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Ready to Learn Providence
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 | If we do nothing else, we must shift the perception that a dual-language learner is somehow handicapped, stressed Linda Espinosa when speaking with a small group at Ready to Learn on December 3. See more below.
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Dr. Espinosa met with a small group at Ready to Learn before speaking at Brown.
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Dual/English Language Learners
'Two is better than one; Early is better than later'
That was the message Linda Espinosa, a renowned scholar in dual/English language learners, brought to Providence when speaking with groups of early childhood professionals on December 3. Adding a second language on top of a well-developed first, or home, language gives children a big advantage, Dr. Espinosa told a group at Ready to Learn Providence, which also included staff from the R.I. Department of  Education, R.I. KIDS COUNT, the Center for Early Learning Professionals and the Providence Full Service Community School Initiative. "Young English language learners develop many linguistic, cognitive, social and cultural advantages because their brains are adapting to the challenges of processing both languages," she says. But, she cautioned, the first language should not be neglected in the process of acquiring the second. Young children who are highly proficient in a first language eventually outperform those who learned English at the expense of their home language. "If you neglect the first language, you're going to hurt the child in the long term." Dr. Espinosa was in Rhode Island to speak at Brown University's annual Lipsitt-Duchin Lecture, sponsored this year by Brown, RI KIDS COUNT and Brown's Teaching, Research and Impact Program (TRI-Lab). Dr. Espinosa is a professor emeritus at the University of Missouri, Columbia, and has published widely on improving outcomes for young dual language learners.
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 By the numbers
An end-of-the-year wrap-up
Since launching Empowering Families last spring, we've trained 241 family members in Mind in the Making. More than 100 staff from Providence schools and City Year members also completed the eight-session course this year. At right is a group of parents and other caregivers from Providence's Bailey School. Empowering Families is funded with a grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Investing in Innovation Fund and matching dollars from The Bezos Foundation, The A.M. Fund, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, The Campaign for Grade Level Reading, Hasbro Children's Fund, The Rhode Island Foundation and United Way of Rhode Island.
 T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® RI, which just celebrated its fourth birthday, has issued a total of 226 annual contracts to 122 early childhood educators, who have completed 2,239 credits. These educators represent 92 center- and home-based sponsoring programs. Ten scholars have received degrees from Community College of Rhode Island, and another 40 are currently enrolled there. Some 31 scholars are currently pursuing bachelor's degrees at Rhode Island College, including Robyn Geremia, who is shown above. T.E.A.C.H. RI is funded through Exceed, a cross-departmental program charged with implementing the work of the state's Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge Grant.  More than 650 early childhood educators have taken advantage of one or more offerings in the state's Center for Early Learning Professionals, which began operating last spring.The Center offers a range of professional development classes, small-group technical assistance and quality improvement grants. Like T.E.A.C.H. RI, this initiative is funded through Exceed. (The Education Development Center, which was awarded the grant, partnered with Ready to Learn to launch and operate the Center.) Shown at left is a methods and materials class in science for early-care educators.  We've trained some 160 center- and home-based educators in I Am Moving, I Am Learning, a program that integrates movement and nutrition into the daily routines of an early-care setting. Funded with a grant from Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, we've brought this program to 10 centers and 30 home-care settings. At right is Pre-K teacher Victoria Botelho in the R2LP classroom at CCRI. Another 100 home-care educators and parents completed The Incredible Years in 2014, thanks to a three-year grant from the R.I. Department of Health. This popular course helps adults increase the social competence of children and reduce challenging behaviors.  And finally, our remarkable AmeriCorps members performed nearly 42,000
hours of service in early childhood settings, libraries, WIC offices, public schools and professional development programs in 2014. They received some 5,555 hours of training.
As we've often said, the AmeriCorps members are not just our legs, but our heart and soul.The program is largely funded by Serve Rhode Island, but also relies on crucial private and public dollars.
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L-r: Raquel Guzman, Khadija Lewis Khan and Deepani Ambalangodage
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"I see T.E.A.C.H. as an invaluable investment in our teachers and our center," says Khadija Lewis Khan, director of the Beautiful Beginnings Child Care Center on Elmwood Avenue in Providence.
Read what Khadija and two of her teachers say about how T.E.A.C.H. has impacted them, their center and, most importantly, the children they work with. Beautiful Beginnings and T.E.A.C.H.
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T.E.A.C.H. is accepting applications for ECE scholarships
If you're an early childhood educator thinking of pursuing a degree or coursework at CCRI, or a bachelor's degree at RIC, T.E.A.C.H. scholarships are available.  For information about T.E.A.C.H. scholarships, call Maura Pearce or Samantha McCormack at Ready to Learn at 401-490-9960. If you're interested in the bachelor's degree program for the spring semester, please first contact Susan Zoll, director for the Institute for Early Childhood Teaching and Learning at Rhode Island College. She will be able to explain the eligibility requirements for the cohort program and other degree details. Dr. Zoll can be reached at szoll@ric.edu or 401-456-8414.
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Have fun at the library and help your child get ready for K
Ready for K!, a program of the Providence Community Library, has announced sessions starting in late January for children entering kindergarten in 2015 or 2016 and their parents or caregivers. Click here for information in English, or here for Spanish.
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Happy Holidays from the staff at Ready to Learn Providence
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