This past Saturday the Transition to Kindergarten initiative hosted a Teacher's Talk on balancing academic content with developmental context. These talks, for Durham kindergarten and pre-kindergarten teachers, are meants to open the lines of communication between the two levels of educators and foster discussion around transition activities and obstacles.

This talk presented teachers with detailed information on the common core standards for kindergarteners in English language arts and mathematics as well as the early learning standards for North Carolina preschoolers. The teachers were given time for group work and discussion on aligning kindergarten standards with the preschool foundations and how this will affect transition. They were also given resources on age-appropriate approaches to learning across various domains, and ideas for transition to kindergarten activities. Activities like summer transition camp, school open houses, and playdates with future classmates can ease rising kindergarteners' anxieties about entering a new school by familiarizing them with the people and environment they'll see in the fall.

Teachers left the session with greater knowledge of the core standards and ideas for alignment that they can bring back to their schools and share with other faculty. The information shared at this talk, along with the connections formed between teachers, will help to ensure that rising kindergarteners in Durham have a smooth and successful transition.

The Transition to Kindergarten Initiative is supported through funding from the Morgan Creek Foundation and Wells Fargo Foundation, and implemented in collaboration with Durham Public Schools. Click here to learn more about this initiative.

Last Thursday night, Durham's Partnership for Children collaborated with MomsRising of North Carolina to host a Pizza and Paper Dolls Party at White Rock Baptist Church. Local families with young children came out to enjoy dinner and create life-size paper dolls of the children. The dolls will be displayed for the legislators as a reminder of the critical role high quality early care and education programs play in the future of our state. The dolls will be installed on May 23rd in front of the General Assembly. We hope legislators will recognize our message, that while the dolls may be two-dimensional, our children are not. North Carolina families support the quality early learning programs it takes to raise well-rounded children in our state.

Families were able to convey this message to two of our local leaders directly. With Representative Michaux and Senator McKissick in attendance, MomsRising and the Partnership had the chance to present them each with a paper doll covered in messages from families about their hopes for the early childhood system.

If you're looking for a way to get involved with early childhood, consider attending the Children's Advocacy Day this Thursday, May 17th. The day, organized by Action for Children and the United Way, will include training on key issues, guest speakers, and an opportunity to visit the legislators. For more information on the Children's Advocacy Day, click here.

For updates and details on the May 23rd installation of the paper dolls, keep following the Blog and check out our Facebook page!

Last week many members of the Partnership staff had the opportunity to attend the 2012 National Smart Start Conference in Greensboro, NC. Durham's Partnership for Children had the chance to share some of our successes with Faith Initiative Coordinator Winnie Morgan presenting a workshop called "Faith in Our Future: Mobilizing the Faith Community to Embrace Early Childhood as a Community Priority," while Executive Director Laura Benson and Board member Derwin Dubose presented on "Securing Political Support in Challenging Times."

After four days of workshops on everything from family support to early health, the conference concluded with a celebration lunch. The lunch included a roundtable discussion featuring Major General Charles Luckey, Assistant to the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff for Reserve Matters, Bill Shore, Chair of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute of Competitive Workforce Development, and Linda Smith, Deputy Assistant and Interdepartmental Liaison for Early Childhood Development, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Their discussion centered around the key role of early childhood in developing our nation's human capital and ensuring that we will remain a competitive force in the years to come. Bill Shore spoke to the need for quality early care to prepare children for success in school and life, thus preparing a competitive workforce for corporate America. He encouraged corporations to invest in early childhood as they will surely benefit from the well-educated and driven workers that will result. Major General Luckey addressed the issue of early care and education as one of national security. With fewer than 1 in 4 people between the ages of 18 and 25 eligible to enlist in the military today, it is clear that many children are not getting the foundation they need in their earliest years. Not providing our young children and their families with the support and resources they need today means that we are putting our ability to be a competitive military force at risk for tomorrow.

Linda Smith emphasized the need for leaders in early childhood to come up with concrete plans. Rather than waiting for funding to come to us, we need to ask for exactly what we need, clearly laying out what we plan to do and the benefits that will follow. We need to mobilize and energize the public for early childhood, making it not merely an issue, but a movement.

To learn more about the National Smart Start Conference, click here.

