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First Friday addresses early learning

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PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) —- Whenever industries consider relocating to Bay County, they consider the quality of education that’s available for their worker’s families.

That’s one of the reasons business leaders with the Bay County Chamber of Commerce created a task force this year to address a shortage of early education resources.

The early learning coalition told chamber members at the First Friday event, that more than 50 percent of 3rd graders are reading below grade level.

Experts said the lack of early learning plays a role in those lower scores. 

Early Learning Coalition Executive Director Suzan Gage also points out the long-term effects on the workforce.

“So child care and early learning specifically is like a coin two-sided,” Gage said. “You got to have child care so parents today can go to work, support their families. And you also need high-quality early learning child care in order to prepare the future workforce. So you got to have both of them can’t have one without the other.”

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Free family program offers development screenings for children

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By COLLIN BREAUX November 2, 2023

[email protected]

Parents of young and growing children may wonder if their child is on the autistic spectrum or if they are developing in a healthy way–and looking for assistance resources.

Help Me Grow Northwest Florida is able to provide such screening and referral services. The free and confidential program is available to families in Washington and Holmes counties–as well as Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, and Jackson counties.

Developmental screenings are available for children under nine years old. Parents can complete an online screening and learn more information at ScreeningsHelpMeGrow.org. 

“We help families monitor their child’s development,” Help Me Grow Northwest Florida Early Childhood Care Coordination Manager Alyssa Gray said. “If there is a need, we make a referral.”

Screenings allow parents to see where their kids are on the developmental path and monitoring children can help parents see how their young ones are growing, Gray said. 

Addressing developmental challenges early is important since much of an individual’s physical and mental formation takes place early, she said. A recent survey of registered voters in Northwest Florida found that 8 in 10 residents agree that developmental screenings are critical to making sure children are on the right developmental path, according to a news release.

A lot of concern is had regarding children being on the autistic spectrum, according to Gray. One of their screenings checks for autism in toddlers.

Several families who have used Help Me Grow have “walked through that journey,” Gray said. One mother in particular has learned to embrace “new parenting models” after learning her child was autistic. 

“Some of our greatest success are giving mom and dad peace of mind that their child is developing well,” Gray said.

Help Me Grow is “parent-driven” and does not tell parents what they’re doing is wrong or how to handle their child’s unique needs, she said.

“Working with these families early on can change the trajectory of their child’s development,” Gray said. 

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The Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida wraps up Operation Kaleidoscope

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PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) – When Hurricane Michael devastated the panhandle in 2018, most buildings in its path were damaged or destroyed. Childcare facilities and classrooms were not spared.

Like many places, The Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida knows what it was like to rebuild after Hurricane Michael.

So, in 2019, when the nonprofit received a $7.4 million federal childcare development grant, they created “Operation Kaleidoscope”.

“When we applied for the funds, we decided that we wanted to use those that several million dollars for a broad range of services to help child care centers you know, get back get back up and running,” said The Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida Administrative Director Matt Bonner.

They spread the money out to more than three dozen damaged daycare centers and hundreds of classrooms across the coalition’s seven-county service area.

$1.3 million buys books, furniture, and other learning tools in 339 different classrooms.

“We were able to use that to replace all of those materials again as well as reimburse providers for either they didn’t have insurance or what insurance wouldn’t cover we were able to reimburse them for their repairs and renovations,” Bonner said.

The rebuilding process from Hurricane Michael was a high-stress time for people of all ages.

The Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida spent $2.8 million rebuilding playgrounds at 42 different childcare centers.

Nearly every childcare center that got damaged or was forced to close is back up and running.
Now, that Operation Kaleidoscope is coming to a close, the coalition is planning a new venture called Help-Me-Grow.

“It’s a little bit of everything. It starts with a child screening. So, we have specialists that can go and walk it, walk through with a family. What we use is called the ages and stages questionnaire tool and we just gauge the development of the children,” Bonner said.

The program will measure a child’s development process to make sure they get the help they need as early as possible.

Any childcare facility in need of assistance can contact the coalition.
The hotline number is (850) 747-5400

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OPERATION KALEIDOSCOPE FIVE YEARS AFTER HURRICANE MICHAEL

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ELCNWF Restores Normalcy to Young Children Through Learning and Play

Panama City, FL – In 2019, the Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida (ELCNWF) was awarded and used $7.4 million in disaster recovery funds to assist Hurricane Michael recovery. With this funding, Operation Kaleidoscope was launched by ELCNWF to rebuild childcare indoor and outdoor environments, provide mental health resources, and create growth and expansion opportunities for childcare providers in Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, and Washington Counties.

Joyce’s Learning Center is one of many childcare facilities to benefit from Operation Kaleidoscope. The facility was brand-new in October 2018 and ready to welcome staff and children to the facility when they were dealt a crippling blow. “Hurricane Michael hit and everything was destroyed,” said owner Joyce Caldwell. “We had to rebuild everything, inside and outside. The funding we received from ELCNWF made our rebuild possible.”

Like Joyce’s Learning Center, many of the childcare providers in the region suffered damage to their outdoor playgrounds as a result of the storm. Playground equipment, shade structures, and trees were lost, resulting in a loss of outdoor play spaces for children. In December 2022, thanks to Operation Kaleidoscope, the playground at Joyce’s Learning Center reopened, better than ever.
Playgrounds are important for all children, but they’re critically important for children who need to de-stress and work through traumatic events. To meet this need, over $2.85 million has been spent to rebuild playgrounds at childcare centers. New outdoor play structures have been installed at 42 childcare centers in ELCNWF’s service area.

Of equal importance is restoring indoor classroom learning environments. Over $1.35 million was allocated to 339 classrooms that received books, furniture, and other tools to promote learning and over $524K has been disbursed to childcare centers for repair and renovation reimbursements. The funding also increased childcare availability and sustainability by creating additional spaces for children.

“The Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida is proud of Operation Kaleidoscope and the sense of normalcy it brought to the children affected by Hurricane Michael in 2018 and then by the pandemic in 2020,” said Executive Director Suzan Gage. “It is vital for children to have spaces where they can bounce back from life’s challenges through safely playing, connecting, and learning. Supporting the mental health needs of children, families, and their caregivers is also a top priority for ELCNWF.”

With this mental health priority in place, a program called Help Me Grow Florida was brought to the Northwest Florida region to offer support and resources for child developmental screenings; and mental health services were expanded to meet the needs of children, parents/caregivers, childcare teachers, and childcare directors. The free screenings benefited over 1,400 children and more than 2,600 hours of therapy was provided.

“This initiative in rebuilding childcare classrooms and playgrounds in Northwest Florida is so important to our recovery,” said Jeanne Hitchcock, ELCNWF Executive Board member and owner of Along the Way Learning Center in Jackson County. “As a parent and Hurricane Michael survivor, I have witnessed first-hand the impact restoring normalcy to classrooms and play areas has on not just children, but entire families.”

For more information on Operation Kaleidoscope or for media availability contact Communications and Development Director, Tami Valdez at (850) 625-8882.

Save $50 on Florida Prepaid Savings Plan!

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As your family settles into the first semester of this school year – juggling new routines, afterschool schedules and homework assignments – our partner, the Florida Prepaid College Board, is offering you a $50 incentive to save early for one of your child’s most important academic expenses – college and other postsecondary education.

Florida Prepaid will contribute $50 into new 529 Savings Plan accounts opened between September 5, 2023 and October 29, 2023. A Florida 529 Savings Plan is an investment account that provides a flexible and tax-free way to save for college expenses including tuition, fees, room, board, books, and supplies. A Florida 529 Savings Plan is an increasingly popular college savings vehicle because it offers so many options for how much families can save – and where they use their savings:

  • Control. You can save what you want, when you want, and set up automatic payments for as little as $25/month.
  • Simplicity. Open your account for free, choose your investment options, and start saving immediately.
  • Flexibility. Use for college and qualified K-12 education expenses with tax-free growth.

With a Florida 529 Savings Plan, watch your money grow into a robust college savings fund for your child’s future. Take advantage of this new school year to get a head start on their future college savings.

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Bay County officials work to fix childcare shortage

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BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) — The nationwide childcare shortage is affecting Bay County families, but the Bay County Chamber of Commerce is stepping in to help.

“There’s waitlists. I mean, honestly, they’re having trouble finding a space for their child to go every single day,” Education Services Director for the Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida Lindsey Holmes said.

Holmes said despite 8 new daycares opening since Hurricane Michael, Some families are still left without a place to send their kids.

“Parents are seeking alternative forms of child care that could be a family member,” Holmes said. “They might be hiring a nanny. I don’t know. But we know that those children don’t have a place to go right now. “

In anticipation of thousands of airmen and their families expected to move to Tyndall in the coming years, the airforce has built a childcare center that can hold up to 300 little ones.

It’s not open yet, but there’s already a waiting list.

“Both military bases leaders said, ‘Hey, we have a problem,” Bay County Chamber of Commerce Chairman Kyle Shoots said. “We need help and we’re there.’ They came to the chamber today. Is this something you guys can help us with?

Shoots said they’re working with both the public and private sectors to help make childcare more available.

“Think when you start dealing with childcare, you start dealing with a lot of different regulations,” Shoots said. “You start dealing with different organizations that monitor and set standards for that. And I think right now our focus is getting the right people to the table to figure out how do we cut that red tape.”

While it’ll take time for these changes to take effect Holmes said there are things parents can do in the meantime.

“Get on all of the wait lists. If they want to go to a childcare center every single day,” Holmes said. “They, they need to get on that list as soon as possible.” 

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