In this issue...
Voice for Children Award
PennAEYC On-Line
Save These Dates
Week of the Young Chld
Public Policy Forum 2011
Federal News
NAEYC Election Results
Chapter News
Spring PennAEYC Workshops
Your Membership Status

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Newsletter
March 2011
Our vision is that every child in Pennsylvania has the equal opportunity to be a successful, responsible, and productive member of society as a result of early childhood experiences.
 

 

Greetings!  

 

What's on your To Do list this week?  I have to admit I'm not always as organized as I would like but there's definitely always a list of things "to do".  The challenge of course is in the prioritizing. 

So what makes your list? Your house, your work, your children, your spouse, your partner, your hobby?

Prioritizing is a struggle no matter what makes your list.  I have figured out that no matter what makes your original list, things manage to work their way in and take over the day. 

What I have also learned is that lists can change but those lists should be based on your priorities.

Our Governor's public list of priorities was just released this month.  While you may not care too much what is prioritized on my "to do" list, you certainly should spend some time looking at what has been prioritized on his. 

Early learning received a mixed message in terms of priority rank.  I personally am very thankful for what was proposed in terms of Child Care Works, Keystone STARS, Early Intervention, Pre-K Counts and Head Start Supplemental.  However, the substantial cut to the Education budget including the Accountability Block Grant begs the question of how things become prioritized on his To Do list.

My priorities have family at the top.  My family ranks #1 but Pennsylvania families and their children are on my list each and every day.  I hope that as you make your list you can find a way to include, if they aren't there already, Pennsylvania's future as well. 

We all need to make sure that our to do list includes a thank you to the Governor for his commitment to Child Care Works, Keystone STARS, Pre-K Counts and Head Start Supplemental.  Our list also needs to include a message to the legislature that we support those programs and children served in Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten programming through school districts as well.  Our families need support in more than just education and we want our state budget to reflect families as the priority. 

We are in difficult times economically, but for that very reason we can't cut the resources families need at the time they need it most. 

What will you write on your To Do list this week?

  

 --Jodi Askins,  Executive Director
quilt blockAdvocacy
 
MARTHA W. ISLER AWARDED HONORS AT 2011 PA PUBLIC POLICY FORUM

 

The Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children honored Pittsburgher Martha W. Isler at its 2011 PA Public Policy Forum earlier this week. Isler was given the inuagural "Voice for Children Award" for her ongoing committment, work and investment to ensure all children in the state have access to quality early childhood care and education.

 

voice award
Jodi Askins, Martha Isler, Harriet Dichter

Isler was presented with the honors Sunday, March 13, 2011 by Harriet Dichter, National Director of the First Five Years Fund and former Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare Secretary. State Senators Jay Costa and John Pippy issued congratulatory letters to accompany the distinction.

 

"I didn't expect this," said Isler during her acceptance speech at the PA Early Childhood Public Policy Forum Kick-off dinner event at the Sheraton Harrisburg/Hershey. "I am deeply touched to be recognized for the work that I love to do on behalf of the children of Pennsylvania." Adding to her gratidue, Isler quoted the lyrics to a familiar Blood Sweat and Tears song saying, "And when I die, and when I'm gone, there'll be one child born in this world to carry on, to carry on."

 

PennAEYC Executive Director Jodi Askins said, "Mardi truly embodies what it means to be the voice for children here in Pennsylvania. She has a rich history in supporting and advocating for the needs and rights of children, their families and the individuals who work with them."

 

Asksins added that PennAEYC plans to make this signature award part of the Public Policy Forum annually.

 

PennAEYC On-Line
 
Check out the AEYC chapter currently featured on our website - Bucks County AEYC
  
quilt block Upcoming Activities
To submit your event, please send information to [email protected] 


 

April 9:  Central Susquehanna AEYC Conference, Williamsport, PA.  To see brochure, click here.

April 12:  Early Childhood Action Day, Harrisburg.  To register, call 888-272-9267.

 

April 16:  Annual Morrisville YMCA Healthy Kids Day, 1pm - 4pm, free community event.  Vendors wanted to set up an information tables, displays, or activities.  Please RSVP to Kim Kane at (215) 501-6686.

 

April 29:  Learning Early Network Conference, Sayre, PA.  Discounts available for PennAEYC members.  To see brochure, click here

 

May 5-7:  Delaware Valley AEYC Annual Conference
"Picture Every Child Confident & Secure," Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia, www.dvaeyc.org 

 
July 19 - 21:  Pennsylvania Head Start Association Infant Toddler Symposium "A Brighter Tomorrow, Cultivating Infants' and Toddlers' Social Emotional Development," Blair County Convention Center, Altoona, www.abrightertomorrowsymposium.org.  
 
