Early Learning Specialists provide
early childhood professionals with
new approaches to meet their
professional development needs
Northwest Early Learning Initiative: an Update
NWESD 189 is at the forefront of planning early-learning education, tools and strategies to support professionals involved in providing educational opportunities for all birth-to-five children and their families in the five-county northwestern region of the state.
Through various grants including a funding source from the Early Learning Opportunity Act, the district Early Childhood Education Program has so far been a huge success, according to Early Childhood Education Manager Margy Miller, who administers the program in Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish, Island and San Juan counties.
“What we’ve been doing for about 2 1/2 years now is developing an early-childhood system with activities that support all children in school and life,” Miller states. “We have an Advisory Panel that brings together representatives from all five counties to work together on a regional plan and then look at funding needs. We have an early-childhood planning group in each county. So we’re doing county planning that feeds into our regional program.”
NWESD 189 is the only Educational Service District in the state currently involved in the Northwest Early Learning Initiative. Miller was brought on full time one year ago to direct the program, although she had been long involved in it when she was Director of Head Start for Skagit Valley College.
We want all children to have the support they need
“Northwest Early Learning continues to do assistance planning to identify what are the best activities to have for all kids, birth to five, in the district. We are continuing to access funding to support early learning. In one of our current funded activities called Collaboration for Children, we’ve reached over 350 early-childhood educators, including preschool teachers and child-care providers, in helping them receive college credit for some early-childhood education and provide on-site mentoring to assist them in improving their early-learning environments,” Miller explains. “That’s been a very large project in all five counties”
Another important element in the program is supporting school districts in their efforts to identify ways they can be directly involved in the pre-kindergarten, early-learning processes.
Miller says NWESD 189’s Advisory Panel includes members of school districts, public health, United Way, Head Start, local governments, local colleges, libraries, child-care resource and referral agencies, child-care licensors, and child-care providers .
“We’re trying to be very inclusive of people who are involved in supporting parents and children prior to kindergarten entry,” she adds.
“We want all children to have the support they need,” Miller notes. “Some children have specific needs that require special support services. We’re really talking about all kids.”
The state also has begun a campaign to seek public and private partners in early learning. By its involvement, NWESD 189 has positioned itself as a leader in early-childhood-education planning and one to look to as a valuable resource.