Last week, I was in Miami and had the opportunity to visit Kids Corner, a Quality Counts 5-star center located in Doral. The center is also NAEYC accredited. The school is beautiful and well-equipped. While that is always a good sign, it doesn't necessarily speak to the quality of the program as we know that the interactions between the adults and the children are key. I am pleased to report that great things were happening. The adults were actively engaged in the activities with the children, scaffolding their learning experiences and modeling good language. It was so refreshing to observe developmentally-appropriate activities and the children were obviously enjoying their program.
They were kind enough to allow us to take photos of the children and the staff. We will be sharing some of those pictures in our publications. I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to the staff who graciously embraced our intrusion without missing a beat.
Quality Counts is making a difference and we are so pleased to be a part of this work in Miami-Dade County. I look forward to visiting other programs as I get out around the state and sharing what I see. It is so refreshing and rewarding...
Best,
Phyllis
Monday, October 24, 2011
Friday, October 7, 2011
Palm Beach County Celebrates ECE
I just returned from Palm Beach County where the Early Learning Coalition hosted a very nice breakfast for early care and education providers in that county. The event was so very classy. It was held at the Kravits Center for Performing Arts. It was an opportunity to celebrate the efforts of the field in providing quality services for children and their families as well as to announce the new assessment system. Coalition staff worked hard to coordinate the event and sponsors generously contribute to underwrite the costs. The planning and quality certainly rivaled many conferences and they are to be congratulated for a fine job.
As the CEO for the organization awarded the contract for the assessment work, I was asked to speak -- and I complained voraciously as I followed Ron Mohl of Lakeshore who did an energizing presentation on engaging children in the classroom. Ron's presentation had us laughing, moving and enjoying why we are drawn to this field from the start -- a deep and abiding appreciation for the joys of childhood and the awesome wonder of how children learn and grow. I was honored to be a part of this celebration and we are so fortunate to have a wonderful team of assessors in Palm Beach led by Denise Griffith, our area coordinator; Debbie Conley, our Program Assessments Center director and Dr. Beverly Esposito, our VP for Professional Development and Assessments.
I always enjoy speaking to teachers and directors throughout the state about their work, their joys and challenges. Good things are happening throughout the county and it is due to the collaborative nature of the funders and partners to include the Children's Services Council of Palm Beach County and the Early Learning Coalition. We were honored to participate in this special event and look forward to working with all of the good folks in Palm Beach County. It was a special treat for us too.
Phyllis Kalifeh
President & CEO
Children's Forum, Inc.
2807 Remington Green Circle
Tallahassee, FL
As the CEO for the organization awarded the contract for the assessment work, I was asked to speak -- and I complained voraciously as I followed Ron Mohl of Lakeshore who did an energizing presentation on engaging children in the classroom. Ron's presentation had us laughing, moving and enjoying why we are drawn to this field from the start -- a deep and abiding appreciation for the joys of childhood and the awesome wonder of how children learn and grow. I was honored to be a part of this celebration and we are so fortunate to have a wonderful team of assessors in Palm Beach led by Denise Griffith, our area coordinator; Debbie Conley, our Program Assessments Center director and Dr. Beverly Esposito, our VP for Professional Development and Assessments.
I always enjoy speaking to teachers and directors throughout the state about their work, their joys and challenges. Good things are happening throughout the county and it is due to the collaborative nature of the funders and partners to include the Children's Services Council of Palm Beach County and the Early Learning Coalition. We were honored to participate in this special event and look forward to working with all of the good folks in Palm Beach County. It was a special treat for us too.
Phyllis Kalifeh
President & CEO
Children's Forum, Inc.
2807 Remington Green Circle
Tallahassee, FL
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