Title: Welcome the Children: Providing Training for Early Childhood Professionals Serving Latin American Fa
1Welcome the Children Providing Training for
Early Childhood Professionals Serving Latin
American Families
- A look at a successful cross cultural
collaborative training program in Arkansas
2Welcome the ChildrenProject Staff
- Project Coordinator Brenda Reynolds
- Project Trainer Specialists
- Sabrina Zarco
- Tanya Miller
- Administrative Staff Susan Taylor
3 Partners for Inclusive Communities
- University Center for Excellence on Developmental
Disabilities - Provides training and technical assistance
- Conducts research
- Collects and provides current information,
research findings, and educational materials - Develops community collaborations for systems
change
4Welcome the Children Team Training
5Why the need for Welcome the Children?
- Arkansas has experienced a rapid growth in the
number of individuals moving into the state who
speak Spanish - Little or no training is available to assist
early childhood professionals in adapting their
services to work more effectively with Spanish
speaking children and their families
6Our Beginning Nuestra Familia Project
- Goal To assist child care providers and early
childhood educators in learning strategies that
support the second language learner in an early
childhood setting
- Three training modules were developed
- Cultural Diversity
- First and Second Language Acquisition
- Assessing Children for Language Delays
7 Piloting of Nuestra Familia Training
- Based on participant evaluations and suggestions
from the Advisory Committee members, first module
was revised to include emphasis on Latin American
culture - Second and third modules were combined
- Each training module provides approximately seven
hours of training
8Evaluation of Nuestra Familia Training
- The University of Arkansas at Little Rock
conducted an independent evaluation of training
and materials to document the effectiveness in
achieving the project goals - Evaluation instruments (pre-test, post test, and
session evaluation) were developed, tested, and
revised
9Welcome the Children Project
- Picked up where Nuestra Familia left off
- Disseminates training and materials statewide
- Develops capacity within local communities to
provide training and appropriately handle
referrals - Provides resources
- Develops additional information and training on
specific topics
10Purpose of Welcome the Children
- To facilitate appropriate referrals for children
who speak Spanish as a first language and have
developmental delays - To assist child care providers and early
childhood educators through training and
technical assistance to understand cultural
issues and learn strategies to support children
who speak Spanish as a first language
11Welcome the Children Project Infrastructure
- Advisory Committee
- Linked with the Arkansas Early Childhood
Professional Development Registry - Participants receive Continuing Education Units
(CEU)
12Training Modules
- Module 1 Cultural Diversity covers recognition
and acceptance of cultural and linguistic
diversity. Emphasis on Latin American culture - Module 2
- Second Language Development and Assessment in
Early Childhood
13Welcome the Children Project
14Welcome the Children Community Teams
- Develop capacity of individuals across the state
to present and support these training materials
through teams - Consist of child care providers, early childhood
educators, elementary educators, disability and
healthcare providers, clergy, family members and
representatives from Latino community groups
15Development of Welcome the Children Community
Teams
- Key players are identified in each area of the
state - Team members attend all sessions including a team
component to develop a team plan - Each team will have a host agency/organization,
team leader, trainers, and support members
16Welcome the Children Host Agency/Organization
- Assists in development of the community team
- Signs a written agreement to serve as the fiscal
contact between the Community Team and WTC
Project - Supports the Team Leader in administrative
processes, registration, evaluations, invoices,
and reimbursements
17Welcome the Children Team Leader
- Serves as the primary contact person between
Community Team and project staff - Schedules and facilitates team meetings
- Helps to develop team plan
- Collects and processes training registration,
evaluations, invoices, and reimbursements
18Welcome the Children Team Trainer Guidelines
- Co-Trainers
- One trainer must be bilingual and understand
Latin American culture - One trainer must have early childhood experience,
preferably classroom - Become a part of the AR Early Childhood
Professional Development Registry - Work with Team Leader
19Welcome the ChildrenSupport Team Members
- Attend team meetings
- Help promote the training in the community
- Attend training sessions to support Team Leader
and Trainers - Provide information and resources on area of
specialty
20Welcome the ChildrenUAMS Partners Staff
- Provides training materials
- Financial support
- Resources and lending library
- E-mail distribution list
- Provides onsite technical assistance and ongoing
support
21Welcome the ChildrenUAMS Partners Staff
- Co-trains with the Team Trainers if needed
- Attends Team sessions for support, evaluation,
and feedback for trainers - Provides training tips and early childhood
classroom environment strategies and consultation - Additional in-depth training on specific topics
22Welcome the ChildrenProject Evaluation
- The same evaluation team used for Nuestra Familia
is conducting ongoing evaluation to provide
continuity to the evaluation data process
23 Welcome the Children
24Gracias! Thanks! Time
for yourQuestions Answers
- Sabrina Zarco
- UAMS, Partners for Inclusive Communities
- Welcome the Children Project
- 2001 Pershing Circle, Suite 300
- North Little Rock, AR 72114
- 501-682-9924 800-342-2923 (V/TDD)
- zarcosabrinae_at_uams.edu
- www.uams.edu/welcomethe children/