need Design of the program Functionality Innovation Overall measurable benefits. See the full list awardees. About the Course The winning self-paced online course for early learning teachers provides an overview of classroom assessments of young children and how information from assessments can be used to inform instruction. The course was developed in collaboration with CyperhWorx, Inc. and was made possible through Pennsylvania’s Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge grant. Professional Development To register for the winning course (and others), visit the PA Professional Development Registry. *Information provided by the PA Early Ed News
