PLAEA Early Childhood Newsletter
May 2023 Edition
This will be last edition of the PLAEA Preschool Newsletter for the 22-23 School Year!
South Central Calhoun Hosts Preschool Open House
On April 11th and 13th, the SCC Preschool Program hosted their preschool open house. During the open house, they had stations of activities for families and potential students to engage in:
- PLAEA ECSE Consultant provided information on AEA services and "make and take" bedtime routine posters. (For more information contact Summer Boes: sboes@plaea.org).
- Local Librarian had a booth with an activity and library cards they could register for.
- PLAEA Speech and Language Pathologist also had a booth to share AEA services as well as a language activity preschoolers could do at home, all while demonstrating for parents. (For more information contact Amy Peterson - apterson@plaea.org).
- Highschool helpers attended a station to monitor a play dough activity.
- Ice Cream Sundaes were also served! What a fun treat!
See pics below of a successful preschool open house where community members and agencies came together to share their support for their local preschool program.
Great job and kudos to the South Central Calhoun Preschool Program!
This is an example of the bedtime routine visuals provided to parents
Here is a link to the Family Routine Guide Snapshot Handout
Preschool Updates and Resources
EC-LETRS for June!
It's not too late to register for our EC-LETRS learning session June 19th and 20th!
What You Need To Know:
- There is a 10-12 hours of self paced virtual learning module that MUST be completed before June 19th & 20th. The virtual modules can be ordered and purchased through Lexia.
- Registration will be accepted through May 31st.
- All information needed on how to register, how to access materials, etc. can be found in our PLAEA EC LETRS District Google Folder.
Still have questions - no worries! Reach out to an EC LETRS Facilitators:
Marcie Lentsch - mlentsch@plaea.org
Kelly Olson - kolson@plaea.org
2023-2024 Teaching Strategies GOLD and myIGDIs Dates
Recently, Teaching Strategies and myIGDIs (Renaissance) have published their checkpoint dates for the 2023-2024 School Year. See below for dates, as well as a downloadable "cheat sheet".
Before you leave for summer break.......
- DO NOT forget to FINALIZE your spring TS GOLD checkpoint. This is REQUIRED by the IDOE and they will be pulling this data to determine further supports needed.
- Remind you district Administrator to renew their TS GOLD license. Any district Administrator listed on the TS GOLD accounts as the "Default Administrator" will receive a reminder in June. If your Principal is leaving the district it is imperative that they add the new hire on the TS GOLD account BEFORE they leave. Otherwise, it is quite a process to get a new District Administrator access.
For Your Families: Summer Early Literacy Calendar
Send home the Demco Summer Early Learning Calendars for families to engage and provide early literacy activities with their child. Provide goals for families to work towards to assist in follow through with the activities. These can be sent home in summer folders, handed out on end of year home visits, or add the link to your parent communication app (i.e. remind, class dojo, TS family portal etc.)
Free to download and use!
https://ideas.demco.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Early_Lit_Activity_Calendar_June23.pdf
For the July and August Calendars (when published) click HERE.
** Please note: look for the early LITERACY July and August calendars. Not the child activity calendars on this site.
PLAEA Hosting Advanced Autism Class - June 12th
Increasing numbers of persons with a range of disabilities are living in small residential settings in our communities, attending classes in neighborhood schools, holding jobs in local businesses and participating in community recreation and social activities. There is a great need for educators to provide the services and supports these individuals need.
In this Advanced Autism Class, participants will:
- Learn Pivotal Response Training (PRT) as an intervention that integrates principles of child development with those of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).
- Learn Discrete Trial Training (DTT) as an intervention that is used to develop a new response to a stimulus.
Class will be held June 12 at the PLAEA office in Pocahontas. More details, including registration.
PLAEA Early Childhood 2023-2024 Professional Development Opportunities
After taking your feedback from the preschool professional development survey, listening to your individual district requests and suggestions, we have compiled a plan that we feel will serve the needs of early childhood programs within the PLAEA area. Please note, we did our best to offer a wide variety of training opportunities on multiple days off/early outs for preschool programs. As well as, offering a variety of face to face, virtual, and hybrid learning options.
Couple things to keep in mind and that are still "in the works":
- Essentials for Preschool Paras Training (coming soon)!
