2022-23 $15 Hourly Wage for VPK Personnel

Dear VPK Providers:

House Bill 5001, also known as the General Appropriations Act, was passed by the 2022 Florida Legislature, and signed into law as Chapter 2022-156, Laws of Florida, by Governor DeSantis. This law became effective on July 1, 2022.

Proviso language (see below) following specific appropriation 82 provided additional compensation to Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) providers in the base student allocation for the 2022-23 school-year and summer programs. VPK providers who elect to participate in this additional payment program must complete an application in the EFS Mod Provider Portal.

Within the application on the portal, each VPK provider will attest via affidavit that every VPK program employee’s hourly rate is at least $15 per hour for all time worked on the VPK program within 30 days of receiving the funds.

As further explained below, the starting date for paying the minimum of $15 per hour rate must be within 30 days of the VPK provider’s rate increase funded with this incentive. The provider’s rate increase will begin on the first day of VPK classes, or on the date, the affidavit affirming the agreement is submitted to ELCNWF in the EFS Mod Provider Portal, whichever is later.

A VPK provider is deemed to be in receipt of this additional funding on the date that the provider’s VPK rates are increased through this allocation. Thus, for example, if a provider submits this affidavit and will be paid for VPK students at a rate that includes this incentive pay beginning on Wednesday, August 10, 2022, then all VPK employees must be paid at least $15 per hour for VPK duties beginning no later than Friday, September 9, 2022, which is 30 days after the provider’s rate increase.

VPK program employees include all employees who work on the VPK program, including the VPK Lead Instructor, Assistants and Substitutes listed in each VPK Classroom on Form OEL-VPK11A, and VPK Directors or Principals listed on form OEL-VPK10, who have been approved by ELCNWF.

The Division of Early Learning continues to perform requirements gathering to complete the build of the additional payment program application and attestation in the EFS Mod Provider Portal. They will provide additional instructional materials to successfully implement this program.

If you have any questions, please email the Redline at redline@elcnwf.org.

Background Screenings

DEL is working with DCF to address background screening delays for early care and education providers. DCF is working to speed up the entire process. However, to provide some immediate relief, for cases where a background screening delay is causing a significant hardship, you can email the ELCNWF Redline at redline@elcnwf.org so we can forward your request to a designated person within DCF’s Office of Licensing. From there, DCF will do whatever is possible to ensure that these background checks are turned around quickly.

Please be aware that a typical Level 2 background screening takes 10 business days to process. Also, additional time is required for background screenings for individuals that have lived outside the State of Florida within the past 5 years or when DCF needs to request additional information from the individual to complete the background screening. When information has be requested from another state, the applicant is given a 45-day provisional status while the additional background screening information is being processed. Click on the button below for a list of states that are included in this process. For more information about the provision status, please contact your DCF child care licensing counselor.

If you know of an applicant who has been waiting longer than 10 business days to be processed and they have attempted to contact the Background Screening Helpdesk

(1-888-352-2849) without success, include the following information in your Redline request to help streamline the process:



• Full Name
• Date of Birth
• Last 4 digits of Social Security Number
• Date Screening was Initiated
• Brief Summary of the Request

Emergency Preparedness: Hurricane Ian

The ELCNWF, along with State and local Emergency Management officials, continue to closely monitor Hurricane Ian. Be sure to stay up to date with the latest weather advisories to keep you, your family, your staff, and your parents safe. In the meantime, below are a some helpful resources in making emergency preparations for your business and for families:

• Family Planning, Emergency Kit List, Shelters, Evacuation Zones: fldisaster.org/planprepare
• School Closures: fldoe.org/storminfo
• Save the Children Parent Prep Packet

Florida Early Childhood Educator Training Stipends

The Division of Early Learning is excited to share that Florida Early Childhood Educators are eligible for a $75 stipend upon the successful completion of any of the following courses (refer to the flyer below) by December 15, 2022, or until the stipend funding is depleted. The maximum stipend an eligible participant can receive is $225 (3 courses/events x $75 = $225). Successful completion may include an end of course assessment or certificate of completion. For more information, click the button below.

DEL Child Care Provider Cost of Care Survey Available Now

The Division of Early Learning (DEL) has sent out a survey via email to all providers with a provider profile in EFS Mod that includes an email address. The email will be sent from their Communications mailbox and will contain a link to the survey. The survey response deadline will be Friday, September 30, 2022.

