First 5 El Dorado

Race to the Top, Early Learning Challenge Grant Planning February 23, 2012 from 2-5 PM Tomorrow!

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:39:39 +0000

Dear Community Partners,

On behalf of First 5 El Dorado Commission, I have exciting news to share. The Commission has been invited to submit an Action Plan as one of sixteen counties participating in a regional consortium for the Race to the Top, Early Learning Challenge Grant. El Dorado County was included in the grant application for it’s implementation of the High 5 for Quality Initiative. The potential award for our is $689,800 over a four year period, from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2016. (see below for additional information)

In developing an action plan, we will build upon the success of the CARES Program, the Preschool All Planning Task Force and the School Readiness Advisory Committee in reviewing the quality matrix used by High 5 for Quality. Key elements in the application are child development, school readiness, teachers, teaching and program assessment. The goal is to develop a draft action plan for the March 19, 2012 Commission Meeting.

Given the state’s spring deadline for an action plan (attached), First 5 El Dorado Commission is partnering with the Early Care and Education Planning Council in convening four planning meetings:

February 23, 2012 from 2-5 PM, Review Quality Matrix (pages 2, 8, 9, 10 of the application)

March 1, 2012 from 2-5 PM, Discuss Quality Improvement Process (pages 11, 12, 15)
March 8, 2012 from 2-5 PM, Develop Plan for Progress on Tier Level (pages 4, 5, 6, 7)
March 15, 2012 from 9-12 , Discuss local Implementation and Regional Collaboration (pages 3, 13, 14, 16, 17)

All meetings will be held at the First 5 El Dorado Commission Office, 2776 Ray Lawyer Drive, Placerville with Skype or phone conferencing available upon request. All interested early care and education providers, public and private agency members, parents and interested community members are invited to assist in the planning process. Planning materials will be available for review on the Commission’s website www.first5eldorado.com.

RTT-ELC Action Plan Template edits during mtg 2-10-12

Looking forward to working in with you in building a comprehensive, integrated quality support system for early care and education providers. Please send an email to kwalker@pacbell.net if you would like to receive information or participate in application development.

Sincerely,
Kathi Walker

Executive Director

First 5 El Dorado Commission
2776 Ray Lawyer Drive
Placerville, CA 95667

kwalker@pacbell.net
Cell Phone: 530-320-7137

Tribal Health Center for Everyone!

admin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 03:08:38 +0000

Click photo for full PDF

ECE Professional Development

admin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 03:05:56 +0000

Click on photo for PDF

FREE! OnlineTraining for Child Care Providers and Preschool Teachers

admin — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 23:37:44 +0000

The California Smokers’ Helpline and Center for Tobacco Cessationare pleased to offer a new online training, “Kids and Smoke Don’t Mix: A Tobacco Training for Child Care Providers and Preschool Teachers.”

“Kids and Smoke Don’t Mix” is a self-paced, FREE online training that takes approximately 45 minutes to complete. It is offered in English and Spanish.

The training was funded by First 5 California and is designed for participants in its CARES Plus program, which seeks to “increase the quality of early learning programs for children aged 0-5 and their families.” The training is required for all CARES Plus participants, but is also freely available to others.

In “Kids and Smoke Don’t Mix,” participants will:

• Learn about secondhand and thirdhand smoke and their dangers

• Learn how to protect children from tobacco smoke

• Learn the importance of asking parents and caregivers not to smoke around kids

• Become comfortable giving smokers and their family members information about resources to help them quit, including referral to the Helpline

The training can be accessed at the following links:

• English: http://caresplustobacco.org

• Spanish: http://caresplustobacco.org/espanol

Special thanks to CTCP for allowing use of the video, “Smoke-Free Cars With Kids.”

For more information, please contact Kirsten Hansen at k3hansen@ucsd.edu or (858) 300-1032.

Look! First 5 Sacramento Region Spanish Language PSA!

admin — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:57:44 +0000

Please click on screen to view video

Look Mom! We’re on TV!

admin — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 23:49:19 +0000

First 5 El Dorado is one of five county Commissions selected to provide early childhood information for a regional Univision television campaignCecilia Alatorre with the El Dorado County Library is featured in a literacy segment that will air now through February 11, 2012. Other segments will address safe sleeping, car seat safety, health/nutrition and oral health. Please check your local TV Guide for the Univision Channel. Each of the five segments will run three times a week. There is a commercial that will run randomly Monday through Sunday 6 a.m.-12 midnight on both stations. Here is the broadcast information:

A Primera Hora-6a.m.-7a.m. on KUVS and 7a.m.-8a.m. on KTFK Wednesday, February 8th: Placerville

Sabor Latino-11:30a.m.-12p.m. on KUVS
Saturday, February 11th: Placerville