Meet Mary Waters, winner of the 2024 DIEEC Early Childhood Educator of the Year award in the family child care category! Her program, known as Ms. Mary’s Nature Preschool, is located in Hartly DE. Read on to learn more about how Mary finds inspiration, builds connections with families, and meets challenges on a daily basis … Read more
This month, we’re sharing a few more Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) activities from programs that participated in DIEEC’s Anti-Bias Education: Diversity professional learning experience (PLE) back in February. Two programs used a “loose parts faces” activity with children as the basis for discussing emotions and expressions. Valerie Brown, lead Pre-K teacher at Cadence Academy … Read more
Cathy Lopez-Cooling, administrator of the Children’s House Montessori program in Wilmington Del., participated in DIEEC’s Anti-Bias Education: Diversity professional learning experience (PLE) in February of this year. Following the first sessions of this PLE, participants are challenged to put what they’ve been learning into action, and supported as they explore new options and opportunities. The … Read more
Incorporating diversity in early childhood educators’ planning and interactions allows for deeper, caring relationships with children and families. Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood (DIEEC) staff recently had the opportunity to learn about how one program is approaching this important topic. Lisa E. Ratliff, co-owner/co-director of the little school at Kids Cottage in Dover, … Read more
May was an exciting month of celebrations, including Provider Appreciation festivities and DIEEC’s Early Childhood Educator of the Year. We thought it was only fitting to focus this latest installment of Voices from the Field on 2023’s winner
In 1995, Stacy Morgan left her banking career to start her family child care program to spend more time with her one-year-old son. More than 25 years later, she’s helped launch generations of children in Townsend, Delaware, with her investment in creating an environment that facilitates learning and character development. “At my program, Little Bit … Read more
It is imperative to have men in early childhood education, but why? According to recent research by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (naeyc), early childhood education plays a critical part in young children’s gender identity development. When young children do not have relationships with male teachers and caregivers, traditional gender stereotypes … Read more
With this month’s editorial focus on self-care, our Voice’s from the Field series spotlights a family child care educator who invested in herself by setting a goal and achieving it in her professional development. Patrice Battaglia shares her approach to completing 120 hours of training through the Quorum online learning platform in three months. This … Read more
We are taking a different approach to this issue’s “Voices from the Field” installment. We are hearing from early childhood educators recently taking the DIEEC professional learning experience (PLE), “The Business of Early Childhood: Leadership Cohort.” This PLE series brought together leaders in the field to build skills to help improve the quality and culture … Read more
Molly White’s passion is providing families with a child care experience that fits the learning needs of each child while supporting the family, ultimately building community. To fulfill her vision, Molly opened her center in Milford during the pandemic’s beginning in the spring of 2020. But according to Molly, the opening was “just in time” … Read more
DELAWARE INSTITUTE FOR
EXCELLENCE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD
