SOAR ACTION TEAMS & WORK GROUPS


Champions for Children Action Team
Getting School Ready Action Team
Learning Partners Group: Alignment Initiative of Seattle Public Schools
Multicultural Youth Leadership Project
Prevention and Early Intervention Action Team
School Age Implementation Team Workgroup
Washington Afterschool Network


PREVENTION AND EARLY INTERVENTION ACTION TEAM

Purpose: The Prevention and Early Intervention Action Team was created as work group of SOAR, helping kids reach for the sky. Our main purpose is to work on implementing strategies to support and foster the Prevention and Early Intervention goal of the King County Early Childhood and School Readiness Action Agenda.

Goal: Children and families most in need of services receive high-quality, affordable and culturally competent services early. Our goal is to make sure families can find the services they need to help them assess their children's development, and to address problems as early as possible. Examples of these services are: physical, occupational and speech therapy, special instruction and mental health services.

Main Strategies:

Over the course of the summer and fall of 2006, focus groups were held representing diverse communities -including families of children with and without developmental disabilities, several ethnic groups and the medical community, including family practice doctors, pediatricians, and nurses.

Taking guidance from these groups, the Prevention and Early Intervention Action Team is focusing its efforts on three (3) strategies for the early identification and access to services for children with developmental delays:

• Public awareness and community education:
  The action team is focusing on a public-awareness/community-education campaign to encourage parents of young children to be aware of development and to know how to access developmental supports. Currently bus placards and informational brochures have been developed in English, Somali, Spanish and Vietnamese languages and are currently on display on routes most frequently utilized by the focus language groups. During 2007, community outreach and training will be held with parents of children, natural community support systems, and agencies that work effectively with the respective language groups to increase their knowledge of child development and DD system support services.
  
  
• Partnerships with the medical community:
  Effective partnerships will be built with the medical community to assure that medical practitioners are aware of and supported in conducting developmental screenings for young children and working with parents to make appropriate referrals for follow-up on concerns.
  
  
• Education and capacity-building for early care providers:
  Training will be provided to early childhood caregivers to enhance their knowledge of typical and atypical development and develop capacity to pre-screen for developmental "red flags" and work with parents and the DD system for appropriate follow-up.

The Prevention and Early Intervention Action Team will also work with the FACES groups and other key SOAR partners and community stakeholders to disseminate information about the developmental disabilities system.

Contact:

Jan Wrathall, DCHS
(206) 296-2912
jan.wrathall@metrokc.gov

Meetings: First Thursday of the month from 10:00am to Noon.  Please call for location of monthly meetings.



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CHAMPIONS FOR CHILDREN ACTION TEAM

The Champions for Children Action Team is a collaboration of public and private organizations working to increase the quality of childcare and after-school programs for all of the community's children.

Strategies:

• Increasing the number of King County children in nationally accredited programs.
• Increasing public and parental awareness of the importance of early learning and care and after-school programs.
• Coordinating with the Washington Scholars program to promote continuing education of early childhood and after-school professionals.
• Collaborating with statewide and local efforts to improve Washington's early learning/childcare and after-school system.

Actions:

• Providing support to childcare and after-school programs seeking national accrediation or reaccreditation.
• Identifying potential funding opportunities for additional accreditation support.
• Acknowledging newly and reaccredited programs.
• Acknowledging Washington Scholars participants and other professional development accomplishments.
• Championing the strategies of the King County Action Agendas for Early Childhood and School Readiness and School-Age Children and Youth.

Accomplishments:

• Increased the number of nationally accredited childcare programs from 9% in 2001 to 17% in May 2006.
• Provided intensive accreditation support to over 30 childcare centers serving diverse communities throughout the county.
• Held 3 recognition events for programs achieving national accreditation and individuals achieving professional development milestones.
• Expanded grant resources to accredit 130 additional childcare centers through United Way of King County/Child Care Resources partnership.
• Launched Family Child Care Accreditation Pilot Project.

Partners:

African-American Child Care Task Force
Asian/Pacific Islander Child Care Task Force
Child Care Resources
Children's Home Society
City of Seattle
Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce
Latino Child Care Task Force
Lesbian & Gay Child Care Task Force
School's Out Washington
SOAR
TEACH Early Childhood® Washington
United Way of King County
Washington Scholars
Washington Department of Early Learning

Contact:

Suzette Puente
(206) 760-2033
suzette.puente@del.wa.gov

Evelyn Lemoine, Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce
(206) 389-7250
evelynl@seattlechamber.com

Meetings: Meets quarterly (January, April, July, October) on the third Friday of the month from 8:30-10:00am at the Great Seattle Chamber of Commerce, 1301 5th Ave (Rainier Tower) 25th Floor, Seattle, WA.



