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February, 2016

Check out the new Quality Counts Website and Video

First 5 is proud to announce the launch of the new Quality Counts website and video!   The Quality Counts collaborative, made up of First 5 Alameda County, the Alameda County Early Care and Education Planning Council, The Alameda County Office of Education, early education providers, parents, resource and referral agencies, among others, have rolled out the new website where you can view quality ratings for over 100 child care providers. 

There are over 1800 licensed day care facilities in Alameda County and, while the California Department of Education has adopted a framework describing what high quality early learning looks like, and long term research connecting high quality early care to school success, until now there has been no system to objectively rate and improve the quality of early learning in day care settings.

The early education system takes safety very seriously; with California Community Licensing maintaining standards for fire exits, first aid kits, etc.   But quality is more than just safety.   Quality also includes materials for play and learning, warm and stimulating teacher child interactions, good working conditions, support for educators, and more. Our hope is that, with more public support, we’ll be able to expand this crucial program to all early care and education care facilities in the county. 

Check out the Quality Counts video which gives a sense of what it's like to participate in the program.

First 5 Funded Program Receives Prestigious Award!

The Early Childhood Development Math Learning Community at Las Positas College has been recognized as an outstanding community college program with the 2016 Exemplary Program Award.

The Learning Community was a unique collaboration which brought together the early childhood development faculty and the math faculty at Las Positas College to tackle math instruction strategies for young children. The Math and Education faculty attended conferences together, visited each other's classrooms and familiarized themselves with resources like California Preschool Foundations.

In true collaborative spirit, there were many partners that made the Learning Community a success: while First 5 Alameda County funded development and implementation, local teacher training programs helped teachers complete math certificates, and a textbook supplier provided discounts on materials.

The Learning Community was such a success, that those involved in the project are brainstorming ways to replicate Learning Communities like this one in at other colleges and even in other disciplines. 

Thanks for the FYI Feedback!

Thanks to the readers that filled out the FYI survey, we know a lot more about you and what you want out of the our newsletter. We have a very diverse readership from early education providers to Federal Government employees and everyone in between. We learned that people find legislative updates useful and want to hear more about trends in the field of early childhood. 

For us, the most exciting new insight: you are interested in submitting articles, suggesting topics and sending us photos, videos, podcasts, and reviews to share with the network. Please do! We’re excited by the warm reception and happy to be a clearinghouse for all things early childhood in Alameda County.  Please send content to barrie.mcclune@first5alameda.org

Thanks for your feedback!