Please answer each question to the best of your ability, based on your understanding of each question. While participation is not required by law, we strongly encourage all providers, whether you are contracted for School Readiness or not, to complete the survey before the deadline. This information is very helpful in determining the cost of care per county and the state as a whole and will be used to determine provider rates and funding that goes to the Coalitions to support the rates paid. 

If you have any questions about the legitimacy of the survey or if you don’t receive the survey, you may email the ELCNWF at redline@elcnwf.org. We also recommend checking your SPAM if you do not see the email in your INBOX.

Background. In accordance with SB 2524, which passed this year, DEL is required to collect some new data elements as part of the provider profiles. However, the provider profile data will not be available until after the 2023 Legislative Session. Therefore, in order to provide the Early Learning Programs Estimating Conference with some initial data, DEL is conducting this survey.

This survey data will be shared with the Early Learning Programs Estimating Conference, which must provide a report on the cost of care to the Florida Legislature 90 days before the legislative session, or on December 7, 2022.

In the coming months, DEL will revise the provider profile rule to add these required data elements to the provider profile. Beginning in 2023, these new data elements will be collected in the annual provider profile as required by law under section 1002.92(4), Florida Statutes.  

VPK Fast Reminders 

VPK Providers,

The ELCNWF is re-sharing the information below that was emailed directly to providers from the Division of Early Learning.

Here are a few important updates.

Logging in on the VPK Sites

VPK Providers can find the assigned testing site information in the Kickoff Letter and what you as the Administrator will need know and do in the Next Steps Letter.

Anyone having trouble with logging in should report the issue by contacting the Renaissance Place Help Desk and Technical Assistance Team at 1-800-338-4204 or by email at FAST_Star@renaissance.com. Please know if you are not the listed director in the Provider Portal, Renaissance will not be able to assist you.

If you email, VPKFAST@oel.myflorida.com the Division of Early Learning will inform you who is the listed director and will have to get their authorization to share any information.

VPK Administrator Login Information

• The administrator username for your school is: (sch)+(your VPK Provider ID) Example: sch1234 Use the letters sch, not the name of your center/school.

Note: You can find your Provider ID number in the Provider Portal, https://providerservices.floridaearlylearning.com/Account/Login under the Provider Site Summary on the Home page.

• The administrator password is vpk (lowercase)

Note: Administrators are required to customize the password after the first login.

VPK Instructor Login Information

Administrators can view the teacher login information once you login to your VPK Renaissance™ testing site, on the Home page:

1. Select the user account in the upper-right corner. Select Manage Apps & Users, in the drop-down list.
2. Select Users.
3. With “Personnel” selected, select search all personnel and click Search.
4. The teacher username starts with a lowercase t. Example (t12345)

• The teacher password is vpk (lowercase)

Note: Instructors are required to customize the password after the first login.

VPK Student Login Information

Administrators and Instructors can view the student login information once logged into the VPK Renaissance™ testing site, on the Home page:

1. On the Home page, select the user account in the upper-right corner. Select Manage Apps & Users, in the drop-down list.
2. Select Users.
3. With “Students” selected, select Password Report
4. The student password is vpk (lowercase)

Note: Student passwords may not be customized.

Multi-Site Access Login Credentials

Renaissance is working on establishing these credentials for early learning coalitions, school districts and private providers with multiple locations.

VPK FAST Training Requirements and Verification

To be qualified as a test administrator, an individual must be employed by a private VPK provider or school district; and complete, and document completion of, professional development training that is designed to ensure the proper administration of the assessment. For individuals that need to complete the training requirements can do so through Renaissance-U, using the: FAST Star Early Literacy Renaissance-U Enrollment Guidance.

The Division of Early Learning is working with the Department of Children and Families to have the VPK FAST Training Requirement listed on the DCF Transcript, as completed. Participants should carefully provide the correct information when registering for training so we can pull your records based on First and Last Name, DCF Student ID and email address from your DCF Training account.

We are working through the summer webinar training verifications with DCF to match information as several thousand individuals did not provide the correct information. If you have completed the training through Renaissance-U and you provided the correct information you should see this reflected on your DCF transcripts. Please allow at least 2 weeks from the date you completed training in Renaissance-U to see this on your transcripts.

Additional Training through Renaissance

This can also be found on the resource website in the Training section, https://www.floridaearlylearning.com/vpk/fast.

Smart Start and How-to Webinars are additional resources for Star professional learning. These resources can be accessed using the links below and through Renaissance-U. To access Renaissance-U, log into your Renaissance platform and select the Renaissance-U tile.

