Hello Kristin,

Early Learning Update Week of September 2^nd, 2024

Items Covered:

·      Early Learning Classroom/Enrollment update and Preschool Finder

·      Early Learning Landing Page

·      Save the Date: Virtual Early Learning Professional Development Day Conference Friday, February 7^th, 2025

·      Early Learning Article of the Week

·      Licensed ONLY - Licensing “WAC” of the week – Staff Records

·      Licensed ONLY: Updated Bleach and water-mixing guidelines

Please see this week’s professional development opportunities and news: https://mycatholicschool.org/for-catholic-schools/catholic-identity/early-learning/ 

1.)   Early Learning Classroom/Enrollment update and Preschool Finder

Last week I sent an email to the lead of each program so I could update the information on both your Classroom/Enrollment and the Preschool Finder for the website. Thank you to those that have had the opportunity to respond. If you have not yet had the chance to respond I am hoping you are able to do so by the end of the week. Thank you!

2.)   Early Learning Landing Page

I want to provide a quick refresher on the resources available on the Early Learning Landing Page on MyCatholicschool.org – Early Learning - My Catholic School

·      Preschool Finder: Please review your school information (contact, hours, ages) and get back to me if you see any changes that need to be made.

·      Professional Development: Here you will find upcoming Professional Development opportunities with direct links to registration (as a reminder staff in licensed programs need to complete 10 hours of STARS in-service from January 1^st 2024- December 31^st 2024).

·      Early Learning Resources and News: Here you will find archived Early Learning Updates, Early Learning Roundtable Recordings, Licensed Program Webinar Recordings, Marketing Templates, Early Learning Curriculum Standards, News Articles and more

·      Licensed Program Resources: Here you will find the Early Learning WAC’s, Forms and Documents, Staff Qualifications, Training, Requirements and more.

3.)   Save the Date: Virtual Early Learning Professional Development Day Conference Friday, February 7^th, 2025

I am hoping that you can share the date of our fifth annual Virtual Early Learning Professional Development Day Conference with your staff teams. The conference takes place on the all school Regional Professional Development Day on Friday, February 7^th and is a No School Day on school calendars. The Early Learning tract will feature several sessions focused entirely on Early Learning topics geared toward you and your staff (and STARS eligible for licensed programs). Thank you and looking forward to an awesome day of learning.

4.)   Early Learning Article of the Week

This year I will be highlighting Early Learning articles from different publications and resources as we continue to grow our work in the field.  These articles are meant to be thought provoking and informative as we look at the varied ways people approach the Early Learning landscape.   Please see below for the link to this week’s article from Edutopia about 6 practical tips for New Preschool Teachers. I hope that you and your staff will be able to draw some inspiration from these articles this year.

6 Practical Tips for New Preschool Teachers | Edutopia – click on view transcript to see the whole article

5.)   Licensed ONLY: Licensing “WAC” of the week – Staff Records

Each week this year I am going to highlight a specific Licensing WAC to ensure that all of our programs stay in compliance, and we are always ready for annual monitoring visits. This week’s featured Licensed WAC is “Staff Records”. At the start of the school year it is always good to make sure that both MERIT records and Physical staff files are up to date with current information. The link below provides a list of all items that need to be included in a staff’s physical staff file in section 2 and 3. It is also important to note that these files need to be accessible for the licensor to look at during their monitoring visits. In Section 1 are the requirements to maintain accurate records in MERIT including Health and Safety information (CPR/FA, BBP, Food Handlers, MMR, ect) and accurate staff lists through your facility tab. After reading through the WAC please let me know if you have any questions or need clarifications. Also let me know if you would like to schedule a time for me to visit your program and review your staff’s MERIT records. 

Link to Staff Records WAC: Chapter 110-300 WAC:

6.)   Licensed ONLY: Updated Bleach and water-mixing guidelines

The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) has updated its bleach and water-mixing guidelines. Please reference the DOH document linked below for more information.

Guidelines for Mixing Bleach Solutions for Child Care and Similar Environments

The disinfecting solution is now slightly stronger at ~1000 parts per million (ppm). (It was 500-800 ppm before the pandemic.)

The chart now aligns with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations for disinfecting, which changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Per WAC 110-300-0240(2)(e), 110-301-0240(3)(c), and 110-302-0240(3)(a): “If a bleach solution is used for sanitizing or disinfecting, a(n) [early learning, school-age, ONB] provider or their designee must use one that is fragrance-free and follow department of health’s current guidelines for mixing bleach solutions for child care and similar environments.”

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Have a great week!