On Saturday a group of preschool teachers and child care providers attended a training session led by one of the state’s foremost authorities on early childhood development.
Dr. Lynn Darling, director the Mississippi State University Early Childhood Institute, instructed a group of almost 30 teachers and child care providers in Early Learning Standards. The all-day event was held in the Corinth Elementary School gym.
“We are very excited to have Dr. Darling training our Pre-K teachers and child care providers in Early Learning Standards,” said Tanya Nelson, the Pre-K director and literacy coordinator for the Corinth School District. “These standards were written by Dr. Darling as a resource for those working with three- and four-year-olds.”
Child care facilities and pre-kindergartens which use these standards will be preparing their children for the Common Core State Standards which are being introduced in public schools across the nation, Nelson explained.
“Dr. Darling has provided an excellent resource that matches the rigor of Common Core Standards while remaining developmentally appropriate to young children,” Nelson pointed out.
The training session focused on early childhood brain development; how developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) supports brain development; understanding Early Learning Standards and using them in a classroom; comparing strategies; making smart choices; and developing units of study.
All of the attendees at the training session receive contact hours, which help them meet state operational requirements.
The event was provided by the Corinth School District in support of the Corinth-Alcorn Excel By 5 initiative.
Excel By 5 is an innovative early childhood community certification process focusing on a community’s young children. It emphasizes the important role parents and early childhood educators play in the lives of children during their most formative years — birth to age five.
The MSU Early Childhood Institute was established in 1999 to develop and provide research-based practices and policy recommendations that promote high quality early childhood development and learning for all young children in Mississippi.
The Institute is funding through a variety of public agencies, private foundation and nongovernmental organizations dedicated to early care and education.