Northern Windsor & Orange Regional Newsletter    
Regional News
On October 15th, about forty local stakeholders convened to provide guidance on our regional strategic plan to support young children and their families. Participating in both broad and deep discussions about our collective impact with such a diverse representation of sectors was invigorating for our entire team. 

We accomplished a lot as we tailored our goals, priorities, and action plans to meet the needs of children and families in Northern Windsor and Orange Counties. If you couldn't make the meeting, keep an eye out for  focus group opportunities that are coming together in the next few months. As we work to finalize this draft of our regional plan (due by December 31st), it's vital that we engage all our early childhood partners in identifying and resolving the challenges before us. 

Also, mark your calendar for our regional council meetings in November and December. Both are on the 17th from 1:30-3pm at The Family Place. Hope to see you then! 

Sarah Buxton
Regional Coordinator, Building Bright Futures



Statewide Project Updates
Early Learning Challenge Projects Update (October 2015)
Vermont has made so much progress across all categories of the Early Learning Challenge grant in the past few months. A few updates are included below. Learn more and sign-up for regular updates by following this link: Early Learning Challenge Grant 

Kindergarten Readiness Survey (KRS)
The revised kindergarten readiness survey (KRS) is being administered until November 13, 2015. The new KRS was developed in a combined effort by the Agency of Human Services, Building Bright Futures, and the Agency of Education. You can find it here.

Why it matters:  The Kindergarten Readiness Survey is one of the key measures of success of Vermont's early childhood system. Having a valid and reliable assessment is critical to making sure we know that all Vermont's children are ready to succeed in kindergarten and beyond.

Addressing Prekindergarten Capacity Challenges (Pre-K)
An ad-hoc group was created in February of 2015 to address the shortage of licensed and endorsed early childhood educators working in private settings. With full implementation of Act 166 on the horizon, the need to have enough pre-qualified programs to serve all 3, 4, and 5 year olds not yet in kindergarten has become more apparent. As a short term solution, the group worked closely with the Agency of Education to  creating an alternative process for requesting a provisional license for early educators working in community based programs. Vermont Birth to Five, with funding from the Early Learning Challenge grant and our philanthropic partners, has agreed to develop, administer, and oversee a mentoring program to support those awarded a provisional license through the alternative process to achieve a Professional Educators License with EC/ECSE Endorsement within two years. 

Vermont Early Learning Standards (VELS)  
The State Board of Education adopted the newly revised Vermont Early Learning Standards (VELS) in August 2015. The VELS Revision Committee will continue to work to make this essential tool accessible with ongoing professional development, including a VELS summer institute for 2016. There will also be a group coming together to a draft a revised Family Guide to the VELS. Another group will work on developing an interactive web platform. If you are interested in participating in any of these working groups, please contact Kate Rogers at [email protected].

Why it matters: The VELS revision creates a birth through third grade continuum of standards and helps make sure that children have smoother transitions between their experiences before pre-school, through kindergarten, and into grades 1-3. The revisions also ensure that VELS better supports children with high needs.

Help Me Grow (HMG)
The new Help Me Grow phone line at Vermont 2-1-1 has launched! Parents, caregivers, family, friends, or providers can call to get answers about a child's development or behavior -- and get connected to local resources. Vermont 2-1-1 has hired two Child Development Specialists, Elizabeth Gilman and Anne Davie, to staff the line. Both have strong backgrounds serving Vermont children and families. The Help Me Grow/Vermont 2-1-1 team is working on materials for our partners to share. 

Why it matters: Early detection and connection to services lead to the best outcomes for children who are at risk for developmental or behavioral concerns.

Strengthening Families Program (SF)
Six organizations around the state (including Orange County Parent Child Center) are serving as hosts to support ten family child care providers in their region in implementing the Strengthening Families model. Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC) is conducting an evaluation to determine the efficacy of the expansion program. They are currently in the process of creating evaluation questions. 

Why it matters: The Strengthening Families model helps providers link families with comprehensive services and empower them to understand and meet the developmental needs of their children.

Evidence Based Home Visiting 
The Child Development Division is finalizing agreements to ensure fidelity with the Home Health Agencies that will implement the MECSH nursing-based home visiting model. Caseloads of this program build slowly, so we don't anticipate agencies will have full caseloads for a year or so. Training in the Parents As Teachers (PAT) family support worker model has been pushed back, and will likely begin in spring 2016. Meanwhile, the Department of Health has started updating their home visiting data system to include inputs from both PAT and (Maternal Early Childhood Sustained Home-visiting) MECSH when those models are implemented. The system currently tracks data from the Nurse Family Partnership (NFP) home visiting model, and will measure common indicators for all three models.

Why it matters: Evidence-based home visiting promotes maternal well-being, healthy birth outcomes, and optimal child physical, social and emotional development to help children achieve success in school and life.

Early Childhood Workforce 
The Early Childhood Workforce Survey was completed in early July. Thanks to all who participated. A small group of stakeholders is coming together to look at preliminary data. This group will put together a formal presentation in December. The Child Development Division is now working on an effort to engage with homes and centers in order to increase the amount of verifiable information in the Bright Futures Information System.
Why it matters: The survey will offer objective evidence regarding the educational level, compensation and retention rates of child care professionals in Vermont and identify gaps in the professional development system across the state. This information will help us chart a course to build a stronger workforce.

Regional Council Strategic Action Plans 
The Building Bright Futures Regional Councils are working to finalize their Regional Action Plans using a template that is aligned with the statewide Early Childhood Action Plan. Each of the regions are planning events to engage their  stakeholders in early childhood issues. Training of the 12 Regional Coordinators is ongoing, including learning more about other early childhood initiatives such as Help Me Grow, Early MTSS, Promise Communities, and Act 166 so they can better support their communities in the implementation of these efforts. This summer, the Regional Coordinators were trained in Facilitative Leadership techniques, participated in a 2-1-1 Call Center Help Me Grow site visit and working session, worked with AOE and AHS to support community-based early learning services, and have participated in health-based cultural awareness trainings. 

Why it matters: As the 12 regional councils develop capacity to impact services that affect young children and their families in their local communities, they will support the successful implementation of the Early Learning Challenge grant and the larger statewide Early Childhood Framework and Action Plan.

Early Childhood Leadership Institute (ECLI)
The 25 leaders in the first cohort of the program began their work in May of this year, and will be gathering September 23 and 24 at Lake Morey Resort for their 5th session examining data and decision making in organizations and at a statewide level.  Other session topics have included exploring the relationships between the complex systems that interact to impact families and young children as well as analyzing the many players, perspectives and strategies involved with advocacy, and with making and implementing policy.  The first ECLI cohort will graduate October 31st at the Inn at Essex Vermont. These 25 leaders (including our own Emily Marchia, Marla Ianello, and Rick Dustin-Eichler) have worked extensively with the Snelling Center for Government and Early Childhood experts since May to gain leadership skills and a deeper knowledge and understanding of the science and landscape of early childhood issues in Vermont. ECLI gives participants the information, tools and inspiration to make greater contributions in their organizations, their communities and Vermont toward early childhood issues. 

CIS Data System 
At the end of August, Children's Integrated Services launched an interim data system that will allow paper records from the regions to be entered digitally at the state level. This data can later be streamlined into the new system. CDD staff are closely monitoring and advising on the development of the MMIS case management system for the VT Chronic Care Initiative, which will later be modified for CIS use. Development of the CIS specific-system is scheduled to start in January 2016, with a go-live of the new system tentatively scheduled for June 2016.

Why it matters: This work will help make sure Vermont's young children are getting the services they need to thrive and that we are better able to measure outcomes and use accurate data to inform policy. 
Events, Meetings, Trainings & More! 

Regional Council Meetings
Join us at one of our upcoming Regional Council Meetings: 

Tuesday, November 17th from 1:30pm-3pm 
The Family Place, 319 Route 5, Norwich, VT
Tentative Agenda: Regional Strategic Action Plan Draft: Review

Thursday, December 17th from 1:30pm-3pm 
The Family Place, 319 Route 5, Norwich, VT
Tentative Agenda: Approve Action Plan; VT Early Childhood Alliance Presentation of Legislative Priorities

E-mail Sarah Buxton ([email protected]) with questions, announcements, handouts, or agenda items. 


Capstone - Head Start's 50th Anniversary Open House: November 8th 

Sunday, November 8th, 1:00-3:00pm 
Chelsea Head Start Center (2 Hillside Ln)
FREE - Open to all. Family, Fun, and Food! 


