Newsletter
An Interview with Karen Garcia
July 9, 2016
ELD eNewsletter - July 2016
By: Aarika Guerrero, Communications Assistant
Karen Garcia joined the Early Learning Division (ELD) in April 2016 as a Program Development Specialist charged with facilitating system improvement for license-exempt providers across the child care spectrum, with a focus on regulated subsidy providers. Subsidy providers are non-relative providers who are receiving subsidy dollars to care for children in Oregon. Additionally, she provides contract administration for resource and referral agencies(R&R) – whose roles are to provide professional development and support to child care providers - and focused care…
An Interview with Cassandra Ferder
July 9, 2016
Early Learning Division eNewsletter - July 2016
By: Aarika Guerrero, Communications Assistant
Cassandra Ferder is the Executive Assistant to the Chief of Staff and joined the Early Learning Division (ELD) in March 2016. Her primary responsibilities include providing executive and technical assistance to the Chief of Staff, Kim Parker, and Operations Officer, Sonja Svenson, and serving as leader of the Administrative Team. A native Oregonian, Cassandra has resided in Salem much of her life, and has been employed with the State of Oregon since 1997, working in natural resources, legislation, Indian services,…
Early Learning to work with 211info
February 10, 2016
Early Learning at Work – January/February 2016
By: Karol Collymore
Starting in July, the Early Learning Division will start to use the services of 211info to support the work we do providing parent referrals and enrollment services. This is not meant as a replacement to the Child Care Resource & Referral (CCR&Rs), but as an enhancement to better support children and families. 211info serves every Oregon county as well as Clark, Skamania, Cowlitz and Wahkiakum counties in Southwest Washington. They are involved in several special projects that give clients an extra…
Multnomah Child Care Resource and Referral Update
February 10, 2016
Early Learning at Work – January/February 2016
By: Christine Waters
Child Care Resource and Referral of Multnomah County is in its seventh month of our Child Care Initiative (CCI) Grant funded by the Portland’s Children Levy. We currently have 16 enrolled child care programs and add more each week. CCI is a subsidy program designed to help ensure that families living within Portland’s city limits pay no more than 10-15% of their income on child care expenses. Their child care program must also be in Portland’s city limits. Families making up to…
Equity Breakthrough Team Update
February 10, 2016
Early Learning at Work – January/February 2016
The Equity Breakthrough team has been working strategically to identify where we need to solidify our equity work at the Early Learning Division. We've identified four areas: First, we must take steps to eliminate the implicit bias, cultural insensitivity, structural discrimination and institutionalized racism that exists in our organization today. Oregon’s opportunity and achievement gaps continue to persist as cultural and linguistic diversity grows throughout the state. Children of color make up over 30% of the 0-5 year old population in the state- and…
New Vroom Pilots Sites
December 10, 2015
Early Learning at Work – December 2015
By: Ari Wubbold
The Early Learning Division is pleased to announce several exciting updates related to the Vroom program. Vroom is a set of tools and messages that empower parents and caregivers to be brain builders. It elevates what parents and caregivers are already doing right and enables them to make the most out of their time with their children. The ELD recently added 4 new pilot sites to help bring Vroom to Oregon’s families (making 20 in total): the Northwest Regional Education…
Update from Oregon’s QRIS
December 10, 2015
Early Learning at Work – December 2015
By: Meredith Russell
Oregon’s Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) team has been working with its partners to focus on tracking and improving the quality of programs that serve children who are furthest from opportunity and historically underserved. Strategies include supporting programs that serve children of color, children in poverty, children speaking diverse languages, and children in rural communities. Oregon’s end of the year data shows great progress being made. Data has shown that 22.7% of all children on subsidy are in documented…
From Career to College – Race to the Top Supplemental Scholarship Update
December 10, 2015
Early Learning at Work – December 2015
By: Roni Pham
The professional development staff of the Early Learning Division have had the privilege of working with Race to the Top Supplemental Scholarship students for over a year. The average age of these students is 42 years old and they are joining a unique group of students who are going from career to college. These students are currently in a career of early learning that they enjoy very much. Most of them work full time while going to school. We have learned several…
Fall Conference – The Center of Early Learning at The Research Institute
November 10, 2015
Early Learning at Work – November 2015
Fall Conference - The Center on Early Learning at The Research Institute On September 9th and 10th, 2015 on the campus of Western Oregon University, the Center on Early Learning at The Research Institute hosted their annual Fall Conference. Over 130 professionals from Oregon’s Early Learning System attended this event. Attendees had the opportunity to participate in three general sessions and 25 breakout sessions presented by staff from Child Care Resource and Referral agencies, the Early Learning Division, Oregon Center…
Dawn Woods Named Child Care Director at the Early Learning Division
November 10, 2015
Early Learning at Work – November 2015
Dawn Woods Named Child Care Director at the Early Learning Division Dawn Woods recently accepted a new role as the Early Learning Division’s new interim Child Care Director. Dawn’s strengths as an energetic, motivational, and supportive leader will continue to support the great work of the Child Care Team at the Early Learning Division (ELD). Dawn's approach to child care is to meet child care providers and their programs where they are. She approaches her work with an eye on equity for every…