January 2010

BUSINESS LEADERS BREAKFAST

When children get a great start in life, they’re more prepared to succeed not only in kindergarten but also the whole way through school. They’re also more likely to become more productive citizens.

And more business leaders are seeing the value of investing in early learning efforts.

Thanks to a grant from United Ways of Washington, breakfasts are now being held with business leaders around the state to talk about the importance of early learning and ways to get involved at the local and state levels. Earlier this week, Thrive CEO Nina Auerbach met with a small group of Bellingham business leaders. Bette Hyde, director of the state Department of Early Learning, presented to business leaders in Bremerton yesterday. Another breakfast will be held in Spokane at the end of February. In addition to hearing about state efforts, including the draft statewide Early Learning Plan, business leaders heard from local leaders about successes and work under way in their own community and ways they can get involved now to champion early learning.

Many thanks to the United Ways of Washington for approaching Thrive with the idea of these breakfasts and the funds to support them.

PARTNER RESOURCES

Well Spring Opens Cornerstone Classroom for Children
It happens more often than you think—preschoolers being expelled from their classrooms because of behavior problems. These rates double that of children in state K-12 classrooms. Such expulsions can lead to further behavior problems and great difficulties in achieving both school readiness and later academic success.

A new preschool program called Cornerstone Classrooms at Wellspring Family Services in south Seattle aims to help these children with special classrooms staffed with teachers and therapists that can support their emotional development and guide them to better relations with other children and adults.  This program is open to 3-to-5-year-old children who struggle in adjusting to typical preschool programs. They may hit, bite, be unable to adjust to classroom routines, or have out-of-control crying, language delays and sleep difficulties.

Helping these children could not be more urgent. Several national studies found that delayed social and emotional development is one of the biggest predictors of school failure. Children who don’t have such problems addressed early are more likely to be difficult to teach, lose motivation for learning and face social isolation. They are more likely to be expelled from elementary schools as well as preschools. There are few, if any, programs in the region to help such children, according to the Childcare Directors Association of Greater Seattle.

"Cornerstone is a unique therapeutic approach that focuses on the thinking and feelings of the child," says Judy Burr-Chellin, Wellspring's director of Parent/Child Services. "Children sometimes get overwhelmed by their big feelings and just do not know how to regulate or manage them.  In a Cornerstone classroom, we show the child that what he/she is feeling is important and that we want to understand so we can help him/her have the feelings without having to hit, or scream or bite.”

This new program uses the Cornerstone Method of Reflective Therapy. Staff meet with the children in a setting such as a classroom, and intensively work one-on-one with them through play and socialization. In the classroom, staff verbalize reflections about a child’s behavior and feelings, so the child is better able to articulate his or her own feelings, and ultimately, better regulate them.

The goal of Cornerstone Therapy is to stabilize the children by giving them the social and emotional development skills they need to succeed in school and life.

The teachers and early childhood therapists join in partnership with parents as part of the process, touching base briefly every day, with more in-depth private weekly family conferences to further help children progress. An established Cornerstone program in San Mateo reports that many children are able to return to regular classrooms and thrive.

Wellspring Family Services is a non-profit organization that provides a wide array of services that address sources of instability for families in King County. Learn more about Wellspring Family Services here.

Circle of Security Parenting Seminar

Circle of Security^® has established a new DVD parenting education program offering the core components of the evidence-based and internationally acclaimed COS^® protocol with companion DVDs. The 4-Day seminar trains professionals to help parents and caregivers create a strong bond with their children. Decades of university-based research have confirmed that secure children exhibit increased empathy, greater self esteem, better relationships with parents and peers, enhanced school readiness, and an increased capacity to handle emotions more effectively when compared with children who are not secure.

Watch a sample of the DVD.

Dates: March 16-19, 2010

Location: Spokane, WA

Who should attend? Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists, Mental Health Counselors, Home Visitors, Family Support Workers, Outreach Workers, Behavior Support Specialists, and anyone providing parenting education and/or counseling to parents of young children

Learn more here.

LEARNING FOR LIFE

Recent Highlights
Research increasingly shows the benefits of early childhood education but are business and government leaders getting the message?

In January’s primetime special, Learning for Life: The Path to Better Early Education, KING 5 TV anchors Joyce Taylor and Brad Goode explored our state's path to a better early education system and talked to the leaders who are trying to get us there. View online segments from the special here.

In addition to this primetime Learning for Life special, January’s Learning for Life series, which ran Jan. 18-22 focused on resources for all parents. Included was a look at what local libraries and the state's 13 children's museums offer families, how to find child care in your area, and information about the importance of a baby and toddler's oral health. Also featured was the Family Help Line, a statewide hotline for parents. All segments from Learning for Life: Five Resources Every Parent Should Know About can be watched online.

Coming Up
February’s Learning for Life will focus on toddlers. Be sure to tune in to KING Morning News on KONG 6/16 TV between 8:15 and 8:30 a.m. the week of February 15.

THRIVE ONLINE

New Year, New Look
With the dawn of a New Year came a new look for Thrive’s Web site. We will still provide the latest news, top resources, and information on quality early learning, as well as comprehensive information on the exciting work we and our partners are undertaking. We’ll also be adding new material and utilities on a regular basis.

Be sure to keep an eye on the site for the very latest in what’s happening in early learning in Washington state and beyond—and to find out all of the things you can do to make a big difference in helping a child become ready for school…and for life!

Let us know what you think or what resources we might be missing!

CHAMPIONS IN ACTION

Highlights from Early Learning Coalitions
Thrive by Five Washington works with 10 early learning coalitions around the state of Washington to promote quality early learning and help facilitate early learning systems to help ensure all children enter Kindergarten ready to learn and succeed in school.

This month we’d like to highlight exciting updates from two of our coalitions.