#INspirEDearly
November 2019, Volume 9
Welcome
We Want to Hear From You!
IDOE Early Learning Survey
The Indiana Department of Education is committed to providing supports and resources for educators and administrators to enable them to provide the highest quality early education to young Hoosiers. The feedback from this survey will be used by IDOE’s Early Learning Team to understand the usefulness and effectiveness of current resources and to inform our strategy moving forward.
Please complete this survey by Tuesday, November 19th.
We appreciate your feedback and comments!
Preschool Roadshow
Capacity Building Grant
The Office of Early Childhood and Out-of- School Learning (OECOSL) Request for Funding (RFF) 20-002 was released on September 23, 2019, and is posted at: https://www.in.gov/fssa/carefinder/5465.htm.
OECOSL RFF 20-002 seeks applications from 1) Indiana county/community coalitions containing early childhood education providers or 2) individual Indiana early childhood education providers interested in building their capacity to provide high quality early childhood education to eligible four-year-old children through either achieving a PTQ Level 3 or Level 4 rating and/or expanding the number of available seats for eligible four-year-old children. For this round of the Early Childhood Capacity Building Grant Program, only county/community coalitions and/or individual early childhood education providers from the following Indiana counties are eligible to apply:
Adams, Benton, Blackford, Boone, Brown, Cass, Clinton, Crawford, Dearborn, Decatur, Fountain, Franklin, Fulton, Greene, Huntington, Jasper, Jay, LaGrange, Lawrence, Martin, Miami, Montgomery, Morgan, Newton, Noble, Ohio, Orange, Parke, Perry, Pike, Pulaski, Putnam, Randolph, Rush, Scott, Spencer, Switzerland, Tipton, Union, Vermillion, Washington, Wells, and Whitley
Grant applications are due by Friday, November 8, 2019 at 5:00 p.m. ET. Please note that applications must be completed on the Early Learning Indiana online application platform (https://earlylearningin.submittable.com/submit). Please see the RFF document for detailed application instructions.
Opportunity: Community of Practice for Indiana Administrators
Are You Eligible to Become an On My Way Pre-K Provider?
Check out this resource to determine if you meet the requirements. Providers from all counties became eligible to apply on July 1. Public School Pre-K Coordinators or Administrators can contact Pre-K Expansion Specialist, Sarah Parks-Reese, for additional support.
ISPROUT Updates
Upcoming Webinars
Early Learning Centers without Individualized Education Program (IEP) students interested in implementing ISPROUT are invited to attend a webinar to learn more about the process. This webinar will provide an overview of ISPROUT and how to opt-in to implement this tool with your students. The webinars are scheduled for Wednesday, November 13 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. EST and Wednesday, November 20 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. EST. A recording of the webinar will be available for anyone unable to attend. Please note that ISPROUT is not the tool being utilized with On My Way Pre K.
Teacher Training
Teacher Training for ISPROUT
Are you currently serving students being assessed with ISPROUT? Do you need training to record student skills and knowledge? Register here for a fully online course to become certified. This course is self-paced and will guide you through the ISPROUT tool, scoring protocol, practice in the ISPROUT dashboard and certification assessments. Questions can be sent to Felecia Jordan (fjordan1@doe.in.us).
Spotlight From the Field
Shelbyville Golden Bear Preschool
IDOE staff had the opportunity to visit the new Golden Bear Preschool in Shelbyville, Indiana. Shelbyville Central Schools renovated an old Marsh grocery store to meet the need for high quality early education and developmental preschool services in the area. The opening of this school involved many years of thoughtful planning and waiting for the right time to execute a component of the district's strategic plan.
Shelbyville Central Schools is offering all developmental preschool services as well as a number of scheduling options to meet the needs of all children and all families. The program houses both indoor and outdoor play areas. They also recently achieved Level 3 on Paths to QUALITY(TM) and look forward to becoming an On My Way Pre-K Provider!
This district has also partnered with SENSES, a local non-profit organization that creates and manages sensory gyms. They have now opened an indoor sensory gym on-site in a separate wing. Preschool students have access to this facility several times a week. The gym is also open to local therapists during the week and to the public during specific times.
Thank you to Shelbyville Central Schools and School Principal Lora Nigh for your commitment to young children and their families!
Entrance
MARSH
Activity
Nominate Your Colleague!
Resources We Love
DEC Recommended Practices
The Division for Early Childhood (DEC) is a membership organization dedicated to policies, practices, and advocacy for children ages birth through eight who have, or are at risk for, developmental delays and/or disabilities. The DEC website, http://www.dec-sped.org/, offers a number of resources regarding support for young children of varying abilities.
One very helpful resource is the DEC Recommended Practices document. This can be found for free download at http://www.dec-sped.org/recommendedpractices. These practices bridge the gap of research to practice by offering techniques and guidance for providers to enrich services to ensure optimal development and strong outcomes for all children. The topic areas include: Leadership, Assessment, Environment, Family, Instruction, Interaction, Teaming/Collaboration, and Transition.
SEN Teacher
The SEN Teacher website has a wide number of FREE tools and printables that can be used to create visual supports for early childhood programs. While this site has resources for children of all ages, early educators may find the visual support creation tool helpful that can be found here. These resources can also be customized to meet the individual needs of children in your program.
Professional Development
Preschool Road Show
We hope to see you there!
Play Leadership Essentials Training
Join Playworks at Bona Vista in Kokomo, IN, on Nov 19 and 20 2019 for their Play Leadership Essentials training for early childhood educators. Playworks is the leading national non profit leveraging play for positive youth outcomes. This two day interactive workshop teaches proven strategies to prevent and redirect challenging behavior, foster a stronger sense of engagement, develop social/emotional skills and enhance opportunities for physical activity. Taught by professional Playworks trainers, each workshop in the series draws on various learning styles and builds on core principles of child development. Click here to register and learn more. This training is offered at NO COST to participants through a partnership with the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH).
Doctoral Funding in Special Education
Project CO-LEAD will prepare future faculty to conduct research and to effectively train future teachers in autism, multi-tier system of supports (MTSS), implementation science, and culturally responsive interventions.
Accepted students receive:
- Full tuition
- Competitive stipend
- Health insurance
- Financial support to attend professional conferences
- Numerous research and publication opportunities
- Mentorship and training opportunities with national and international experts in autism intervention research
- Internships in high needs schools
For more information, email wmachali@uoregon.edu (at UO), mrispoli@purdue.edu (at Purdue), or meadan@illinois.edu (at UI-UC).
This consortium is funded through the Office of Special Education Programs #H325D190064 Funding available at each university.
Infant Mental Health Endorsement
Engage With Us
Sarah Parks-Reese
Email: sparksreese1@doe.in.gov
Website: www.doe.in.gov/earlylearning
Location: 115 West Washington Street, Indianapolis, IN, USA
Phone: 317-234-5719
Twitter: @sarahlee218
Krystal Robinson
Email: krobinson2@doe.in.gov
Website: www.doe.in.gov/earlylearning
Location: 115 West Washington Street, Indianapolis, IN, USA
Phone: 317-232-0510