In this Issue
- Spotlight On: T.E.A.C.H. Testimonials
- Forum Corner
- Welcome New Forum Members
- Professional Development Updates
- Children's Movement of Florida Update
- Early Learning Coalition Briefs
- 17th Annual Children's Week
- WAGE$ Updates
- Afterschool Initiatives
- In the News
- Calendar of Events
Message From the President
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| Phyllis Kalifeh |
The recent acceptance of federal home visiting grants by Florida's legislators is a small but key victory as it makes Florida eligible to apply for the Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge Fund. What does the Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge Fund, a competitive federal grant program, mean for Florida and the future of early care and education? An opportunity for up to $100 million to invest in the further development of Florida's early learning system infrastructure, improve our state system of early learning and increase the school readiness of our children.
The Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge Fund works for Florida since there is no additional financial burden once the grant funding has been depleted. In addition, the grant requires no state match for the application of these funds.
The Agency for Workforce Innovation's Office of Early Learning is spearheading the grant writing process and is asking for your input and experience in delivering a winning application by the October 19 deadline. Please take a brief survey in regards to the Race to the Top funding opportunity for Florida and share this information with others. The survey provides a good opportunity and vehicle to express your support for infrastructure development and quality improvements that we know make a difference. In taking the survey, you may want to consider the difference that professional development, compensation and program supports make for the early childhood workforce:
- Funding for bachelor degrees in the Teacher Education and Compensation Helps (T.E.A.C.H.) Early Childhood® Scholarship program. T.E.A.C.H. is helping to establish a well qualified, fairly-compensated and stable workforce for Florida's children but current state funding is only for the associate degree and staff credentials
- Expanding current efforts for the Child Care WAGE$®, FLORIDA Project in all 67 counties in our state. WAGE$ rewards the retention and education of child care practitioners through education-based salary supplements without affecting budgets, regular wages or parent fees within child care programs
- Program accountability through a statewide Quality Rating Improvement System (QRIS) that will help to build awareness of the components of quality for families, provide incentives and resources for child care programs and create sustainability and support of quality programs, regardless of setting
- Statewide support for career advising, program assessments, mentoring/coaching activities for child care practitioners, and the Florida Steps to Success career advancement system that improves early learning practices and child outcomes
- Enhancing licensing standards in child care programs to ensure the best possible safety and care for young children
It takes a village to raise a child and it takes a village to implement child care policy and create changes that demand a brighter future for our children. As Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa, once said, "There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children."
