Great info for teachers...

National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (NECTAC): NECTAC is the national early childhood technical assistance center supported by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). NECTAC serves all 50 states and 10 jurisdictions with an array of services and supports to improve service systems and outcomes for infants, toddlers, and preschool aged children with special needs and their families. Each state's Part C and Section 619 Program Coordinators have a contact person at NECTAC and request technical assistance (TA) on behalf of their state programs. Funded since 2001, NECTAC and its predecessor TA projects have a foundation of over thirty-five years of technical assistance excellence in early childhood services

Feedback requested!

Early Childhood Calling All Parents of Preschool Children 3-5 Years of Age with Disabilities This is an annual survey to be completed by families of preschool children with disabilities. The purpose of the survey is to determine parental satisfaction with preschool special education services. The survey is written for families with children ages 3, 4, or 5 with disabilities who are transitioning to preschool, currently in preschool, or are transitioning to Kindergarten. The data that will be collected from the survey will assist in how to better prepare families of preschool children with disabilities to work through the special education process. The information collected from this survey will be utilized by the Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities and the Office of Early Learning and School Readiness in order to prepare and distribute resources to support preschool families. You will not be contacted after completing the survey; it does not ask for a name or any form of contact information. Thank you for your assistance. Click Here for Survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JH875LL Click Here for Cover Letter h_docs/Preschool_Letter_2013-2014_Final.p

Info from SST11: This message relates to the new data system, found in the Ohio Professional Development Network (OPDN) at www.opdn.org.. This site includes listings and registration for PD events for early childhood educators and will become the main site for early childhood PD in Ohio. The site will list PD events and track professional development hours for participants. As the state transitions to this new system, you will find that some PD events remain listed in STARS and require STARS registration, but eventually, all early childhood training will move to the OPDN site. As SST 11 events are advertised, I will include information regarding registration procedures for each event, either in STARS or through the OPDN. As a first step, all administrators and teachers should enter the system to create a "profile". This is a quick and simple process. The profile allows for entry into the system and will be used to register for events. Over time, this profile will expand to different functions related to Step up to Quality documentation, so it is critical that all staff create a profile. Begin by visiting www.opdn.org and click on "Create a Profile". The system will walk you through subsequent steps. Once the profile is established, the system is entered with a username and password which will be used to search and register for events.

IMPACT reminder!!! Teachers need to complete a self assessment annually... The Early Language and Literacy Reflection Tool: Creating Language Rich Opportunities and a Literacy Rich Environment can be found on ODE's website: Learning supports----Early Learning and school Readiness----Resources/Tools for Learning Professionals. If you would like to use a different tool, that is fine too...

Reminder: Diversity study group tomorrow at 1:30 at the Pickaway County ESC, our last group together. We will be looking at the last 2 sections of the curriculum and also comparing the curriculum to the new content standards.

Training Opportunity

Pickaway County Early Head Start/Early Childhood Collaborative

Special Quest Training

SQ topic # hours Date
An Inclusion Story

When Concerns Arise 3SUTQ approved November 19
Enhancing Staff Confidence & Comfort

The IFSP 3 2 hours are SUTQ approved
1 hour – JFS inservice December 17
Listening to Families

Developing Family Service Collaboration 3 JFS inservice January 14,2011
Building Effective Teams

Enhancing Team Functioning 3 JFS inservice February 4, 2011



Training to be held at the Early Head Start Center; 1080 US Rt 22W in Circleville
Training time will be 1 – 4 pm.




Training Descriptions:

November 19:
Participants will discuss what inclusive services in natural environments means for children with disabilities and their families. They will identify strategies for providing coordinated family-service services through partnerships among service providers.

Participants will consider strategies that families have identified as being effective when discussing concerns about a child’s development.

December 17
Participants will identify strategies for providers to communicate effectively with families about the possibility of their child being identified with a disability.

Participants will develop an understanding of the Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) process and their role in the plan’s development and implementation.


January 14
Participants will practice listening to families to learn about their resources, priorities, their culture, values and beliefs.

Participants will reflect on what families & service providers bring to their relationship that creates a positive partnership in caring for children with disabilities.

February 4

Participants will discuss the benefits of teaming & collaboration in programs & their own contributions to the team.

Participants will identify strategies and tools to build and strengthen teams. Participants will apply the 5 elements of team functioning & identify team development strategies.

As you may already be aware, preschool special education classrooms in your district may be selected to be observed as part of the Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation (ELLCO) study, which was initiated by the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) and is being conducted under contract with Learning Point Associates. For this study, a sample of preschool special education classrooms is being observed in three phases: Spring 2010, Fall 2010 and Spring 2011. Classroom observations for the second phase will be conducted between September and December 2010. We will contact building administrators and supervisors to schedule the observations during instructional time. In order to familiarize teachers with the ELLCO Toolkit, we would like to invite teachers to attend an ELLCO Introduction and Awareness Training. The ELLCO Toolkit provides practitioners with valuable information that examines the extent to which a classroom provides children with the support they need for language and literacy development. Hear the what, how, and why behind the ELLCO Toolkit and its use by ODE.