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Local veterans raise money for kids with crawfish boil
PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) — Some local veterans are doing their part to make life better for area children.
The American Legion Post 393 partnered with The Crawfish Kings Friday evening for their first-ever crawfish boil and bike ride.
They hoped to raise around $2,000 for the Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida.
The money will go to fund reading, mental health, and inclusion programs for children up to the age of 5.
Early Learning Coalition Communications and Development Director Tami Valdez says this event will really help the kids.
“This is new for us, but we’re happy to get any support that we can get and the recognition for early learning,” Valdez said. “It’s such an important thing to make sure our children are ready to learn when they hit kindergarten and any community support we can get is wonderful.”
The groups are already planning for the second annual crawfish boil next April.
St. Joe donates to early learning coalition
Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida receives generous donation
PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) — The Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida received a big donation that will help young kids in the area with their education.
The St. Joe Community Foundation donated $96,000 to the coalition to help prepare kids for kindergarten.
They’ve been partners with the coalition for several years, and St. Joe’s donations help them improve and provide services such as School Readiness, Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten, and literacy coaching. Early Learning Coalition officials say these services make a big difference in children’s academic growth.
“Donations and partnerships like this really set our youngest learners up for success later on in life. Studies show that they’re more likely to graduate, they’re less likely to have negative behaviors, and they’re socially ready to tackle a lifelong journey of learning,” Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida Communications Specialist Brooke Powell said.
For more information on the Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida, click here.
Lynn Haven preschoolers put their hands to work
LYNN HAVEN, Fla. (WMBB) – On Friday, preschoolers at the Hawks Nest Learning Tree in Lynn Haven put their hands to work, making their hands. Each child created a work of art, depicting their own hand.
The initiative is called “Painting of the Hands” organized by the early learning coalition of Northwest Florida.
All of the kid’s work is heading to Tallahassee where they will hang in the Capitol Rotunda, reminding legislators to remember Florida’s littlest citizens.
“The number one thing is making sure that we’re getting the support that the children need and the child care centers need. Whether it be for mental health or anything along the lines of any kind of support the children need, it all kind of goes back to the centers. So and ELC and making sure the coalitions being able to provide that support for us,” Bay County director and owner Jaimie Young said.
More than 25 kids participated in the project on Friday.
Learn more about the initiative here.
Ensure your child is on track with free developmental screenings
BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) — The Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida wants to make sure parents know about their free Help Me Grow program.
Help Me Grow Northwest Florida is a free developmental screening service for children under 8 who live in Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, and Washington counties.
“Developmental screenings are very convenient, they’re easy; they shouldn’t take more than 25 minutes,” said Alyssa Gray, Special Programs Manager for the Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida. “About once a year, a parent should check on their child’s development.”
Through a simple-to-use questionnaire, families can measure growth and take the necessary steps to ensure that their child’s developmental needs are being met.
“We work with the parent to empower them to continue to advocate for their children in the system, but we want to make sure the system is easier to access,” said Gray.
To access the development screening and learn more about the program, click here.
Guest column: The importance of early childhood education
Suzan Gage, Special to the News-Herald
The older children get, the more we can see how significant their younger years were in their development. Experiences occurring during this period provide the foundation for them as individuals when they grow older. With a strong foundation, they can grow into successful adults.
This is why the Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida (ELCNWF) emphasizes the importance of early education and the effects it can have on your children beyond their youngest years.
There are many tools available that contribute to a child’s future success, but two big factors that help ensure your child is on track for a bright education: consistently doing checkups on how they’re developing and understanding the far-reaching impact childcare teachers have on a child’s life.
These go hand in hand as parents and guardians search for resources that will help them navigate the complexities of raising a child and setting them up for success.
It’s vitally important for parents to understand just how ready their children are for kindergarten, both physically and developmentally. ELCNWF is partnered with Help Me Grow Northwest Florida, which offers free developmental screenings to children younger than 9 who live in Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson and Washington counties.
The screening begins with a simple questionnaire that will help families better understand their child’s growth and ensure that they are on the developmental track to success. Help Me Grow Northwest Florida knows how crucial early intervention is and encourages parents to use the screenings to celebrate their children’s milestones.
This service will also connect a family with a professional if early intervention is appropriate. The results of these screenings can also be shared with childcare teachers so they’re able to understand and accommodate each child’s unique needs.
Childcare teachers are the building blocks for a child’s educational success, and they set the foundation for our children’s lifelong learning experiences. Kickstart Success addresses the need for more childcare teachers in our local communities and early learning centers.
This is a tremendous opportunity for local residents to launch a career in early education, making a difference in the lives of the next generation. Becoming a childcare teacher at your own child’s learning center is a great way to make a meaningful impact in your community while spending precious quality time with your own child and being a mentor to their peers.
ELCNWF recognizes that it takes more than just one thing to ensure every child has a bright future. Developmental screenings and childcare teachers work to enhance local childcare centers and support improved early education. The result is nothing short of better outcomes for all our area’s children.
Suzan Gage is the executive director of the Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida. For more information on Help Me Grow Screenings and Kickstart Success, visit elcnwf.org.
First Friday addresses early learning
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.”
Free family program offers development screenings for children
By COLLIN BREAUX November 2, 2023
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.
The Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida wraps up Operation Kaleidoscope
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
Bay County officials work to fix childcare shortage
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.”