The North Carolina Association for the Education of Young Children will be holding their 59th Annual Conference in Raleigh from September 13-15, 2012. The theme of the conference is "Lead Where You're Located." Early childhood professionals will be encouraged to reflect upon and strenghten their practice, share their knowledge and expertise, promote standards of excellence, and demonstrate and advocate for the critical role of early care and education.

By taking advantage of every leadership opportunity, we can ensure that North Carolina's children and families have access to the resources and support they need, and that we are advocating for early childhood professionals across the state.

To learn more about the conference or to register, click here.

Durham's Partnership for Children is partnering with MomsRising to throw a party for parents and kids to get together for pizza and paper dolls on Thursday, May 10 from 5-7:30PM at White Rock Baptist Church.

As parents and early childhood professionals, we know how critical affordable, quality early child care, access to preschool, and early learning programs are for all North Carolina families.

To call attention to the importance of children's issues, MomsRising is organizing a creative action for the May legislative session- "Toddlers Create Life-Size Paper Dolls to Encourage Legislators to Stand Up for Early Learning." MomsRising will display the dolls at the NC General Assembly along with facts, quotes from parents, and other information on the importance of early learning.

The message will be that while the dolls may be two-dimensional, our children are not. Well-rounded, quality care is critical to the future of each child in North Carolina. Join us on Thursday, May 10 to show our legislators that NC mothers and families support funding quality early learning programs. We'll supply dinner, paper dolls, and lots of fun! All you need ot bring is your child!

Thursday, May 10th 5-7:30PM
White Rock Baptist Church, 3400 Fayetteville St, Durham, NC 27707
RSVP to Beth@momsrising.org
Questions? Contact Beth at Beth@momsrising.org or 919.323.6179

We would like to thank the Durham City Council for recognizing this week as the Week of the Young Child. A Proclamation was read and our public service announcement was shown at the City Council meeting on April 16th.

We also want to thank the Durham Board of County Commissioners for proclaiming this week as the Week of the Young Child at their April 23rd meeting.

The proclamation emphasizes the work of Durham's Partnership for Children, Child Care Services Assocation and all of our partners in serving children and their families during the critical early years. Birth to 5 is when the foundation for all later success in school and life is laid, and the proclamations urge the Durham community to recognize the importance of high quality early childhood programs for all children.

Thanks to our local goverment partners for helping to direct public attention to early childhood. We are excited to see the community of Durham continue to make young children a priority during this week and beyond!

In these difficult economic times, have you ever considered an investment in early childhood as a way to help turn the tide? An investment in early childhood is in fact one of the strongest you can make, with every $1 returning up to $17. Children who experience high quality care and education in their earliest years are more likely to graduate high school, attend college, and find gainful employment, escaping the cycle of poverty. They are less likely to commit crimes, require remedial training or corrective solutions, be unemployed, rely on federal assistance, become teen parents or abuse drugs.

A guest colum by North Carolina Partnership for Children Board member and Senior Vice President of Mechanics & Farmers Bank, Harold Sellars, appeared in last Sunday's Herald-Sun addressing the economic impact of early childhood in Durham. He discussed the jobs and revenue created by the early childhood system in Durham, along with the support it provides to working families. Harold tied this issue to the Week of the Young Child theme, "Early Years are Learning Years," stressing that the early education of our young children today will result in a more competent workforce in 2030. Harold encouraged community members to show their support of early childhood by attending restaurant fundraisers to benefit Durham's Partnership for Children this week.

To read the full column, click here.

For more information on the Week of the Young Child fundraising events, click here.

The Week of the Young Child has arrived! This week, themed "Early Years are Learning Years," is a time to focus public attention on the needs of young children and their families, and to recognize the programs that serve them.

As part of the celeration, Durham's Partnership for Children held a Week of the Young Child Poster Contest. We have received hundreds of entries, and to determine the winner we brought together a diverse group of staff and Board judges. Today, we are pleased to announce the winners and top entries for our categories, 4 and 5 year olds. Our 4 year old winner is Sam M., followed by top entries by Danica L. and Marliana P. For 5 year olds our winner is Owen D., with top entries by Deen S. and Jordan H. Each of our winners will be receiving a library of 15 early childhood books! To view our top 25 entries, check out the "WOYC Poster Contest" album on the Partnership Facebook page. We thank of all of the children and child care centers who participated for making our first poster contest a success! 

