DEC is UPDATING EMAIL ADDRESSES
DEC is attempting to update the email addresses on file for DEC members to make communications with DEC, and the Pennsylvania Subdivision of DEC, more effective for you. If you want to be kept informed of Division/Subdivision activities, please contact Constituent Services at (888) 232-7733 and confirm/provide your current email address.
Our Mission:
1. To promote parent-professional collaboration in all facets of planning, designing, and implementing early childhood intervention services.
2. Advocating for policy planning and best practice in prevention and intervention that supports young children with special needs and their families in integrated settings. Respect for family values, diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, and family circumstances are integral considerations in DEC's prevention and intervention efforts.
3. Supporting those who work with or on behalf of infants and young children with special needs and their families by promoting collaboration and communication, innovations in research, dissemination and use of information, and professional development.
4. To support the goals of the Council for Exceptional Children and its members.
Officers:
- President: Brenda Robertson
- President-Elect: Brenda Robertson
- Vice-President: Susan Axelrod
- Past-President: Gail Storch
- Treasurer: Cheri Woyurka
- Secretary: Barbara Yingling Wert
- CAN Coordinator: Dona Bauman
What's New:
State Performance Plan for 2005-20010:
Implications for Early Intervention Programs
The Pennsylvania State Performance Plan (SPP) for 2005-20010 contains several indicators that are specific to Early Intervention Programs serving infants/toddlers and preschool age students. Professionals working in the Early Intervention systems should be aware of the indicators and the state plan to achieve targeted goals in those areas. The plan was submitted to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) December 2nd. The state is sharing the information via multiple avenues. Professional staff needs to look for opportunities to learn about the indicators and the state goals so they can contribute to achieving them. Ask your program supervisor or check the PDE website for more details.
Child Outcome Indicators (#3 & #7) are one area of monitoring priority in Pennsylvania’s SPP. OSEP is asking all states to begin to collect and report data on child outcomes. More information on the OSEP recommendations can be found at the-eco-center.org. Pennsylvania will be collecting data on:
1). Positive social-emotional skills (including social relationships);
2). Acquisition and use of knowledge and skills (including early language/communication and early literacy) and
3). Use of appropriate behaviors to meet their needs. A pilot child outcome research study is being conducted by Dr. Steve Bagnato, Children’s Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA with the goal of determining a process to collect and analyze outcome information. The plan calls for data to be collected and reported (via EIRS or Penn Data) at the point of entry and exit from the program.
Other areas of monitoring priority (indicators #2 & #6) and data collection involve early intervention services in natural environments and free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment (FAPE in the LRE). These priorities continue the emphasis on providing services for infants/toddlers in natural environments and services for preschoolers in regular early childhood environments to the maximum extent possible.
The final area of monitoring priority (indicators #8 & 12) focuses on transitions from the Part C program for infants/toddlers to the Part B program for preschoolers. Data collection and reporting will center on IFSPs containing transition steps, Part C programs notifying LEA of potentially eligible students, Part C programs conducting transition conferences and Part B programs having an IEP developed and implemented by the third birthday for transitioning students found to be eligible.
The need for data to support the value of the work done by our early intervention programs is strong. We know there is value in what we do, that the students make progress, and the progress is more than it would be without services, but we need data to support that knowledge. As professionals in the field, we need to support the state in collecting this data. Educate yourself about what is needed and do your part to ensure data is collected and reported. The future funding of our early intervention programs is dependent on providing this data to OSEP.
The Pennsylvania Department of Education and Department of Public Welfare published the Pennsylvania Early Learning Standards for Pre-Kindergarten in January ’05. The document is available on the PDE website at http://www.pde.state.pa.us/early_childhood/lib/early_childhood/Early_Learning_Standards_March_05.pdf.
All pre-K programs in Pennsylvania should now be working to align their curriculum and assessment practices to the standards.
