Quality Improvement Professional Learning Community Program

With generous support from the Community Innovation and Resilience for Care and Learning Equity (CIRCLE) Grant program and the Buell Foundation, the Colorado Association for the Education of Young Children (COAEYC) launched the Quality Improvement Professional Learning Community Program. This program is a pilot (currently opening its second cohort).

A Professional Learning Community is a cohort of professionals who gather to learn, share, and grow together. The purpose of this program is to provide professional development that continues beyond the Zoom room. Why does this matter? Studies have shown a direct relationship between professional development and educator turnover. In fact, an interest in professional learning and an internalized professional identity may have a larger impact on the length of time a teacher spends in the field than salary, experience, and formal education. It's important that teachers feel prepared for their role and that they see themselves as the capable professionals that they are. A PLC is a wonderful learning opportunity because it allows teachers to learn together and to learn from each other. Our hope is that through this experience, the participants have the support they need to implement new practices into their classroom and can then mentor their colleagues on how to improve the quality of their classrooms as well.

Quality through Healthy Social-Emotional Practices - APPLICATION CLOSED; COHORT FULL
February-April 2023

Who can participate?

The COAEYC Quality Improvement Professional Learning Community Program is currently seeking applicants who are interested in participating in ongoing coaching and training focused on healthy social-emotional development from February-April 2023. This 10-week program includes training and coaching on the Conscious Discipline philosophy with a Professional Learning Community (PLC) of 4-6 early learning programs. We welcome Family Child Care Home providers to apply!

Participating Early Childhood Programs may select up to two (2) teachers (this includes paraprofessionals, assistants, and aides) from the same classroom to participate in the program. An administrator, preferably a director or assistant director, for each program must also participate in the online trainings and five (5) PLC sessions.

If you're a Family Child Care Home provider and it's possible to do so, you are welcome to include a co-teacher or assistant. Why? It is helpful to train in pairs! They learn the same content at the same time and have the opportunity to reflect together and collaborate. Additionally, this teacher or teaching team will gain the skills they need to share their knowledge and mentor other teachers. Early childhood teachers are professionals with expertise and knowledge. They are also leaders. When we nurture leadership development in teachers, we see improvements in teaching practices, learning practices, and student outcomes.

Timeline: Beginning the week of 2/13/23 and ending the week of 4/17/23.

Eligibility:

Applying programs must hold a current Child Care License in the state of Colorado.
Each program may choose one classroom to participate except for family child care homes that have one setting.
All program models are welcome to apply.
All areas of the state are welcome to apply, but preference will be given to rural communities and communities with a high population of immigrant families, refugee families, and families of color.

Educator Responsibilities:

Educators will meet once a week on Monday evenings from 6:30pm-7:30pm with their learning communities for 10 weeks. Additionally, each week they will complete a one-hour online training module that they will discuss with their group when they meet. Educators will receive clock hours for time spent completing the modules and attending the PLC meetings for a total of 20 hours.

Educators will also be asked to fill out a baseline survey about the children that will be used to track progress in the social and emotional development domain for that classroom or family child care setting. The children will not be identified on the survey.

Administrator Responsibilities:

Administrators will meet once every other week on Fridays from 10:00am-11:00am with their learning community. Administrators will also access and complete the online trainings (10 hours) but will only meet for five (5) sessions. The content in the administrator cohort will focus more on leadership and supporting your teachers with implementation. Administrators will receive clock hours for time spent completing the modules and attending the PLC meetings for a total of 15 hours.

Family Responsibilities:

Programs will be asked to distribute a short social-emotional assessment (ASQ-SE) to families at the beginning of the program and to follow up months after the cohort ends. Responses will remain anonymous to COAEYC (children will not be identified) and will only be used to track the effectiveness of the program.

Important Notes:

All training and meeting sessions will be held virtually.
Live interpretation is available for the PLC sessions, however, the Conscious Discipline courses are not yet available in Spanish.
Paraprofessionals, assistant teachers, and aides are welcome to participate as part of the teaching team. At least one person on the team must be a lead teacher or credentialed Early Childhood Teacher.

Stipend for Paid Professional Development Time:
Programs are expected to provide paid time for teachers to participate in the cohort. COAEYC will provide a stipend to the early learning program of up to $360 per teacher* to help compensate for the cost of giving your educators paid time to participate in professional development. A teacher must be present at the meeting and complete the online modules to receive a stipend for that time. The stipend will also be provided for family child care home providers who own and operate their program.

COAEYC will not provide a stipend for program administrator time during this cycle.

*This stipend equates to $18/hour for 20 hours.

For questions, please reach out to Enola Garland at enola@coloradoaeyc.org.

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El Programa de Comunidad de Aprendizaje Profesional de Mejora de la Calidad de COAEYC actualmente está buscando solicitantes que estén interesados en participar en entrenamiento y capacitación continuos enfocados en el desarrollo socioemocional saludable de febrero a abril de 2023. Este programa de 10 semanas incluye capacitación y entrenamiento sobre la filosofía de la Disciplina Consciente con una Comunidad de Aprendizaje Profesional (PLC) de 4-6 programas de aprendizaje temprano. ¡Damos la bienvenida a los proveedores de Family Child Care Home para que presenten su solicitud!

