June 2018
Letter from the President
Jessica Castleberry, SDAEYC President

 President Jessica Castleberry would like to welcome new board members to the board.

And, also a reminder for ALL members that there are new opportunities for volunteering. We hope that you will reach out to us with your interest as we are looking to engage our current and new members! 
 
Jessica Castleberry
Congratulations to our newly elected SDAEYC Board Members

Member -at - Large:
Nicole Weiss






Public Policy Chair:
Shelby Bergeson
Updates from SDAEYC Chapters
Siouxland Chapter of SDAEYC: 
The Siouxland Chapter will be holding a book fair this fall and the annual Sioux Falls WOW conference in January. Please keep an eye open for more information!

Karen Rieck & Robin Sjogren


Dakota Midland Chapter of SDAEYC:
Dakota Midland Chapter of SDAEYC met in January and February. We were able to complete the requirements for Dissolution and all paperwork has been filed. A big thank you goes to Tonya Senger for taking care of this matter. 
We also discussed and planned what we would like to do for Read Across America held in March in honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday at the Aberdeen Mall. There are around 300 children, along with parents, that attend this event each year from ages 0 - 8. 
We have been working on trying to put together an Early Childhood Directory for the Aberdeen and surrounding area.
We have also discussed having an event in the fall to kick-off the school year. If anyone has any ideas for upcoming meetings/events you can contact us at sdaeyc.dm@gmail.com. 
 
Gayle Bortnem & Ellen Schlosser
Dakota Midland Chapter Representatives        


Black Hills Chapter of SDAEYC:
Please welcome Janessa Bixel and Sunni Toczek as your new Chapter Representative for the Black Hills! They can be contacted at sdaeyc.bh@gmail.com
Attention Students!!
Are you currently enrolled part-time or full-time in an early childhood program at a South Dakota college, university or technical school? Are you interested in attending the NAEYC Annual Conference
November 2018 in Washington, D.C.? 

The SDAEYC Governing Board is currently seeking applicants for scholarships of up to $750 to attend the conference! Click on the links below to submit your application today!!


*Scholarship Applications are due October 1, 2018.
2018 SDAEYC Service Awards
Congratulations to 2018's Service Award Winners!
Kayla Klein - Professional Service Award
Elena Dagit - Citizen's Award
Mayor Steve Allender - Citizen's Award
Public Policy Updates
Kayla Klein, Public Policy Chair
What wonderful progress we have seen in 2018! SDAEYC along with some other primary advocacy groups have made some wonderful headway in SD.

New state changes and improvements:
Levels of Excellence: Licensed Centers now have an option obtain a star rating through this process, which is governed by the School Administrators office of SD. The levels of Excellence were mirrored to be very similar to the NAEYC accreditation standards but much more obtainable for many and it is a free program.
Early Learning Guidelines: The Department of Social Services, Division of Child Care and the Department Of Education, Head Start Collaboration Office have worked diligently on updating the current guidelines along with adding a birth to 3 section! This an exciting and vital expansion for our Centers and programs around the state. To access these guidelines follow this link: http://dss.sd.gov/docs/childcare/early_learning_guidelines.pdf .

State Initiatives:
Early Childhood Education Day in Pierre:
SDAEYC and Head Start partnered together on January 24th for an Early Childhood Education Day at the capitol. We had a great turn out of College Students, Senators, Representatives, and Lobbyist. Senator Sutton and Representative Sutton spoke up in favor of Early Childhood and introduced SDAEYC and Head Start during their session.

National Initiatives:
Public Policy Forum:
Three Early Childhood Professionals from South Dakota attended the Public Policy Forum in Washington DC this March. We were able to meet personally with Representative Noem, Senator Thune, and Senator Rounds. This was a giant leap for South Dakota as we were able to have their undivided attention regarding the issues surrounding Early Childhood Education in South Dakota.

Efforts by one Elected Official:
We find hope in the efforts of one elected official, Thomas Holmes. As Public Policy Chair and on behalf of SDAEYC, I have been working with Representative Holmes with his Early childhood education goals. Representative Holmes’ hopes were to establish an endowment to help fund early childhood education in SD. He knew this would be a large undertaking but he is up to the task. He has met with several potential donors and is spreading the word of this initiative to several other elected officials he serves with. The endowment has been established under the umbrella of SDAEYC and through SD Community Foundation. The guidelines and make up of the advisory board that will one day help to disperse these funds is still in the process of being discussed. Individuals interested in donating can write checks to SD Community Foundation or SDCF and they can be sent to: PO Box 296 Pierre, SD 57501.

Endowment Update:
Representative Holmes has made great headway with funding for the Endowment Fund. A special thank you to Dennis and Linda Daugaard for their generous contribution of $1000!
Accreditation Updates
Susan Ratkovsky, Accreditation Chair
Scholarships are available for South Dakota programs who are interested in starting the process of NAEYC Accreditation. The application is on the SDAEYC website, funds up to $500 are available if the scholarship is awarded. 

Currently there are 5 NAEYC accredited programs in South Dakota. Ellsworth AFB Child Development Center, Citibank Family Center, Fishback Center for Early Childhood Education, Enemy Swim Day School FACE Program and The Early Learning Center of Brookings. You can find links to those programs by visiting  http://families.naeyc.org/search_programs/results/0/SD/0/10/0/0/0/us/0
For more information please contact Susan Ratkovsky 605-385-2490 or susan.ratkovsky@us.af.mil
Open Positions on the SDAEYC Board
If you are interested in any of these, please let me know by emailing Mary Bowne at mary.bowne@sdstate.edu or by calling at (605) 430-4268 Ext. 6 and leaving a message.
 
Vice-President:
Charge: Assist president in carrying out SDAEYC management and policy making  
Term:  2 years; 2 terms maximum
Elected by membership in even numbered years  
Specific qualifications: Successful experience in organizational leadership
 
Treasurer:
Charge: Maintain financial integrity of SDAEYC  
Term:  2 years; 2 terms maximum
Elected by membership in even numbered years  
Specific qualifications: Successful experience in making financial decisions, keeping organizational financial records, reviewing audits, conducting fundraising activities
Understanding of financial accounting for nonprofit organizations, or willingness to learn

Membership Chair:
Charge: Recruit new members, retain current members, and target potential members who reflect a diversity of early childhood and related occupations, cultures, heritage, age, gender and geographic locations.
Term: 2 years; 2 terms maximum
Specific qualifications: Strong communication skills and access to computer equipment and Internet access.

 
South Dakota Association for the Education of Young Children
sdaeyc@gmail.com
sdaeyc.org