The Collaborator
Fall Edition 2020
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EPEL Partners,
Fifteen months, 15 hours, and five states South are too far away and too long to not see family. A couple of weeks ago I worked from Blowing Rock in the mountains of North Carolina and got to hug my mom and sisters. COVID canceled trips, and the age of my mom caused distance. I was scared to visit my mom and told her that I would keep my mask on and space, but she said I was worth the risk. Although very risky and probably not very smart, this comment was just another reminder of how fortunate I was to grow up with a mom and dad who loved me beyond anything imaginable. It also made my heart hurt for the many children and their caregivers that we serve may never know that kind of love and care. Every person/family/child needs at least one person who loves them so deeply that they will take a chance of them every day. Thank you for being someone's champion!
Each morning I started my morning walking straight up the mountain to an overlook. My sister named this walk "Glory Glory Hallelujah" because it is so steep that you say "Glory Glory," and when you get to the top, you scream "Hallelujah!" The stone wall at the top is our self-care wall because we sit and throw over our worries. I spent some time sitting, throwing worries, and thinking through what an equitable early learning community looks like that supports families and children in becoming Kindergarten ready. Mountain air, early morning walks up "Glory Glory Hallelujah," waterfalls and family are what I needed to fill me back up. I hope you will take some time this Fall for self-care and find somewhere you can throw some worries away.
American Journalist Michele Norris sums this time of racial inequality and the pandemic best, “The great pause needs to become the great recalibration. Don’t reach for normal. Reach for better.” Join EPEL in reaching for better and more equitable opportunities for our children and families.
Together We Can,
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Executive Director
Elgin Partnership for Early Learning
Take 45 seconds to take a deep breath and enjoy Glen Burney Falls self care from last week.
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What's Happening in Early Learning |
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Meeting Families in the Neighborhood Summer 2020 |
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Summer was about partnering, thinking differently, building community, and creating impact. EPEL partnered with Alignment Collaborative for Education, YWCA Elgin, U-46, and several other partners to expand from two sites in Elgin last summer to three in Elgin and one in Streamwood in 2020. Streamwood was impressive with the amount of community partner involvement that stepped in to make Kiddie Corner a real success. Although this summer looked different with masks and passing out materials rather than gathering in groups for storytime, instruction, and fellowship, we still engaged many families and built relationships. We have continued to visit Buena Vista off McLean with the mobile book bus to keep family engagement alive. We are continuing to build trust and relationships in this neighborhood. |
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Getting Ready for Kindergarten Calendar
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EPEL designs and prints 12,000 Getting Ready for Kindergarten calendars annually in English and Spanish through several organizations' generosity to make it available for the three and four-year-olds in the eleven communities that U-46 serves. The calendar is an essential tool that families can enjoy daily reminders of how to prepare their children for school. We are currently working to fund the 2021 calendar and hope you will join us in making sure this calendar can be printed in December for families. For the 2021 calendar, we are working on a new monthly video feature to share on social media in English and Spanish to talk about readiness skills with an early learning teacher. |
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Learning On the Go in Festival Park |
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Come check out the new early learning signs installed at Festival Park in downtown Elgin. Partners, Alignment Collaborative for Education and the City of Elgin wrote a collaborative grant with EPEL to Making Kane County Fit for Kids to design, print, and install signage. On Tuesday, Mayor Kaptain cut the jump rope to start the FUN! The signs' goal is to get children moving while building essential readiness skills like counting, color and number recognition, sorting, problem-solving, taking turns, and more to develop their brains. Mask up and bring your children for an afternoon of play! |
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Karina Nava, City Manager's Office, Nancy Coleman, Alignment Collaborative for Education, Amber Peters, EPEL and Jackie Forbes, Board Chair Making Kane County Fit for Kids
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EPEL has been offering diaper pop-ups as a COVID response to help families have their child's basic needs. Diapers are distributed at park sites, hard to reach neighborhoods, mobile food pantries, home visitors, WIC classes, and case managers at health care centers. |
To date, over 35,000 diapers have been distributed this summer. |
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Partnering with the Gail Borden Library Book Bus and the Census outreach team has ensured we get families and children counted and served with needed resources. Families receive diapers, books, and resources about home visiting, preschool, and readiness materials |
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Welcome Irma Figueroa and Michael Issacson to the Elgin Partnership Executive Board |
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Irma Figueroa from VNA Health is the Family Case Manager Lead.
As a VNA Family Case Manager (FCM) is to help clients obtain health services and other assistance they may need to have a healthy pregnancy and promote the healthy development of their new baby. Our new moms are screened for postpartum depression and their babies are given the "Ages and Stages" (ASQ) and integrate the Mom during their pregnancy with the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) nutrition as part of their participation in the program.
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Elgin Partnership for Early Learning is proud to have an Executive Board that is working to make an impact at the local and state level to improve outcomes for children and families.
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Michael Isaacson is the Assistant Director of Community Health at the Kane County Health Department. This summer will mark his 20th year of service at the Health Department. During that time he has had the opportunity to manage multiple health programs addressing a variety of topics that include behavioral health, chronic disease prevention, early childhood issues and emergency preparedness. He has served on the executive leadership team of the health department for the past 12 years where he has played a key role in conducting community assessments, establishing annual budgets, participating in strategic planning and implementing and managing new programs. He has been a grant reviewer for medical volunteer programs for the US Surgeon General’s Office and co-led activities that led to the Chicago region to becoming among the first in the nation to be recognized as Public Health Ready by the National Association of County and City Health Officials. Michael has served on statewide teams engaged in planning for pandemics and is now seeing those plans put into action.
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EPEL has an Executive Board of 12 members and five committees that meet monthly or bi-monthly. Each committee is composed of a board member and partners from organizations. We are looking for additional members who are parents, grandparents, caregivers, community members or partners for our communication, data, outreach/family engagement, screening and early childhood initiatives committees. Please let us know if you are interested in making an additional impact in the birth to five community with your marketing, writing, social media, data, design, fundraising or website skills. |
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Consider donating to Elgin Partnership for Early Learning
TODAY and
December 1, 2020
for Giving Tuesday.
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Early Educator Information
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Check our Pinterest page for activities and ideas for the classroom. |
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Social Media is a great way for you and the families you serve to learn about resources and events going on in the community. Check us out on Instagram: elginpartnership Facebook: Elgin Partnership Twitter @epel844KIDINFO
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Stay informed
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