The Regional Council was able to leverage funds and networks at the Council table to make a significant investment in professional development activities in this last two months. The well-organized efforts of our partners at Help Me Grow and the Universal Developmental Screening Registry efforts were key to these successes. We supported a diverse array of trainings – both for new parents and families and for Child Care providers and showcased Help Me Grow to a large number of people across the region. Our efforts to support other professional development were also robust, with a relatively small amount of Early Learning Challenge funds, which we committed to supporting the cost of professional development for individual providers.
Following the recent elections, it’s a politically active period, and the Council help inform legislators across the region about key early childhood issues by holding a dynamic and educational candidate’s forum in Barre.
Our efforts, outlined in our Action Plan, to clarify and support better understanding and delivery of Universal PreK were also part of the last couple of months of work. The Council is supporting a dialog in Waterbury designed to grow innovation and understanding between public and private partners in the area around this important topic.
Finally, the Council was appreciative of the Child Development Division’s excellent series of STARS evolution information sessions. Clear and consistent communication is leading to broad understanding of the process in Central Vermont.
