Happy Friday! Here is a summary of our call on 8.19.2020. Cannot say enough how grateful I am for this community of ECE professionals!
GRANTS!!!!- We cannot emphasize enough about these grant opportunities! The newest one being from DES and there are very few qualification factors. You MUST apply by August 26th and be a center who is open by September 30th to qualify. Check out more details HERE. Share this with your friends too! We want to make sure all licensed providers hear about this.
Additionally, there are other grants that are worth checking out. See this FLYER for more information.
School-Age Kids- We discussed school-age kids and how things are going so far with online learning. A few sites in our group have taken this on. There is a learning curve but many agreed that it is getting easier each day.
Quality First- Quality First just released a new document, ‘Arizona Quality First Recommendations for Safe Child Care Operations during COIVD-19.’ This is a very helpful reference as we make decisions around COVID for our centers. We encourage you to read it thoroughly or take a training on it on the AZ Registry. Thank you to all who put so much time and effort into this!
Hand Sanitizer Recalls- There are more hand sanitizer recalls. Check them out HERE for the safety of your staff and students.
First Things First Summit- You can register today for the First Things First Virtual Summit.
COVID Forms- Sabrina from Pinnacle Presbyterian shared her new COVID form for parents. Using Google forms can be a great tool for any permission forms or online forms you are needing right now. They can also be printed easily if you need a hard copy in the child’s file.
Enrollment- We discussed how most of our group has seen a slight uptick in interest for enrollment. We are not back to pre-covid numbers but are seeing a small increase which is encouraging.
Arizona Enrichment Center- This program ends at the end of this month. In case you were not aware you have to send the PDF letter that families receive to DES in order for you to get reimbursed by DES for the children. They will back pay if you have not yet completed this step.
Director’s Community of Practice- There is a Directors’s COP out of Phoenix that will be available to all of Arizona as it will be virtual. This will be done through the Lastinger Institute and Southwest Human Development. For more information contact Andrea Dekker at adekker@unitedwaytucson.org
Quality First Assessments- Quality First assessments are at a pause until further notice. The program is working on developing a new assessment process that adjusts for the changes we have had to make due to COVID.
Quality First Business Practices- There are currently openings in the Business Practices program. This is a great program that helps coach directors through the business side of directing. For more information contact Andrea Dekker. adekker@unitedwaytucson.org
Staff Check-Ins- We discussed creative ways to check in with teachers and staff as we are not able to connect in the usual ways with social distancing. Some ideas were group meetings in a foyer or outside and zoom happy hours. Connection with staff is always vital but now more than ever!
Thanks for another great meeting! Keep up the great work everyone. Our next meeting will be September 2, 2020 at 2pm. We will begin meeting once per month there after. Happy Friday!