Education and Child Development Services
What are our School Readiness Goals and where are they located?
Social and Emotional - 1. All children will develop and display a sense of self-confidence in their abilities, and a strong identity that is rooted in their family and culture.
Language and Literature -2. All Children will engage with literature and language at a developmentally appropriate level.
Approaches to Learning - 3. All Children will show an interest in varied topics and activities, show an eagerness to learn, display creativity, and show independence in their interactions with activities and materials.
Cognitive - 4. All Children will use observation and manipulation, ask questions, make predictions and develop hypothesis, to gain a better understanding of information and activities in their surroundings.
Physical - 5. All Children will demonstrate control of large and small muscles, and develop healthy and safe habits.
DLL - 6. All Dual Language Learners will demonstrate an understanding of, as well as use a variety of words in English and their home language to communicate their ideas, feelings, and questions.
What is an IEP/IFSP?
IEP: Individualized Education Plan
- For children Ages 3-5
- Special Education legal document
- Includes the child's present levels of performance, goals, and services
- If they are on an IEP these are their School Readiness Goals
IFSP: Individualized Family Service Plan
- For children birth to 3 yrs.
- Developed with the family to support child’s in the areas of concerns
- Early Intervention legal document
- Includes the child's present levels of performance, goals, and services
- If they are on an IFSP these will be their School Readiness Goals
Describe how the Mental Health Team supports staff, families and children’s individual needs.
- Staff can submit a Mental Health Request for any child or Parent who is in need of Mental health support
- Mental Health Team supports families by:
- Mental Health Request follow up
- Open office hours
- Follow up on abnormal ASQ-SE screenings
- Follow up on MH concerns noted at time of application
- Mental Health Hotline
- Monday-Friday by voice or text for immediate resources and support
Mental Health Team support Staff by:
- Monthly Site Visits
- Open Office hours
- Peer to Peer group meetings
- Monthly Trainings
- Wellness Wednesday
- EAP resources
What procedures do we have in place to ensure the health and safety of staff and children at all times?
What does our policy state regarding positive child guidance to prevent maltreatment and endangerment of children?
Coaches check in with teachers frequently to see what their needs are and they can request coaching anytime on Teams, Email, and in person when they are on site.
How are you individualizing your lessons for the children in your classroom? Provide some examples. Where can we find this information? What data are you using to individualize?
Teachers use the Objectives for Development and Learning - TS National Alignment Scope and Sequence and Class Profile, aligned with Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework, as guidelines to observe the children. Through ongoing daily written observations, teachers learn about children’s individual differences within gender, temperament, interest, learning styles, life experiences, culture and special needs, which can help them to understand how children grow and develop at their own pace. With this knowledge about each child’s needs and strengths from screening results, the assessment, ongoing observations, and parents’ input, teachers develop specific goals and plan intentional activities. Additionally, age-appropriate materials may be implemented and learning environments can be created to help each child reach their full potential.
Are you aware of any children in your classroom on an IEP/IFSP? Do you know what their goals are and how to support their goals?
Check your classroom list. All children with an asterisk *by their name have an IEP or IFSP.
The child’s IEP/IFSP is uploaded under the disability tab.
Reach out to your Special Needs liaison if you need help with how to support their goals.
What MH and Wellness information is shared with you on a regular basis?
- Blomquist Hale Monthly Mental Health Webinars
- Wellness Wednesday’s
- Health Challenges
- Starling Minds Mental health app
- Monthly Mental Health Trainings
- Weekly Massages available
- Mindfulness & Movement classes
- Yoga breaks for staff and Children
- Mindfulness cards
- Mental Health tip in the Weekly email
How would articulate your active supervision steps? As a classroom team, what strategies are used to implement the active supervision plan?
What resources that are available for families to assist with; strengthening parenting skills, health, mental health, domestic violence, homelessness, food insecurity, etc.,
Family Advocates are trained in and conduct free, quarterly Positive Discipline classes for interested parents/guardians of HS/EHS children.