You can help the Partnership celebrate this week by attending our restaurant fundraising events. A portion of the proceeds from these events will go to Durham's youngest learners. We thank these local businesses for supporting early childhood in Durham:

Monday, April 23rd 5PM-10PM: Alivia’s Durham Bistro
900 W Main St • Durham, NC 27701
Tuesday, April 24th 5PM-7PM: Bull City Burger & Brewery
107 E Parrish St • Suite 105 • Durham, NC 27701
Wednesday, April 25th All Day: Vita
2200 W Main St • B130 • Durham, NC 27705
Thursday, April 26th All Day: Dos Perros
200 N Mangum St • Durham, NC 27701
Friday, April 27th All Day: Sweet Frog (Be sure to mention the Partnership when you pay for your order!)
6917 Fayetteville St • #103 • Durham, NC 27713

This week (April 15-21, 2012) is National Volunteer Week. The week is about inspiring, recognizing, and encouraging people to seek out new ways to engage in their communities. It is a time for taking action, urging individuals and their communities to be a part of social change, and to demonstrate the power in volunteers of positive transformation.

The Volunteer Center of Durham took time to celebrate volunteers throughout Durham and Orange Counties this week. At their Key Volunteer Recognition Ceremony on Monday, more than 15 awards were presented to all kinds of volunteers, from youths to seniors, individuals to groups, and faith-based to corporate. We congratulate all of the winners and nominees recognized at this event. To read more about the Key Volunteer awards, click here.

At Durham's Partnership for Children we are fortunate to have many volunteers contributing to our mission in a variety of ways. On our Board of Directors, as well as our Allocations, Community Awareness, Evaluation, Executive, Finance, Investment, NC Pre-K, and School Readiness Committees, members lend their expertise and passion for early childhood to governing and guiding our organization.

Moreover, every year we have interns who work closely with our Program and Evaluation department on special projects. Volunteers in our "Readers as Leaders" program read to young children in child care centers throughout Durham several times each month. Many of our volunteers go above and beyond the bounds of their role, getting involved with other programs and helping out with events like our NC Pre-K application blitz and Barnes & Noble wrapping day. Some of our community initiatives, such as the Early Childhood Faith Initiative, would not be possible without the hard work of the many community volunteers that guide our work.

The Partnership is always in need of more volunteers. This spring, we'll need volunteers to help assemble our "Blast Off to Kindergarten" kits for rising kindergarteners. We are also happy to host group events for corporate volunteers. Whether you are interested in anything from providing administrative support to working directly with the children we serve, we can find a volunteer role for you with the Partnership. To learn more about our volunteer activities, click here.

We would like to thank all of our volunteers for the extremely valuable work they do. Our volunteers make a world of difference in the lives of young children across Durham County. 

The Partnership, in collaboration with Durham Public Schools, has selected 9 recipients of the Transition to Kindergarten mini-grants. These grants support the planning and implementation of transition activities targeted at families with children entering kindergarten this fall. The goal of these grants is to foster collaboration between elementary school and early childhood educators around transition to kindergarten.

The recipients of more than $5,000 in funding include George Watts Montessori, Bethesda Elementary School, Early Explorers Playschool, Spring Valley Elementary School, RN Harris Integrated Arts Magnet School, Fayetteville St Elementary School, Oak Grove Elementary School, Holt Elementary School, and Little River Elementary School. Each recipient is partnering with another early childhood center or elementary school to bridge the gap between these two levels of education.

The winning proposals include plans for activities such as ice cream socials, school open houses, playground picnics and kindergarten camps. These activities give families the opportunity to do things like tour their child's future school, register for kindergarten, meet school personnel, and observe kindergarten classrooms. The activities aim to engage children and their families in the kindergarten experience to build excitement while also easing their anxiety about the coming fall.

We would like to thank all of the programs who applied for funding and congratulate our grant recipients. We look forward to seeing these exciting and creative projects in action in the coming months.

Durham's Partnership for Children received funding from Wells Fargo and Morgan Creek Foundation to support rising kindergarteners through Transition mini-grants and additional Transition to Kindergarten activities. To learn more about the Transition to Kindergarten Initiative, click here.