EARLY LEARNING COALITION OF MANATEE COUNTY INC

COMPREHENSIVE CONSUMER EDUCATION COALITION STAFF CONDUCT ONE-ON-ONE EDUCATION IN THE OFFICE, PROVIDE LITERATURE IN THE LOBBY, AND PARTICIPATE IN MANY COMMUNITY EVENTS SUCH AS DAY OF HOPE, SAFE KIDS NIGHT, AND BACK-TO-SCHOOL CELEBRATIONS AT TITLE ONE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. THE COALITION'S FLEET, CONSISTING OF THE MOBILE LEARNING LAB, THE DREAM MACHINE, AND THE ELC EXPLORER ARE UTILIZED AT THESE COMMUNITY EVENTS TO DISTRIBUTE HIGH-QUALITY CHILDREN'S BOOKS, PROMOTE THE SCHOOL READINESS AND VOLUNTARY PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAMS, AS WELL AS TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ABOUT THE EARLY LEARNING COALITION'S ROLE AS A COMMUNITY PARTNER. THE COALITION ALSO MAINTAINS CONSUMER EDUCATION ON ITS WEBSITE. FOR EXAMPLE, THE CHILD CARE RESOURCE AND REFERRAL PAGE CONTAINS VALUABLE LINKS TO SCHOOL READINESS AND PARENT EDUCATION DOCUMENTS, SUCH AS THE FAMILY GUIDE FOR SELECTING QUALITY CHILD CARE AND QUALITY CHECKLIST. THE ELC CONTINUES TO PUBLISH ITS SEASONAL FAMILY MAGAZINE, NEXTGEN. THIS PUBLICATION IS DISTRIBUTED TO ALL MANATEE COUNTY CONTRACTED CHILDCARE PROGRAMS AND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN AND PROVIDES A VARIETY OF INFORMATIVE ARTICLES ON CHILD AND FAMILY-RELATED TOPICS. NEXTGEN ALSO INCLUDES A DIRECTORY OF ALL LEGALLY OPERATING CHILDCARE PROVIDERS IN MANATEE COUNTY. IN ADDITION, OVER 45,000 HIGH QUALITY CHILDREN'S BOOKS WERE SHARED WITH THE COMMUNITY. EARLY LEARNING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE: THE ELC PROVIDED 78 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SESSIONS ON 41 INDIVIDUAL TOPICS WITH 1,744 STUDENT CONTACTS, AND 241.6 TRAINING HOURS. TOPIC INCLUDED LANGUAGE AND LITERACY, INCLUSION, MATHEMATICS, STEAM, BEHAVIORAL MANAGEMENT, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT, NUTRITION, AND FIRST AID AND CPR. ADDITIONALLY, THE ELC PROVIDER COACHING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO 2,506 TEACHERS TOTALING 1,073 TECHNICAL OR COACHING HOURS, AND 789 SESSIONS PROVIDED IN CHILDCARE CENTERS ACROSS MANATEE COUNTY. EARLY LEARNING CLASSROOM QUALITY ENHANCEMENT PROGRAMS: THE EARLY LEARNING COALITION OF MANATEE COUNTY BRINGS EDUCATIONAL CONTINUITY AND ACTIVITIES RELATED TO EARLY LEARNING STANDARDS TO NEIGHBORHOODS AROUND THE COUNTY THROUGH OUR FLEET-BASED PROGRAMS. THESE PROGRAMS SERVE CHILDREN OF ALL ABILITIES AGES 3 TO VPK IN CHILDCARE CENTERS AROUND MANATEE COUNTY IN TRANSFORMED SCHOOL BUSES. FRAME THEIR LEARNING IS A TEACHING SYSTEM SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO HELP TEACHERS IMPROVE THEIR PERFORMANCE AND RAISE THEIR CLASS? INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT SCORES. THE TOOLS PROVIDED HELP TEACHERS ASK MORE THOUGHT-PROVOKING QUESTIONS AND IMPROVE THEIR EXCHANGES WITH STUDENTS TO SPUR HIGHER-QUALITY INTERACTIONS, LEARNING, AND RETENTION. ELC COMBINES FRAME THEIR LEARNING AND STEAM BY OFFERING ON-SITE SESSIONS WITH TEACHERS AND THEN A STEAM VISIT WITH THE BUS WHERE STUDENTS EXPLORE VARIOUS HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES SUCH AS NATURE, LIGHTS AND SHADOWS, AND BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES. AN AVERAGE OF 56 TEACHERS PARTICIPATED IN FRAME THEIR LEARNING FROM 38 CLASSROOMS. READINGPALS COMPLETED 25-30 WEEKS OF READING WITH TEN CLASSROOMS AT NINE CHILDCARE SITES FOR A TOTAL OF 156 CHILDREN SERVED. EVERY CHILD RECEIVED A BOOK, TOTALING 3,113 BOOKS. WITH THE HELP OF OUR 92 VOLUNTEERS, READINGPALS MENTORS FOCUSED ON DEVELOPING EARLY LITERACY SKILLS, BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS AND REINFORCING THE LOVE OF READING. SLEEP BABY SAFELY GOAL IS TO EQUIP AND EDUCATE ALL PEOPLE WHO COME INTO CONTACT WITH INFANTS TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF PREVENTABLE INFANT DEATHS DUE TO UNSAFE SLEEP ENVIRONMENTS. THE PROGRAM PROVIDES CLEAR CONSISTENT MESSAGING IN BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH SUPPORTED BY LOCAL DATA AND SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN FACTS. THE EARLY LEARNING COALITION OFFERS A VARIETY OF TRAININGS SPECIFIC TO THE AUDIENCE, WITH FLEXIBLE TIMES AND LOCATIONS. 