¿Quién puede participar?

Los Programas de la Primera Infancia participantes pueden seleccionar hasta dos (2) maestros (esto incluye paraprofesionales, asistentes y ayudantes) del mismo salón de clases para participar en el programa. Un administrador, preferiblemente un director o director asistente, para cada programa también debe participar en las capacitaciones en línea y cinco (5) sesiones de PLC.

Si usted es un proveedor de Family Child Care Home y puede hacerlo, puede incluir un co-maestro o asistente. ¿Por qué? ¡Es útil trabajar con un/a compañero/a! Ellos aprenden el mismo contenido al mismo tiempo y tienen la oportunidad de reflexionar juntos y colaborar. Además, este maestro o equipo docente adquirirá las habilidades que necesitan para compartir sus conocimientos y guiar a otros maestros. Los maestros de niños son profesionales con experiencia y conocimiento. También son líderes. Cuando fomentamos el desarrollo del liderazgo en los maestros, vemos mejoras en las prácticas de enseñanza, las prácticas de aprendizaje y los resultados de los estudiantes.

Cronología:

Comenzando la semana del 13/02/23 y terminando la semana del 17/04/23.

Elegibilidad:

Los programas que solicitan deben tener una licencia de cuidado infantil vigente en el estado de Colorado.
Cada programa puede elegir un salón de clases para participar, excepto los hogares de cuidado infantil familiar que tienen un solo entorno.
Todos los modelos de programas pueden aplicar.
Todas las áreas del estado pueden aplicar, pero se dará preferencia a las comunidades rurales y comunidades con una alta población de familias inmigrantes, familias de refugiados y familias de color.

Responsabilidades del educador:

Los educadores se reunirán una vez a la semana los lunes por la noche de 6:30 p.m. a 7:30 p.m. con sus comunidades de aprendizaje durante 10 semanas. Además, cada semana completarán un módulo de capacitación en línea de una hora que discutirán con su grupo cuando se reúnan. Los educadores recibirán horas por el tiempo dedicado a completar los módulos y asistir a las reuniones del PLC por un total de 20 horas.

También se les pedirá a los educadores que completen una encuesta de referencia sobre los niños que se utilizará para rastrear el progreso en el dominio del desarrollo social y emocional para ese aula o entorno de cuidado infantil familiar. Los niños no serán identificados en la encuesta.

Responsabilidades del administrador:

Los administradores se reunirán una vez cada dos semanas los viernes de 10:00 a.m. a 11:00 a.m. con su comunidad de aprendizaje. Los administradores también accederán y completarán las capacitaciones en línea (10 horas), pero solo se reunirán durante cinco (5) sesiones. El contenido de la cohorte de administradores se centrará más en el liderazgo y en apoyar a sus maestros con la implementación. Los administradores recibirán horas de reloj por el tiempo dedicado a completar los módulos y asistir a las reuniones del PLC durante un total de 15 horas.

Responsabilidades familiares:

Se les pedirá a los programas que distribuyan una breve evaluación socioemocional (ASQ-SE) a las familias al comienzo del programa y que hagan un seguimiento meses después de que finalice la cohorte. Las respuestas permanecerán anónimas para COAEYC (los niños no serán identificados) y solo se utilizarán para saber la efectividad del programa.

Notas importantes:

Todas las sesiones de capacitación y reunión se llevarán a cabo virtualmente.
La interpretación en vivo está disponible para las sesiones de PLC, sin embargo, los cursos de Disciplina Consciente aún no están disponibles en español.
Los paraprofesionales, maestros asistentes y ayudantes pueden participar como parte del equipo docente. Al menos una persona en el equipo debe ser un maestro principal o un maestro de la primera infancia acreditado.

Se espera que el estipendio para:
los Programas de Tiempo de Desarrollo Profesional Pagado proporcione tiempo pagado para que los maestros participen en la cohorte. COAEYC proporcionará un estipendio al programa de aprendizaje temprano de hasta $ 360 por maestro * para ayudar a compensar por el costo de dar a sus educadores tiempo pagado para participar en el desarrollo profesional. Un maestro debe estar presente en la reunión y completar los módulos en línea para recibir un estipendio para ese momento. El estipendio también se proporcionará a los proveedores de hogares de cuidado infantil que poseen y operan su programa.

COAEYC no proporcionará un estipendio por el tiempo de iniciador del programa durante este ciclo.

* Este estipendio equivale a $ 18 / hora por 20 horas.

Si tiene preguntas, comuníquese con Enola Garland en enola@coloradoaeyc.org.

Apply Now

Upcoming Cohorts

Aplica ya

TBD

Past Cohorts

Cohort #1: Quality through Inclusion focused on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in the early learning setting. This cohort used the Equity-Centered Community Design Field Guide by Creative Reaction Lab to reflect together and brainstorm ways to create more inclusive and responsive spaces in their early learning programs.

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