BUILDING BLOCKS
Building a Future
S p r i n g
— S u m m e r
2 0 1 5 ▪ V o l u m e
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A publication for our partners, supporters,
IN THIS ISSUE
SIBLEY AWARD 2015
CELEBARATION
NEWS AROUND THE
BLOCK:
FIRST LADY DEAL VISITS
TENDERCARE PRESCHOOL
2015 EASTER SEALS
FASHION UNCORKED RECAP
FUN TIMES AT SYLVAN
HILLS:
FATHERS EXTRAVAGANZA
FACE PAINTING
SPECIAL HIGHLIGHT:
GCCA CHANGE MAKER’S
BREAKFAST
QUALITY CARE:
EL DIA DE LOS NINOS 2015
CENTERS MAP
CONGRATULATIONS
Easter Seals Sylvan Hills Child Development Center
A BIG thanks to all who joined the celebration on April 1 at Sylvan Hills Easter
Seals Child Development Center to honor Sylvan Hills as the 2015 winner of
the annual Sibley Leadership & Teacher Excellence Competition for its
submitted project Parent & Family Engagement Program. Donna Davidson,
President & CEO of Easter Seals North Georgia, along with several Easter
Seals Board members, accepted the $15,000 check presented by Jane
Hardesty of the Harland Foundation, Lynn Pattillo of The Pittulloch
Foundation and ELPM Board member Mike Riley. A special treat was in store
when the celebration attendees were dazzled by wonderful performances
from the talented Pre-K classes. ELPM
is grateful to the Pittulloch Foundation
and the Harland Foundation for the
generous contribution to make this
award possible. Both foundations,
along with the judges, were recognized
and presented with special gifts made
by the Pre-K classes. ELPM looks
forward to sharing progress results of
the Parent & Family Engagement
Project in upcoming newsletters.
Congratulations Sylvan Hills!
Parent & Family Engagement Project
Planned Objectives

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
Families are able to support children’s learning.
 100% of families will develop an individualized
Family Partnership Plan (FAP) that has goals and
objectives specific to their needs
 Families will attain 75% of the goals on their
annual FAP
 75% of the families will complete the Parent
Survey.
Children will start school ready to learn
 Easter Seals will meet program level growth
within widely held expectations
Staff will support parent/family engagement
 85% of parent, family and community
engagement training objectives met
 Sylvan Hills will implement a center based Family
Engagement Plan
Pre-K Class & Teachers
News Around the Block
FIRST LADY SANDRA DEAL
VISITS TENDERCARE PRESCHOOL
A visit to TenderCare Preschool on March 11th marked just one of
the many stops of First Lady Sandra Deal’s commitment to read
to students in all of Georgia’s 181 school districts as part of her
“Read Across Georgia” initiative. Launched less than two years
ago, “Read Across Georgia” is the First Lady’s initiative in
support of Governor Nathan Deal’s goal of increasing the
percentage of children reading at or above grade level by the
completion of third grade. First Lady Deal read the book “TJ’s Discovery” to Tender Care’s Preschool
Class. This book is being read in coordination with Georgia’s Forestry Services to promote family
camping in one of Georgia’s many beautiful campgrounds.
For more info on Tendercare Program, visit www.tendercarega.org
THE MYRTLE M. AND TOM B. MEDDER’S AWARD
Easter Seals North Georgia CEO Donna Davidson
Easter Seals North Georgia President & CEO, Donna Davidson, was recently honored by
Chicago-Easter Seals with the Myrtle M. and Tom B. Medder’s Award at the 2015 Leadership
Summit Awards dinner in Chicago. Ms. Davidson earned this prestigious award through her
20 years of commitment and exceptional work in outstanding program and service
management, innovation, fiscal management, fundraising leadership, community involvement,
and recruitment of volunteers. Ms. Davison’s leadership efforts guided Easter Seals North
Georgia to become the first Easter Seals affiliate to be a direct grantee for a Head Start Grant
in 1997 and has since helped other affiliates with grant proposals to pursue Head Start grants.
Donna also piloted the charge to expand early education services in Georgia which resulted in
the state becoming one of the largest providers of
daily inclusive early education and care services
including medical, dental, education, disability,
nutrition, and mental health services to 1,500
children in 12 locations. Congratulations to Donna
Davidson on her commitment and continued efforts
to improve the early learning efforts for Georgia’s
children and families.
