# 2005 Early Childhood Educator Professional Development (84.349A)

# Project Abstracts (5) 

ABSTRACT

**Project Resources for Early Educator Learning (REEL)**

## University of Tennessee -- Chattanooga

615 McCallie Avenue, Department 4154

Chattanooga, TN 37403-2598

423-425-4776 (office); 423-425-5390 (fax)

Tennessee children in impoverished communities face staggering odds.
These hardships are particularly daunting for children with unique
learning needs including children with disabilities, English language
learners, children who are the victims of abuse and children with
behavioral problems. Research shows that early intervention and
high-quality childhood education are critical to the development of
school-readiness skills for children who experience these risk factors.

To ensure that Tennessee children have access to quality early
education, a partnership including the University of Tennessee at
Chattanooga, the statewide Childcare Resource Referral Network, Signal
Centers, and the Siskin Children's Institute have formed a partnership
to design and implement Project REEL. Project REEL will directly address
the training and informational needs of regional early childhood
educators and parents. We will provide 120 hours of sustained, intensive
and research-based professional development for 220 educators, serving
2500 of Tennessee's most severely disadvantaged children.

Project REEL will focus on language, literacy, numeracy, and behavior
management strategies for diverse learners -- typically developing
children as well as those who have special needs such as disabilities,
behavioral challenges, limited English proficiency, or indication of
abuse. The project requests \$3,656,459 in Federal funds for the
statewide initiative and has marshaled cost share commitments totaling
j\$3,658,594. Project REEL will development 12 early childhood training
modules, 14 videotapes, a dissemination website and training manuals to
teach educators and parents appropriate literacy strategies to use with
young children.

As a result of Project REEL, Tennessee's most heavily disadvantaged
children will have access to highly prepared early childhood educators
and parents who are equipped with research-proven strategies to 1)
foster cognitive and social development to prepare children for school
success; 2) promote developmentally appropriate curricula and learning
domains to enrich child dev elopement; 3) support appropriate social
development, emotional behavior, and early language, literacy and
numeracy competencies.

**ABSTRACT**

Early Education Partnership (EEP) Project

## Linn-Benton Community College

6500 Pacific Boulevard SW

Albany, Oregon 907321

541-917-4897 (office); 541-917-4270 (fax)

The purpose of the EEP Project is to improve school educational outcomes
for children living in high-need communities in Oregon's Linn and Benton
Counties. We will accomplish this overarching goal by improving
knowledge, skills, and practices of early childhood educators in these
communities. Primary objectives of the project include:

-   Recruiting educators from underrepresented groups working with at
    risk populations

-   Reducing barriers affecting teacher access to professional
    development

-   Meeting training needs of different types of early childhood
    educators

-   Providing a progressive system of professional development

The EEP Project brings together the combined expertise of Linn-Benton
Community College, Kids and Company Head Start of Linn and Benton
Counties, and Linn-Benton Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special
Education to offer high quality, research based professional
development. Project participants will take stand-alone classes, earn
certificates in specialty clusters, or pursue degrees. Classes will be
offered at alternate times and sites for working educators. Project
mentors will help participants understand course material, overcome
enrollment barriers, identify training needs, provide coaching, give
feedback and assess progress.

EEP Project activities will be of sufficient intensity and duration to
ensure positive change in teacher practices. This will result in
improved outcomes for children, as determined by child assessments on
school readiness, early literacy and numeracy skills. Changes in teacher
behavior will be assessed through could through coursework, environment
rating scales, observations, and self-evaluation. Project funds will
support a specialist to coordinate the mentoring program, 20 mentors, 2
Early Intervention mentors, and the development of 12 new credit
classes. The partnership will contribute faculty and administrative
support, as well as classrooms and equipment. The EEP Project will serve
50 teachers and providers per year, impacting approximately 40 childcare
sites and 500-750 children per year.

**ABSTRACT**

**The Early Childhood Educator Professional Development Project
(ECEPD)**

**University of Texas at Brownsville/Texas Southmost College (UTB/TSC)**

80 Fort Brown

Brownsville, Texas 78520-4956

956-983-76848 (office); 956-983-7847 (fax)

The University of Texas/Brownsville and the Texas Southmost College
project proposes to improve the professional development (PD) of 900
early childhood educators (ECEs) in the Cameron and Willacy County areas
so that they can apply a coherent scientifically based curriculum in
their day cares. By improving ECEs' instruction and curriculum, the
proposed project will provide the 8,000 youngsters in their care with
the knowledge and skills needed for academic success at school. The day
care providers targeted by this proposal primarily serve low-income and
limited English proficiency (LEP) children.

