IDOE’s Early Learning Staff wishes you and those closest to you a great and successful new year! We look forward to continuing to support early childhood educators and schools in Indiana!

Welcome to the 11th edition of the #INspirEDearly Monthly Newsletter! This is a resource for early educators across all settings, administrators of Pre-K programs, and anyone looking for early learning updates from the Indiana Department of Education. We will be sharing resources, updates, research, events, and spotlighting work being done around the state. To subscribe to this newsletter, please visit our website. To explore the newsletters from different IDOE content areas, visit this site.

Please feel free to share this newsletter with your network and colleagues!

All eight content areas are now available online in the Early Learning Foundations Guidance Online Tool. Each content area is also available in a downloadable PDF as well.

With the recent completion of all content areas for the Indiana Early Learning Foundations Guidance, we would like to create a workgroup to review and provide feedback on the tool in its entirety. We would like representatives on this workgroup from professionals across the early learning system (e.g. public schools, family child care homes, registered ministries, Head Start, special education, etc.).

Participation Requirements:

• Degree in Early Childhood, Child Development, or related field, or at least five years of experience working in an Early Childhood Education Program.
• Willingness to commit to joining meetings virtually or in-person (scheduled based on the majority of the group's availability) once per month from February - May 2020.
• Willingness to provide thoughts and suggestions on how to improve and expand the tool.
• Willingness to review and provide comments on documents via Google Docs or other technology outside of workgroup meetings.

If this is something you are interested in, please send an email along with your resume to Early Learning Specialist, Krystal Robinson, at krobinson2@doe.in.gov.

IDOE has launched a Community of Practice (CoP) for Indiana administrators from public and private schools that have an existing preschool program or are looking to start one. IDOE seeks to build connections to create dialogue around problem-solving, diffuse existing knowledge, generate new knowledge, and encourage learning through communication, mentoring, and self-reflection. If you are interested in participating, contact Pre-K Expansion Specialist, Sarah Parks-Reese.

Did you know that the Quality Counts Charter School Program Grant can be used to open or expand a pre-k program, as long as one K-12 grade is included within the charter school? The Indiana Department of Education is pleased to announce the release of the Cohort Four Charter School Program Request for Proposals. Please click here and navigate to the Cohort Four drop-down menu for materials.

Applications are due July 31, 2020 at 12:30 p.m.

Check out this resource to determine if you meet the current requirements. Providers from all counties became eligible to apply on July 1. Pre-K Coordinators or School Administrators can contact Pre-K Expansion Specialist, Sarah Parks-Reese, for additional support.

The ISPROUT webpage and FAQ document were updated over the winter break.

Do you have new students? Remember students are to be assessed with ISPROUT within six weeks of their enrollment. If you have questions regarding when students should be assessed, please review the ISPROUT FAQ or contact Felecia Jordan (fjordan1@doe.in.gov). If you work with 5 year old students with IEPs and have not been trained on administering ISPROUT, please contact your district or coop trainer. You will want to be prepared for the exit assessment. If you need training assistance you can register on the ISPROUT website or contact Felecia Jordan.

Are you looking for a tool to monitor student progress and don’t have students with an IEP? You can request information regarding adding ISPROUT to your program. Here is the link to the informational webinar. Click here to register to be included on the distribution of additional information regarding cost and training opportunities.

The purpose of the Indiana Lactation Spaces grant is to provide Early Childcare and Education (ECE) settings, exclusively for licensed centers and registered ministries, with funds to improve breastfeeding access to support employees and nursing mothers. The goal with this funding stream is to create or improve comfortable spaces through which breastfeeding can be made more attainable, desirable, and normalized.

Funding requests should demonstrate the ability to promote health in the workplace, and already have a desired location to create or enhance a lactation space. This grant will fund initiatives from March 1st, 2020 to September 30th, 2020. The application is due February 3rd, 2020 by 5PM. If you have any questions, please direct them to Penelope Friday at prfriday@isdh.in.gov. For more information, please see the ISDH Grants and Resources Page.

