Check back here often to learn of the latest news and opportunities from WCELI partners including:
Free Healthcare Training for Families - Saturday February 5, 2011
Love and Knowledge. The Keys to Healthier Children.
Learn how to better care for your children when they are ill. Healthcare training and resources will be provided to 100 parents and guardians of children in Head Start programs in the White Center Early Learning Initiative. The training, offered in multiple languages, is made possible through a grant from the UCLA/Johnson & Johnson Health Care Institute.
Who: Parents/guardians of children in the Head Start White Center Early Learning Initiative (WCELI) programs.
What: “I Can Help My Child Stay Healthy” Training
Why: Learn to be Healthy, Be Healthy to Learn
When/Where: Saturday, February 5th, 2011
For more information contact Sharon Judie at 425-917-7994 or sjudie@psesd.org.
This training is provided by Head Start, WCELI and the Foundation for Early Learning.
Educare Quality Briefs
Educare Quality Brief - January 2011
The Winter 2010 WCELI Update is Now Online
New Study Reports Targeted Grants and One-on-One Coaching Boost Child Care Quality
by Thrive by Five Washington
A groundbreaking new study found one-on-one coaching and small grants made a big difference in child care programs, relatively quickly improving quality and cutting down on turnover.
Researchers found monthly intensive coaching and funding for staff scholarships, classroom and curriculum materials or parent engagement, which are part of a rating system being tested in two communities, improved quality scores. Currently, 22 states have child care rating systems, but this is one of the first studies to pinpoint what improves quality.
Researchers studied the first year of Seeds to Success, a voluntary quality ratings and improvement system for licensed child care programs being tested in two Educare communities in Washington State, White Center and East Yakima. In the study, half of 66 child care businesses received intensive help and coaching, while all providers had access to professional development opportunities.
Experts agree that high-quality early learning experiences give young children the start they need to enter school ready for success.
WCELI Partners Featured on Learning for Life One-Hour Special "How Babies Learn"
WCELI, the Educare Early Learning Center, Thrive by Five Washington and Seeds to Success were featured on the September 26th Learning for Life Special, "How Babies Learn"
Watch the Learning for Life Hour-Long Special, "How Babies Learn" that features WCELI partners. Learning for Life regularly airs every Wednesday on KING 5 Morning News on KONG 6/16 TV between 8:15 and 8:30 a.m.
This one-hour special reveals how babies think, how their brains absorb information, and what every adult can do to give young children the best start in life.
Breakthrough research done right here in Washington proves babies are born learning. From day one, their tiny brains begin absorbing an incredible amount of information, and they know a lot before they can speak or walk.
High-Quality Early Learning Cuts Crime and Saves Washington Up to $240 Million per Year in Special Education Costs
At the Educare Early Learning Center Wednesday, local law enforcement leaders held a press conference to release their report supporting high-quality early learning as one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce crime in the long run and save millions of dollars in the state’s education budget in the short term.
Report Highlights
"The report concludes that investments in voluntary high-quality early learning programs in Washington can:
- Save up to $120 million in K-through-12 education costs by lowering the number of children requiring special education services due to behavioral problems and developmental delays;
- Save an additional $120 million in education costs by reducing the need for children to repeat grades and by helping kids learn more effectively;
- Reduce violent crime and save taxpayers millions of dollars more by reducing costs for corrections, welfare and other government-funded services."
Beverly Park/WCELI Kindergarten Transition Program
Watch the Learning for Life episode that featured the WCELI Kindergarten Transition Program at Beverly Park Elementary School (aired September 8.)
Learning for Life airs every Wednesday on KING 5 Morning News on KONG 6/16 TV between 8:15 and 8:30 a.m.
Beverly Park Elementary in the Highline School District will host its first ever Kindergarten Transition Program August 30th through September 3rd. The program is part of the White Center Early Learning Initiative.
In the week before school starts, entering kindergartners spend about three hours each morning in their new classroom getting to know each other, their teacher and what to expect at school, such as how to behave in circle time, where to find the bathroom and how to get lunch. During this week, teachers also visit each family’s home to learn more about their families, set shared goals, and talk about school expectations and ways for families to support learning at home.
This program builds on the very successful Kindergarten Transition Program that East Yakima started doing in 2008. When the pilot for this program was done in East Yakima:
- Teachers said they could start teaching on Day 1 because children already knew expectations, routines and procedures.
- 99 percent of parents reported that they felt comfortable talking to their child’s teacher; 98 percent reported that their child liked school
- Principals reported that the incidents of children crying or refusing to comply on the first day of school was markedly reduced and, in most cases, eliminated.
The Kindergarten Transition program has been made possible through a grant from The Norcliffe Foundation. Evaluation of the program will be conducted by the White Center Early Learning Initiative (WCELI).
Kindergarten Transition Program in the News
For more information, contact Joan Tritchler at 425-917-7605, 253-778-7605 or jtritchler@psesd.org.
Learning for Life
View KING 5's Learning for Life specials and segments at Thrive by Five Washington's website
August 18, 2010 Wednesdays with WCELI Flyer
August 18, 2010 Wednesdays with WCELI Flyer
Summer 2010 Resources and Activities Flyer in Multiple Languages
The Summer 2010 WCELI Update is Now Online
Click here to read the July 2010 WCELI Update.