Family Support Center referrals offer: education and supportive services to strengthen the family unit and enhance family functioning. Assistance includes crisis nurseries for emergency respite care, therapy and education classes for individuals and families, and in-home programs.
Utah Parent Center information on upcoming workshops is listed on each Parent Board as a resource for parenting a child with special needs.
Parent Meetings are conducted bi-monthly and provide trainings for parents and education on classroom instruction and activities.
Ready Rosie is provided as an interactive education tool to help parents extend classroom learning to home.
List all the curriculum used in our program to assist children in preparing for kindergarten.
The Creative Curriculum 6th Edition for Preschool.
The Creative Curriculum for Infants, Toddlers & Twos, 3rd Edition.
These curriculums balances both teacher-directed and child-initiated learning has an emphasis on responding to the child's learning style and builds on their strengths and interests. It is aligned with the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework and the Utah State Early Learning Standards, and is linked to ongoing assessment, with specific goals and child outcomes.
Ready Rosie Parent Engagement Curriculum.
Ready Rosie is an interactive education tool that encourages parent engagement to extend children’s learning from classroom to home.
What is the referral process for a child in need of further evaluation?
- Once developmental and Social Emotional screenings are completed, parents are informed of the screening results, and the referral process begins
- Teachers work with their Special Needs liaision to begin interventions
- Special Needs Liaison refers to the appropriate School District or Early Intervention program if child doesnt make improvement with interventions in place
- The district or Early Intervention program completes:
- Special Ed. Evaluation
- Determines Eligibility
- Provides Services
The referral chart is found on Pg. 124 of Classroom manual
Do we expel or exclude children based on challenging behaviors? How do we assist and support children, families and staff when children exhibit challenging behaviors.
- No we do not expel or exclude children
- We offer the following supports:
- Behavior Support Plan process
- Monthly behavior trainings
- Behavior specialist assigned to each classroom
- Parent behavior trainings @ parent meetings
- Positive Discipline Parenting classes
- Our Behavior Specialists are immediately notified and work closely with staff and families when a child exhibits challenging behaviors
- Offer onsite support, modeling and coaching on how to implement interventions
- Offer family educational resources, community resources and 1:1 training to support the child at home
- Our support teams are all involved in developing the behavior support plan to help the child, staff and family. This includes:
- Program Specialist, Behavior Specialist, Special needs liaison, coach, mental health liaison
- Contract with outside Behavior Specialist for training, mentorship, and consultation
- Contract with Occupational Therapists, Music Therapists and ABA providers to support children
What are the reporting procedures to report suspected child abuse and neglect?
How do we support parents as lifelong educators and encourage parents to engage in their children’s education?
From the first Home Visit, parents are given the PFCE Framework, and taught about their role as their child’s number one advocate in school success.
Parent Committee Meetings are held bi-monthly and offer information regarding specific parent interests.
School Readiness Activities are sent weekly to the families to support their child’s specific goals.
Creative Curriculum Study letters are sent to families to encourage them to support their child's learning by practicing the vocabulary words in their home language and reading books or doing activities with their child to support the learning happening at school.
Home Visits and Staff Parent Conferences are conducted 4x a year during which the parents are given information on how their child is doing and school readiness goals are established collaboratively and updated as needed.
Kindergarten Workshops take place each Spring and work to identify the child’s home school and prepare the child’s successful transition to kindergarten.
Ready Rosie is our Parent Curriculum and provides a variety of videos and information geared to strengthen the parent’s skills in continuing education of their child at home.
Father Engagement Week, held yearly, seeks to strengthen the relationship between fathers/father-figures and the child’s education.
Parents are expected to spend time in the classroom generating in-kind.
Parent Engagement Activities are planned throughout the year to increase participation and offer activities for families to attend with their child.
Share what screenings are used in our program?
Developmental Screening ASQ-3
Social and Emotional ASQ-SE,
Health screenings – Blood Pressure, Dental Exam, Dental Screen, Growth Assessment, Hearing, Hemoglobin/Hematocrit, Lead, Physical Exam, and Vision.
