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Click here to log in. For Information on courses available please see the list at right. For additional information about E- Learning email Professional Development Director, Tanya Koehn or call 785-823-3343 BELIEF Early Childhood Leadership Institute 2011 Now accepting applications! 1. Winter Institute, January 11 - 15 2. Spring Retreat, April 6 - 9 3. Fall Celebratioon, October 27 The Barn Bed & Breakfast located at Valley Falls, KS. Email Becky Woerz for more information or call her at 785-823-3343
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Child Care Aware of Kansas PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Opportunities E-Learning E-Learning Courses that are available are:
For additional information about E-Learning email Professional Development Director, Tanya Koehn or call785-823-3343. Belief Do you BELIEVE in the power of transformation? Are you ready to be a change agent for your program? The BELIEF Early Childhood Leadership Institute is designed for center directors and family child care professionals who are ready for a new learning challenge. The BELIEF Early Childhood Leadership Institute is a 10-month leadership training program that focuses on change and the early childhood leader’s role. It is a model for improving the quality of early childhood programs. BELIEF supports participants in implementing quality improvements to their early childhood programs. 2011 Dates Location Benefits: Goals Curriculum What past participants have said: “The sessions inspired me to continue to dream and to bring the dreams I have had for the child care to life. The resources given during the Winter Institute helped me to understand what it means to lead and how to begin to fulfill this role as a leader in not only my own child care, but within the child care community.” Family Child Care Provider, Central KS “Over the years, I have taken many workshops and seminars in education for elementary and early childhood development programs that focused on leadership and professional development. This is the first one that I can truly say I have been able to apply the principles taught immediately upon my return to my center and have seen immediate results for the betterment of our staff and program.” Center Director, Central KS
For for more information email Becky Woerz or call her at 785-823-3343. Goals of the Professional Development Project The goals of PD are to:
Components There are three main components to the PDI, education, compensation and quality improvement. PDI promotes coordination of professional development events based on the Core Competencies for Early Care and Education Professionals in Kansas and Missouri. It promotes quality criteria for professional development events and instructors and oversees the Kansas Early Education and School Age CEU program. PDI facilitates access to higher education and promotes the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® KANSAS scholarship program. Compensation for the early care and education workforce and coordination of financing of the early childhood system is critical. PDI gathers and shares data on the early care and education workforce. It works with a variety of funders/funding sources to maximize education and quality improvement efforts. It promotes the Child Care WAGE$® KANSAS education based salary supplement program. PDI promotes the Kansas Quality Rating System for early care and education programs and works to implement a registry and credentialing system for professionals in the field. It promotes tiered quality enhancements for early care and education programs and professionals. Achievements A broad, state-wide early childhood stakeholder group developed a strategic plan for building a professional development system for child care providers in Kansas. Child Care Aware® of Kansas was awarded funding and to serves as the infrastructure to implement the strategic plan. The Professional Development Initiative worked with stakeholders to develop and implement the Core Competencies for Early Care and Education Professionals in Kansas in Missouri. (http://www.marc.org/mcel/assets/CoreCompetencies.pdf) These competencies serve as the base for professional development and quality improvement work. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment – Child Care Licensing and Registration bases in-service approval on the Core Competencies. PDI carries on the work begun prior to its existence to award CEUs for professional development. Current programs that were developed and implemented based on the strategic plan include the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood ® KANSAS scholarship program, the Child Care WAGE$® KANSAS education based salary supplement program and the Kansas Quality Rating System for early childhood programs. A statewide stakeholder group is working to develop a new strategic plan for the early care and education professional development system. Work groups are looking at Governance; Core Knowledge; Access & Outreach; Qualifications, Credentials & Pathways; Funding; and Quality Assurance. Types of Professional Development Child Care Aware® of Kansas Member Agencies provide an array of quality, affordable professional development opportunities from in-service training through college credit coursework for child care providers and other early childhood, and school-age professionals. In-service is provided that informs child care providers about best practices for young children including Infant/Toddler specific topics. In-service may be delivered in two-hour blocks or module format. Infant/Toddler in-service is designed to help caregivers recognize the crucial importance of giving tender, loving care and assisting in the infants' intellectual development through attentive reading of each child's cues. The professional development events are designed to help child care providers become sensitive to infants' cues and develop responsive, relationship-based care. Modules are in-service that is delivered in multiple sessions on a specific topic or related