Let's Grow Kids Community Forums 
Let's Grow Kids and sponsoring organizations are hosting community forums in seven communities across Vermont from October 26 to November 5. RSVP is required. Click here to sign up: Forum RSVP.
  • St. Albans: October 26th, 5:30-7:30pm
  • Rutland: October 27th, 5:30-7:30pm
  • St. Johnsbury: October 28th, 5:30-7:30pm 
  • Vergennes: October 29th, 5:30-7:30pm 
  • Bennington:November 2nd, 5:30-7:30pm 
  • Brattleboro: November 3rd, 5:30-7:30pm 
  • Essex: November 5th, 5:30-7:30pm

VCCICC: VT Child Care Apprenticeship Program - Update
  
The VT Child Care Industry & Careers Council (VCCICC) is currently recruiting apprentices to participate in the Child Care Apprenticeship Program. This training program combines on-the-job mentoring with formal classroom instruction to build the skills and confidence of newer employees in the field. It is designed for child care programs with more than one employee, as the rules of apprenticeship require the apprentice and mentor to be employed by the same program. After completing an orientation period this fall, apprentices will enroll in a sequence of tuition-free college courses, which will begin in January 2016 at CCV St. Johnsbury. One course will be offered each semester over the course of two years. As space allows, these courses will also be open to community members who are currently working with children (a $100 application fee applies). This is a unique and affordable opportunity for the child care community in Northeast VT to access higher education.
VCCICC collaborates with the Department of Labor and the Child Development Division to offer the Apprenticeship Program and related college courses. VCCICC is excited to bring the program to St. Johnsbury, thanks to funding from VT's Early Learning Challenge / Race to the Top Grant. Contact VCCICC for more info: 802-985-2700 or [email protected]

AOE: "Critical Conversation" on November 15th-16th. (See below)


 
Upper Valley Child Care Association (UVACC)
For all Upper Valley childcare center directors, administrators, family child care providers, and early childhood professionals from NH and VT. Meets 2nd Tuesday of each month, 1-3pm at Franklin Pierce University in West Lebanon. Contact [email protected] for more details. 


Connections
For all Orange County, VT child care and other providers working directly with children. Meets 1st Wednesday of each month, 6:30-8:30pm at Valley Cooperative Preschool in Bradford, VT. Contact Meri Saladino at 
(802) 222-4236 for more details. 


Early Childhood Day at the Legislature (3/9/16)
Mark your calendars to join hundreds of early childhood professionals, parents, employers, and policymakers gathered at the 22nd annual Early Childhood Day at the Legislature on March 9, 2016. This networking, education, and advocacy day at the State House and Capitol Plaza Hotel in Montpelier is co-hosted by the Vermont Early Childhood Alliance, Let's Grow Kids, and Building Bright Futures. 

Plan to attend and consider becoming a sponsor of the day. Click here to learn more. 

Statewide News and Reports 
Report on Housing and Families 
A new report from Voices for Vermont's Children presents a stark picture of Vermont's housing crisis on children. Click here to read the report and understand why we MUST do better for struggling Vermont families. 

Early Educator of the Year
Rick Davis, co-founder of the Permanent Fund for Vermont's Children, announced both the finalist and winner of Vermont's first Early Educator of the Year Award today at the VAEYC Annual Conference held in Killington, VT. New Haven resident and owner of Discovery Hill Family Child Care and Preschool, Geralyn (Gerri) Barrows, was the award winner. Read more here.

Blue Ribbon Commission on Child Care Convenes
In June, the 17 members of Vermont' Blue Ribbon Commission on Financing High Quality, Affordable Child Care came together for the first time. They heard the stories of parents who are struggling to find high quality child care in Vermont. Now they have set to work determining the hallmarks of a quality child care program and preparing to recommend strategies to attain affordable, quality childcare to  the Legislature and Governor in 2016. Learn more here and  here.

In This Issue  ... 
(October 2015)
 
Northern Windsor & Orange Council 
Agendas, Minutes & Documents
August 20, 2015 Regional Council Meeting Agenda

August 20, 2015 Regional Council Meeting Minutes 

September 15, 2015 Regional Council Meeting Agenda

September 15, 2015 Regional Council Meeting Minutes 

October 15, 2015 Regional Council Strategic Planning Meeting 

October 15, 2015 Outcomes Framework: Families are Supported

October 15, 2015 Outcomes Framework: Children are Learning 

October 15, 2015 Outcomes Framework: Children are Healthy 

Regional Governance Document 

Quick Links