- We will not be able to provide individual district learning for preschool programs.
- Micro credentials for Preschool Programs (coming soon)!
Reminder: for our Statewide Voluntary Preschool Programs(SWVPP), per IQPPS requirement 6.4 & 6.5 - preschool programs must attend specialized learning opportunities
around curriculum and assessment. This includes preschool lead teachers, associates and paras.
2023-2024 PLAEA Early Childhood Professional Development Opportunities
From The Desk Of: Marcie Lentsch - Summer Hours
I hope you all have a wonderful and relaxing summer break. You deserve it!
Marcie
PLAEA Offering FREE Para Educator Certification I, II, and III (Early Childhood)
PLAEA is offering Para Educator certification for FREE through a secured grant. The Paraeducator Generalist certificate program is delivered in three 30-hour courses. Participants will be expected to attend one virtual session on the first of each class. The remaining hours will be asynchronous learning through online Moodle units with weekly assignments to complete the additional hours needed to receive a passing grade for this class.
Focus 2023 Summer Learning Conference
There will be amazing keynote speakers: Dr. Lori Desautels, Tiffany Lanier, and Alexander Hardy.
There are over 25 unique breakout sessions on a variety of topics including - Social Emotional Learning, the science of reading, working with students with challenging behavior, math strategies, Future Ready, early childhood support strategies and supporting adult mental health.
All attendees will receive a gift bag that includes the book Connections Over Compliance by Dr. Lori Desautels. Schools that bring 5 or more staff members will also receive the newly released book by Dr. Desautels, Intentional Neuroplasticity: Moving our Nervous System and Education System Toward Post-Traumatic Growth.
This conference will be packed full of great learning, vendors, wonderful food, and the beauty that is Storm Lake. Registration is open for everyone on February 14 (Happy Valentine's Day)! We hope to see you and all of your schools at this great learning opportunity.
When: June 21-22, 2023
- Day One: 8:30 – 4:30 (Breakfast, Lunch, & Snack included)
- Day Two: 8:30 – 3:00 (Breakfast & Lunch included)
Where: Buena Vista University – Storm Lake, Iow
Additional Preschool Resources
Early Childhood Special Education Supports
ACHIEVE
Professional Learning System (PLS) for ACHIEVE:
The PLS will help you learn how to use the features of ACHIEVE. It is organized into sections. Each section contains topical mini-modules that include videos, written descriptions, and opportunities to practice the ACHIEVE functions addressed in the mini-module. To access the PLS log into ACHIEVE and click on the PLS tab at the top of the screen.
ACHIEVE User Guide For Special Education
**Please do not print as it is over 700 pages.
i3 IDEA Website
i3 IDEA Iowa IDEA Information. This website is full of information, guidance, resources and procedures. i3 - Iowa IDEA Information - Guidance - Resources - ProceduresProcedural Safeguards Manual
Do you ever have a difficult time finding an updated Procedural Safeguards Manual for Parents prior to an IEP meeting? Do you ever need a copy for families in Arabic, Bosnian, Lao, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish or Vietnamese? See the links below for updated Manuals.
Procedural Safeguards Manual for Parents Rights for Children Ages 3-21
ECTA: Breadth of 3 Child Outcomes
Resources Preparing Parents for IEP Meetings
Parent Information for Initial IEP Meeting
IEP Team Member Roles and Responsibilities
Preschool "Go-Tos"
Iowa Preschool Program Timeline Resource
NCPMI -PBIS - Challenging Behavior Site
ColorinColorado - A bilingual site for educators and families of English language learners
Early Childhood Iowa - Early Childhood Mental Health
Marcie Lentsch - Early Childhood Consultant (Ed Services)
- Supports all Prairie Lakes Area Education Agency school districts that house early childhood programs (3-5 years of age) and SWVPP partner sites (private and faith based preschools).
- Coaching, collaborating, consulting and supporting teachers on evidence-based practices, curriculum, assessment, standards and developmentally appropriate practices.
- Provide professional development and serve as a resource to teachers, administrators and instructional coaches of programs 3-5 years of age.
Email: mlentsch@plaea.org
Website: plaea.org
Phone: 515-705-7170