SOAR ACTION TEAMS – Early Childhood and School Readiness

Early Learning Implementation Team

The Early Learning Implementation Team (ELIT) oversees the overall implementation of the Early Childhood & School Readiness Action Agenda. ELIT is composed of key King County early learning stakeholders from throughout King County and acts as the King County Early Learning Coalition.

Action Teams

Champions for Children
Getting School Ready
Prevention and Early Intervention


PREVENTION AND EARLY INTERVENTION ACTION TEAM

Purpose: The Prevention and Early Intervention Action Team was created as work group of SOAR, helping kids reach for the sky. Our main purpose is to work on implementing strategies to support and foster the Prevention and Early Intervention goal of the King County Early Childhood and School Readiness Action Agenda.

Goal: Children and families most in need of services receive high-quality, affordable and culturally competent services early. Our goal is to make sure families can find the services they need to help them assess their children's development, and to address problems as early as possible. Examples of these services are: physical, occupational and speech therapy, special instruction and mental health services.

Main Strategies:

Over the course of the summer and fall of 2006, focus groups were held representing diverse communities -including families of children with and without developmental disabilities, several ethnic groups and the medical community, including family practice doctors, pediatricians, and nurses.

Taking guidance from these groups, the Prevention and Early Intervention Action Team is focusing its efforts on three (3) strategies for the early identification and access to services for children with developmental delays:

• Public awareness and community education:
  The action team is focusing on a public-awareness/community-education campaign to encourage parents of young children to be aware of development and to know how to access developmental supports. Currently bus placards and informational brochures have been developed in English, Somali, Spanish and Vietnamese languages and are currently on display on routes most frequently utilized by the focus language groups. During 2007, community outreach and training will be held with parents of children, natural community support systems, and agencies that work effectively with the respective language groups to increase their knowledge of child development and DD system support services.
  
  
• Partnerships with the medical community:
  Effective partnerships will be built with the medical community to assure that medical practitioners are aware of and supported in conducting developmental screenings for young children and working with parents to make appropriate referrals for follow-up on concerns.
  
  
• Education and capacity-building for early care providers:
  Training will be provided to early childhood caregivers to enhance their knowledge of typical and atypical development and develop capacity to pre-screen for developmental "red flags" and work with parents and the DD system for appropriate follow-up.

The Prevention and Early Intervention Action Team will also work with the FACES groups and other key SOAR partners and community stakeholders to disseminate information about the developmental disabilities system.

Contact:

Jan Wrathall, DCHS
(206) 296-2912
jan.wrathall@metrokc.gov

Meetings: First Thursday of the month from 10:00am to Noon.  Please call for location of monthly meetings.



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CHAMPIONS FOR CHILDREN ACTION TEAM

The Champions for Children Action Team is a collaboration of public and private organizations working to increase the quality of childcare and after-school programs for all of the community's children.

Strategies:

• Increasing the number of King County children in nationally accredited programs.
• Increasing public and parental awareness of the importance of early learning and care and after-school programs.
• Coordinating with the Washington Scholars program to promote continuing education of early childhood and after-school professionals.
• Collaborating with statewide and local efforts to improve Washington's early learning/childcare and after-school system.

Actions:

• Providing support to childcare and after-school programs seeking national accreditation or reaccreditation.
• Identifying potential funding opportunities for additional accreditation support.
• Acknowledging newly and reaccredited programs.
• Acknowledging Washington Scholars participants and other professional development accomplishments.
• Championing the strategies of the King County Action Agendas for Early Childhood and School Readiness and School-Age Children and Youth.

Accomplishments:

• Increased the number of nationally accredited childcare programs from 9% in 2001 to 17% in May 2006.
• Provided intensive accreditation support to over 30 childcare centers serving diverse communities throughout the county.
• Held 3 recognition events for programs achieving national accreditation and individuals achieving professional development milestones.
• Expanded grant resources to accredit 130 additional childcare centers through United Way of King County/Child Care Resources partnership.
• Launched Family Child Care Accreditation Pilot Project.

Partners:

African-American Child Care Task Force
Asian/Pacific Islander Child Care Task Force
Child Care Resources
Children's Home Society
City of Seattle
Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce
Latino Child Care Task Force
Lesbian & Gay Child Care Task Force
School's Out Washington
SOAR
TEACH Early Childhood® Washington
United Way of King County
Washington Scholars
Washington Department of Early Learning

Contact:

Suzette Puente
(206) 760-2033
suzette.puente@del.wa.gov

Evelyn Lemoine, Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce
(206) 389-7250
evelynl@seattlechamber.com

Meetings: Meets quarterly (January, April, July, October) on the third Friday of the month from 8:30-10:00am at the Great Seattle Chamber of Commerce, 1301 5th Ave (Rainier Tower) 25th Floor, Seattle, WA.



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GETTING SCHOOL READY ACTION TEAM

View Getting School Ready Handbook

Goals:

• Help parents, caregivers, early childhood educators and kindergarten teachers support children to get ready for school.
• Help schools be ready to meet the needs of their students.

Accomplishments:

• The team meets monthly to share and update the community on issues related to school readiness.
• Piloted and are implementing Getting School Ready Teams in 25 King County elementary schools during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 school years.
• School districts currently hosting GSR teams include Bellevue, Highline, Kent, Lake Washington, Northshore, Riverview, Seattle and Shoreline.
• The purpose of the neighborhood transition teams is to improve school readiness and support successful transitions of children and their families into kindergarten by: (1) fostering communcation and building relationships among families, caregivers and schools; (2) implementing strategies to enhance early literacy and reduce nonacademic barriers to early learning (e.g. language and translation); and (3) strengthen involvement of parents and childcare providers in school-based learning events.
• Produced and disseminated Getting School Ready E-newsletters.
• Promoted and disseminated over 83,000 Getting School Ready booklets and over 200 kits to the King County community. The purpose of the booklets is to help parents, caregivers, early childhood educators and kindergarten teachers support children to get ready for school; and help schools be ready to meet the needs of their students. The booklets are translated into 7 different languages, including Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Cambodian, Somali, and Vietnamese.
• Trained childcare providers, resource agency representatives and parents in use of Getting School Ready materials.
• Presented model at 2006 Washington Association of School Directors Conference in Spokane, WA.

Partners:

Bellevue School District Child Care Resources City of Seattle Community Day School Association Comprehensive Health Education Foundation East FACES North FACES Seattle FACES Foundation for Early Learning Highline Public Schools Kent School District King County 0-3 Early Intervention/Child Development Program King County Interagency Coordinating Council King County Library System

Lake Washington School District Latino Child Care Task Force Northshore Schools ParentMap Praxis Institute for Early Childhood Development Puget Sound Educational Service District Riverview School District Seattle Public Libraries Seattle Public Schools Shoreline School District SOAR Talaris Research Institute Tukwila Public Schools United Way of King County Washington Alliance for Better Schools

Contact:

Linda Averill
(206) 361-4253
linda.averill@shorelineschools.org

Diane Kroll
(206) 439-6906 x3988

Meetings: Second Friday of the month from 9:00 to 11:00am at Child Care Resources, 1125 S Weller, Seattle, WA 98144.



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