PLAEA Early Childhood Newsletter
February 2023 Edition
Fort Dodge ECC - Buildings Family Engagement Event
“When schools, families, and community groups work together to support learning, children tend to do better in school, stay in school longer, and like school more” -Anne Henderson and Karen Mapp
This is the premise of the Fort Dodge Early Childhood Center Family Engagement events. Recently, Jeri Ayala (Assistant Principal at the Early Childhood Center) shared details about their family engagement night - embedding and celebrating the Creative Curriculum Building Study. Check it out!
We recently hosted a Family Engagement event to celebrate our PK Scholars’ learning within their Creative Curriculum building study. We invited families in and teachers had stations set up for families to practice skills their students had learned within the study. One station was "Build a City Subitizing". The next station was "Tangram Buildings", where students named and described shapes they used to build their building. The third station was to practice taking turns to create a building while discussing what features their building will have, the last station was reading books about buildings together. Then families were able to tour our PK city of buildings, which celebrated family at home projects.
These events are a great way to purposefully increase relationships between families, school, and each other. All events are linked to learning and provide parents an opportunity to practice what they learned with their students. It is never about doing “for” but doing “with” families.
Families were invited by flyers sent home and the Fort Dodge ECC facebook page. Parents were invited to come to their child's classroom from 8:00 - 8:40 a.m. See example of flyer they sent home below.
Questions about this great family engagement event contact:
Jeri Ayala- jayala@fdschools.org or any of the Fort Dodge ECC preschool staff.
Build a city and subitize!
Reading about buildings!
Building a tower out of legos!
Picture of the flyer sent home to families!
Remember to take time for you! It is IMPERATIVE!
Preschool Updates and Resources
1) January PLAEA Preschool Teacher Huddle Recording - GOLD and ACHEIVE
Last month, it was highly requested for us to record our January PLAEA Preschool Teacher huddle. We discussed "time saving tips" for TS GOLD and reviewed IEP goal writing in the new ACHIEVE system. You can access that recording below.
Here is a link to the slides for your learning convenience.
Below is a link to the recording of our huddle.
Questions on ACHEIVE or IEP goal writing? Contact your PLAEA ECSE Consultant
Tune in for our next Preschool Teacher Huddle on Wednesday, February 8th at 3:30 p.m.
2) Steve Gill is coming to PLAEA!
April 26-28 workshop features ELL expert Steve Gill
Get a team together to learn about distinguishing between disability and language acquisition. Steve will present live from our Pocahontas office. To maximize the reach of this learning and to decrease travel time for participants, we will connect Spencer & Fort Dodge PLAEA offices virtually. This means that district teams will have the ability to choose the PLAEA location that is most convenient to them.
This workshop offers two and a half days of learning. Participants can register for only Days 1 & 2 OR Days 1, 2 and 3. Additional information regarding the content of each day as well as registration links can be found below.
3) Winter Preschool Data Team Meeting
** This is also an IQPPS, Head Start and NAEYC standards requirement!!
Why should we engage in a preschool data team meeting?
By participating in a preschool data team meeting, teachers will discover critical information about a child’s development and growth. Assessment and data based decision making are a crucial part of a high-quality early childhood program. Teachers can use the information to plan educational activities that are at a level the child can understand and is able to learn from.
How do we engage in a preschool data team meeting?
Using your TS GOLD and myIGDIs data, preschool programs can facilitate a discussion using our preschool data team meeting protocol. By utilizing reports from both assessments, we are able to make decisions and goals for students that best support their needs in all areas of growth.
Are there tools available to help navigate a data team meeting?
PLAEA has created a preschool data team meeting process and protocol. You can access the tools, detailed information and helpful tutorials in this folder. In the folder, you will also find a recording walking your team through the process.
Are you interested in on-site support for your first year teachers? Do you feel unfamiliar with the territory and would like AEA support?
1) Contact Marcie Lentsch - mlentsch@plaea.org (this doesn't mean you will get me on-site, but will try my best!!!!)
2) Reach out to your School Improvement Facilitator or ECSE Consultant
4) PW-PBIS Cohort Applications Now Open!
What is PW-PBIS?
Program Wide Early Childhood-Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (EC-PBIS), the Pyramid Model initiative in Iowa, offers early childhood programs a comprehensive, evidence-based approach to promoting social-emotional development and addressing challenging behaviors among young children. EC-PBIS creates nurturing environments for children equipped with supported staff trained to respond to challenging behaviors. This is all for the goal of fostering positive mental health at a young age.
There are 3 stages of PW-PBIS:
1) Training provided by state and local experts
2) Internal and external coaching supports for application and implementation of strategies
3) Access to a data based decision making platform that aligns with the EC-MTSS framework.
Here is a direct link to the Program Wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports Application Process that outlines all steps necessary to apply as well as cohort dates for next year.
Please note: interested programs MUST review and reflect on the Readiness Checklist and watch the PW PBIS video before applying. More questions? Contact Marcie Lentsch - mlentsch@plaea.org or Melanie Reese - melanie.reese@iowa.gov
5) Registration deadline for Para courses is February 8th
Paraeducator Courses I, II, and III will begin on Feb. 18. The registration deadline is Feb. 8. Click here for more information and to register.
If your battery is low, you can not be at your best for your students. Take care of YOU first!
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
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