No Small Matter - Help support a great cause!
We would like to give a HUGE thank you to Vali 3 Theater and to those who joined us for the viewing of No Small Matter on June 1st.
No Small Matter is a documentary about the importance of Early Childhood Education, how to improve it, and make sure there is ample quality childcare around the country. The Take Action webpage is the way we can create change to make a difference in the Early Childhood Field.
At the end of the film, Kathryn explained how you can help make a difference with a call to action by one or all of the four items below:
- Action Letter to State Representatives
- Share Your Story
- Write an OP-ED
- Host a Screening Party
In addition to sharing on a social media platform, make sure to send the Early Childhood Council of the SLV an email to Office@eccslv.org that includes your photo, first and last name along with a shipping address and we will send you a gift basket as a thank you!
Click here for the step-by-step instructions surrounding the four action items listed above.
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Universal Preschool Colorado-Updates
UPK Colorado is excited to announce the matching timeline leading up to the 2023-2024 program year!
Round Three Plan
Round Two officially ends at close of business June 8 when the opportunity for parents to accept or decline their R-2 matches ends. We will allow one week for families to make new selections if they so choose and to make any corrections to the matches. After that, we plan to follow this schedule:
- 6/22 - 5:00 pm - Matches are sent to providers
- 6/22-6/27 - Provider review period
- 6/29 - Matches are sent to families
- 6/29-7/5 - Family review and acceptance period
Round Four Plan
Round Four is a repeat of the Round Three Cycle as follows:
- 7/19 - 5:00 pm - Matches are sent to providers
- 7/19-7/26 - Provider review period
- 7/27- Matches are sent to families
- 7/27-8/2 - Family review and acceptance period
CDEC will monitor these two rounds to consider the next round’s cadence moving forward and in consideration of the start of the program year. There are still seats available in every SLV county!
You can contact Bryan Lindert at lcodirector@eccslv.org for more information.
Our local website with updates and frequently asked questions can be accessed here.
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Early Head Start - Free Quality Child Care Services (Birth to 3)
There are current openings in Center for infants, and in Centennial and Tiny Hands for toddlers.
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Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC) wants to hear from you!
Are you the parent or guardian of at least one child under the age of 6 years old? If so, the Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC) wants to hear from you!
This survey is designed to help the CDEC understand what families with children between birth and 5 years old in the state of Colorado want and need. All parents or guardians of children under 6 years old are invited to participate. We will use the information collected in this survey to guide its work, make spending decisions, and support access to quality early childhood programs and services throughout the state.
(See flyer below for more details)
**The survey will be open until June 30th, 2023. **
If you complete this survey, you will have the chance to enter a drawing for a gift card to one of several common retail or grocery stores. All information submitted in this survey is anonymous.
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Health & Safety
Join us and CDI Head Start at the Health & Enrollment Fair on Wednesday, July 26th from 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM. Get a "Head Start" on your child's preschool health requirements!
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Child Find (Children Ages 3 - 5)
Child Find for children ages 3 through 5 years old is part of Colorado's system for identifying children suspected of having a delay in development as early as possible. If a young child is not meeting typical developmental milestones, or someone is concerned about the child’s growth or learning, a referral can be made to Child Find. Starting at age three, the public school system (school districts and/or Boards of Cooperative Educational Services) has responsibility for the Child Find process and will work with the family about their concerns, with a focus on meeting the child’s educational needs. Next steps could include collecting information from families and from previous developmental screenings, conducting a screening, and/or if the child is suspected of having an educational disability completing an evaluation. The purpose of the process is to determine if there is an educational disability that requires special education and related services for the child to make progress in preschool. Child Find is provided at no cost to families.
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Coaching - What we are reading:
📚📖 A part of our efforts to honor and embrace our LGBTQ+ community, we are excited to share with you this list of children’s books from the Office of Head Start that include diverse family structures.
📚📖 As we celebrate Juneteenth, we encourage you to share with Head Start children this read-aloud of “Juneteenth for Maizie,” a Coretta Scott King Honoree that captures the holiday’s history.