.
.
The Myrtle M. and Tom B . Medder’s Award
is given out in recognition of excellence and outstanding
achievement in leading an Easter Seals affiliate.
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News Around the Block
Fun Times at Sylvan Hills’
Fatherhood Extravaganza
Sylvan Hills recently held a Fatherhood Extravaganza and end of school year celebration. The
Fathers meet during the school year to discuss family life and can count on each other for advice, help and wisdom. We know the importance that family participation plays in a child’s life
and this was a great way to celebrate the fathers of Sylvan Hills.
Woodward Academy Volunteers at Sylvan Hills
Young scholars of Woodward Academy visited Sylvan Hills to help in the classrooms and host a
face painting party with the children. Smiling children were very eager to place their requests for
works of art! A big thank you to Woodward Academy for an exciting day of fun!
Easter Seals North Georgia
Fashion Uncorked 2015
Fashion Uncorked 2015 was a huge success this year! Fashion Uncorked is an annual designer competition and
fashion show presented by Easter Seals North Georgia. Ten emerging designers showcased their original day,
evening and children’s fashions during this entertaining and unforgettable evening. Several young students
attending Easter Seals early learning centers were very excited to wear the designers creations and parade down the
run way. The event generated much needed charitable revenue to continue the Easter Seal’s cause of providing
services to meet the needs of children with disabilities and other special needs living in North Georgia.
Photograph Provided by
Paul Biagui Photography
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Special Highlight
GCCA’s
10th Annual Change Maker’s Breakfast
Georgia Center for Child Advocacy (GCCA) held its 10th annual Change Maker’s
Breakfast on April 30th 2015. GCCA’s mission is to champion the needs of
sexually and severely physically abused children through prevention, intervention,
therapy, and collaboration. Keynote Speaker Matt Sandusky delivered a powerful
message using his life story to motivate people to take action to prevent child sexual
abuse. The Center has a statewide initiative to train adults throughout Georgia to
recognize, react and respond appropriately to incidences of child sexual abuse.
For more information about GCCA and the Stewards of Children training please visit:
www.georgiacenterforchildadvocacy.org
Quality Care for Children
The Quality Care for Children El Diá de los Niños 2015 event was a huge success raising over
$115,000 to support the Summer Food Program which will provide nutritious meals to more than 1,000
children this summer who receive free or reduced price lunches during the school year!
Quality Care for Children’s mission is to ensure that Georgia’s infants and young children
are nurtured and educated and the organization is the resource for parents, child care providers and
community leaders in Georgia seeking information, assistance and support in securing high quality early
learning experiences for infants and young children.
To learn more about Quality Care for Children
please visit www.qualitycareforchildren.org.
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ELPM CENTER LOCATIONS
For program information, please visit the following links:
Beacon of Hope - Renaissance Child Development Center — www.beaconofhopeatl.org
Brookvalley Child Development Center — www.easterseals.com/northgeorgia
Chattahoochee YMCA Early Childhood Academy — www.ymcaatlanta.org
College Heights Early Childhood Early Learning Center — www.eclc.csdecatur.net
D. Scott Hudgens, Jr. Early Childhood Development Center — www.gwinnetttech.edu
Dean Rusk YMCA Head Start Academy — www.ymcaatlanta.org
Guice Educare Center — www.easterseals.com/northgeorgia
Mansell Child Development Center — www.easterseals.com/northgeorgia
Minnie Howell Child Development Center — www.premier-academy.org
Sylvan Hills Child Development Center — www.easterseals.com/northgeorgia
Tendercare Early Learning Center — www.tendercare.org
Warsaw Child Development Center — www.easterseals.com/northgeorgia
Winder Early Learning Center — www.easterseals.com/northgeorgia
Early Learning Property Management Mission Statement
To support and promote early childhood learning and development by providing safe
and adequate facilities where early learning programs and activities can be conducted.
www.elpm.org
Kara Portnell, Executive Director
Kristen Anderson, Project Coordinator
1585 Old Norcross Road, Suite 202 ▪ Lawrenceville, Georgia 30046
Phone: (678) 377-1777 ▪ Fax: (678) 377-1778 ▪ www.elpm.org
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