I have been working on a committee whose goal was to review curriculum and assessment materials and make recommendations regarding how the materials do align. The final committee report was being prepared as this newsletter was going to press, so I expect that it is available on the PDE website as you read this article (or will be shortly). There will be a series of rollout meetings to introduce the work from the committee and show how administrators and teachers can use the work to guide their choices of curriculum and assessment materials. As this went to press, the tentative dates for the trainings were as follows: 6/2/05 in Western PA, 6/14/05 in Eastern PA, and 7/26/05 in Central PA. Watch for flyers and registration information soon. In addition, a series of train-the-trainer sessions are being planned (no date yet) to provide more in-depth training on using the committee’s work. These trainers can then work with those who were unable to attend the rollout training.
PADEC will be holding a joint pre-conference day with PACASE and PACCBD on November 2, 2005, the day before the PACEC conference. Mark your calendars now!
Brenda Robertson,
PaDEC President
New officers and new energy focused on revitalizing the PaDEC Subdivision.
Brenda Robertson was appointed to the PaDEC President and President Elect positions effective July 1, 2004. Susan Axelrod was appointed Vice-President. Gail Storch moved to the Past-President position. Cheri Woyurka was appointed Treasurer. Barbara Wert was appointed Secretary. Dona Bauman will continue as CAN Coordinator.
DEC Goals for 2004-2006
- Review DEC Constitution, by-laws, and operating procedures for needed revisions
- Work with PACEC treasurer in setting up an DEC account as part of PACEC treasury
- Organize an Early Childhood Strand for the PACEC Convention November 2004
- Cultivate partnerships with other Early Childhood Organizations
- Lay the groundwork to initiate an annual statewide DEC conference
- Develop an online newsletter linked to the PACEC website (pfcec.org)
- Identify local regional contacts for possible regional trainings
Recent Activities
PaDEC representatives have met with MAWA Supervisors statewide and received an enthusiastic response and lots of interest in supporting PaDEC goals.
PaDEC applied for and received a regional training grant from DEC. This is an initiative of the National DEC Board to support subdivisions at the region level. DEC secured the speaker, handled the local arrangements, and managed reservations. The training was held Oct 7 & 8, 2004 in State College. This successful training attracted people from Pennsylvania as well as New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. Sarah Mulligan and Mary Louise Hem meter presented on “Addressing Challenging Behavior in Early Childhood.”
The PaDEC treasury had been set up as a sub account of the PACEC Treasury. This will ensure continued access to treasury funds across changes in treasurer.
Pennsylvania regional contacts have been established as well as volunteers for the constitution committee, PaDEC newsletter committee, PaDEC partners with other early childhood organizations, and a committee to explore the possibility of PaDEC providing more training or hosting an annual conference.
PaDEC president is participating on a state committee charged with examining curriculum and assessment materials and making recommendations regarding how the materials align with and support the proposed Pennsylvania Early Learning Standards for 4 year olds.
Conference Committee is examining the possibility of partnering with Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children (DVAEYC) for a portion of their annual conference.
Want to get involved?
The following are committees and activities in which you could participate. If you are interested in getting involved, please contact me through the contact information below. If communicating by email, please put “PaDEC” in the subject line to ensure I receive it.
DEC Constitution Committee:
- Gather current documents
- Review and determine any necessary changes
- Prepare draft revisions
- Make recommendations to the DEC Board
- DEC Strand for PACEC Convention:
- Need a minimum of one volunteer to collect and organize presentation proposals and communicate with PACEC Convention Chair
- Need a few other volunteers to each recruit a presenter with a presentation
DEC Partner with other Early Childhood Organizations:
- Serve as a communication link between DEC and other organizations you belong to that support Early Childhood initiatives
- The best fit would be persons already active in the partner organizations
Statewide DEC Conference Committee:
- Determine options for conducting a statewide convention
- Outline action steps to organizing a convention
- Identify possible partner agencies for the convention
- Make recommendations to the DEC Board
DEC Newsletter Committee:
- Determine parameters for newsletter
- Establish procedure for soliciting and collecting information
- Establish a procedure for compiling newsletter
- Establish a procedure for submitting newsletter for posting on PACEC website under the DEC sub-division link
DEC Regional Contact:
- Act as a point of contact for collecting or disseminating information within designated region
- Assist in local arrangements for regional DEC events
Contact Information:
Brenda Robertson
Berks County Intermediate Unit
Preschool Early Intervention
1111 Commons Blvd
PO Box 16050
Reading, PA 19612-6050
610-987-8541
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Other Interesting and Related Web Sites
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