Week of the Young Child  
What are YOU Doing to Celebrate Week of the Young Child for 2011?
It's time again to collect your wonderful activity plans to feature in our 4 weekly emails during the month of April.  Send plans, details, and photos if available to [email protected]
  
Week of the Young Child is held each year to honor young children and thank teachers and all those who make a difference in young children's lives. The theme for WOYC 2011 is Early Years are the Learning Years.
From April 10 through April 16 there are many things a that you can do to celebrate the children of Pennsylvania. If you are still looking for ways to participate consider some of these activities: Coordinate with community members to plan events in public places; Invite community members to visit high-quality programs; Publicly recognize those who work with and for young children in your community and Promote partnerships with business and community leaders.
Any of these activities could be a great way to have a fun-filled event that provides valuable information and goods to parents and highlights the importance of young children to the community.  Check out some of last year's activities on our website.   

You can also celebrate young children and advocate for them with your fellow colleagues in the early learning community by participating in the April 12, 2011 Early Childhood Action in Harrisburg. Last year nearly 650 advocates, parents, caregivers and educators packed the Capitol Building's Rotunda for an uplifting support rally. This year, join the movement again to help support the great work being done in our field and raise your voice to help bring awareness to the Early Years are the Learning Years.
  
Visit www.naeyc.org/woyc for more information and ideas.

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2011 PA Public Policy Forum Addresses Needs of ECE Community

 

For Kris Sontag, attending the 2011 Public Policy Forum was more than just being able to network with her fellow colleagues from the early learning community.

 

"I had a great time at the Public Policy Forum! There were three specific sessions that I attended that were fantastic - we had a discussion about getting others interested and involved in our issues; we discussed how the federal budget and the state budget relate, which incidentally I found very enlightening and the last session we talked about ways to present ourselves to the legislators, it too was very informative," said Sontag, Director of The Children's Adventure Learning Center in Carnegie, PA.

 

On Sunday, March, 13 a kick-off dinner celebration featured Martha W. Isler, public policy director for the Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children, being honored by Harriet Dichter, former Secretary of Pennsylvania's Department of Public Welfare with the 2011 Voice for Children Award.

 

"I left feeling full and ready to work, said Joan Bennett Lee. "I've been talking about the two days non-stop. I have a teacher that wants to come to Harrisburg in April have signed her up before leaving work today."

 

On Monday, March 14, forum attendees participating in four break-out sessions - two in the morning and two in the afternoon. Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children's Executive Director Jodi Askins said that the 12 individual workshops were crafted to help forum goers strengthen advocacy and communication skills, networking opportunities and provide forum goers with the most current state and federal budget information.

 

Lisa Ringer, a student at Slippery Rock University echoed those sentiments saying, "Thank you for all of the work that you guys put in to the Public Policy Forum.  Everything went so smoothly, from my perspective anyhow.  I really feel that I got a lot of useful information."

 

 Askins said she was pleased with the results of this year's Forum and added that as considerations and plans develop for the 2012 experience she knows that it can only be bigger and better based on this year's initial feedback.

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Still no FY2011 funding agreement for federal programs

 

The President made his budget proposal in February

Included:

 $1.6 billion increase for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG)

($800 million proposed for "discretionary" money and $800 million proposed for "mandatory" money).

$989 million increase for Head Start.

The House approved its spending package on Feb 19

It included a $39 million cut to the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) and a $1.083 billion cut to Head Start,

The Senate released their spending package on March 4th. 

The bill includes a $300 million increase for CCDBG and a $340 million increase for Head Start over FY2010 levels.

By March 9th the Senate voted and failed to pass either the House or Senate packages.

In order to keep the government from shutting down (since the beginning of the fiscal year is October 1) Congress has passed a series of "Continuing Resolutions" (CRs) which keeps federal funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), Head Start, and other federal programs going at current funding levels until it can complete its budget work. The latest CR, passed on March 17, runs through April 8, 2011.

Now the House and Senate must try and negotiate an agreement on funding levels between the two spending bills. Vice President Joe Biden is leading talks between the two chambers. Leaders from both parties are hopeful that they can come to agreement on a long-term spending plan by Easter recess, which begins April 18.

To find your member of Congress and let them they need to pass a spending package that does NOT cut funding for early care and education go to
www.house.gov.  

quilt blockNAEYC News

NAEYC 2011 Governing Board Election Results Announced


Please join us in congratulating the following individuals that have been elected by NAEYC membership to serve on the NAEYC Governing Board, beginning their term on June 1, 2011.
 
The results of the 2011 NAEYC Governing Board election have been certified and are posted on our Web site.  We encourage you to post a link on your respective website to inform our shared member of these election results as well.  
 
President-Elect:
 
Gera Jacobs, Professor of Early Childhood Education, University of South Dakota, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Vermillion, South Dakota
 
Governing Board At Large:
 
Jim Lesko, Director, Early Development and Learning Resources, Delaware Department of Education, Dover, Delaware
 
Amy O'Leary, Campaign Director, Early Education for All, Strategies for Children, Boston, Massachusetts
 
Ginger Marie Swigart, Project Specialist, Sacramento County Office of Education, Sacramento, California
 
On behalf of the Nominating Panel and Governing Board, I would especially like to express appreciation to all the candidates who agreed to run and offer their service to NAEYC.  I also want to acknowledge the efforts of the Nominations Panel in constructing this year's outstanding slate.
 
Barbara Willer
Deputy Executive Director
Staff Liaison to the Nominating Panel

 

quilt blockChapter News
 
To submit your chapter news, please send information to [email protected]

 

Central Region Chapter of PennAEYC is co-sponsoring a one-day Regional Conference in Altoona on Saturday, May 14.  Sessions will be level C2 and C3 in 3 tracks; keynote speaker will be Martha Isler, winner of PennAEYC's Voice for Children award.  Central Region Chapter members will receive a discounted price.  To join, visit www.naeyc.org.  To receive registration information, email [email protected]

quilt blockProfessional Development 

Spring PennAEYC Workshops

Play and Developmentally Appropriate Practice = Learning

What do we mean when we say, "Play = Learning"? How does play enhance children's development? Participants will explore how play and creativity IS the essence of children's development and learning. Bring a creative play material(s) and/or manipulative(s) from your classroom. Bring a copy of the Early Learning Standards.

DATE:            4/5/2011

TIME:            6:00-9:00PM

PLACE:          YWCA of Adams County, Gettysburg PA  17325

 

Effective Media Communication 

Effective Media Communication, with a focus on dealing with newspapers, radio, TV and social media with an emphasis on How to write a press release; How to write a letter to the editor and Why an Op-Ed piece could showcase a specific issue.

DATE:            4/9/2011

TIME:            10am-12pm

PLACE:          The United Way of Cumberland County, Carlisle PA 17013

 

DAP for Infants and Toddlers

Developmentally Appropriate Practice focused specifically on working with infants and toddlers. Participants will learn the most current information from NAEYCs New 3rd edition of Developmentally Appropriate Practices, from Birth through Age 8 and how to apply that information in day-to-day classroom operations and interactions with infants and toddlers.

DATE:            5/16/2011

TIME:            1-4PM

PLACE:          YWCA Lancaster, Lancaster PA17602

  

The Child Care Health Advocate course is a15 session, 3 credit hour online college credit activity for directors and lead teachers offered by Northampton Community College. Since 2007, this NCC has taught this course with ongoing collaboration between Northampton Community College and the PA Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

This course continues to receive accolades from all the enrolled students because it not only offers a unique opportunity for directors and lead teachers to acquire academic credit applicable toward undergraduate and graduate degrees, but also to immediately improve the performance of their programs. The mentored course assignments involve implementation of nationally recommended best practice in the student's work setting and access to national resources. Pediatrician, Susan Aronson, MD drew from and supplemented the California Childcare Health Program curriculum (available online without college credit) to write the college course curriculum. She remains involved with the nurse instructor, Judith Rex of the NCC faculty in delivering the curriculum. 
 
For a flyer, click here:  www.northampton.edu/ccha
Disclaimer:  PennAEYC provides a forum for discussion of major issues and ideas in our field. We hope to provoke thought and promote professional growth.
The views expressed or implied are not necessarily those of the Association. Acceptance of advertising, announcements, and postings does not represent PennAEYC's endorsement of any product or service, nor is PennAEYC responsible for representations made by advertisers.
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If you are a PennAEYC member, your membership information is as follows:
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To become a member or renew your membership, go to www.naeyc.org/membership or call NAEYC at 1-800-424-2460.