A total of 80 individual childcare providers representing 40 childcare programs participated in the 4 grants under the QCC umbrella this year. The grants include the IMPACT Legacy, Quality Improvement Grant (QIG), Workforce Pathways and QRIS CSPP grants. The QCC Humboldt Consortium is a long-term collaboration across many partners, including Humboldt County Office of Education, Changing Tides Family Services, First 5 Humboldt, Northcoast Children’s Services, College of the Redwoods, Cal Poly Humboldt, the Yurok Tribe and the Hoopa Valley Tribe. Each year childcare providers participate in hundreds of hours of professional development including in person and online offerings, and earn incentives from the grants that this year totaled $167, 045.
The following testimonials are from childcare providers who participated in one of the Quality Counts Humboldt Childcare Quality Improvement grants. These providers work in Tribal Childcare, Private Centers, State Preschool programs and Family Childcare Homes. While each grant targets a slightly different population, they all have the goal of encouraging professional development and Program Quality Improvement. Anecdotal feedback is not as easy to quantify as hard numbers are, but do give us a picture of not only the rich diversity of the childcare community in Humboldt, but also the value that childcare providers placed on their participation.
The last page also includes 2 responses from providers who participated in the IEEEP coaching opportunities this year. IEEEP (Inclusive Early Education Expansion Program) is aimed at increasing access to inclusive early learning and care settings for young children and offers training, coaching and other support to childcare providers as they expand services to children with special needs. IEEEP is a member of the QCC Consortium and is administered from the Humboldt County Office of Education.
QCC Testimonials:
“Good afternoon I just want to say that these trainings are the best things I’ve been taking. They help me learn a lot of information to prepare for our children and families. I will continue to share what I learned with them and our community. Thank you for letting me participate.”
-Sian, Tribal Childcare Center
“I participated in the QIG grant this year and it helped reignite my curiosity around reflective practice. It re-instilled the sense of community I feel in the early childhood world. Very rewarding and very practical application requirements.”
– Morgan, Family Childcare Provider
“Para mí el participar en estos programas me a apoyo tanto en aprendizaje de clases como. La recompensa de poder utilizar los beneficios de lo aprendido así como las ayudas monetarias que nos dan, son para poder mejorar las áreas y así poder brindar un cuidado tanto de aprendizaje como seguridad para los niños a mi cuidado. Los mejores beneficiarios son mis niños que están al cuidado mío. Les quiero agradecer por parte mía y mis dos profesores. Gracias por todo.”
“For me, participating in these programs has been a great help both in my classroom learning and beyond. The reward of being able to apply what I’ve learned, as well as the financial assistance we receive, allows me to improve various areas of my work and provide both educational support and a safe environment for the children in my care. The biggest beneficiaries are the children I look after. I want to thank you on behalf of myself and my two teachers. Thank you for everything.”
-Rosa, Family Childcare Provider
“Tener la oportunidad de ser parte de impact y QCC, me ha dado la oportunidad de atender entrenamientos increíbles, de la mano de maestros capacitados que comparten sus conocimientos con nosotros; es en verdad increíble para poder llevar ese conocimiento a mi family child care home. Me siento orgullo de lograr mis objetivos. Hubo momentos donde creí no lograrlo, pero siempre conté con el ánimo de mi coach. Espero de corazón el programa dure por más tiempo, y poder seguir aprendiendo de los mejores “
“Being part of Impact and QCC has given me the chance to attend incredible training sessions led by skilled instructors who share their knowledge with us; it’s truly amazing to be able to apply that knowledge at my family child care. I feel proud of achieving my goals. There were times when I thought I wouldn’t make it, but I always had the support of my coach. I sincerely hope the program continues for a long time so I can keep learning from the best”
-Roxana, Family Childcare Provider
”Winzler Children’s Center has proudly participated in the CSPP QRIS program for many years. The funding and support have helped us strengthen professional development, enhance family engagement, and continually improve program quality. We have also valued the connections made with other educators and the supportive, knowledgeable individuals involved in the program. As a program committed to providing high-quality early childhood education, we appreciate that the QRIS rating system helps recognize and validate the quality practices demonstrated throughout our entire program. QRIS has been a valuable partner in supporting our ongoing commitment to excellence.”