39 CHILDCARE PROVIDER SITES IN MANATEE COUNTY HAVE BEEN TRAINED IN OUR SLEEP BABY SAFELY INITIATIVE. NEMOURS READING BRIGHTSTART IS AN INNOVATIVE, SUPPLEMENTAL EARLY INTERVENTION CURRICULUM SPECIFICALLY CREATED TO TEACH EARLY LITERACY AND FOUNDATIONAL READING SKILLS TO SMALL GROUPS OF THREE-FOUR AND FIVE-YEAR- OLDS SCREENED AND DEEMED AT RISK FOR READING FAILURE. 284 CHILDREN WERE DEEMED AT-RISK FOR READING FAILURE, USING THE NEMOURS READING BRIGHTSTART INTENSIVE LITERACY INTERVENTION SUPPLEMENTARY CURRICULUM, 177 ACHIEVED AGE-APPROPRIATE LITERACY SKILLS THAT WERE PREDICTIVE OF BEING READY TO BECOME SUCCESSFUL READERS IN KINDERGARTEN. THE ELC PARTNERED WITH THE MANATEE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT AND STEP UP SUNCOAST TO HOST THE TRANSITION TO KINDERGARTEN EVENTS: BREAKFAST WITH A PURPOSE: START TOGETHER, GROW TOGETHER, KINDER(GARTEN) TOGETHER. THE EVENT BROUGHT TOGETHER LOCAL PRE-K DIRECTORS, TEACHERS, AND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STAFF TO CELEBRATE EARLY LEARNING AND COLLABORATION. THIS YEAR, WE FOCUSED ON CREATING A MORE COORDINATED REFERRAL PROCESS IN MANATEE COUNTY THAT INCLUDES REFERRAL INFORMATION FOR BIRTH TO 36 MONTHS AND THEN FROM 36 MONTHS TO KINDERGARTEN ENTRY. THE TEAM LED SCENARIOS FOR GROUP PRACTICE AND PLANNED BREAKOUT SESSIONS TO DIVE DEEPER. COORDINATED APPROACH TO CHILD HEALTH (CATCH) IS A NATIONAL EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAM CREATED TO PROMOTE PRESCHOOLERS' PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE. A VITAL GOAL OF THE CATCH PROGRAM IS TO CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT AT SCHOOL AND HOME THAT ENCOURAGES STUDENTS TO MAKE HEALTHY CHOICES. THE ELC CATCH PROGRAM SERVED 9 SITES IN MANATEE COUNTY AND SERVED 230 CHILDREN. INCLUSION THE CHILD DEVELOPMENT STAFF COMPLETED 1,996 AGES AND STAGES QUESTIONNAIRE DEVELOPMENTAL SCREENINGS. OF THESE 1,996 DEVELOPMENTAL SCREENINGS, 567 DEMONSTRATED POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENTAL DELAYS, AND FAMILIES WERE PROVIDED WITH INDIVIDUALIZED EARLY CARE PLANS, WHICH INCLUDE AGE AND SKILL-SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES FOR FAMILIES TO USE AT HOME. THE FAMILIES OF 62 CHILDREN WERE IDENTIFIED AS NEEDING FURTHER EVALUATION AND WERE HELPED IN COORDINATING REFERRALS TO OTHER COMMUNITY AGENCIES. BATTELLE DEVELOPMENTAL SCREENINGS HELP DETERMINE HOW A CHILD IS DEVELOPING WITHIN THE CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT. A PRE-TEST IS GIVEN NEAR THE BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR, AND THEN 6-12 MONTHS LATER, A POST-TEST IS CONDUCTED TO DETERMINE THE PROGRESS OF THE CHILD AND TO MEASURE THE EFFECT A CLASSROOM IS HAVING ON THE POPULATION OF STUDENTS. 1,216 BATTELLE DEVELOPMENTAL SCREENINGS DURING THE 24-25 SCHOOL YEAR. THE EARLY LEARNING COALITION PROVIDES A VISION AND HEARING SCREENING TO CHILDREN OF AGES 18 MONTHS TO 5 YEARS IN OUR SCHOOL READINESS PROGRAM WHICH AIMS TO DETECT EARLY SIGNS OF DIFFICULTIES A CHILD MAY HAVE SEEING OR HEARING. CHILD DEVELOPMENT STAFF CONDUCTED HEARING AND VISION SCREENINGS FOR 137 CHILDREN, 27 RECEIVING A REFERRAL FOR VISION AND 13 FOR HEARING. SPOT ON, SEEKS TO SUPPORT THE WELL-BEING OF PARTICIPATING CHILDREN BY OFFERING THEIR CAREGIVERS (AT SCHOOL AND AT HOME) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOCUSED ON COMMUNICATION, LIFE SKILLS, AND SELF-REGULATION STRATEGIES. SPOT ON WAS IMPLEMENTED IN SEVEN OF OUR CHILDCARE SITES AND SERVED OVER 30 CHILDREN, HELPING TO COORDINATE THERAPY AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR TEACHERS AND FAMILIES.