In Our Communities
Crawford County: Early Learning and school district partners held the Getting Ready for Kindergarten Night on May 31 at Second District Elementary. Over 30 families and 35 students attended the event, with lots of positive feedback. Those who attended were provided with early learning supplies. For more information, contact Christin Smith at
[email protected].
Crawford County: Early Learning partner,
Going Places, will set up a play-space with high quality early learning materials at the Second Saturday Community Markets to interact with families and children. Second Saturday Community Markets typically bring at least 200- 300 people to the booth, depending on the weather. During the event, they will share information about the Early Learning GPS, Learning is Everywhere, and offer families wi-fi and a laptop for them to sign up on site! Free books for children and the workers will promote reading aloud, and link families to community resources, pre-k options, and future Going Places events. For more info, contact Christin Smith at
[email protected].
Fayette County: Community Innovation Zone grantee, Laurel Highlands School District, launched a program to not only help to combat summer brain drain in elementary students, but to draw in new learners as well. The district partnered with area agencies and businesses to introduce Book Nook, a mobile reading program to provide free books to students in pre-K to grade 5. Using CIZ
grant funding, Laurel Highlands transformed a district delivery van into a mobile library that travels to different spots around Uniontown each month of the summer to hold literacy events and pass out free books to students.
Read more.
Lackawanna County: On June 21 the Lackawanna CIZ and many community partners held a "Summer Learning is Everywhere" Carnival at McNichols Plaza Elementary. There were 158 families (just under 500 people) who attended! The local library offered a story walk through the building that ended in the school library where families learned about the library's summer reading program. School partners registered students for Lit Camp, along with a cooking demonstration. The local food bank encouraged families to attend Lunch & Learn summer programs. Head Start demonstrated how to use household items and turn them into butterflies. There was also a planting project that the children could take home and grow over the summer along with other games and activities. For more info, contact Lisa Berardelli at
[email protected] or see the
pics or
the news coverage.
Montgomery County: Congratulations to Valerie Jackson, formerly the community engagement coordinator for the
Pottstown Early Action for Kindergarten Readiness (PEAK) program, who has been named as the organization's leader and coordinator. PEAK is an instrumental early learning partners for families in Montgomery County. We will miss former PEAK Coordinator Mary Rieck who retired, but look forward to working with Valerie! Send your congratulations to Valerie at
[email protected].
Philadelphia County: A Keystone STAR program was recently highlighted by the Mayor's office on the City of Philadelphia's website. Heavenly Made Creations is one of twelve PHLpreK programs that was able to increase its state-standard quality rating thanks to the Philadelphia Beverage Tax. In six short months the facility was able to move from a STAR 2-rated facility to a STAR 4.
Find out what else is in the works for Heavenly Made Creations.
Venango County: Expecting families in Venango County can now receive
The Baby Box, a free new baby starter kit that doubles as safe sleep spaces for infants. Every box comes complete with a custom mattress and fitted sheet to be used as a bassinet. The Baby Box Co. in coordination with medical professionals, maternal health advocates, child development specialists, provide expecting and new parents around the world with universal access to current educational resources and a support network. To receive a Baby Box, families must register, complete syllabus videos and short quiz to receive certificate of completion and present the certificate. For more information, contact Deanna Urquhart at 814-332-0242 x306 or
[email protected].
York County: Early learning partners at United Way of York County are helping to better prepare children, parents, and teachers with its kindergarten transition program, Ready Freddy. At a recent Ready Freddy event, York county children got a sneak peek at their school and families had a chance to meet teachers and ask questions. The Ready Freddy curriculum was developed by Kevin Smith-Lystico at the Office of Child Development at the University of Pittsburgh and addresses skills children need for a successful kindergarten transition.
Read about the recent event, or visit the
United Way of York County's website for info about Ready Freddy.
Share your outreach on PA's Promise for Children website!
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