Thank you to all who submitted applications to participate in our Outdoor Intervention Pilot Program! We received 19 promising applications from centers serving a variety of age groups all across our state! The RICCELFF team will carefully review all applications over the next few weeks and we will announce decisions in early December. Good luck to all who applied and thank you for your enthusiasm for outdoor play!

Our partners at the United Way will be hosting an information session on Monday, November 28th from 1:00pm to 3:00pm at their offices on Valley Street in Providence. The session is designed to support Rhode Island non-profits with implementation of the Labor Department’s new regulations on employee eligibility for overtime compensation which go into effect on December 1, 2016.

“While the regulations apply to both for-profit and nonprofit organizations, these new regulations will have significant budgetary implications for many nonprofits, who have previously classified many low- to mid-range employees as salaried, and therefore ineligible for overtime compensation.

As the implementation deadline approaches for these regulations, please take advantage of this opportunity to ask last minute questions. There will be several legal and human resource experts from local firms and corporations who have volunteered their time to help nonprofit staff think through options and budgetary implications for addressing employee situations affected by the new regulations.“ 

Registration is required.

It is no secret that high quality spaces have a profound impact on the development of infants and toddlers, but we rarely acknowledge the impact poorly designed spaces have on the staff.  In an excerpt from the article, Enhancing Development through Design in Early Head Start, we are able to get a better understanding of this issue and how to move forward with creating a better space for all.

“In poorly designed environments, well-intentioned staff members experience ongoing frustration because they find themselves spending a great deal of time "managing" the children in order to avert problems, which leaves less time for building emotionally supportive relationships and providing optimal learning experiences. Inadequate classrooms force teachers to act as magicians, entertainers, and disciplinarians -- not leaving them with enough time to be educators.”

Please take a moment to read this article by Louis Torelli, M.S.Ed, a former early head start teacher and cofounder of Spaces for Children about his experiences with space as an early childhood educator.