STARS News

Mid-State Regional Key

A Leader In Community Services

Greetings!

Welcome to the Mid-State Regional Key STARS Newsletter!!

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Tracking Staff's Training Needs

A great starting point with the new standards is to have each staff member complete the Personal Staff Grid . It is important that staff understand the PD areas outlined in the standards. Having them complete this will enable you to collect all of that data to enter it onto the staff grid document (writable). This will help you to determine what areas of PD you can easily obtain points in, as well as areas that you may need to bring PD in or assist your staff in finding.

If staff have not had these PD topics in the LAST 3 YEARS, you may want to assist them in finding it (if that PD area is one that you are wanting to get points in). Likewise, if they had it 3 years ago, do they need a refresher this year? This will help you determine the overall needs of your staff and will enable you to get training planned for the next 6 months.

Also, remember that the PD areas are broad for a reason. There are many different trainings, webinars, college courses, etc. that can meet one (or more) of these PD areas. It is important to look past the title of the training and look at the course description, syllabus or content to determine what was taught.

Contact your Quality Coach if you would like assistance determining your program's training needs.

Enrollment Calculation Tool for Family Providers

Steps for completing an ECT ( Enrollment Calculation Tool ):

You must enter every child enrolled in your program (if they were absent a day in the week you chose, you would still count them for every day they are ENROLLED).
Choose a week of enrollment between 7/1 & 4/30 of the current fiscal year. Enter the week you are using at the top.
Enter date completed at the top
Enter provider name and MPI # at the top
Enter classroom session name at the top
Use table on the right to determine the number you enter for each child
If you have children with CCIS funding, you must submit your CCIS attendance from the month that you used.
If have children in Tier 1 CACFP, you must submit your Tier 1 records.
If you have children with an IEP/IFSP, you must submit cover sheets (with child’s name & date).
You must submit attendance sheets from the week that you used.
EVERY program must complete this. If you have already submitted your renewal, please submit this to your coach ASAP. If you have not yet submitted your renewal, send this with your renewal paperwork.
Click here for the ECT Instruction pages

PA One Book 2018

The 2018 selection is My Cousin Momo written and illustrated by Zacharia OHora.

Be on the look out for more information to come by visiting PA One Book .

Further your family engagement efforts with a whole leadership perspective

Family engagement is an important facet of an effective early childhood organization. It is also something that many early childhood leaders may feel unprepared to foster. The McCormick Center's Whole Leadership Framework can act as a guide for improving family engagement.

“Leadership for family engagement might include creating policies and practices that respect differing family structures, involving family members in decisions related to their children, and regularly asking for feedback from family members about their experiences with the program,” writes Mike Abel, Director of Research and Evaluation for the McCormick Center, in the article "Whole Leadership for Family Engagement," recently published by Kansas Child.

Through a balanced approach to leadership, family engagement can flourish in your organization. Read the rest of the article to learn more about how you can encourage family engagement through whole leadership.

Self-Assessment Tool for Early Childhood Programs Serving Families Experiencing Homelessness

The Ounce of Prevention Fund (the Ounce) and the U.S. Department of Human Services Administration for Children and Families (ACF) have released, Self-Assessment Tool for Early Childhood Programs Serving Families Experiencing Homelessness .

This Self-Assessment Tool for Early Childhood Programs Serving Families Experiencing Homelessness has been specifically designed for child care, Head Start and Early Head Start, and public pre-k programs as a guide for welcoming and supporting families and children experiencing homelessness into these programs. Early care and education providers play a critical role in identifying and supporting families with young children who are experiencing homelessness and connecting those families to other resources within their community. Being exposed to a safe, stable, and developmentally appropriate environment while young is important to healthy child development.

This tool contains recommendations for making early childhood programs more responsive to the unique needs of infants, toddlers, preschoolers and their families who experience homelessness in five areas: Identification and Support; Removal of Barriers; Responding to Family Needs; Engagement in Strategic Collaboration; and Improving Collection, Reporting and Utilization of Data. The tool includes additional resources to support programs.

If you have questions or require assistance, send an email to Carie Bires or Marsha Basloe .

Zero to Three - Kim Alloway

Zero to Three has resources for just about everything related to infants and toddlers. Here is another great link to pass along to teachers, families, and caregivers. L earn about the skills and behaviors you can expect from your baby at every stage from birth to 3 and discover new ways of supporting this exciting growth and development. Subscribe to ZERO TO THREE’s monthly e-newsletter , which delivers research, parenting tips and tricks, and fun playtime activities right to your inbox each month.

Take a moment to pass this along to others who can benefit!

Homework in Afterschool Programs Part 3 - Rhea Simmons

Programs that want homework to be integral to quality of their program need to consider the factors required to make it most effective. These include staff capacity, schedule and environment.

The ability for staff to provide homework support may have an impact on how effective homework time will be. It may be challenging for staff with little teaching experience or training to be able to provide instruction to students of varying grades and abilities. Student to staff ratios during homework time, should also be considered; staff can become overwhelmed while attempting to provide one- on-one academic support while also supervising the larger group. A general rule of thumb is 5 minutes of homework per grade is developmentally appropriate. If your program has a large number of younger children, homework should be less time consuming. If you have older children, more time will be needed, and there will be a need to provide activities for early finishers.

The length of your program will also have an impact on how much time can be devoted to homework. A program that is in session from 2:30-6 p.m. has more time for homework and other activities than one that runs from 4-5:30 p.m. When homework time is scheduled can also have an impact on its effectiveness. Some children need down time after school, and many staff report that it is difficult to get children who have been sitting in school all day to be still and focused enough to do homework. Scheduling homework time after snack and outside time allows children to play off excess energy. It also helps with noise and distractions during homework, as some children have been picked up for the day. Some programs even provide a morning homework session due to lower attendance and as a way to help children prepare for the learning day ahead.

Finally, providers should also consider how well their program can provide adequate appropriate work space that is well lit, quiet and free from distractions or interruptions. They should be sure that they can provide age- appropriate reference materials and other resources.

Homework is the most consistently scheduled activity in during out of school time. Taking the time to implement it intentionally can contribute to the quality of afterschool programs.