Provider Network Newsletter July 20, 2022

July 20, 2022

Coalition Receives New Grant Funding Through the United Way of NWFL

The Coalition was recently awarded grant funding from the United Way of NWFL to expand the Help Me Grow program in Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, and Washington counties. Click HERE to see the news story that ran on WMBB.

Registration Fees

Don’t leave money on the table! Please check your registration fees queue. Registration fees for the 2021-2022 contract year need to be submitted no later than July 31, 2022.

If you have children in the queue that you do not intend on requesting reimbursement for, please dismiss them from the queue. Registration fees for the 2021-22 contract year will not be paid if not submitted by July 31, 2022.

Gulf Coast State College TRIO Education Opportunities

Mark McHale is the TRIO/EOC coordinator at Gulf Coast State College. They reach out to Bay County individuals who want to enter postsecondary education who are first generation (neither parent has a 4-year degree) or may not be able to afford to continue on their own, those with disabilities and military. They help them apply to any 2-year, 4year college in the country or any technical school. They also offer free benefits to those who qualify. These would be very powerful ways for you to connect to our community in Bay County. Not many people know about TRIO and their services. Use the links below to see Mr. McHale’s contact information and a list of benefits with a QR code to access an application and an income verification form.

How can you help?

Place the information in the links on your work area bulletin board for people to see and get access to our application
You could post it on your business website
You could post it on your business Facebook page
If you do a newsletter, you could mention us in that (you are always looking for new content for your newsletters)
If you do blogs, you could mention us in those

McHale Business Card

GCSC TRIO Application

CPR/First Aid Training

Pediatric First-Aid and Infant/Child/Adult CPR

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, Creel Technical Educators are offering First-Aid and CPR training online through Zoom and a slide presentation. It has been approved by the Department of Children and Families to meet training requirements. They are also providing Fire Extinguisher and Pathogen Awareness classes online.

Website: creeltech.net
Call or Text: 386-547-8722
Email: damon.creel@creeltech.net

Pediatric First Aid and Infant/Child/Adult CPR For Childcare

Provided online through Zoom and a Slide presentation.
Designed especially for childcare workers.
Provides hands on training in a simple to understand, common sense approach, increasing your understanding and ability to recall vital information during an emergency, ultimately enabling you to be even better equipped at what you do!
Cost is $45 per person

New DCF and DEL Courses

The Department of Children and Families’ Office of Licensing and the Department of Education’s Division of Early Learning are proud to announce the release of new courses to further support and offer new resources for early childhood education professionals.

From Department of Children and Families’ Office of Licensing:

Trauma-Informed Care for Child Care Program Directors – Hybrid (TICDHI): The goal of this course is to assist child care programs in implementing trauma-informed care for the families they serve. Offered in a hybrid learning environment of both online and instructor-led sessions, child care program directors will form a community of practice to address the principles of trauma-informed care, supports necessary to work with child care personnel and families, and the importance of self-care. For this 40-hour course, 4.0 CEUs may be earned.

From Department of Education’s Division of Early Learning:

Building a Strong Foundation for Emergent Literacy (VIEL21): The goal of this course is to present evidence-based research and developmentally appropriate implementation strategies designed to enhance emergent literacy skills and instruction in the preschool classroom. This course is most appropriate for new VPK instructors and/or preschool instructors who are new to early childhood education. For this five-hour online course, 0.5 CEUs may be earned.

Early Literacy With Young Children (YCEL): The goal of this course is to explain the importance of early literacy and provide early childhood educators with an understanding of how to implement the Language and Literacy Domain for children ages birth through three. The course will provide applicable information and activities for educators to implement in the classroom. For this five-hour online course, 0.5 CEUs may be earned.

Mathematics With Young Children (YCMA): The goal of this course is to provide early childhood educators with an understanding of how to implement the Mathematical Thinking Domain for children ages birth through three. The course will provide applicable information and activities for educators to implement in the classroom. For this five-hour online course, 0.5 CEUs may be earned.

Trauma-Informed Care for Early Childhood (TICSR): The goal of this course is to assist early childhood educators in implementing trauma-informed care for the families they serve. This will be achieved through defining terms related to stress and trauma, recognizing the signs of trauma impacting children, explaining how trauma affects young children’s development and executive functioning, explaining strategies for decreasing stress in early childhood settings, applying tools to help children regulate emotions and behaviors and acknowledging the importance of self-care for early childhood educators. For this five-hour online course, 0.5 CEUs may be earned.

To enroll in these new courses, log into your Child Care Training Student Account.

The PEARLS Program

The PEARLS program is now available to all interested parties in Northwest Florida through the sponsorship of From Cradle to College Foundation and the State of Florida. The PEARLS program’s purpose is to bring awareness and a new way of thinking to early childhood educators and other stakeholders across the state. The training urges you to evaluate your environment, understand your options, and have a plan so that in the event you should find yourself in a dangerous situation, you will be prepared to take appropriate action quickly to mitigate risk and save lives

If you are interested, please contact Marie O’Connell, Interim Director of the From Cradle to College Foundation at moconnell@fctcf.org or 941-900-4233 to directly schedule a training session at your facility.

Building Better Beginnings 2022-2023

Education Services is excited to announce that we will be conducting Building Better Beginnings again this year.

But wait...it will look a little different! We will be adding a CLASS Component too!

This year we will offer 2 sessions throughout the year for teachers in infant and toddler classrooms. Please take our survey by clicking on the Take the Survey link below and you will be contacted for your interest in participating for either session.

Our goal is to be able to support your teachers in their classroom using CLASS and FSU 10 Component framework to help promote quality care in your program.

