Trustees to consider Vaca preschool funding strategy – Daily Republic

School District trustees will consider approval Thursday of a plan to help secure future funding for the local preschool program.

Assistant Superintendent Sasha Begell has asked the school board to appoint Preschool Principal Lauren Hylton to serve as the applicant on behalf of the district for submission of a continued funding application for the California State Preschool Program.

This continued funding application is required by the state to serve as notification of intent to continue services for the next contract period.

Source: Trustees to consider Vaca preschool funding strategy

New preschool center named for longtime VUSD educator, principal, trustee – The Vacaville Reporter

By Richard Bammer

First, consider her family’s history, a family of teachers that stretches back nearly 100 years in Vacaville.

Second, consider her resume, packed with references to pioneering teaching strategies and programs that continue to thrive and a history of mentoring staff and students.

And third, this consideration: After many years of teaching, leading schools and later serving as a district trustee and continues to do so, Shelley Dally was honored Thursday by the Vacaville Unified governing board, which, on a unanimous vote, named a new early learning center after her.

Source: New preschool center named for longtime VUSD educator, principal, trustee – The Vacaville Reporter

District names new Vacaville preschool named for Shelley Dally – Daily Republic

The Vacaville School District governing board unanimously approved naming a new early learning center for governing board member and longtime community educator Shelley Dally.

The new addition to the district’s 18 school sites will be located at 621 South Orchard Ave. and will be referred to as the Shelley Dally Early Learning Village. The campus will open to preschoolers in January.

Dally was praised in a press release for her vision as a teacher, administrator and community leader.

Source: District names new Vacaville preschool named for Shelley Dally

There’s a new lesson in California preschools — no sharing – Times-Herald

By Zaidee Stavely

Walk into a California preschool during the coronavirus pandemic, and you might see children playing alone inside their own hula hoop.

Gone are family-style meals and snacks where children serve themselves. And no more sharing toys.

Some of the state’s new guidelines for child care facilities, like keeping children six feet apart, seem at odds with the main goal of early education, which is focused on helping children feel safe and loved, and learn to play and talk with both other children and adults.

Source: There’s a new lesson in California preschools — no sharing – Times-Herald

Building Teamwork and Perseverance in Early Elementary Students with Breakouts | MindShift

By Katrina Schwartz

The first Breakout Angie Sutherland designed was in response to a teacher’s request for an activity to help her students improve their teamwork skills. The teacher was concerned that her students didn’t communicate well when they collaborated on projects and that they gave up too easily when an academic task became challenging. Sutherland immediately thought of Breakouts, activities based on the popular escape room experience where groups of people working together under time pressure solve a series of puzzles. As a technology integrationist for Batavia Public Schools, a district outside Chicago, Sutherland was excited to give the strategy a try.

“The growth for students when doing something like that goes beyond the curriculum,” Sutherland said. “I think it’s so important for us to encourage kids to have that productive struggle and how to handle that once you’ve encountered it. And this particular activity has so much value in helping kids overcome some fears for taking risks and failure.”

Source: Building Teamwork and Perseverance in Early Elementary Students with Breakouts | MindShift | KQED News

Nearly $11 Million Early Childhood Education Grant – Year 2019 (CA Dept of Education)

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced today that the California Department of Education (CDE) was awarded a federal Preschool Development Birth Through Five Initial Grant Award for $10,620,000 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families. It was one of 45 states/territories that received the grant award.

These grants help states analyze and enhance their early learning and care systems to maximize the availability of high-quality early learning and care options for low-income and disadvantaged families. It will also help California improve the quality of early childhood care by streamlining administrative and funding systems.

“This grant helps streamline access to early education through more effective and efficient operations,” said Thurmond. “That in turn will help us take a step towards meeting the crucial goal of expanding these programs and reducing the achievement gap.”

Source: Nearly $11 Million Early Childhood Education Grant – Year 2019 (CA Dept of Education)

Dollars for Child Care and Preschool in 2018-19 Near Pre-Recession Levels With Boost From One-Time Funding – California Budget & Policy Center

By Kristin Schumacher

For the fifth year in a row, funding for California’s subsidized child care and development system has increased. This system provides critical child care and early learning opportunities for a limited number of children from low- and moderate-income families, but state funding was cut dramatically during and after the Great Recession, while federal funding for subsidized child care remained relatively flat.[1] This meant that fewer children and families received subsidized care than prior to the onset of the Great Recession. However, state policymakers have incrementally reinvested in these programs and services beginning with the 2014-15 state fiscal year, and bipartisan support for subsidized child care at the federal level has resulted in newly available federal funds, as well. Due to these investments, after adjusting for inflation, overall funding for California’s subsidized child care and development system in the 2018-19 fiscal year is $3.887 billion, 15% greater than in 2017-18 ($3.375 billion), and nearly even with funding levels in 2007-08, prior to the onset of the Great Recession (see chart).

