Innovations Community Of Practice

2020-21 Cohort

2020-21 Innovations Community of Practice

The Innovations Community of Practice is a collaborative effort. It is designed to be a space to:

  • Learn from each other
  • Network and share experiences
  • Share ideas, strategies, resources, etc.
  • Provide collegial support and guidance
  • Develop personally/professionally, and advance the practice of family engagement

The Innovations Community of Practice is an informal group comprised of early educators, parent educators, and early childhood administrators. We will be focusing on collectively problem solving the challenges related to COVID and sharing the unique innovations communities are developing in response to the identified challenges.

2020-21 Innovations Community of Practice - RESOURCES

COVID PE PROJECT

MN COVID Parent Ed Project:
Katy Smith explains in this video the MN COVID Parent Ed Project.

Need statement: Due to COVID, ECFE programs across the state are facing challenges:

  • Staffing cuts and/or shortages
  • Lost space
  • Technology barriers
  • Low participation numbers
  • Gap between needs of families and resources available

Goal of MNAFEE/MDE parent education project: Bolster parent education statewide by offering pre-recorded webinars or podcasts developed by licensed parent educators on topics relevant to parenting during a pandemic.

How?
Offer 6-8 lessons to programs statewide, lesson plans to include suggested discussion guides and/or questions
Individual districts offer the lessons through their program; registrations and fees are managed by individual districts
Programs offer follow-up conversations led by local professionals; conversations are tailored to individual community needs and families
Programs offer follow-up conversations several times (morning, afternoon, evening), giving families several options to participate.

Considerations:
Develop topics specific to parenting during a pandemic—such as sleep, parenting while working from home, etc.
Offer lessons in languages other than English; use of bilingual staff or interpreter

Note:

Questions may be directed to:
Kelly Kazeck su.nm.etats|kcezaK.ylleK#su.nm.etats|kcezaK.ylleK
Katy Smith moc.liamg|216htims.ytak#moc.liamg|216htims.ytak
Dr. Monica Potter gro.spps|rettop.acinom#gro.spps|rettop.acinom