-Opal, State Preschool
“I participated in the grant to enhance the quality of my program and better support the children and families in my community. The coaching and training provided valuable guidance, encouragement, and tools that I was able to put into practice right away. The experience reinforced the importance of high-quality early learning environments and showed me how intentional improvements can have a lasting impact on children’s development and success. Thank you for all the work you … put into this.”
-Maria, Family Childcare Provider
“As I sit here to write this thank you letter for the Pathways grant that I will be receiving, I am reflecting on the professional growth I have made this year. A lot of it inspired by this grant!
In past, I would tell myself, I don’t have time to do more training than I am already required to do. Well, was I wrong. I dug in and surprised myself in many ways. I always knew that no matter how old we are (I am 66 years old) we can always learn more. Especially in the ever-changing world of early childhood. Many of the trainings I attended were after a long day’s work and on weekends. It wasn’t easy but well worth it. This grant enabled me to expand my growth in the world of, Inclusion, the Arts, DRDP, and many other areas of ECE. The information I took in was vast! It has helped me look at the “whole child”, not just the areas I think are important. Things like using rhythms to relate to children that do not have language. How to ask questions that help a child think for themself, instead of, “Let me show you.” I am a much stronger teacher than before because the grant made me “go for it.” Another bonus, because of this grant, I can take the summer off! Normally I would work summer school because I needed the extra money. This summer I get to enjoy the fruits of my labor! I’m so looking forward to this!! I get to take a good long break and rejuvenate, I need this! In closing, now I know that I can do it, and I am inspired to go out of my comfort zone and continue to learn all I can to make me a more well-rounded teacher.”
(With gratitude and warm regards) -Lynn, State Preschool
“I HOPE THIS ISN’T TOO LATE- SUMMER IS SO BUSY BUT SO BEAUTIFUL. I WOULD LIKE TO STATE THAT THE GRANT GAVE ME COMMUNITY AND ACCEPTANCE. IT ABSOLUTELY VALIDATED MY LOVE FOR CHILDREN. LEARNING FROM OTHERS’ WAYS TO COPE. I AM SO GRATEFUL TO BE A PART OF THIS. THANK YOU🎆🥞🍩🪇🌹🌞🐓”
-Leslie, Family Childcare Provider
“I chose to do this about autism because I wanted to gain more information to help the children in my classroom and I ended up having 2 autistic children in my circle time group while I was learning and I was able to implement some of the ideas and practices in my circle time group with the 2 autistic children I work with. It ended up being very beneficial and it was great to use what I was learning directly in the classroom.”
-Corina, Private Childcare Center
“I participated in this stipend opportunity because of a dual benefit–I was compensated to learn! Improving my skills working to be more effective in communicating with children and guiding them toward accessing social and educational resources is rewarding in and of itself. However, being an infant teacher means sustaining total engagement with the infants in my care throughout the whole workday. Compensation for extra focused work after hours is a powerful motivator that continues to open my mind to ideas (gleaned both from talking with other teachers and from course work) and reinforces the concept that being a teacher also means being a consistent and life-long student.”
-Vanessa, Private Childcare Center
IEEEP Coaching Network Participants
“IEEEP coaching has been such a valuable part of my Family Childcare. My IEEEP coach worked with me to be more inclusive of a child with special needs at my daycare. Weekly, we created goals and solved problems in my daycare. We took training sessions on Universal Design for Learning and Inclusive Classrooms. Together, we provided toys and activities that met the needs of the children. I learned so much and will continue to use what I learned this year in the future. Thank you to the IEEEP team who served the childcares in our community this year.”
-Anna, Family Childcare Provider
“I truly value the IEEEP program and believe the coaches are an essential resource in our community. I can’t sing the praises enough of my positive experience with coach Carole Porter. She has been consistently supportive, insightful, and encouraging throughout this process together. She has supplied me with resources and solutions to use daily in the classroom. We met weekly and she has assisted in getting three of my students assessed and services which were so needed. Through her guidance, both myself and my staff I have become more open and more aware of children’s individual needs, which has strengthened our approach in the classroom. This support has made a meaningful difference in how we connect with and respond to the children and families we serve. Please continue to support this important work and thank you to all the IEEEP staff. We don’t have to go at this work alone when we have programs like this one to help us.”
-Nina, Family Child Care Provider