Source: Dollars for Child Care and Preschool in 2018-19 Near Pre-Recession Levels With Boost From One-Time Funding – California Budget & Policy Center

Dodd’s universal preschool bill clears Education Committee – Daily Republic

By Daily Republic Staff

Legislation that would allow all 4-year-olds to attend transitional kindergarten passed the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday.

“I strongly believe that universal early childhood education is an investment in our future that will pay dividends for years to come,” Sen. Bill Dodd, who authored Senate Bill 837, said in a statement released Wednesday. “It is absolutely essential for economic vitality and social mobility. California must step up our investment in the next generation.”

The existing transitional kindergarten program is available to children who turn 5 shortly after the first semester of a school year.

Source: Dodd’s universal preschool bill clears Education Committee

Grant will provide pre-kindergarten children with summer reading – Daily Republic

By Daily Republic Staff

A Reading is Fundamental $10,000 grant has been received for The Read for Success summer reading program.

First 5 Solano and Solano County Office of Education received the grant, which will be used at the Pre-K academies in the county’s seven cities, targeting children who have never had a prior preschool experience or who are considered high-risk.

The funds were part of a matching grant program. First 5 Solano and the Solano County Office of Education each added $5,000 for a total of $20,000 for the reading program.

Source: Grant will provide pre-kindergarten children with summer reading

Community meeting set to discuss Solano child care, early education – Daily Republic

By Daily Republic Staff

The Solano County Child Care and Development Planning Council will host a community meeting on Child Care and Early Education from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Mary Bird Early Education Center, 420 E. Tabor Ave.

Guest speakers include Solano County Superintendent of Schools Lisette Estrella-Henderson and Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, who will discuss his transitional kindergarten expansion bill.

The meeting will include a public hearing on the state of early care and education in Solano County and updates on local, state and federal policies affecting the field.

Source: Community meeting set to discuss Solano child care, early education

Santa Claus stops for pancake breakfast in Vacaville – The Reporter

By Michael Morris

The children-crafted decorations were hung in the McBride Senior Center with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas would soon be there.

The eager children weren’t nestled or snug in their beds, they were there for breakfast dressed in white, green and red.

Families spilled into the local senior center as the aroma of pancakes and sausage circulated through the air Saturday morning.

For recreation coordinator Penny Hernandez, the opportunity to host the annual event for families is accented by the volunteer efforts of her own family. With much-appreciated assistance from her husband Joe Hernandez in the kitchen, Penny was able to host the North Pole native for the sixth straight year.

Source: Santa Claus stops for pancake breakfast in Vacaville

New preschool chronic absence reports from Child Plus and COPA – Attendance Works

Attendance Works is pleased to announce the release of its chronic absence reports for early childhood programs in partnership with ChildPlus and with COPA, two leading data management systems for Head Start and other early childhood programs.

Both online systems translate attendance data into charts that provide a clear picture of the level of chronic absence. This data will help Head Start agencies set strategies and target resources to address attendance challenges. Each chart links back to individual children. The online services make otherwise hard-to find information readily available, so professionals can spend time addressing rather than defining their attendance challenges.

Source: New preschool chronic absence reports from Child Plus and COPA – Attendance Works Attendance Works

Understanding importance of preschool education – The Reporter

By Doug Ford

Last week I reviewed some important points made by Peter D. Salins in his book “The Smart Society: Strengthening America’s Greatest Resource, its People.” He identified the “Megagap,” between the performance levels of the mainstream of American students and the “disadvantaged American youngsters of all ethnic groups” as the biggest problem in American education

Salins argued that we have followed strategies for closing the Megagap that didn’t work for more than six decades. He pointed out that our inadequate graduation levels from high school and college are a direct result of lack of effort to enable disadvantaged students to overcome their cultural literacy deficit before they start first grade and in the early years of elementary school.

Then he shows several examples of what has been demonstrated to work: well-designed and supported preschool programs. “Although a growing volume of empirically solid research confirms the cultural deficit hypothesis, this finding has been largely ignored or rejected by the American educational establishment.”… “This has led to a nationwide profusion of ineffective or inefficient preschools, undermining the rationale and broad-based public support for significantly expanding the preschool enterprise.”

Source: Doug Ford: Understanding importance of preschool education

Enacted Budget Includes a Number of Improvements – California Budget & Policy Center

On June 27, Governor Brown signed the 2017-18 state budget bill. This year’s budget agreement includes a number of improvements over earlier proposals, though the overall scope of state investments remains constrained by uncertainty about potential federal policy changes. The 2017-18 budget package:

  • Expands the California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC) to well over 1 million additional families by expanding the credit to the self-employed and increasing the income eligibility limits.
  • Reflects an agreement between the Governor and legislative leaders over how to spend Proposition 56 tobacco tax revenues for Medi-Cal, with this funding going to supplemental payments for Medi-Cal providers and also to covering ordinary spending growth in the program.