Open Arms Perinatal Services Receives 2010 Human Services Award for Innovative Program
Open Arms Perinatal Services received the 2010 Seattle Human Services Coalition’s Human Services Award for Innovative Program. The Coalition recognized Open Arms for its "response to an existing need in a new way, its ability to build upon an outstanding program model, its creativity in leveraging resources, and its positive program results."
Educare Early Learning Center Earns 2010 Civic Design Award
The Educare Early Learning Center in White Center earned a 2010 Civic Design Award from The American Institute of Architects Washington Council (AIA|WA). The AIA/WA bestowed 14 firms with its 2010 Civic Design Award during a ceremony the last week in May. The annual competition recognizes good and innovative design in civil architecture.
The Educare Early Learning Center received a Citation level award in the Individual Building category for "a demonstrated level of quality and sensitivity."
The Educare Early Learning Center is a partner of the White Center Early Learning Initiative, a Thrive by Five Washington demonstration community. The facility was built by the Puget Sound Educational Service District through a unique public/private partnership of individuals, foundations, governmental agencies and organizations. The architectural firm was Miller Hayashi Architects LLC.
King 5 Learning for Life: Outreach Doulas Supporting Latina, Somali Mothers
Giving birth and raising children should be among the most natural things in life.
But for women going through the process without the support of family and friends, the experience can be intimidating and lonely. This is especially true for women who come from a different country and culture and speak a different language.
The Outreach Doula program, started by Open Arms Perinatal Services last year as part of the larger White Center Early Learning Initiative, supports both immigrant Latina women and Somali refugees in their own languages by women of and from their own communities.
In the News: The Educare Early Learning Center
The Educare Early Learning Center held its grand opening celebration on Saturday, March 27, 2010. This community event has generated a lot of excitement about the model programs that reside in the center. Read and listen to a few of the stories about the center, the innovative programs that reside there, and why these early learning programs are important to all communities.View Media Coverage of the Educare Early Learning Center Grand Opening Celebration
View the Grand Opening Celebration Press Packet
Educare Early Learning Center Grand Opening
Saturday, March 27, 2010 at 1:00pm
The entire White Center community and supporters of the Educare Center, including children and families, caregivers, funders, partners, educators, builders and state and local leaders are all invited to celebrate the grand opening of the Educare Early Learning Center. Learn more...
Educare Early Learning Center Featured on KING TV
On February 17, KING 5 TV featured the Educare Early Learning Center in a Learning for Life segment, a partnership with Thrive by Five Washington. View this video and other Learning for Life segments on www.king5.com
Educare Early Learning Center Featured in the West Seattle Herald/White Center News
Read the story here
Now Enrolling Birth to Five-Year-Olds for Programs Starting in February
The Educare Early Learning Center is enrolling now for subsidized, full-day, year-round infant/toddler and preschool programs for children ages birth-to-five. Applications are being accepted now. Classes will begin in late February 2010.Income-eligible families in the White Center/Boulevard Park area with children ages birth-to-five are encouraged to apply for enrollment!
Download the Application in English or Spanish (PDF)
The Center will be open from 7:00am - 6:00pm Monday through Friday and is located at 625 SW 100th St., Seattle, WA 98146.
For more information:
(206) 762-6070 (temporary number until February 1)
(206) 716-8800 (permanant number after February 1)
Interpreters are available for assistance in person and over the phone.
Educare and Head Start Early Learning in White Center
Explore Early Learning and Child Care options in White Center (PDF)
(Also available in Spanish)
Leilani Dela Cruz Appointed WCELI Director
The White Center Early Learning Initiative partners are very pleased to announce that Leilani Dela Cruz has been appointed the new Director of WCELI. The selection was made following an extensive search and application process, which included a community forum to meet the candidates.
Leilani Dela Cruz brings unique qualifications, enthusiasm and proven commitment to her new position. She has been integrally involved with WCELI since 2006, when she served as the WCELI Planning Coordinator, working to assure that White Center residents and stakeholders played a key role in designing WCELI. For the past year, Leilani has volunteered as the co-chair of the WCELI Community Advisory Committee, building community engagement in WCELI's programs and broader early learning work in the community.
Dr. Monte Bridges, Superintendent of Puget Sound Educational Service District, which serves as the lead agency for WCELI, stated, "We are elated that Leilani will be expanding the span of her leadership for WCELI. She has the vision, organizational skills and relationships to help move this work forward for children, families, and the community."“We are looking forward to working with Lelani in her new role,” added Brenda Blasingame, director of Programs and Evaluation at Thrive by Five Washington. “Her knowledge of early childhood, connection to the White Center community and commitment to the vision of WCELI will be a winning combination.” Thrive and the Gates Foundation are major funders of the WCELI work.
In addition to her work with WCELI, Leilani has been a Program Manager for the King County Early Intervention Program since 2007 and an Early Childhood Program Planner for Spokane County Community Services. She holds an MSW from Eastern Washington University and a BA in social work from the University of Guam.
Leilani will begin work as the WCELI director on Monday October 26. "I am very excited about returning to WCELI full-time and look forward to building upon the foundation that has been laid by the WCELI partners, staff and Community Advisory Committee. I am eager to work very closely with all of the stakeholders, particularly community members, to establish strong and meaningful partnerships. I hope to increase WCELI’s outreach efforts and learn from the expertise that already exists in the community in order to create a truly cohesive, community-based initiative.”
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