As the new statewide technical assistance (TA) provider for Indiana early childhood education programs, SPARK Learning Lab is dedicated to advancing the quality of Indiana programs. SPARK Learning Lab will do this through a unique blend of utilizing their sophisticated, self-guided assessment tool and tiered-level coaching resources based on the needs and services for each individual early childhood education program.

Stay in the know on all things SPARK! They are on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You're also invited to sign up for their newsletter to be the first to hear any updates and news.

One (of many) exciting features for SPARK are the Regional Advisory Councils. Representatives have been selected in each service delivery area to provide feedback on our technical assistance approach. You can view the meeting minutes from last quarter and stay tuned for upcoming meetings next month!

The CDA Renewal Amnesty Program has started! This program will allow anyone with a CDA® credential expiration date as far back as January 1, 2010, an opportunity to complete the renewal process and make their credential active again. More information can be found here.

The T.E.A.C.H. Scholarship facilitated by Indiana AEYC will also support qualifying individuals in their renewals. More information about the T.E.A.C.H. scholarship and information on how to apply can be found here.

There is a significant body of research connecting high family expectations for older children with disabilities with positive outcomes such as employment, post-secondary education, and independent living, but there is very little research on expectations in families of young children with disabilities.

The Indiana Institute on Disability and Community's Early Childhood Center is facilitating a study looking at family expectations for young children with disabilities (ages 3-5). They are interested in interviewing families to learn more about what expectations they have and what systems and people have influenced those expectations. If you know of any families who might be willing to participate, please share the flyer or have them contact Katie Herron at kgherron@indiana.edu.

Foundation: 3 - Life Science

Foundation Topic: SC3.1 - Demonstrate awareness of life

Powerful Practice: "Bring natural materials into the environment that are safe for children to examine."

This is a picture of one section of the Science Center in a classroom at Golden Bear Preschool in Shelbyville, Indiana. This center features a number of exploratory tools and natural materials for children to engage with!

Want to share a way that you've been implementing a strategy from the Foundations Guidance with colleagues? Submit your pictures along with the Foundation and strategy to Early Learning Specialist, Krystal Robinson!

Kelly Duncan grew up in the small town of Salem in Southern Indiana with her parents and two older siblings. She watched her mother, Pam, who was and still is a first-grade teacher give so much to her students and knew that was the path she wanted to follow.

Kelly holds a Bachelor's Degree from Purdue University in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. She then received her Master's Degree from Ball State University in Deaf Education and Early Childhood Special Education. She has worked with Warsaw Community Schools since 2001 as a Preschool Special Education Teacher. She appreciates the opportunity to work with a great team including the evaluation team, preschool teachers, speech/language pathologists, school psychologists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and a mental health therapist to help meet the needs of students in the Warsaw community.

Kelly's colleague says of her:

"Kelly Duncan is a true teacher leader in our district. She provides leadership to our preschool team, but also to the general education preschool teachers in our community. Parents value Kelly's leadership and guidance as families begin their school journey with their child with a disability. Kelly has been instrumental in helping to build the preschool program at Warsaw Community Schools to what it is today! She continues to serve her students with enthusiasm each day and is always looking for ways to improve our inclusionary practices!"

Thank you for everything you do for young children and their families, Kelly!

We are hoping to spotlight an early educator or program administrator in our newsletter every month. Nominate your early learning colleague by filling out this form!

Ready DLL is a mobile application (app) for educators and caregivers who support children who are dual language learners (DLLs). This app provides various resources as well as key words and phrases in different languages!

The Family Connection of St. Joseph County (an education initiative

of the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County) has a list of resources created that may be helpful to early educators and programs including printable resources for your classroom!

With the support of the Indiana Preschool Development Grant (PDG), Early Learning Indiana created asynchronous, online training modules designed for mid-career and experienced early childhood professionals. For more information, see this link!

Pre-K Expansion Specialist

Email: sparksreese1@doe.in.gov
Website: www.doe.in.gov/earlylearning
Location: 115 West Washington Street, Indianapolis, IN, USA
Phone: 317-234-5719
Twitter: @sarahlee218

Early Learning Specialist

Email: krobinson2@doe.in.gov
Website: www.doe.in.gov/earlylearning
Location: 115 West Washington Street, Indianapolis, IN, USA
Phone: 317-232-0510