Celebrate
the holidays with
old friends and new colleagues
December
Early Childhood Directors Group
Thursday, December 12thth 10:00 am - noon
2021 Hennepin Ave. E.,
Minneapolis 55413
Ø Discussion Topic: New resources for
center directors and staff
Ø Results from the EC Directors Group
SURVEY
Ø They’re here! Be among the first
Minnesotans to see Redleaf Lane’s children’s books about young children’s experiences
in child care
Ø Gearing up for the 2014 Legislative
Session
The Early Childhood Directors Group
meets monthly on the second Thursday, 10:00 am – noon
at Think Small 2021 Hennepin Ave. E.,
Suite 250, Mpls.
It’s here! The NEW Training Calendar
You should have received the print version of the Training
Calendar for Jan – June, 2014. The online version, with full descriptions
of classes, is also available on www.MNStreams.org The statewide Training Calendar takes the place of Think Small's Training Catalogue as we move to all online registration for classes in January, 2014.
If you or your staff have ever taken classes from Think Small, you
may already have a MNStreams ID and password. Before starting a new account,
call the Training Line and ask for your ID and Password: 651-641-3549.
You can also call Think Small’s Training Line –
651-641-3549 – if you’re having trouble
finding or registering for courses online. Leave your message and a training coordinator will
get back to you.
The Affordable Care Act Webinar:
What Early Care and Education Providers
Need to Know
What Early Care and Education Providers
Need to Know
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
12:00-1:30
PM CST
More than 1 million home and center-based
teachers and caregivers who currently do not have health insurance may be
impacted by new health insurance opportunities made possible by the Affordable
Care Act (ACA).
A healthy individual caring for young
children is an important aspect of children’s ability to
develop, learn, and thrive. Health insurance and access to care can
provide parents, family members, and early care and education
providers with health security and peace of mind that allows better support
of child learning and exploration.
The webinar will discuss tax and employer provisions that may affect providers, information
on the Health Insurance Marketplace, and the role that early care and education
providers can play in raising awareness about ACA and the Health Insurance
Marketplace.
Who Should Participate?
·
Child
Care Center Directors and Staff
·
Family
Child Care Home Providers
·
Head
Start Directors, Program Managers, Staff
How to Register
To register for the webinar, select the link below and fill out the registration form. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information about joining the webinar.
To register for the webinar, select the link below and fill out the registration form. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information about joining the webinar.
Hosted by: The Healthy Child Care America at the American Academy of Pediatrics, National Association for the Education of Young Children, National Association of Family Child Care, National Head Start Association, and Child Care Aware, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Offices of Child Care, Head Start, and the Chief Medical Officer are hosting a 90 minute webinar on the ACA for early care and education providers.
Presenter
Information: Dr. George L. Askew, Chief Medical Officer, ACF, will
conduct the presentation and representatives from the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid, the Small Business Administration, and the Internal Revenue Service
will be on hand to answer questions including those specific to the tax and
employer provisions of the law.
For
additional information on early care and education and ACA, please visit The Affordable Care Act: What It Means for
Children, Families, and Early Childhood Programs. Other resources include the following:
Health Care and
Small Businesses, Affordable
Care Act Tax Provisions, and Health Insurance Marketplace .
The MNCPD Registry, Minnesota’s hub
for early childhood
professional development
just got a Facelift!
Thank you to everybody who gave suggestions
for The Registry’s “makeover.” Try out
the new and improved website at www.mncpd.org
Also, Child Development Associate (CDA) candidates can now
renew with hourly training. For more info, contact Cory Woosley .
With board
games, it’s how children count that counts
ScienceDaily: Teachers and parents like to use board games to teach
skills that range from fair play to counting. When it comes to improving early
number skills, a new report finds that how children count is what really
counts. More
You Are Invited to Public Policy Hour
Center directors are invited to monthly Public Policy Hour, hosted
by the Minnesota’s Future Coalition. Public Policy Hour is held the
first Tuesday of the month, noon-1:00 p.m. at Think Small in Minneapolis
- 2021 East Hennepin Avenue, Suite 250, 55413. These monthly ECE policy discussions carry on the tradition
started by Child Care WORKS. No RSVP is required. Feel free to bring your
lunch.
Minnesota Is Third Costliest State
for
Child Care
Child Care Aware® of America’s Parents and the High Cost of Care: 2013 Report received a huge reaction from the media – more than 250 references in the news, reaching an estimated 2 million readers and viewers. The report noted that child care is one of the lowest paying professional fields and one of the most labor-intensive.
THEY’RE
HERE!
Applications for Minnesota’s
Early
Learning Scholarships
Programs can help families apply:
Ø
Up to $5,000 per year will be awarded to children aged three to
five to improve their school readiness. Younger siblings attending the same
program can also be awarded scholarships.
Ø Programs
must be participating in Parent Aware Ratings to serve scholarship children.
Ø Applications for interested families are available
by calling the
Think Small Scholarship Information
Hotline - 651-641-6604.
Ø Please
share the application with families in your community and help them fill them
out and send them in as soon as possible.
Applications
can also be downloaded at Think Small’s
website:
Application and instructions for parents
Families eligible for Early Learning Scholarships:
- Must reside in Anoka, Dakota,
Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, or Washington county, and
- have a child between the ages
of 3 and 5 who is not yet eligible for kindergarten, and
- have annual income of:
- $28,694 for a
family of 2
- $36,131 for a
family of 3
- $43,568 for a
family of 4
- $51,005 for a
family of 5.
Yog
nyob hauv ob lub nroog ntxaib: 651-665-0150
En
el área metropolitana, Ilame al: 651-665-0150
Magaalada
gudahed wac: 651-665-0150
Minnesota makes progress (finally!) towards closing the K-12 Achievement Gap
Last Thursday, results from the 2013 National Assessment of
Education Progress (NAEP) were released, showing that Minnesota is making progress in
narrowing the achievement gap between white students and students of
color. For more information, click the following links:
Federal Budget Sequestration’s Consequences for Young Children and
Teachers in Minnesota
Sequestration – or across the board budget cuts, resulting from
the inability of the U.S. Senate and House to agree on a federal budget - has
had devastating consequences for low wage families, their preschoolers and
their teachers in Minnesota. 120 classroom teachers lost their jobs in Head
Start, over 40 classrooms were shuttered, and almost 1,000 3-5 year olds living in poverty lost their
opportunity to attend quality preschool before kindergarten.
Senator Franken Introduces Two Early Childhood Bills
On November 8th, U.S. Sen. Al Franken
(D-Minn.) introduced two bills aimed to improve the "child care workforce
and increase parents' access to critical education programs." The names of
the two bills are the Parent Education and Family Engagement in Early
Education Act and the Early Childhood Care and Education Workforce
Improvement Act.
