Committed to Quality, article by Claire Louge, First Things First

COMMITTED TO QUALITY
Prescott YMCA staff develop their professional skills at a Child Care Conference

On Saturday, April 9th, 54 child care professionals braved the unseasonably snowy weather to attend the Child Care Coalition Conference (CCCC) in Chino Valley. Conference participants were able to attend a variety of workshops on topics such as early childhood temperament, using recyclable resources in the classroom and teaching personal safety to young children. The conference was funded by First Things First, the statewide organization that works to ensure all young children are healthy and ready to succeed when they enter school. Many child care providers from the Prescott YMCA chose to attend the conference.
The CCCC provided early childhood educators with interesting workshops both to develop their professional skills and to fulfill training requirements. Kristi Summers, a child care provider at the Prescott YMCA who attended the conference, explained that the yearly training requirements for child care providers have increased from 12 hours to 18 hours. Though professional standards for early childhood educators have increased, it is sometimes difficult to find opportunities to fulfill these requirements. Attendees of the Child Care Coalition Conference were able to receive up to five credit hours for their participation.
“Working with children is a learning process” stated Alicia Craig, an early educator with the Prescott YMCA who attended the CCCC. The Prescott YMCA is enrolled in Quality First, a program funded by First Things First. Through Quality First, the YMCA receives regular visits from a consultant who provides support and guidance to improve the quality of their Child Care Center. “First Things First does a lot,” states Alicia, “Our consultant is very informative – she makes sure we know about child care trainings like these.”
Josh Taylor, also a child care professional with the Prescott YMCA, has attended past Child Care Coalition Conferences. “They’ve taught me a lot of neat tools,” he states. Josh has been able to put the information he’s learned into action- after he attended a workshop on music in the classroom at the CCCC last October, Josh was inspired to start a music program at the Prescott YMCA.
Quality Child Care is important. National research shows that children who are exposed to quality early education are 40% less likely to be held back a grade or to need special education, and are more likely to advance into college. Because quality child care starts with educated professionals, First Things First supports training opportunities such as the Child Care Coalition Conferences.
“It was great,” stated Alicia Craig after the conference was over. “It taught me age-appropriate activities, and how to help kids in our program succeed in school.” The Prescott YMCA staff has a commitment to creating a quality program for the young kids they serve. Through funding professional training opportunities like the CCCC, First Things First works to ensure all early educators have the tools they need to give all young children a quality early education.
To learn more about First Things First, who we are, why we do it, and why it’s important, please visit www.azftf.gov.