January Partner News
Final 2017 Attendance Deadline – January 22, 2018
Our tuition credit payment policy states that schools have until the 20th of the month to submit their attendance for tuition credit payment following the close of the month.
Any attendance for December must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. Monday, Jan. 22 order to be eligible for tuition credit reimbursement for the month. Attendance not submitted by this time will result in forfeiture of the associated funds as DPP will be closing its financial books for 2017.
Our user-friendly Attendance Reporting Form can be found by clicking here for a Word version and here for an Excel version. Completed attendance forms should be submitted to:
Denver Preschool Program
P.O. Box 40037
Denver, CO 80204-0037
Fax: 303.295.1750
Email: attendance@dpp.org
Rocky Mountain Early Childhood Conference
Online registration for the 2018 Rocky Mountain Early Childhood Conference (RMECC) March 16 and 17 at the Colorado Convention Center is now open. This two-day conference, which attracts a broad range of professionals representing the many fields that impact early childhood, offers a variety of interactive sessions that focus on the whole child, parent involvement and community engagement. Attendees can earn up to six hours of ongoing training credits each day and can register for just Friday, just Saturday or both days. As a reminder, directors and teachers/assistant teachers in a DPP classroom can use their quality improvement dollars to pay for the cost of the training.
To view the complete schedule, workshop descriptions and additional program details, visit www.rmecconference.com/RMECC18.
Next DPP Forum is on February 24
Thank you to everyone who has already registered for part three of the four-part series on Saturday, Feb. 24, which will focus on Communication Practices That Build Family Capacity. Please click here to register, we welcome new attendees that could not make it to previous Forums.
Below are the remaining training dates and topics for this year’s Forum series about effective family-school partnerships. The upcoming trainings will focus on implementing two-way communication between schools and families, and individualizing family engagement to the unique cultural and linguistic needs of each family.
Saturday, Feb. 24: Communication Practices that Build Family Capacity
Saturday, April 14: Differentiating Family Support: Equitable Strategies to Meet the Needs of All Families
Click here for full details and descriptions for each training in the series, and contact chris@dpp.org with any questions. We look forward to seeing you there!
Preparing for Your Next Colorado Shines Rating
It’s hard to believe, but Colorado Shines launched nearly three years ago and many programs will be receiving their second Colorado Shines Level 3-5 assessment this spring. We want to remind DPP programs of the many resources available to help you prepare for their rating:
Your coach: DPP directly funds 10 coaching hours to Denver County DPP programs that are receiving their Colorado Shines rating this school year. Please reach out to your coach directly to schedule these hours, or contact chris@dpp.org if you have any questions related to your available coaching.
Your QI navigator: Your program’s QI Navigator at Denver’s Early Childhood Council is an expert in helping your program understand how to upload documentation to both the Professional Development Information System and the Colorado Shines website. Please reach out to them at any time with questions.
Learning Labs: Denver’s Early Childhood Council offers periodic learning labs to assist directors and teachers with in-person documentation uploading assistance.
Colorado Shines website: One of the most important things you can do is closely read the Colorado Shines Evidence Document as it shows exactly what the rating team looks for when decided whether or not your program will earn points for each section. The Evidence Document and other helpful Colorado Shines resources can be found here: http://coloradoshines.force.com/programs?p=Program-Resources
Colorado Shines and PDIS Help Desks: The Colorado Department of Education and Colorado Department of Human Resources both offer email and phone assistance with questions. Please don’t hesitate to contact them at 1-844-447-4441, cdhs_coshines@state.co.us or PDISHelp@cde.state.co.us
Please contact chris@dpp.org or 303-819-6805 if any additional resources will be helpful.
Marketing Your Preschool Using Influencers
Engaging local influencers can be an effective way to reach out to prospective parents for your early learning center. Influencers are individuals who are familiar with your school whose opinion would be valued by others. They can be elected officials, neighborhood or religious leaders or parents who are known in your community.
Influencer marketing involves tapping those people who know and like your preschool and are willing to lend their name and endorsement to support a marketing effort.
Follow these tips to boost your outreach via influencer marketing:
Tip #1: Choose Your Goal or Need
Your goal could be raising awareness about your program or to remind prospective parents that it is time to select a preschool for their child.
Tip # 2: Identify Your Influencers
They can be local community leaders, such as a member of your neighborhood organization, a religious leader for preschools affiliated with a church, synagogue, mosque or other place-of-worship, a leader from Denver Public Schools, your library branch or a satisfied parent.
