News Related to ECE

News Related to ECE


The Office of Early Care and Education’s Professional Development Plan: Nevada’s Professional Recognition Opportunities for Individual Teachers’ Success (PROFITS) Posted July 26, 2008
Comprehensive professional development systems for Early Care and Education and school-age care personnel are accessible and based on a clearly articulated framework; include a continuum of training and ongoing supports; define pathways that are tied to licensure, leading to qualifications and credentials; and address the needs of individual, adult learners. Enhancing a spirit of life-long learning is one goal of any professional development system; similar to this goal, a professional development system itself is never a finished product and should continually evolve and be refined to meet the needs of the population it serves. The documentation of the professional development system guides the work of the Office of Early Care and Education. The development of this plan was a collaboration of many early childhood professionals and was implemented in October 2006. Nevada’s professional development system follows the framework set by the National Child Care Information Center (NCCIC). The framework consists of five elements: 1) Funding, 2) Core Professional Core Knowledge Area, 3) Qualifications and Credentials, 4) Quality Assurances, and 5) Access and Outreach. Mission: Nevada’s PROFITS works to ensure all young children receive an equal opportunity to become well-educated, emotionally stable, contributing members of society, thus leading to the success of Nevada. This is achieved by supporting the educational and professional growth of early childhood educators. For more information about Nevada’s professional development plan, contact Patti Oya at 702-486-1432 or poya@dwss.nv.gov Download a copy of Nevada’s PROFITS plan

Early Childhood Advisory Council - Posted July 23, 2008
Currently Nevada has at least four councils or boards that address issues related to at-risk children ages birth to five and promote linkages to family support, health, mental health, and other developmental services. Nevada will establish a new Early Childhood Advisory Council (ECAC) after exploring the membership and initiatives of each of the existing councils and boards to determine whether they can be folded together to efficiently facilitate the development of a streamlined policy agenda for children birth to five in time for Governor Jim Gibbon’s 2009 biennial legislative session. Nevada will use the grant funds to host meetings with the members of the existing coordinating entities in the state and potential new members of the ECAC to determine recommendations for the composition and policy areas of the new Council. The Coordinator of the Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems grant and the Head Start State Collaboration Office Director will also host face-to-face meetings with individuals representing the various groups or agencies to get their input for developing the Council, recruiting members, and drafting recommendations for a comprehensive policy agenda for at-risk children ages birth to five that Governor Gibbons supports. The resulting ECAC will address how federal and state funding can be braided to sustain Nevada’s ECAC and the mechanisms by which a unified data collection system will be developed. The ECAC will then define a coordinated and comprehensive infrastructure for early childhood systems, including integrated data systems and evaluation efforts to inform decisions, holding decision-makers and stakeholders accountable for measurable results. For more information, contact Margot Chappel, Head Start State Collaboration Office: (775) 684-4195 or via email: mchappel@dhhs.nv.gov

Child Care in the State of Nevada Demographics Report - Posted Nov. 2, 2007
	The Children's Cabinet recently completed their 2006 Child Care in the State of Nevada Demographics Report. This is the first child care supply and demand report for the State of Nevada. The data in this report is intended to give a county by county look at the demand, availability, affordability, and quality of child care in Nevada. Providing this supply and demand report is part of their role as a nationally, quality assured child care resource and referral agency. To view the report in it's entirety, visit www.childrenscabinet.org and click on the "What's New" link.

Free Job-Posting Service - Posted March 1, 2007
	The Nevada Registry is excited to announce a brand new service - a statewide JOB BOARD for Early Care and Education. The new job board is available to the entire ECE community and allows employers to advertise available positions FREE OF CHARGE! Visit the job board to post positions and to view a listing of current job opportunities in the field.

Nevada's Core Competencies for Early Care and Education Professionals - Posted March 1, 2007
	A new resource is now available to the ECE community; Nevada's Core Knowledge Areas and Core Competencies for Early Care and Education Professionals! This document is designed to be a practical self-assessment tool that may be used in a variety of ways regardless of your role (caregiver, supervisor, trainer, career counselor, Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) faculty, etc.) or the setting in which you work. Use of this document is completely voluntary at the time of its approval in June 2006.

Virtual Pre-K
	Virtual Pre-K is an interactive, bilingual resource that brings teachers, parents and children together in the educational process. With short video lessons, an easy-to-use web site and hands on activities, the award-winning Virtual Pre-K program helps parents take part in their children’s education, and helps early childhood educators enhance their teaching skills. Additional resources include infant/toddler activities through the Born to Learn Program of United Way, online preschool teacher chats and a calendar of family events in your area. Parent and caregiver workshops can be scheduled at no cost for your center throughout Nevada. For more information or to schedule a workshop, please contact Rechelle Murillo at (775) 333-3523.

Bachelor of Science Degree in Early Childhood Education
	The University of Nevada, Reno offers an interdisciplinary 4-year program in Early Childhood Education, which is jointly administered by the Department of Human Development and Family Studies, in the College of Health and Human Sciences, and the Department of Educational Specialties, in the College of Education. This degree allows students to apply for and obtain a teaching license for public school programs serving children from birth through second grade. The program requires a total of 128 credits, of which about half, if appropriately selected, can be taken at one of the state's community colleges. For further information, contact Dr. Melissa Burnham at (775) 784-7012 or mburnham@unr.edu.

Nevada Child Care Workforce Study
	The Nevada Child Care Work Force Study was conducted between 2000 and 2002. All directors and teachers of licensed early childhood programs in the state and all licensed family home care providers were asked to provide information through questionnaires. In addition, a group of non-licensed home care providers, parents, and licensing personnel gave input, and direct observations were conducted in over 100 early childhood classrooms across the state. This study provides the first comprehensive profile of Nevada's child care work force, comparing Nevada's work force characteristics to those of other states. Click here for the full report of the Nevada Child Care Work Force Study.