WEEKLY COALITION BLAST | NOVEMBER 15, 2017
WE EXIST TO GROW HEALTHY CHILDREN , PARENTS , AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THEM.

Lynne's Message 
Dear Providers -

For those who have completed the 2017-18 Child Care Practitioner Survey THANK YOU! To date, over 125 practitioners have taken time to complete the survey. We are asking that each contracted provider allow their staff to complete this online survey. There will be a quality stipend for providers and teachers completing the survey. More information about the stipend will be discussed at the December Face-to-Face meeting.

Remember, we are asking that all responses be completed on or before November 30. If you have any questions be sure to send them through redline@elcnwf.org. Thank you for helping provide us with up-to-date information about early learning practitioners at your child care program. 

In your service,

Lynne
November is Family Engagement Month!
Attached please find several fliers from OEL's Child Care Resource and Referral Team regarding Family Engagement Month (November).

  • The "Family Engagement Month Tips" includes helpful tips as well as suggestions for promoting your programs through social media. Anytime you engage families and share photos on social media (including Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter), use #EngagedFamiliesFL. Just like with #1stDayVPK, OEL will feature programs throughout the state that are going above and beyond to engage families.
  • OEL is celebrating Vroom Week Florida from November 27-December 1. Look at the attached "Vroom Week Florida Flier" for more information about involving your program. If you would like Vroom materials to display in your program or to send home to families, PLEASE let us know. We would be happy to provide those materials to you. Email redline@elcnwf.org to request Vroom materials.
  • The "New CCR+R Materials for Providers" button includes helpful hints and a wealth of information about tips for engaging parents as well as scholarship information for children with IEPs.
School Readiness Contract Monitoring
Contract monitoring for November 2017 has started. You will begin to see our new staff member, Amy Branton, in the field. While completing the monitoring, Coalition staff will use the School Readiness (SR) Provider Contract Monitoring Tool ( Form OEL-SR 20M).

Some the most common areas of noncompliance are:

  1. Not having the Approved Curriculum version on site for verification
  2. Lesson plans not posted for each classroom and/or lesson plans that do not reflect evidence of curriculum implementation
  3. Child records not stored properly
  4. Necessary documentation requested not provided (NOTE: The Desktop Review requires that the following documents be submitted for ALL SR children for the payment validation month.)

  • Enrollment and attendance certifications (attendance rosters)
  • Documentation to support excused absences (including Rilya Wilson documentation)
  • Child payment certificates (eligibility paperwork receive from Coalition/parent)
  • Proof of parent copayments
  • Sign-in/sign-out documentation

5. The daily sign-in/sign-out sheets missing times and signatures
6. Daily documentation/notification to case managers for Rilya Wilson children

Please review the attached SR Provider Contract Monitoring Tool prior to the monitoring. This guide will be used by Coalition staff to guide monitoring, including the questions asked regarding your program. If you have questions regarding the SR Contract Monitoring Tool and/or process, please email the Redline at redline@elcnwf.org.   
"Disable" Teacher Function in TeachingStrategies
Between checkpoint periods is an appropriate time to "clean up" your TeachingStrategies site. Please review your list of teachers, and disable any that are no longer with your program. Some programs have teachers listed who have not logged into TeachingStrategies since 2013. If personnel are no longer utilizing TeachingStrategies, they should be disabled.

To disable a teacher:
  1. Click on the circle at the top right that indicates your initial.
  2. Click on “Administration.”
  3. Look for the white box at the left-hand side of your screen. Click on “View Users.” A list of your teachers will appear.
  4. Click on the underlined name of the teacher, and the profile will appear.
  5. In the middle of the page under the heading “Security” is the "Username," and under the "Username" is a box beside the word “Disable.” Click on that box to disable.
  6. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click “Save.”

After you complete these steps, inactive users (teachers) will be disabled and unable to access TeachingStrategies. If needed, any previous users can easily be reactivated. Email redline@elcnwf.org if you need to reactivate a teacher or need assistance with the instructions above.
Understanding Child Development
As educators, we understand the importance of knowing the developmental status of our children. In a classroom full of different personalities and behaviors, it can be difficult to consistently monitor growth and progress. There are helpful tools and strategies that can be used to manage the classroom’s environment so that your class (including teachers) can get the most out of the day. Attached is an article that highlights behavioral expectations of a preschooler. This article may help aid a teacher in planning and managing classroom activities in an age-appropriate manner.
November is American Diabetes Month
Diabetes is a disease the occurs when your blood glucose (also called blood sugar) is too high. It is unfortunate that diabetes symptoms are NOT quickly identified in infants and toddlers because children that young are unable to speak. Please refer to the following link for Symptoms of Pediatric Diabetes in Babies and Toddlers.
Early Learning Scholastic Book Fair
If you are still interested in purchasing books through the ONLINE BOOK FAIR benefiting the Coalition, please click here or below. Our online fair will be open through this Saturday, November 18. Scholastic Dollars will be earned by providers, groups, or organizations who purchase over $100. (This includes families who visit the online and/or on-site fair from your program.) After the online fair concludes, we will send you an email with your total earned Scholastic Dollars. You will be able to make purchases through the Scholastic Dollars Catalog online.

Below, please find links to the Scholastic Information Letter (with helpful links), the Scholastic Early Learning Flier, and the Early Learning Scholastic Book Fair link (to our online fair).

The book fair has already been such a tremendous success, so thank you to everyone who has supported the book fair! We appreciate you, and we hope you enjoy your book purchases.

If you have questions, please send an email to redline@elcnwf.org.
Celebrate Literacy Week, Florida! 2018
Attached please find updated information about Celebrate Literacy Week, Florida! 2018. The books have been selected, so make plans to share these stories in your program.
Children's Week "Hanging of the Hands"
It's ALMOST that time of year again!

Children's Week will be January 21-26, 2018, and will share the week with Celebrate Literacy Week Florida. (Look above for updated information about Celebrate Literacy Week, Florida! 2018.) You can begin creating hand artwork as soon as you would like. This year, we are asking that each program string together their hand art into 8- to 10-foot strands, and attach a name card including the program name, program city, class name, and class age group. We want our legislators to spot hand art from their hometown.

Strands of hand art will be collected at the January Face-to-Face Meeting on January 5, or you can drop off your strands at any Early Learning Coalition office (Chipley, Marianna, or Panama City). For more information on the locations of our Coalition offices, visit our website.

Attached is a flier that you can post in your center, and it provides specific instructions for artwork and deadlines. Please visit https://childrensweek.org/event/hanging-of-the-hands/ for statewide information or www.elcnwf.org/childrens-week/ for information about our local efforts.

If you have any questions or need additional information about Children's Week, please email redline@elcnwf.org .
Above: Northwest Florida Hand Art Hanging in the Florida Capitol Rotunda, March 2017
OEL: "VPK Snapshots" for November 2017
Click here or below to view the November 2017 edition of "VPK Snapshots."
OEL: "Early Learning Parents' Pages" for November 2017
Attached please find a link to OEL's November 2017 edition of "Early Learning Parents' Pages." If you would like to view past editions of Early Learning Parents' Pages," click here.
Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida | Phone: 850.747.5400 | Fax: 850.747.5450 | www.elcnwf.org
Sponsored by the Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida and the State of Florida, Office of Early Learning