March-April 2011

THRIVE BY FIVE WASHINGTON BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECTS NEW MEMBERS
Four New Members Welcomed
At its quarterly meeting held on April 6, the Thrive by Five Washington Board of Directors elected four new members: Beck Taylor, president of Whitworth University in Spokane; Sen. Steve Litzow (R-Mercer Island), ranking minority member of the Early Learning, K-12 & Higher Education Committee; Janet Levinger, community volunteer and advocate for children; and Lynn Kessler, former member of the Washington State House of Representatives from Hoquiam. Taylor, Litzow, Levinger and Kessler join an active and committed board of state, community, business and philanthropic leaders, many of whom helped create Thrive almost five years ago.

Key work for Thrive includes working closely with the state Department of Early Learning and Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction to lead the creation of a statewide early learning system that  supports children from birth to third grade; overseeing the state's new Home Visiting Services Account, which was created by the state Legislature in 2010 to match public and private dollars and fund proven and promising home visiting programs throughout the state; and leading the new statewide "Love. Talk. Play." campaign to help parents better understand why the first years of life are important and how they can best support their children.

To view the full list of Thrive's Board of Directors visit www.thrivebyfivewa.org/boardofdirectors.html.

 

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Early Learning Fares Well as Challenging Budget Session Winds Down
Legislative UpdateEarly learning has been prioritized and protected by both the House and Senate. In their respective budget proposals, both the House and Senate included funding for ECEAP, Home Visiting, WaKIDS, the Child Care Resource and Referral Network, and Working Connections Child Care. 

Although early learning has fared well comparatively, there are still some larger issues to be negotiated and resolved between the House and Senate that will have an impact on the final budget that reaches the Governor. Therefore, the Governor called a special session for legislators to complete their work on the budget. For more details on the budget proposals, visit www.unitedway-wa.org/leg_update/leg_updates-04-22-11.html.

 

"LOVE. TALK. PLAY." CAMPAIGN KICKS OFF
"Love. Talk. Play.""Tiny Tot Rock...and More" event launches new "Love. Talk. Play." campaign for parents of early learners
Parenting is a tough job that comes with no manual, but a new state wide education and awareness campaign aims to help make parenting a little easier by encouraging parents to focus on three actions that will give their child a great start in life: Love. Talk. Play.

Targeting parents with children age 3 and younger, the "Love. Talk. Play." campaign kicked off with "Tiny Tot Rock...and More" on Saturday, April 9 in Spokane Valley. This event included a free 45-minute concert with The Not-Its! - Washington's most rockin' kid band - followed by a series of activities sponsored by local organizations for parents and their children from birth to 3 years old to learn how to bring more love, talk and play into their daily routine. 

The concert was one of many Our Kids: Our Business events happening in the Spokane area throughout April. Partners that provided activities at the launch event included Spokane County Library District, Spokane Public Library, Community-Minded Enterprises, Kool Smiles of Spokane, Children's Home Society of Washington and Educational Service District 101.

Be sure to see if there are events coming up in your area on "Love. Talk. Play's" event calendar.

The "Love. Talk. Play." campaign was shaped by input from national early learning experts and conversations with lower-income parents, who don't often have access to parenting information and are the primary target of the campaign's messages and materials. The state's 10 regional early learning coalitions supported by Thrive will help get the campaign into communities through people parents already trust and places they already go.

Learn more about "Love. Talk. Play." at www.LoveTalkPlay.org and get the latest on news and events by following "Love. Talk. Play." on Facebook and Twitter.

 

3rd ANNUAL STARTING STRONG INSTITUTE
Early Learning and K-12 to Convene in Spokane

Thrive by Five Washington,the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, Department of Early Learning, and Northeast ESD #101 are excited to announce the 3rd Annual Starting Strong Institute which will take place at the Spokane Convention Center August 11-12, 2011.

The Institute brings together the early learning world and the K-12 system to better meet the needs of our youngest learners.  Starting Strong convenes parents, providers, preschool teachers, kindergarten teachers and school leadership each year to continue the dialogue about enhancing learning and transitions from prekindergarten through Grade 3. 

The overriding theme for Starting Strong will offer participants examples and strategies on how to engage other early learning partners, align instruction and standards for learning across the systems, and build smooth transitions for families and children as they enter kindergarten and the K-12 system.

Teams of early learning providers and elementary school staff are encouraged to attend and will receive a registration discount.  Information about registration will be available on the ESD 101 web site at www.esd101.net/startingstrong.

 

BIRTH TO THRIVE ONLINE
Birth to Thrive OnlineHave you heard the latest? 
Are you up to date with what's happening in the early learning world? Here are some of the hot topics from the past month: