WE EXIST TO GROW HEALTHY
CHILDREN
,
PARENTS
, AND THE
RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN THEM.
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Dear 2016-17 VPK Providers -
The 2016-17 VPK Provider Readiness Rate process has started. Letters were mailed out to every provider (via US Mail) from the Florida Department of Education on Monday, January 8, 2018. You can access the VPK Provider Kindergarten Readiness Rate website here:
https://vpk.fldoe.org.
Once logged in, each provider should complete the following:
- Child Verification: Review the online list of children who attended your program last year, and ensure that the data are accurate. If you find an error, you may correct names, gender, or date of birth for the children who attended your 2016-17 VPK program.
- Hours Attended: Review the hours attended for the children in your program. You can make changes to hours of attendance only when the change results in the hours of attendance being greater or less than 70 percent of the program hours. For school year programs (540 hours), 70 percent is 378 hours of attendance. For summer programs (300 hours), 70 percent is 210 hours of attendance. All changes to the hours of attendance require Coalition approval.
- Filing a Dispute: A provider wishing to file a dispute may do so during this period. (See below for the specific dispute period.) Disputes can be filed for one of the following reasons: number of children served, number of children screened, number of children meeting substantial completion, or number of children included in the calculation or for a change of ownership. Providers may also use the dispute function to securely share information about unmatched children if the provider has knowledge of where children were screened on the Florida Kindergarten Readiness Screener.
Click here
for a step-by-step guide to the process of login/registration and completion of the VPK Provider verification/dispute process.
PROJECTED 2016-17 VPK READINESS RATE TIMELINE
(
Dates shown are target dates and subject to change.
)
- January 8 through February 2, 2018 – Provider verification/dispute period
- February 5 through February 18, 2018 – Coalition approval period
- Late March 2018 – Preliminary readiness rates posted
- Late May 2018 – Final readiness rates posted
Acknowledgement of low performing (probationary) status is due within 21 days of posting the final 2016-17 VPK Readiness Rates. If you did not provide the VPK program last year (2016 - 2017), you do not need to participate in this process.
In your service,
Lynne
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If you are affected by any winter storm closures throughout Northwest Florida, please review the following attached information. For School Readiness, please reference
Rule 6M-4.501: Reimbursement During Emergency Closures. All VPK providers can click on the link below for relevant instructions.
For all programs, remember to email
redline@elcnwf.org to notify the Coalition of school closures. This email should be send by close of business on the day of closure.
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Performance Funding Project Reminders (Benchmark 1 Approaching)
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Many Performance Funding Project (PFP) participants are taking part in the Making the Most of Classroom Interactions (MMCI) training each week. Please make sure each participant is on time, and make sure participants have MMCI books each time they attend training.
The first benchmark ends on January 31, 2018. It is important to submit your benchmark deliverables prior to the deadline date. Any deliverables denied and requiring correction can be re-uploaded prior to the deadline date if uploaded in advance. If you submit or resubmit a deliverable after the deadline, you will receive a delinquent noticed from the Florida Office of Early Learning.
MMCI certificates are due for each instructor/director during the first benchmark reporting period. Participants who are attending the Preschool MMCI training should submit a certificate with a minimum of 2 hours completion. Participants who are attending the Infant/Toddler MMCI training should submit a certificate with a minimum of 4 hours completion.
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Eligibility: Termination Process Information
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During the January Face-to-Face Meeting, several questions were asked regarding the process for termination of services. Please
click here information from the Coalition's Family Services Team. If you have questions, please email
redline@elcnwf.org.
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Register for our Winter Workshop!
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The Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida is pleased to open registration for our winter workshop (LITTLE ENGINES THAT CAN: A Self-Regulation Workshop) to be held on Saturday, February 3, from 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., at Gulf Coast State College’s Panama City Campus. The workshop fee is $10 per person. You must register online (including payment) in advance of the workshop. You can sign in starting at 8:00 a.m. on February 3, and the workshop will start promptly at 8:30 a.m.
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Our presenter is Ingrid M. Kanics of Kanics Inclusive Services, LLC. Ingrid is an occupational therapist who has built a career and a business consulting in inclusive design and inclusive play. Ingrid will englighten and engage participants using tools from the Alert Program®. Prepare yourself for a workshop full of helpful information and hands-on opportunities. Every participant will receive an Alert Program® manual, and each contracted School Readiness program will receive a sensory kit. There are limited seats, so please register as soon as possible to secure your spot!
If you have questions or need additional information, please call 850-747-5400. We look forward to seeing you on Saturday, February 3!
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Important Reimbursement Reminders
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As we start the new year, please take a moment to review the
Reimbursement Upload Guide for the
Coalition Document Exchange. The guide outlines how the Coalition expects providers to organize their attendance documentation so that paperwork can be reviewed, downloaded, and processed during Reimbursement in a timely manner. There are specific instructions for both School Readiness and Voluntary Prekindergarten attendance submissions. The Coalition needs to be able to find the Enrollment/Attendance Certifications and required documents. By creating the requested folders and uploading the information the correct way, the Coalition should be able to locate necessary documentation and speed up the processing time. Everyone likes to be paid on time, so please help us help you.
