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a monthly e-newsletter for Delaware's early childhood and school age programs
 
 



    January 2019
 
 
You're here for Delaware's children and families. 
We're here for YOU! 
New Year!  New Look!
Delaware Instutitute for Excellence in Early Childhood (DIEEC)
Launches Redesigned Websites
Professional Development and Delaware Stars
We are excited to unveil our newly designed websites for both Professional Development (PD) and Delaware Stars.

Both were redesigned to make your experience - the user experience - more intuitive and easier to navigate on any device you use.


Check out PD's new website by clicking here. Let us know what you think.  We will continue to provide more navigation guidance in upcoming communications.

Stars website is included here.  With both websites, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to call us 302-831-3239.

Happy browsing!
Play for Development and Learning Workshop Testimonial

"Play for Development and Learning" Workshop: A Participant's Perspective
Sharon Temple Child Care Learning Center is fully engaged with DIEEC.  Not only are they active with Delaware Stars, their staff regularly attends Professional Development learning sessions.

Tina Wilkerson, a teacher from Sharon Temple, articulately describes the value for her and her classroom from attending the "Play" workshop.  Check out the video and then help her share the excitement by signing up for one of the upcoming learning sessions.


Delaware Wins Preschool Development Grant
Great news for the early child care community.  The Delaware Department of Education announced last week that Delaware has won $4.2 million federal grant to strengthen its early childhood system.

For more details click here for the press release.

Professional Development - Plan for 2019
The new year marks a time for setting new goals and re-calibrating your plans.  As you go through this process, make it a point to plan out your professional development for the year.  

The new website helps you plan by the date of the offering but now includes a way to plan by competency.  Click here for this landing page.

To get you started, following is a preview of our January offerings: 


Play for Development and Learning 

Science Up: Birds and Bugs


Supporting Sensory Learning:  Infants, Toddlers, and Beyond

Visual Arts

Healthy Together:  Teaching Nutrition and Healthy Living to Preschool Children

supporting Relationships in Mixed-Age Environments

Flip it:  Flipping the Challenging Behavior

Child Assessment for Administrators:  Polishing the Lens

Transitions

Trainings by County - Printable Versions
Sometimes it's easier to plan by looking at a printed version of a schedule.  

The following links will provide you with hard copy of the calendar by county through March, 2019.

Click here for:
 
 
New Castle County Offerings Sussex County Offerings


Keep up with our Quality Assured training sessions by following us on Facebook.


Provider Spotlight:  Sharon Temple Child Care Learning Center
Embracing Quality on all Fronts
Sharon Temple Child Care Learning Center has a new look for the new year.  The center, who just completed re-verification in October, reinvested their tiered reimbursement money to purchase new furniture for the school. They have purchased brand new cubbies, tables and chairs, rugs and new furnishings in all the classrooms. 

"The parents recommended getting new cubbies and from that recommendation, we started focusing on the aesthetics of the interior environment," said Vickie Wilkerson, Program Director.  "Our families are stakeholders and having the ability to have a voice in the program strengthens the overall program."

"We wouldn't have been able to do this without participating and receiving Stars funding," added Wilkerson.

The program's commitment to meeting the needs of its families is underscored through its partnership with Project Launch.

" Families are important to us and some children are having difficulties in this developmental area whether at home or here at the center. Family dynamics varies and children exposure to social emotional wellness will impact a child's life and experience now and in the future," explains Wilkerson.  "So, we decided to focus on being a part of the solution to assist our children, families, and our community by educating ourselves, families, and children through partnering with Project Launch."

This partnership has linked the program to numerous resources. Notably, through Project LAUNCH, program staff received training in a social and emotional curriculum called PATHS (Promoting Alternative THinking Strategies) to support children in increasing self-control, emotional understanding, positive self-esteem, relationships, and interpersonal problem-solving skills. 

"Our teachers and families are gaining valuable strategies and techniques of how to deal with challenging behaviors, including knowing how to better care for themselves through training. Our results have been positive," Wilkerson said. 

In addition to PATHS, the program is  currently using Creative Curriculum and Teaching Strategies Gold to individualize learning.

Sharon Temple is not resting on these accomplishments.  In fact, their plans are to install new flooring throughout the center in 2019 and to strengthen the partnership with Project Launch by supporting one or two families in attending Community Cafe meetings on a monthly basis.

Specialty Technical Assistance Available
Stars Infant/Toddler Technical Assistant 
In addition to offering support to programs through our generalist Technical Assistants (TAs), Delaware Stars also provides specialized technical assistance for infant and toddler classrooms.  

We have two Infant/Toddler TAs - Melissa Irwin and Molly VanSickle - who are experts in working with administrators and staff to improve the quality of their care for infants and toddlers.  The flyer is included here provides an overview of the Infant/Toddler specialty.

Molly or Melissa will work in coordination with your TA to provide comprehensive support for the wide-ranging needs of your program.  

For questions about working with our Infant/Toddler TAs, contact your program's TA or Molly or Melissa directly.

Verification & Assessment Preparation
Ready or Not, Here we Come!
We understand that there is much involved in preparing for Verification & Assessment with Delaware Stars.  To help with this process, included  here  is a flyer that outlines the steps.  

The expectation is that programs have fully prepared all necessary documentation prior to requesting verification.   It is especially important to be completely ready before you submit the request in the database, since Stars staff may visit your site as soon as the next day. Once the request is submitted, Stars staff will 1) contact you to confirm blackout dates before making unannounced classroom observation visits and 2) reach out to schedule one visit within your 60-day window to review your documentation of the Stars standards.  Please be sure all necessary documentation and files are updated and ready for review.  

Winter Calendar 
Welcome to 2019!
Following are calendars of activities and events for you and your program for January and February.  



We wish you a Happy New Year and look forward to working with you in 2019!
Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood
Delaware Stars for Early Success
Professional Development Department
Main (302) 831-3239 | Fax (302) 831-4223
Visit PD at www.dieecpd.org
Visit DE Stars  at: www.delawarestars.udel.edu