CRESC WEEKLY UPDATE
July 27th-31st
The child care crisis costs Arkansas’s economy $865 million a year. This includes costs to businesses and to tax revenue because of employee turnover and absences.
— U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. (2021). Untapped Potential: How Childcare Impacts Arkansas’s Workforce Productivity and the State Economy.
Providers asked for it, so here it is! Your Local Lead is leading FREE 2 days of impactful Professional Development for your staff.
🚨 We have exactly 25 open seats left!
Owners and directors, please use the sign-up form to secure spots for your team. This targeted training is designed to directly strengthen teaching practices and benefit the children in your care. CRESC cannot wait to continue this wonderful partnership with Mississippi County Head Start (MCAEOC Head Start)!
Below is the full schedule:
🗓️ Day 1 Schedule (August 4, 2026)
Time 8:30 am – 11:30 am In-Depth Understanding of PreK CLASS
🍏 Preschool Teachers(Arkansas Northeastern College (ANC) Allied Technology Room T112)
(2501 S Division St, Blytheville, AR)
🧸 Infant/Toddler Teachers at MCAEOC Wiley Center- HS/ES (1007 S Franklin St, Blytheville)
In-Depth Understanding of Infant & Toddler CLASS
11:30 am – 12:15 pm🥪 Lunch-(on your own)
12:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Continue...In-Depth Understanding of CLASS PreK
Continue...In-Depth Understanding of Infant & Toddler CLASS🗓️ Day 2 Schedule (August 5, 2026)
📍 Location: Arkansas Northeastern College (ANC) Governor’s Ballroom (All Groups)
(2501 S Division St, Blytheville, AR)
Time🍏 Preschool Teachers & 🧸 Infant/Toddler Teachers
8:30 am – 11:30 am Challenging Behaviors
11:30 am – 12:15 pm 🥪 Lunch-(on your own)
12:30 pm – 2:30 pm Charting the Journey from CDELS to PreK to Kindergarten Readiness Atlas
📝 Ready to register? LINK to lock in your staff spots before the remaining 25 seats are gone!
CLASS® 2nd edition Pre-K Introduction ZOOM TRAINING FOR STAFF
- DATE: Thursday, July 30th
- TIME: 12:00pm-3:00pm ZOOM
- REGISTER ON SHOE BOX SESSION # 588627
(If you do not have a shoebox account-see steps below)
You will receive the zoom link 24 hours before scheduled ZOOM to the email you registered on shoebox.
Designed for Pre-K educators, this session introduces the CLASS® 2nd edition (Classroom Assessment Scoring System) Pre-K framework—an evidence-based observation tool focused on adult-child interactions. Participants will explore the structure of the tool across its primary domains, dimensions, and behavioral indicators.
Register on shoebox
If you do not have an account please see the steps to below
1. Go to the Crowley’s Ridge Educational Service Cooperative (CRESC) website located at http://crowleys.k12.ar.us/
2. Click on SHOEBOX LOG IN
3. Click on SIGN IN
4. Type in a valid email address that you can access year round ***It is important that you use a valid email address that you can access year round for any communication regarding your registered events. You will be contacted via this email address for event cancellations, time/location changes, or any other pertinent information.***
5. Click No, I am new to this site then Continue
6. Complete all personal information as indicated
7. In the Region field, please choose Crowley’s Ridge Education Cooperative
8. In the District field, please choose your school district (other)
9. In the Position field, please choose the one that best suits your job position then Continue
10. On the next page, please choose your Campus (if you do not work at a school, please choose Central Office/Other)
11. Next you must create a password in Make My Password field (Note: passwords can ONLY be lower case letters and/or numbers—do NOT use any capital letters in your password or the system will not allow you to log in) 1
2. Next, retype that password in Confirm Password field
13. Click Finish—you should receive a Congratulations! You have successfully created a new user account!
14. You may now Sign In and begin registering for events by clicking on Catalog
Little Helpers, Big Growth! 🌟
Want to build your child's confidence and independence at home? Discover simple, everyday ways to support their autonomy—from offering choices to creating routines together. Check out our latest Families in the Know to learn how small tasks lead to big growth! https://canva.link/zjvklc73yqwi09m
Starting July 2028 school year, Arkansas will require all publicly funded early childhood programs to use a curriculum from the state’s official Approved Curriculum List. The goal is to ensure every classroom has high-quality materials that support great teaching, and the state is even working to find free or low-cost options to help make this change easier for everyone.
I am more than happy to support any provider as you begin to do your research on what HQIM is best for YOUR facility!