You may have seen in a previous blast article instructions on notification of corrections/revisions to Enrollment/Attendance Certifications. Here is that reminder again:
- Please be sure all uploaded Reimbursement documents are final when you upload to the Coalition Document Exchange.
- Please notify Coalition staff via redline@elcnwf.org of any documentation loaded after the initial submission. Include specific explanations of corrections made to initially loaded paperwork so that Reimbursement staff know a) new documents have been loaded and b) specifically what changes have been made. (This only refers to changes made prior to the third business day, per contract.)
- Any changes made after close of business on the third day must be recorded via the Child Care Payment Adjustment Form.
All supporting documentation (including doctors' notes, Rilya Wilson documentation, etc.) must be uploaded along with the Attendance Certifications. Any documentation not submitted with the Attendance Certifications will need to be sent as an adjustment via the
Child Care Payment Adjustment Form. If you have questions about this request, please submit it to
redline@elcnwf.org
.
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Important TSG Checkpoint Information
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The Winter Checkpoint period (when TSGs are due) is January 30, 2018. We understand that maneuvering through the revised
MyTeachingStrategies website has been a challenge to many. Reviewing fall TSGs took twice as long as usual due to some technical difficulties. Just a reminder: a TSG is a continuous assessment during a checkpoint period (approximately 90 days). Documentation should be accrued and kept during a checkpoint period so teachers can update their observation recording, especially when it is different than their preliminary observation. During the last 2 weeks of a checkpoint period, a teacher should review the level where he/she has placed a child to determine if the observation is accurate. Then, the teachers should finalize the TSG.
Coalition staff review TSGs by generating an “Individual Child Report” for each child. If a child is two or more steps down in four or more dimensions, that child is considered for referral. A master list is compiled of all children meeting referral criteria, and the fact-finding process begins. This process must not be deviated, per Coalition protocol. Included in the referral consideration procedure is interviewing the teacher and/or provider to ask about the child and make sure he/she meets referral criteria. During the last review cycle, teachers reported
no concern for 35-40 percent of their children who met referral criteria and appeared on the referral list. Remember that children are placed on the referral list based on data collected from classroom teachers completing TSG assessments.
The priority of the Coalition staff is to help identify children who need referrals, so please assist the Coalition by including the most current information just prior to checkpoint dates. If something changes from your preliminary observation to the checkpoint date, please update TSGs for children. Failure to incorrectly record child observations can result in unproductive time on the part of Coalition staff as well as staff from Early Steps and Child Find. We hope that you will consider TSGs an instrument to effectively target a child’s progress to plan for and scaffold a child’s next level of success.
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Early Childhood Math Training (Online)
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Preschoolers are natural mathematicians! They stack blocks, sort materials at clean-up time, and make many comparisons throughout the day. Math instruction for early learners is not about memorizing a set of rules and concepts. Young children must have various opportunities to make sense of their world, form logical connections, and discuss their thoughts and findings. To accomplish this task, early childhood professionals must have a firm grasp on early mathematical concepts and how to present them in meaningful and developmentally appropriate ways.
To sign up for the online "Mathematical Thinking for Early Learners" course,
click here. Once you have logged into the DCF's Child Care Training System,
- Choose "Instructor Led or Online Courses Enroll/Unenroll" from the "Main Menu."
- Choose the "Online Course Enroll" tab.
- In the drop down menu under the label "Select a Training Area," choose "In-Service."
- On the fourth page of options, look for "Mathematical Thinking for Early Learners (MATH)."
(
Reference: Florida Office of Early Learning)
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Training: Social + Emotional Development for Preschool Children
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Click here
to learn more about the two courses offered through the office of Early Learning for Social and Emotional Development for Preschool Children.
Click here to register for these courses. Use the instructions above (in the "Early Childhood Math Training (Online)" article) to find these courses on the
DCF Child Care Training System site.
If you need more information or help signing up for these courses, please email
redline@elcnwf.org.
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Click here to review information from the Florida Office of Early Learning about VPK Learning Circles.
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Celebrate Literacy Week, Florida! 2018
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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.
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Children's Week "Hanging of the Hands"
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Children's Week will be January 21-26, 2018, and it will share the week with
Celebrate Literacy Week Florida. (Look above for updated information about Celebrate Literacy Week, Florida! 2018.) So much beautiful hand art has been created throughout contracted provider programs, and we were pleased to mail nearly 1,500 pieces of hand art to Tallahassee last Friday!
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Above: Northwest Florida Hand Art En Route to Tallahassee for 2018 "Hanging of the Hands"
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OEL: "Early Learning Parents' Pages" for January 2018
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Click
here to view the January 2018 edition of OEL's "Early Learning Parents' Pages." Click
here to view an archive of all past editions.
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Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida | Phone: 850.747.5400 | Fax: 850.747.5450 |
WWW.ELCNWF.ORG
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Sponsored by the Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida and the State of Florida, Office of Early Learning
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