What are the strategies you use to promote successful transitions?
EHS:
- Transition planning begins at 2 yrs. 4 months
- Family Advocates meets with the Program Specialist and Lead teachers and Special Needs if child has a disability.
- Family Advocate creates the Transition planning form
- Team meets to review the form and discuss child and families needs
- Family Advocate meets with the family to review at the Transition meeting
Head Start:
- Transition- Kindergarten Study
- Field trip to kindergarten class if feasible
- Invite Kindergarten Teacher to HS classrooms
- Kindergarten Family Engagement Event
- Teachers prepare children throughout the year by teaching rules/routines/and classroom expectations
- Teachers implement the Pyramid Model Social emotional framework across the year
Special Needs liaison works closely with each family who has a child with a disability to ensure:
- Family is registered at home school
- Family is provided Transition to Preschool/Kindergarten Resources
- Partners with family throughout the transition meetings and process to ensure they have all of the resources needed
What screenings are due within the first 45 days?
ASQ-SE
ASQ-3
Hearing and Vision exams for each child.
What strategies are used to ensure safe sleep practices?
Describe for us the enrollment process to enroll a child in our program?
Classroom Manual Pages 15-18
Families start the application process online at www.utahca.org. iPads are available at locations where there is an Office Manager for families that may not have access to a computer or internet.
Step 1: Parent/Guardian applies online through the UCA website. Completes application and sets appointment (phone or in-person)
Step 2: After the online application is submitted, the parent is redirected to the bookings page to select an appointment date and time for a phone interview or in-person interview with a staff member.
Step 3: Parent/Guardian and Family Advocate will receive a confirmation email about the appointment date. The Family Advocate can review the application in Child Plus and prepare for the eligibility interview.
Step 4: The Family Advocate and parent complete the application process during their appointment.
Step 5: ERSEA will review and determine eligibility and placement according to the highest points determined by the selection criteria, children will be selected to ensure the neediest of the needy are served. Special Needs, Mental Health, and the Health Team will review any child with concerns and ensure appropriate points are awarded to the selection criteria.
What assessments are used in our program?
Teaching Strategies Gold Assessment
- 10 Areas of Development are observed
- Social and Emotional, Physical, Language and Cognitive, Literacy, Mathematics, Science and Technology, Social Studies, Arts, and English Language Acquisition.
- 38 Objectives for Development & Learning
PEEP - Pre-Kindergarten Entry and EXIT
- Assessment for all children going to kindergarten in the fall 2023
What support is provided to ensure classroom management and positive learning environments?
- Program wide implementation of The Pyramid Model
- Monthly Behavior Trainings
- Monthly Mental Health and Special Needs Trainings
- LITMOS social emotional and behavior training
- Bi-weekly positive redirection and de-escalation trainings available
- Each classroom is assigned a Behavior Specialist, Coach, Special Needs Liaison, Mental Health liaison and Program Specialist
- Each member of the support team; model behavior interventions and effective classroom management strategies during weekly site visits
- TS Building Your Classroom Community Study Implementation
How do you educate and support families and ensure any follow-up care that is needed is completed?
Special Needs and Mental Health Staff:
- Follow up with each family if child scores in the abnormal range on the ASQ screenings.
- Provide activities to support the child in the area of concern to the family and teachers
- Complete any needed referrals for further evaluation or outside services with the family
- Programs must collaborate with parents to promote children’s health and well-being by providing opportunities to learn about preventive medial and oral health care, first aid, environmental hazards and health and safety practices.
- Staff discuss children’s nutritional status, the importance of physical activity, and healthy eating. Parents are given opportunities to learn about pedestrian safety, mental health and healthy pregnancy, as applicable.
- Family Advocates, the Health Care Team, and Special Needs Teams reach out to families who need follow-up care to educate and help with resources and referrals. Case notes are kept detailing the support given to the family and help to alleviate any barriers.
How do you ensure that all children are released to an authorized individual at pick-up?
The coaching you receive is tailored to what?
Individuals learning needs