Childcare Resources announces collaboration with Early Learning Coalition

Childcare Resources is pleased to announce a collaboration with the Early Learning Coalition of Indian River, Martin, and Okeechobee counties. The program will provide teachers with intensive training and coaching in the areas of Instructional Leadership and the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS). Teachers participating in this program impact nearly 200 children ages four and five across Indian River County.

Childcare Resources’ Todd Morrow, center, at a recent Childcare Resources professional development workshop with his clients. (L-R): Asbury United Methodist Church’s Michelle Feliciano, Bridges Early Learning Center’s Yehsica Folkerds, Asbury United Methodist Church’s Christina Ihnen, Morrow, and Allison Stewart and Ciaramaria Bakalis, both of Asbury United Methodist Church.

“The Early Learning Coalition is pleased to partner with Childcare Resources to support early childhood educators,” said Marsha B. Powers, Chief Executive Officer of the Early Learning Coalition. “Our community, especially our children, benefits from having high-quality childcare choices available and this starts with our teachers.”

To assist with the program, Childcare Resources has hired Todd Morrow, an early childhood education coach and former elementary school principal with 30 years of experience in education. Focusing on Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) classrooms serving four- and five-year-old students, Morrow will meet with classroom teachers and center directors weekly for in-depth training and discussion of each CLASS indicator. Between meetings, on-site coaching will help educators implement new skills while enhancing existing strengths. Topics examined in the program include promoting positive interactions, classroom organization, and curriculum implementation.

“I love the role I play in providing direct support to teachers, directors and children in their own classrooms,” said Morrow. “As teachers and directors become more aware of the CLASS dimensions and strategies, the better they will be at their craft and the more confident they will be in themselves.”

Required by Florida’s Office of Early Learning for early education providers that participate in the statewide School Readiness or VPK programs, CLASS evaluates the quality of a teacher’s interactions with students. High-quality interactions, as evaluated by CLASS, have been linked to better student outcomes in both math and reading. Current research indicates that these advantages persist for several years.

“We are so pleased to collaborate with the Early Learning Coalition,” said Shannon McGuire Bowman, Childcare Resources Executive Director, “This partnership truly supports our mission to elevate and promote the highest quality early childhood development and education in Indian River County.”