The Early Childhood Educator Professional Development Project (ECEPD) is
a partnership led by UTB/TSC that involves United Way Brownsville
Success by 6, Region 11 of the Texas Department of Family Protective
Services (TDFPS) Child-Care Licensing Division, and Cameron Works Child
Care Management (CWCCM).

The shortage of highly qualified ECEs is a significant barrier to
achieving school readiness for children entering kindergarten in the
targeted area. The goal of the ECEPD Project is to establish an
integrated sustainable professional development system designed to
improve the skills of early educators so they can meet the needs of
at-risk children before they enter school. The ECEPD Project will serve
the southern tip of Texas, an area where 1) a very high percentage of
children live in poverty do not speak English at home and have many
other risk factors; 2) most children are cared for by people who are not
trained to prepare them for success when they start school; and 3)
professional development for early child care educators is fragmented
and lacks intensity. The goal of the UTB/TSC project will be
accomplished through intensive and sustained training and follow-up
experiences.

**ABSTRACT**

**Partners in Education and Research for Kindergarten Success (PERKS)**

**Children's Forum**

2708 Remington Green Circle

Tallahassee, Florida 32308-3752

850-681-7002 (office); 850-681-9616 (fax)

In Florida, early education professionals are gearing up for the
implementation of the first ever constitutionally mandated and state
funded voluntary pre-kindergarten (VPK) system. Dedicated to developing
a sustainable system of professional development for VPK teachers and
ensuring the highest standards of care and education for young children,
a partnership of early childhood professional leaders, including staff
of the state network for resources and referral, two universities, the
early childhood community college network, and 16 early learning
coalitions has been formed. The Florida PERKS Project will provide
professional development for VPK teachers on scientifically-valid
preschool curricula through college coursework and onsite technical
assistance in order to promote the school readiness of children in the
areas of language and cognitive development, and early reading and early
literacy skills.

Florida PERKS proposes three objectives --

1.  Objective one is to increase the knowledge, skills and practices of
    240 VPK teachers through comprehensive early childhood development
    coursework with specific course topics on curriculum and assessment;

2.  Objective two is to test the effectiveness of varying intensity
    levels of technical assistance; and

3.  Objective three is to enhance the outcomes of approximately 2400
    children (based on VPK 1:10 ratios) through professional development
    and technical assistance provided to teachers. Evaluation will
    include use of a randomized experimental design to test the efficacy
    of formal professional development coursework and technical
    assistance programs. Cost analyses will be conducted to enable
    policymakers planning professional development programs to link
    costs with outcomes and select the "value added" approach most
    suitable to their needs.

Postsecondary college credit will be awarded for the professional
development community college coursework. Additionally, participating
VPK teachers will receive T.E.A.C.H scholarships for continued
education.

**ABSTRACT**

**Early Childhood Educator Centers of Educational Excellence**

**Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools**

701 E. Second

Charlotte, North Carolina 28209

980-343-6249 (office)

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS), in partnership with early childhood
educator organizations, early childhood providers, Child Care Resources
Inc., and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, proposes to
development and implement an Early Childhood Educator Professional
Development (ECEPD) project. The project will enhance the school
readiness of young children, particularly those from disadvantaged
environments, to prevent them from encountering difficulties once they
enter school by improving the knowledge and skills of ninety-four
teachers and teaching assistants who work serve those children.

The objectives of the proposed project are to provide professional
development for teachers, teacher assistants, and administrators to
increase their capacity to --

a\) improve students' early literacy skills, b) improve students' school
and social behavior, c) to use assessments to determine and predict
progress, d) promote inclusive practices, e) support the cognitive and
language development of non-native speakers, f) create systemic changes
needed to build local capacity to provide, improve and expand services
for young children at risk of school failure and ensure sustainability
of the model, and g) use technology to facilitate key aspects of the
teaching and learning.

The focus of this initiative is to provide comprehensive professional
development to 49 "More at Four" childcare partnership classes not
currently served by CMS. Ultimately, the partnership will ensure three
outcomes: 1) the increased availability of language rich environments
that will reduce the likelihood of later failure in school for the
community's most at-risk children; 2) an increased number of teachers
who will be engaged in the professional development they need to support
early reading skills; and 3) an increased number of parents will learn
important skills to support their children's development, particularly
in the cognitive and language domains.