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GETTING SCHOOL READY ACTION TEAM

View Getting School Ready Handbook

Goals:

• Help parents, caregivers, early childhood educators and kindergarten teachers support children to get ready for school.
• Help schools be ready to meet the needs of their students.

Accomplishments:

• The team meets monthly to share and update the community on issues related to school readiness.
• Piloted and are implementing Getting School Ready Teams in 25 King County elementary schools during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 school years.
• School districts currently hosting GSR teams include Bellevue, Highline, Kent, Lake Washington, Northshore, Riverview, Seattle and Shoreline.
• The purpose of the neighborhood transition teams is to improve school readiness and support successful transitions of children and their families into kindergarten by: (1) fostering communcation and building relationships among families, caregivers and schools; (2) implementing strategies to enhance early literacy and reduce nonacademic barriers to early learning (e.g. language and translation); and (3) strengthen involvement of parents and childcare providers in school-based learning events.
• Produced and disseminated Getting School Ready E-newsletters.
• Promoted and disseminated over 83,000 Getting School Ready booklets and over 200 kits to the King County community. The purpose of the booklets is to help parents, caregivers, early childhood educators and kindergarten teachers support children to get ready for school; and help schools be ready to meet the needs of their students. The booklets are translated into 7 different languages, including Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Cambodian, Somali, and Vietnamese.
• Trained childcare providers, resource agency representatives and parents in use of Getting School Ready materials.
• Presented model at 2006 Washington Association of School Directors Conference in Spokane, WA.

Partners:

Bellevue School District Child Care Resources City of Seattle Community Day School Association Comprehensive Health Education Foundation East FACES North FACES Seattle FACES Foundation for Early Learning Highline Public Schools Kent School District King County 0-3 Early Intervention/Child Development Program King County Interagency Coordinating Council King County Library System

Lake Washington School District Latino Child Care Task Force Northshore Schools ParentMap Praxis Institute for Early Childhood Development Puget Sound Educational Service District Riverview School District Seattle Public Libraries Seattle Public Schools Shoreline School District SOAR Talaris Research Institute Tukwila Public Schools United Way of King County Washington Alliance for Better Schools

Contact:

Linda Averill
(206) 361-4253
linda.averill@shorelineschools.org

Diane Kroll
(206) 439-6906 x3988

Meetings: Second Friday of the month from 9:00 to 11:00am at Child Care Resources, 1125 S Weller, Seattle, WA 98144.



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SCHOOL AGE IMPLEMENTION TEAM WORKGROUP

The School-Age Implementation Team Work Group is a team of professionals who developed and are now overseeing implementation of the King County Action Agenda for School-Age Children and Youth and are now strategizing to support the community in implementing the document.  This team includes representatives from child- and youth-serving agencies, local government, parents and guardians, business, philanthropy and education sectors.  The team is currently working on garnering support for the Action Agenda, developing new action teams focused on school-age children and youth, and supporting the growth of sub-regional and goal-based activity focused on success of children and youth in the four main geographical areas of King County.

Current Projects, Partnerships and Pending Action Teams:

• Connecting Youth Workers Coalition:
  SOAR partners with other key organizations and providers to form the Connecting Youth Workers Coalition. The group connects the leaders of existing youth workers networks around King County together to share information and build a calendar for youth work. Additionally, the coalition also works on systemic ways to increase connections between youth workers. Ideas in the works include website development and partnering with existing efforts, such as those of School's Out Washington, to increase professional development for youth workers. Finally, the coalition operates the King County Youth Workers Forum, a free quarterly gathering for youth workers to connect, experience training, have conversations, and share information.
  
  
• Community Implementation Projects Grants:
  SOAR is pleased to announce a funding opportunity to enable community partnerships and coalitions to engage in Community Implementation Projects (CIP) to further implement the King County Action Agenda for School-Age Children and Youth. The purpose of the CIP grants is to support partnership-based, regional and/or sub-regional activities and strategies that build necessary groundwork and infrastructure as our community implements the Action Agenda goals. Grants will be in the range of $5,000 - $15,000. At this time, SOAR has $45,000 available for funding a variety of applications. For more information, see contact information below.
  
  
• King County Mentoring Coalition:
  The King County Mentoring Coalition exists to help mentoring programs and staff develop, expand, or increase the effectiveness of mentoring programs that serve diverse populations. The King County Mentoring Coalition strives for real results by ensuring all programs adhere to best practices and outcomes measurements. SOAR and Washington State Mentors have partnered to take the lead on the King County Mentoring Coalition. The King County Mentoring Coalition is a pending SOAR Action Team.
  
