Supporting Those Who Support Our Youngest Learners

Ensuring our students thrive starts years before they reach their TK-12 classroom. Early childhood is a critical time of brain development.

That's why the Early Education department hosted a symposium last month that provided technical support, best practices, and chances to collaborate to nearly 250 people who lead early child care programs.

“Thank you SDCOE for allowing such an amazing day and being able to be part of the first year of this wonderful symposium,” one participant said about the Early Education Technical Symposium.

This work is particularly important because of the lack of early education care and services combined with the high cost of care.

“When writing the Child Care Workforce Investment Program grant application for the County of San Diego, I felt that technical assistance for new early education leaders was an unmet need locally,” said Dr. Rita Palet, executive director of Early Education Programs and Services. “There are virtual technical assistance sessions from the state, but limited in-person sessions where leaders can get together and collaborate and discuss their program needs and best practices to meet those needs.”

SDCOE received a grant from the county, which helps to fund the symposium for three years. For the inaugural symposium, early education leaders came from various settings, from center-based programs to family child care, including local educational agencies as well as public, private, and nonprofit agencies.

Having the event over two days allowed for providers from smaller facilities to come on Saturday so they wouldn’t miss any work during the week. Child care providers are some of our lowest-paid workers, yet work with our youngest, most vulnerable children, so providing this flexibility was key.

“Child care providers face a lack of staff, low wages, limited funding, and support for underserved families,” Palet added. “We wanted to connect them with resources to support all families in their care and to help them understand how to do so.”

Michelle West, community health promotion specialist with the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency, which funds the grant allowing for the symposium, said, “Every corner of this event was thoughtful and well-received by attendees.”