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 3 3 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 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. 2 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 3 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. 4 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 5
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