Click on link https://dese.ade.arkansas.gov/Files/Final_Approved_List_OEC.pdf IMPORTANT: Once you click the link, you can select the underlined curriculum within each box to view a breakdown of why it was chosen.
For more information, here is a helpful website: https://dese.ade.arkansas.gov/Offices/office-of-early-childhood/content--development/curriculum
Call your Local Lead.
As we look ahead to a fantastic school year, I want to remind you that I would love to support your upcoming community events, school Literacy Nights, or Math Nights!
CRESC will be represented at these events by your Local Lead.. My goal is to be there to support birth through Pre-K in our community with families and to help you promote the importance of early childhood education.
If you have any events or special nights coming up, please reach out and let me know the details. You can send all information directly to me at wgreen@crmail.k12.ar.us.
I can't wait to see what other amazing events you have planned!
Wendy Green
I wanted to share a quick update and celebrate with you all! Last week, I had the incredible honor of representing our region at the ADE Summit, where I hosted three separate presentations.
It was an amazing experience, and I loved being able to showcase the impactful work we are doing together. Here is a quick look at how the week went:
🗓️ Presentation Highlights
Day 1 Kicked Off Strong!
We started the summit with our first presentation, What's on the Menu? INTERACTIONS!, featuring our fantastic special guest, Jodi Whiteman from LENA.
Day 2 Brought Double the Excitement!
Morning: Due to popular demand, we ran back a second session of What's on the Menu? INTERACTIONS! alongside our special guest.
Afternoon: We wrapped up the summit presenting to a PACKED HOUSE for Charting the Course: From Pre-K Play to ATLAS Success.
Thank you all for the continuous support that allows me to represent our communities on such a large stage. I’m energized by the connections made and look forward to bringing this momentum back to our daily work!
Best regards,
Wendy Green
Let’s Keep Building the Future of Early Childcare Together: An Invitation to Our 6-County Collaborative 🤝
Dear Community Partners, Leaders, and Providers,
First and foremost, a massive thank you to the dedicated early childcare providers who gave their time and showed up to our first meeting. It is inspiring to see our frontline educators coming together to actively build solutions for our region.
If you weren't able to make it but want to be a part of this vital work, we want you at the table.
Please know that this project is a two-year commitment to deeply analyzing our system, re-strategizing our funding models, and fixing workforce barriers.
🌟 We Need EVERYONE Represented
To make a lasting impact, it is absolutely vital that all six of our counties (Craighead, Cross, Crittenden, Mississippi, Jackson, and Poinsett) have a strong voice in these discussions. We cannot solve regional issues without regional unity. We need to hear from:
All Early Childcare Providers: Private centers, public Pre-K, Head Start, faith-based programs, and family homes.
Community & Business Leaders: Local business owners, City Chamber members, and Mayors—your local economies depend directly on the stability of childcare!
Childcare is the workforce behind the workforce. When we support each other, our entire region thrives.
📝 Notes from Our First Meeting
Here is a quick look at the agenda and what we uncovered during our first session:
11:00–11:30 | Welcome: Kicked off our new "Community of Practice" focused on using local data to build funding strategies and tackle workforce barriers.
11:30–12:00 | Root Cause Analysis Example: Learned the "5 Whys" technique—a problem-solving method designed to look past surface symptoms and dig down to the core issue.
12:00–12:30 | Data Dig: Reviewed survey data from over 60 local providers revealing that low funding/vouchers and severe staff turnover account for a massive 72.7% of regional complaints. The data also exposed massive pay disparities, highlighting that public Pre-K positions pay double what private daycares can afford.
12:30–2:00 | CRESC Root Cause Analysis:
The Workload Gap: Traced regional instability back to a core problem: classroom workloads simply do not match current paraprofessional pay scales.
The Para Bottleneck: Assistant teachers (paras) actively avoid taking on extra training or responsibilities because day-to-day job expectations are completely confusing and they see no clear career pathway.
The ATLAS Screener Strain: Heavy, top-down pressure regarding the ATLAS screener creates deep confusion about child development. Ultimately, local directors cannot successfully train or grow their staff because compliance expectations coming from state leadership remain entirely unclear.
📅 Save the Date for the Next Meeting:
When: October 2, 2026, at 10:00 a.m.
Where: In-person at the Crowley's Ridge Educational Service Cooperative (CRESC)
Please SHARE THIS NEWS with your local networks, city leaders, and fellow providers. Let’s make sure every county has a seat at the table.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Warm regards,
Wendy Green