Take the Survey

Community Resource Information and Helpful Links

At our recent Child Care Chat meeting, providers asked about community resources to share with families who are in need. Below is a link to the Coalition’s Household Resources page from our website with resources for each county in our service area. Please let us know if you need additional resources in your area. The Coalition can provide guidance regarding the content of this list and availability of resources included.

Find Household Resources HERE

Calling ALL Bay County Providers!

If you are interested in having a Rotarian volunteer read to your VPK classroom each month, please let the Coalition know by emailing Tami Valdez @ tami.valdez@elcnwf.org.

The deadline to “apply” is close of business on July 29, 2022. Reading sessions will begin in September and continue through April, 2023.

Rotarians will be supplied books to take to the centers for their scheduled read aloud days, however there will be no Take-Home Stay-Home books that are being distributed to the children in the classroom. We have shifted our book distribution strategy to the ArtKidDoo & Literacy Too kits.

Save the Children Training Opportunities

In partnership with Save the Children U.S., the Coalition is excited to share three new emergency preparedness training opportunities:

• Child Care Funding Guide for FEMA Assistance – How to Navigate the FEMA Application Process Before and After a Natural Disaster (30 minutes)

• Strong from the Start (for Teachers) – Helping Children Cope After Experiencing a Natural Disaster (90 minutes)

• Strong from the Start (for Parents) – Helping Children Cope After Experiencing a Natural Disaster (90 minutes)

The FEMA assistance training can be conducted virtually or in-person if combined with Strong from the Start. The Strong from the Start training is only offered in-person at this time.

If you, your teachers, or your parents are interested in attending one of these trainings, please email the Redline at redline@elcnwf.org.

A Message From

Dear 2021-22 and 2022-23 Contracted VPK Programs,

We are pleased to share with you some important information related to Florida’s Assessment in Student Thinking (FAST) using Star Early Literacy. Here is the memo on FAST using Star Early Literacy which includes a link to the new VPK FAST resource website.

Training sessions have been tailored to meet the individual needs of each participant based on their specific role as either a VPK director or VPK instructor. Individuals who serve as both the VPK director and instructor should attend the VPK director training.

VPK directors or individuals that serve as an on-site administrators role may register to attend the webinar training session for VPK Program Directors. Participants should only register and attend one webinar training session.

VPK instructors may register to attend the webinar training session for VPK Instructors. Participants should only register and attend one webinar training session.

If you or your staff have training questions related to FAST using Star Early Literacy, please direct them to contact the Division of Early Learning here.

Continuing Education Opportunities

Florida Child Care Professional Credential

(FCCPC)

Do you have staff interested in getting their Florida Child Care Professional Credential (FCCPC)? Both Chipola College and Gulf Coast State College offer online courses for achieving your FCCPC.

Below you will find a list of the courses that each college is offering and the start date for each one.

The Coalition can offer scholarships to FCCPC students to help pay for the courses. If you have staff that is interested in achieving their FCCPC please contact Jana Miller by emailing her at jana.miller@elcnwf.org.

Classes begin at both Colleges on August 22, 2022.

• Chipola College: is offering CHD 1220 Child Growth and Development 1 and CHD 1430 Observing & Recording Child Behavior.

• Gulf Coast State College: is offering EEC 1001 Introduction to Early Child Education.

CLASS Group Coaching

(MMCI)

Teachstone has changed the name of Making the Most of Classroom interactions (MMCI) to CLASS Group Coaching. The content is the same and it’s still the great program that will help teachers improve the quality of their interactions.

We are looking to provide CLASS Group Coaching training for teachers and directors as we move through the fiscal year 2022-2023.

Please click on the link and complete the survey.

Points to consider as you complete the survey:

• This training is a two-hour-a-week training that will last for 12 weeks.

• The research that Teachstone has done has shown that the CLASS Group Coaching training is one of the best ways for teachers to improve their classroom scores which will improve the program composite score.

In order to better support VPK educators, the Division of Early Learning (DEL) is amending Rule 6M-8.615, Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.), VPK Training Requirements to provide clarity on course completion requirements. DEL will gather public comment on the proposed revisions at a rule development workshop on June 29, 2022. DEL will then present the amended rule and incorporated form at the State Board of Education meeting on August 17, 2022.

The amended rule revises the deadline for VPK instructors to complete the emergent literacy courses from July 1, 2022 to prior to the date of when the VPK class begins. With the removal of the July 1 deadline, instructors in 2022 Summer VPK programs will not be required to complete the emergent literacy training requirement until the following program year.

Draft rule language and workshop registration can be found on our website at https://www.floridaearlylearning.com/statewide-initiatives/proposed-rules.

New VPK Director Credential Requirements for Private Providers

All private VPK Providers must have a director with a current VPK Director Credential to be eligible for contracting in the 2022-2023 program year. The attached memo and flyer provide information regarding this requirement and identifies the five training courses that a director must have completed in order to obtain or maintain a VPK Director Credential.

If you have any additional questions regarding the VPK Director Credential requirements for private providers please email VPKQuestions@oel.myflorida.com.

Memo from DOE

DCF Flyer

Activity Plans based on the Florida Early Learning and Developmental Standards 4-Years-Old to Kindergarten

The Florida Early Learning and Developmental Standards 4-Years-Old to Kindergarten is a comprehensive document containing age-appropriate information and reflections about how young children explore, create and think. Lesson plans are available to help develop the skills that 4-year-old children should know and be able to do by the end of their prekindergarten year. There are targeted standards for 4-year-old children included in each lesson plan.

To find these lesson plans, click the button below:

Activity Plans

Florida KidCare

Florida KidCare offers quality, affordable health & dental insurance for ALL children in Florida from birth through the end of age 18! Children are eligible for head to toe coverage, even if one or both parents are working. Visit floridakidcare.org for information about qualifying and how to apply for health insurance at little to no cost.