topics. Child care providers can gain a deeper understanding and apply what they learn to their practice with young children and families. The NACCRRA National Study of Child Care Resource and Referral Training showed that after 20 hours of in-service, providers were more attentive to and empathic with children, engaged in more activities that enhanced social development, and provided improved classroom environments and materials. CEU stands for Continuing Education Unit. It is a type of high quality in-service that meets national standards. Individuals are awarded CEUs by demonstrating that they understand and can apply the training that they have received. CEUs are often regarded as a bridge between in-service training and college credit. In some cases CEUs may transfer into college credit. CEUs are accepted nation-wide as a uniform unit of measurement of post secondary learning. They are used in many fields including nursing, social work, and early childhood. The learning activities approved for CEUs must be responsive to the educational needs that have been identified for the target audience. They must contribute directly to the learner's professional competence. Core Competencies for early care and The Core Competencies for Early Care and Education Professionals in Kansas and Missouri and the Kansas and Missouri Core Competencies for Youth Development Professionals establish a set of standards for care and education that support the professionalization of the field. They serve as the foundation for decisions and practices carried out by child care providers in all settings and programs. Core Competencies define what professionals need to know and be able to do to provide quality care and education programs for children/youth and families. The Core Competencies for Early Care and Education Professionals in Kansas and Missouri detail what professionals who work with young children and families need to know and are able to do to provide quality early care and education. The above PDF is a 24-page booklet. It is the latest edition of the Core Competencies for Early Care and Education Professionals in Kansas and Missouri. Many professionals from across the two states worked together to write the Core Competencies. Inside, you will find an introduction that provides background information about what Core Competencies are and why they are important. Following the introduction are the competencies themselves. They are divided into eight content areas, colored coded in this document for easy use. Each of the eight areas contains five levels that range from the skills and knowledge an entry level professional needs to know to the more advanced skills and knowledge possessed by someone with an advanced degree. The Core Competencies can serve as a guide for improving early learning programs and practice. You will notice that each competency can be either measured or demonstrated. You may also find that the competencies contain new ideas or provide a new way of reflecting on your program and interactions with children. The Core Competencies are a practical, useable and living document. We hope that we have included enough detail so early educators can use it and new professionals and students can understand it. Note the convenient checkbox provided for self-assessment and the section for recording training and education has been included. We hope that you find the Core Competencies meet your needs as an early care and education professional. Competencies describe the specific knowledge and observable skills or attributes needed by the practitioners. The Core Competencies establish a set of standards for professionalization of the field. The Core Competencies are divided into eight (8) content areas:
The Core Competencies provide a framework of the knowledge and skills
The Core Competencies may be used in a variety of ways
These competencies, the core knowledge base for the field of early care and education and school-age care, are the foundation of the Kansas career development system. They reflect the consensus of the field on fundamental and consistent knowledge and skill areas that are common to all roles. Agreement on the core knowledge base provides a road map for curriculum development, definition of credentials, and organization of training into coherent and progressive sequences. If you have questions or would like additional copies, please contact your local Resource and Referral Agency or Child Care Aware® of Kansas (877-678-2548). Kansas and Missouri Core Competencies The above PDF is a 27-page booklet. It is the first of the Kansas and Missouri Core Competencies for Youth Development Professionals. Many professionals from across the two states worked together to write the Core Competencies. Inside, you will find an introduction that provides background information about what Core Competencies are and why they are important. Following the introduction are the competencies themselves. They are divided into eight content areas, colored coded in this document for easy use. Each of the eight areas contains five levels that range from the skills and knowledge an entry level professional needs to know to the more advanced skills and knowledge possessed by someone with an advanced degree. The Core Competencies can serve as a guide for improving out-of-school time and youth development programs and practice. You will notice that each competency can be either measured or demonstrated. You may also find that the competencies contain new ideas or provide a new way of reflecting on your program and interactions with children. The Core Competencies are a practical, useable and living document. We hope that we have included enough detail so experienced professionals can use it and new professionals and students can understand it. Note the convenient checkbox provided for self-assessment and the section for recording training and education has been included. We hope that you find the Core Competencies meet your needs as a youth development professional. If you have questions or would like additional copies, please contact your local Resource and Referral Agency or the Kansas Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (877-678-2548). Competencies describe the specific knowledge and observable skills or attributes needed by the practitioners. The Core Competencies establish a set of standards for professionalization of the field. The Core Competencies are divided into eight (8) content areas:
