Good News

Parsons, Child Care Council Use Grant to Enhance Training for Early Head Start Staff

Posted on: Monday, November 22, 2010

Parsons Child and Family Center’s Early Head Start (EHS), in partnership with the Capital District Child Care Council, has been awarded a federal grant of $224,755 to hire two early learning mentor coaches to enhance the learning environment of the EHS program. All levels of Parsons’ well-qualified EHS staff, as well as the 122 children they serve, will benefit from the association with coaches who are experts in early childhood learning.

“The goals of the project are to improve the quality of teaching; help our staff members to promote, demonstrate, and sustain positive outcomes for children to the community we serve; and offer our teaching staff the opportunity to work with early learning experts to further develop and enhance their career skills. Further, the coaches will serve as the needed connection for our staff to comprehensive learning resources such as the National Centers and the Early Childhood Education specialists,” said Wendy Hopkinson, Senior Director of Early Childhood Services at Parsons (parsonscenter.org)

The Capital District Child Care Council (CDCCC.org) will provide training and support for the mentor coaches from their early learning expert trainers. As the premier early childhood learning resource in the region, the CDCCC has provided training to the Parsons EHS staff since the program’s inception.

“Our approach to this 17-month project is to place the coaches in both our center- and home-base programs, where they will observe, review and comment on curriculum, model effective strategies, and reflect and review progress,” said Ms. Hopkinson. “At the end of a year, an assessment of the approach and progress will be completed, and we will develop a plan to sustain the coach resource in our local area network of child care experts.
 

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