Smart Start is your self-guided journey through Star. Explore introductory videos and resources to help you master basic navigation and essential best practices. Use your students’ Star results to plan personalized instruction in three initial steps. You’ll be introduced to administering the test, using data from screening to group students, accordingly, and gleaning insights from the program to inform instruction.

Smart Start Link: https://renaissance.widen.net/s/lxl77bvw52/smart-start-landing-page_210318

How-to Webinars are live and on-demand (recorded), professional learning opportunities designed to help you get the most out of your Renaissance solutions. The webinars are generally 45 minutes to an hour in length. Whether you are a new user or need a quick refresher, these webinars are a quick way to get set up for success.

There are three webinars for each Renaissance product that offered throughout the year and are organized as follows:

• How to Get Started (GS)
• How to Interpret Data (ID)
• How to Enhance Instruction (EI)
• How-to Webinar Link: https://www.renaissance.com/webinars/

Apple Devices- Demo Video and the Blackout Screen and No Audio on Practice Items

VPK Providers who are using Apple devices and have experienced the Demo video going to a blackout screen or the audio not working on the Practice Items, we are pleased to announce that this is being resolved. As of Friday, September 2, 2022, students should no longer encounter this blackout screen.

Resuming a Paused Test

VPK Providers who experienced issues with pausing a test and being unable to resume, this is now resolved. The test should be able to be resumed.

Test Administration

VPK Programs are required to administer three times a program year, Progress Monitoring 1, 2 and 3, available in the VPK FAST Administration Schedule.

PM1: Is the first thirty (30) instructional days of the VPK class schedule beginning with the first VPK instructional day.

PM2: Is the period of time in a VPK class schedule where at least 40% of the instructional hours have been completed and no more than 60% of the instructional hours have been completed.

PM3: Is the last thirty (30) instructional days of the VPK class schedule ending on the last VPK instructional day.

On the website under Resources, you will see Administration Resources. All test administrators are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Test Administration Manual. It provides instructions on accessing the assessment for students. You may follow these steps as well:

1. Open your web browser and go to your VPK Site URL.
2. On the Login page, select I’m a Student.
3. The student enters their username and password and then selects Log In. The test administrator must verify the correct student has logged in.
4. Select the Star Early Literacy tile on the Home page. Students should not click on the Star Early Literacy tile until the test instructions have been read aloud to the students and they are ready to begin the test.
5. Are you inside your school? VPK Students are required to take the assessment at school. Select, Yes.
6. Test Administrators must enter the Monitor Password, (default is admin).
7. Select Start and begin the assessment.
8. The student will see a demonstration video that shows the student how to choose and enter an answer and how to use a Listen option to hear a question repeated.
9. The hands-on exercise will follow which teaches students to properly choose and enter an answer using the mouse, keyboard, or by tapping. Then the test will begin.
10. If administration of the assessment needs to be paused, select Resume Later to save the student’s progress on the assessment. The student must complete the assessment within eight (8) calendar days. In order to resume later, test administrator will be prompted to enter the monitor password (default is admin).
11. Once the student completes the assessment, they will be redirected to the login screen. Please wait 5 minutes after students complete the assessment to check the Test Activity Report to verify the student completed the assessment.

Requirement for Providing Parents with the Star Parent Report

VPK Programs are required to provide a student’s performance results from the assessment to the student’s parents within seven calendar days after the administration of the assessment. VPK Programs must provide the Star Parent Report. The Star Parent Report provides a printable informational letter for parents or guardians and is available in English and Spanish. The link to running instructions can be found here: https://help2.renaissance.com/reports/25027.

Resource Website

As a reminder, the Division of Early Learning keeps the resource website’s information and resources up to date. You are encouraged to bookmark this page and visit it often for updated information. https://www.floridaearlylearning.com/vpk/fast

For more information about Florida’s Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) using Star Early Literacy for VPK Programs, please visit https://www.floridaearlylearning.com/vpk/fast.

September Special Dates

Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15th – October 15th)

Classical Music Month

Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

Self Improvement Month

World Alzheimer's Month

Conservation Week (September 5-11)

Child Passenger Safety Awareness Week (September 15-21)

National Coding Week (September 19-23)

September 28

National Neighbor Day

National Women’s Health And Fitness Day

Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida

Phone: 850.747.5400 | Fax: 850.747.5450

WWW.ELCNWF.ORG