James City County, Williamsburg, York County
http://www.cdr.org/?q=node/213
Smart Beginnings Historic Triangle: Strengthening early education and school readiness services for young children and their families
Smart Beginnings Historic Triangle is a coalition of public and private partner agencies and businesses serving Williamsburg, James City County, York County and Poquoson. Member agencies work together to ensure all children in the Historic Triangle arrive at kindergarten healthy and ready to succeed in school and in life. Currently, the work of the coalition focuses on:
- Training and mentoring early care and education personnel
- Providing parent support and resources
- Creating community awareness of the importance of early learning
- Increasing the knowledge and skills of individuals who work with young children and their families, through high-quality early childhood professional development opportunities, has a strong and lasting impact on program quality.
The coalition:- Offers early childhood college courses in a non-traditional fashion and provides scholarships to cover tuition and text books. Courses are offered in conjunction with Thomas Nelson Community College (TNCC), local departments of social services, and other community partners.
- Provides leadership and support for early care and education programs to participate in Virginia’s Star Quality Initiative (SQI). Programs that choose to participate are rated on a five-star scale of increasing quality and assigned a Star Quality Mentor to identify program goals and implement a quality improvement plan.
Parent Support
A school readiness manual, developed by coalition partners, helps parents prepare their child for the transition to kindergarten. Parent forums and resources help increase parent’s understanding of their child’s development.
Community Awareness
The coalition works to create broad community awareness of the need for, availability, and benefit of early care and education to build a broad base of support for a comprehensive service system.
Child Development Resources, Inc. serves as the fiscal agent for the coalition
Contact: Sheri Osborne, Director of Trainingsherio@cdr.org
(757) 566-2849