Source: First Look: Enacted Budget Includes a Number of Improvements, Reflects Ongoing Uncertainty About Federal Commitments – California Budget & Policy Center

California still has a way to go in offering ‘full-day’ preschool | EdSource

By Louis Freedberg and Susan Frey

Despite continuing efforts to expand learning time for young children, large numbers of low-income California children still lack access to full-day programs in state-supported preschool, according to a new EdSource report.

The report, titled “Expanding Early Learning Time: Accessing Full Day Preschool and Kindergarten in California,” points to compelling research that shows that attending high-quality, full-day preschool is associated with improved learning outcomes for students. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, for example, found that full-day preschool attendance contributed to greater school readiness on four measures: social-emotional development, language development, math performance and physical health.

Source: California still has a way to go in offering ‘full-day’ preschool | EdSource

Benicia Moms Group’s Early Education Fair returns – Benicia Herald

By Nick Sestanovich

Preschool is an important milestone in every person’s life. It is when children take their first steps into the world of education. However, it can be a lot of work just to get started. Thankfully, as they have in the past, the Benicia Moms Group will be hosting an Early Education Fair to let parents know what to expect. According to Brittainy Sapien, a vice president of administration for Benicia Moms Group, the group first hosted a Preschool Fair in 2013 under the guidance of member Ann Brooner. It was also held in 2014 and 2015 but was canceled in 2016 due to a lack of resources and intesrest. “When we did not host the fair in 2016, we had heard a lot of feedback that people had missed the fair, so we knew that it was an important thing to bring back to the community,” Sapien said. With the help of Benicia Unified School District and First 5 Solano, the Early Education Fair is back to provide information on preschool and kindergarten. Parents can have questions about preschool answered, meet with community resources and learn about activities and childcare for kids ages 5 and under. Benicia Unified representatives will also be on hand to talk about kindergarten preparedness.

Source: Benicia Moms Group’s Early Education Fair returns

Workshop set to examine developmental writing in preschoolers – Daily Republic

By Daily Republic Staff

The Solano County Office of Education will host a class called “From Scribble to Script: Developmental Writing in Preschool” on Feb. 4.

Participants will discuss developmental writing as it’s presented in the state’s Preschool Learning Foundation and Desired Results Developmental Profile 2015.

Strategies to facilitate development at each stage of writing will be shared.

Source: Workshop set to examine developmental writing in preschoolers

Pre-K education rating system enacted in Solano County – Times Herald

By Times Herald Staff

A rating system designed to monitor and improve the early education of Solano County children is now in effect.

The program, known as the Solano Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS), was created by The Solano County Office of Education, First 5 Solano and additional community partners, according to a news release.

The system assists pre-kindergarten care providers with implementing standards of quality and informing parents of the elements and outcomes of quality education.

This is achieved through on-site coaching, technical assistance, professional development and observation.

The Solano QRIS also enables providers to offer program incentives and ongoing support to families.

Source: Pre-K education rating system enacted in Solano County

A Lesson For Preschools: When It’s Done Right, The Benefits Last : NPR Ed

By Elissa Nadworny

Is preschool worth it? Policymakers, parents, researchers and us, at NPR Ed, have spent a lot of time thinking about this question.

We know that most pre-kindergarten programs do a good job of improving ‘ specific skills like phonics and counting, as well as broader social and emotional behaviors, by the time students enter kindergarten. Just this week, a study looking at more than 20,000 students in a state-funded preschool program in Virginia found that kids made large improvements in their alphabet recognition skills.

So the next big question to follow is, of course, Do these benefits last? New research out of North Carolina says yes, they do. The study found that early childhood programs in that state resulted in higher test scores, a lower chance of being held back in a grade, and a fewer number of children with special education placements. Those gains lasted up through the fifth grade.

Source: A Lesson For Preschools: When It’s Done Right, The Benefits Last : NPR Ed : NPR

Preschoolers apply pedal power at Fairfield trike-a-thon – Daily Republic

By Amy Maginnis-Honey

There were traffic jams but no crashes Wednesday at the ninth annual trike-a-thon at T.C. McDaniel Early Learning Center.

The event raises money for the school’s motor lab while supporting motor development in preschoolers with all ability levels.

The youngsters, ages 2 to 5, were cheered on by parents and staff at the center as they launched laps under an arch of balloons. There were pompoms for those who wanted to take cheering an extra step.

Some participants opted to ride in wagons pulled by staff and family.

Source: Preschoolers apply pedal power at Fairfield trike-a-thon