📚📖 We also invite you to explore this reading list provided by the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
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EQIT - Save the Dates!
Hello Early Childhood Community,
The Early Childhood Council of the San Luis Valley will be offering an Expanding Quality for Infants and Toddler (EQIT) Course in the Fall of 2023. This in-person 48-hour course will be taught August 25-December 8, 2023.
Registration will open July 3rd, 2023. Anyone interested in taking this course will be required to register through the Professional Development Information System (PDIS).
Please click here for the informational flyer and course schedule for more information.
Please click here for the the full-size schedule (shown below).
If you have any questions please reach out to Tina Esquibel, EQIT Coordinator at 719-937-4010 or itquality@eccslv.org
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Personal Development - Career opportunities and financial supports for you!
High quality early childhood settings begin with well-trained and well-prepared educators. The Early Childhood Council Leadership Alliance (ECCLA) currently offers several state-wide scholarship and grant opportunities for students who would like to earn a degree, certificate, or credential in early childhood education, and for home-based providers who are seeking funding to start up, expand, or maintain consistent operations for their family child care home facility:
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ECCLA’s Back to Work Scholarship Program provides 1:1 career and college navigation and scholarship awards up to $2,500.00 that can be used for several different types of expenses (like books, supplies, child care, and more!)
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ECCLA’s Concurrent Enrollment Scholarship is for high school students interested in earning college credits and experience in Early Childhood Education.
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ECCLA’s Early Childhood Coach Credential Scholarship is available to help recipients complete the training requirements to earn a Colorado Coach Credential.
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ECCLA’s Family Child Care Home Improvement Grant is available to help home-based providers start up, expand, or maintain consistent operations for their family child care home facility.
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ECCLA’s Rural R.U.N. Scholarship Program provides career counseling and tuition support to early childhood professionals in rural communities seeking to earn early childhood credentials like ERS®, CLASS®, National Director Credential, Coaching Credential, and any of the ECE College Certificates.
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ECCLA’s T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Colorado Scholarship Program offers early childhood professionals a pathway to pursue higher education.
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ECCLA’s Early Childhood Coach Credential Scholarship, in partnership with the Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC), ECCLA offers a scholarship opportunity for early childhood professionals seeking an Early Childhood Coaching Credential.
The Early Childhood Council Leadership Alliance (ECCLA) is committed to the process of ensuring equity, dismantling systems of racism, and supporting young children, families, and early childhood professionals to have a voice as their true selves in our early childhood system. ECCLA’s Justice, Equity, and Belonging (JEB) Collaborative has created a Resource Collection that can support you in creating inclusive environments for children, families, and educators. We have resources created by ECCLA, resources for caregivers and educators, administrators and program leaders, and other community and state stakeholders, along with a list of Equity Trainings and Trainers. Check out ECCLA’s JEB page to see how you can create inclusive environments for children, families, and educators!
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Personal Development - Upcoming Events
Upcoming Live Virtual and In-Person Training Events
Following are upcoming virtual and in-person instructor-led training events recognized through the Colorado Shines Training Alignment Process (TAP). Courses with a fee are marked
with ($). In-person events are indicated as such, all others are virtual. Certificates will be available through your Colorado Shines PDIS account after the training events except where
noted.
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Upcoming PDIS Support:
Tuesdays - 10:30 AM
Spanish - Los Martes - 2:00 PM
Length - Each session will last approximately 1 hour
Account and Profile Support - June 27th & 29th
PDIS Courses Support - July 5th & 6th
Credential Application Support - July 11th & 12th
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Opportunities with deadlines-Repost
Merit Awards/Quality Incentive (bonus $) are available for licensed providers who were in operation on March 11th, 2021, and are interested in increasing a Colorado Shines quality level. The deadline is September 30, 2023 or until funds are no longer available. For more information, click here.
If you need additional information please contact Monique Bosch at eccoach@eccslv.org
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