The Core Competencies provide a framework of the knowledge and skill
The Core Competencies may be used in a variety of ways
These competencies, the core knowledge base for the youth development field are the foundation of the Kansas career development system. They reflect the consensus of the field on fundamental and consistent knowledge and skill areas that are common to all roles. Agreement on the core knowledge base provides a road map for curriculum development, definition of credentials, and organization of training into coherent and progressive sequences. How to use the Core Competencies Individuals can use the Core Competencies booklet to record training and educational experiences. They can also complete a self-check on the skills and knowledge they possess and design a learning plan based on that assessment and the training record. Early childhood and youth development professionals completing the self assessment should read the competency (a, b, c) and determine if they possess the knowledge or skills and can practice them on a daily basis. If the individuals feel they are competent in that topic, they would fill in the box to the left of the competency. If they feel they know something but not everything they should about that topic, they can fill in half the box. Once the child care provider has completed the self assessment, they can look at the skills and knowledge they possess (the boxes filled in or half filled in) and the professional development record on trainings they have attended to see what competencies have been covered and where gaps in knowledge and skills lie. They can then look for classes which cover the identified content area and level gaps to learn more and grow professionally. Professional Development Record Individuals can use the Professional Development Record to record training and educational experiences. They can also develop a plan to attend professional development events in content areas of special interest and those in which they have less knowledge. Keep your Professional Development Record in a safe place at your home or place of work. After attending a professional development event, transfer the information from the certificate of attendance to the PD Record. You and your employer should each keep a file of your in-service certificates. The certificates and this record may be used to document your annual professional development in-service hours. You will want to share the information in this record with your child care licensing surveyor during his/her visit. Keep track of what is in your PD Record. Look at it often and use it to attend professional development in many content areas. Introduction to Continuing Education Units (CEU) Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for Kansas Early Education CEU stands for Continuing Education Unit. It is a type of high quality in-service that meets national standards. Individuals are awarded CEUs by demonstrating that they understand and can apply the training that they have received. CEUs are often regarded as a bridge between in-service training and college credit and in some cases may transfer into college credit. CEUs are accepted nation-wide as a uniform unit of measurement of post secondary learning. They are used in many fields including nursing, social work, and early childhood. The learning activities approved for CEUs must be responsive to the educational needs that have been identified for the target audience. They must contribute directly to the learner's professional competence. PDI developed the Kansas CEU system to support quality, uniformity and accountability for learning activities and to support the need for CEUs to renew the Child Development Associate credential. Kansas guidelines meet the criteria established by the national governing bodies for CEUs and for the CDA renewal. Sponsoring agencies may submit applications for approval of learning activities quarterly for review by the CEU Council. These learning activities must meet higher standards than those set in-service training. They are designed to be more in-depth learning activities. They must be taught by qualified instructors and be able to show evidence of increase of skills, knowledge and ability of the participants. One early childhood CEU represents 10 contact hours of participation in an organized learning activity. In some cases CEUs may be transferred into college credit hours. Early education and school age care professionals can pay a nominal fee to attend and register the CEU classes they attend. A transcript is available from KACCRRA for a slight fee. Each KACCRRA agency provides CEU bearing training. CEU Handbook The Handbook has been developed to help guide sponsoring agencies through the process of applying for and getting approval for CEU credits. The Handbook is presented in 3 chapters:
Only the first chapter is presented here in HTML. For the Instructions and Forms, please click the PDF icon on this page. NOTE: The last part of the CEU Handbook consists of forms to submit to start your accreditation. The forms are not viewable in HTML. You must click the PDF Acrobat icon on this page to view the entire PDF of the CEU Handbook that contains these printable forms. We hope you find this booklet helpful. Please contact us at KACCRRA if you have any questions or need further information. For submission of materials for review or CEU transcripts contact: Child Care Aware® of Kansas P.O. Box 2294 |
BELIEF Application
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2011 BELIEF Early Childhood Leadership Institute application|
PO Box 2294, Salina, KS 67402-2294 | Phone: 785-823-3343 | Toll Free: 877-678-2548 | Fax: 785-823-3385 | Contact Us
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