Tip #3: Engage Them as an Ally
Meet and determine whether and how they are comfortable having their name and photo associated with your center or family child care home. You can draft an article after meeting to check with them on their edits and approval.
Tip #4 Develop Content
Develop features for your website or your email newsletter highlighting a satisfied parent. Include a quote about how your school has helped their child grow. Also, a leader could comment on how your program positively affects the quality of life in the community. Other ways you can use influencers:
Quotes and photos for your Facebook page
Stories for neighborhood newspapers or newsletters
Tip #5: Develop a Timeline
Time certain elements to the enrollment cycle (i.e. fall for parents of 3-year-olds to start thinking about preschool).
Tip #6: Measure Its Effectiveness
Determine some ways to measure impact. For example, are you getting more calls after a story appears in print or on your website? Are you getting more parents calling you through dpp.org or your school’s website?
Every early learning center knows people who are enthusiastic about the services their child or a neighbor has received. Influencer marketing is a nice way to harness your supporters to share with the community what great services you provide.
February 2018 Trainings
The Denver Preschool Program training calendar can be accessed anytime on our website by clicking here. We hope you will take advantage of these offerings.
Please click here for the January – March training catalog, with complete training descriptions, dates and locations:
The following trainings are just a few of the wide-range of trainings available at no cost to you and your staff:
Preventing Challenging Behavior Professional Learning Community (PLC)
Date and time: Thursdays, Feb. 1 and 15, 2018 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Denver Public Schools Early Education Trainings (you do not have to work at Denver Public Schools to attend): Topics include Math in Early Childhood, Family Engagement, Managing the Effects of Stress, Culturally Responsive Education, Language Development and Provoking Children’s Thinking across Learning Spaces
Date and time: Friday, Feb. 2 from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Teaching Intentionally in the Interest Areas of the Creative Curriculum
Date and time: Friday, Feb. 2, 2018 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Authentic Assessment: Making Connections with Children Professional Learning Community (PLC)
Dates and time: Mondays, Feb. 5, 12 and 26, 2018, time TBD
Future Leaders Part II Professional Learning Community (PLC)
Dates and time: Wednesdays, Feb. 7, 21 and 28, 2018 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Quarterly Licensing Forum
Date and time: Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018 from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Good to Great CLASS® Module 2: Classroom Organization
Date and time: Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Implementing Teaching Strategies GOLD Online (English and Spanish)
Dates and time: Friday-Saturday, Feb. 9 and 10, 2018 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Director’s Professional Learning Community (PLC)
Date and time: Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2018 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Family Child Care Professional Learning Community (PLC)
Date and time: Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Interpreting and Using Teaching Strategies GOLD Report Data for Administrators
Dates and time: Friday, Feb. 16, 2018 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Director’s Toolbox: The Right Fit
Dates and time: Wednesdays, Feb. 21 and 28, 2018 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
De Bueno a Excelente: Información General - Prácticas eficaces de enseñanza para los estudiantes del Siglo XXI
Date and time: miercoles, 21 de febrero, 2018, 6:00 p.m. a 8:00 p.m.
Good to Great CLASS® Module 3: Instructional Support
Date and time: Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
DPP Preschool Forum: Communication Practices that Build Family Capacity
Date and time: Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Registration available at https://dpp.org/news/forum
Curriculum and Play: Making the Most out of Center Time
Date and time: Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2018 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
De Bueno a Excelente: Apoyo Emocional (CLASS® Modulo 1)
Date and time: miercoles, Feb. 28, 2018 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Registration for all trainings is available online at ecconnect.ecclacolorado.org
Happy DPP Anniversary to YOU!
Congratulations to everyone celebrating their anniversary of joining DPP in the month of January. We greatly appreciate your partnership. If you see your name below, be on the lookout for a special ‘thank you’ arriving soon…we look forward to celebrating another group next month!
10 years Montessori Children's House of Denver - Mayfair Campus
10 years Stepping Stones Learning Center
10 years Venture For Success
10 years Daddy Mom Daycare
9 years First Steps at Monarch Montessori
9 years AOD Good Shepherd Catholic School
8 years Larks Preschool
7 years High Point Academy
5 years Where Dreams Begin Learning Center
5 years Gan Chaya Esther Preschool
3 years Denver Child Care Center 2
2 years DPS Bromwell
2 years DPS Joe Shoemaker School
2 years Academy 360
2 years Reach Charter School
2 years Highline Academy Northeast