  
• Service Learning Seattle:
  SOAR is joining the work of Service Learning Seattle, an existing coalition of providers, school district members, and service learning advocates who seek to increase networking, awareness, and quality around service learning in the Seattle area. Service Learning Seattle is considering becoming a SOAR Action Team.
  
  
• Subregional Organizing:
  SOAR is working with interested community members and leaders in each of the four subregions of King County (North, South, East, Seattle) to ensure that community members in each region are able to determine the strongest way for SOAR to support subregional, local efforts around the King County Action Agenda for School-Age Children and Youth. Each subregion is best suited to determine strategies and priorities for implementing Action Agenda goals within local communities. We are working with FACES groups to study their model and see how we might learn from their history of successful subregional and cross-regional organizing.
  
  
• White Center/Boulevard Park School Success Workgroup:
  The School Success Workgroup, a project of the Making Connections efforts in White Center/Boulevard Park, addresses issues relating to school-age children and youth in the White Center/Boulevard Park/Highline School District communities. A partnership of leaders, providers, and educators in this region, the School Success Work Group looks at strengthening out-of-school time in the community, increasing promising practices, improving cultural relevancy, and exploring other means to ensure children and youth succeed in school and in life.

We are considering new members for the School-Age Implementation Team as well as for the projects and pending action teams listed above. If you are interested, please Contact:

Debs Gardner, SOAR Staff
(206) 461-3771
dgardner@uwkc.org



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Learning Partners Group: Alignment Initiative of Seattle Public Schools

Alignment is a framework that guides how schools, school-based after-school programs, families, and communities work collectively to support the academic success and thriving of children and youth.  It is also a tool to ensure that schools and after-school programs complement the teaching and learning happening during the core school day.  The Alignment Initiative carries out this vision in aligned after school programs, 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CLCs), and wellness centers throughout the Seattle School District. 


The Seattle School District's Office for Community Learning leads the program. Experienced community organizations partner with the schools to operate aligned after-school programs in school sites. Program partners include YMCA, Seattle Parks and Recreation, Camp Fire USA, Boys & Girls Club, Tiny Tots, and Powerful Schools. The Alignment vision is guided by the Learning Partners oversight group, including representatives of Seattle Public Schools, School's Out Washington, SOAR, City of Seattle, Associated Recreation Council, Camp Fire USA, and Seattle Parks and Recreation.

More on Alignment

Contact:

Lisa M. Taylor, Seattle Public Schools
(206) 252-0125
lmtaylor@seattleschools.org

Meetings: Meets monthly during the school year, intermittently during summers.



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MULTICULTURAL YOUTH LEADERSHIP PROJECT

Multicultural Youth Leadership is SOAR's free curriculum module for youth professionals to address culture, leadership, identity and empowerment with diverse youth ages 14 to 18.

The curriculum is available for any program working on leadership skills with multi-ethnic young people ages 14 to 18. This curriculum module helps young people explore their own experiences of culture and leadership.

Youth engaged in this curriculum explore the complex relationships between leadership, choices and culture. They learn about mainstream, traditional and bridge-building leadership styles, and begin to build bridges in their own lives. In an age-appropriate way, youth also begin to have analysis of the complexities that take place as cultures, power, interaction, and leadership intersect. This curriculum is meant to be added on as a supplement to any basic youth leadership curriculum.

Multicultural Youth Leadership Website and Curriculum

Thanks to a grant from the Starbucks Foundation, SOAR is distributing the Multicultural Youth Leadership curriculum for FREE. For your copy, download the curriculum at www.childrenandyouth.org/youthleadership or via the contact information below.

Contact:

Debs Gardner, SOAR Staff
(206) 461-3771
dgardner@uwkc.org



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WASHINGTON AFTERSCHOOL NETWORK

The Washington Afterschool Network fosters statewide and regional partnerships to build and promote the field of out of school programming through systems development; greater awareness of key policy makers, stakeholders, and the public; quality improvements; and increased and sustainable funding.  In partnership with the Children's Alliance, WAN is increasing advocacy for improved public support for out of school programs.  WAN is also developing a statewide plan that will inform and connect with SOAR's efforts on behalf of school-age children and youth in King County.


More on the Washington Afterschool Network

Contact:

Janet Frieling, School's Out Washington
(206) 323-2396
frieling@schoolsoutwashington.org

Meetings: Meets quarterly



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