Early Childhood Education Initiative

SERC's Early Childhood professional development and conference offerings for the 2008-2009 school year have been completed!

While we work on presenting individual PD offerings in a web-friendly format, you may download and view the complete

2008-2009 SERC Early Childhood Professional Development Booklet. (pdf, 5.1mb file)

Coming soon to SERC: The Connecticut Early Childhood Resource Center

The goal of SERC’s Early Childhood Education Initiative is to support CT professionals who work with young children ages B-6, in their provision of high quality educational environments through designing professional development opportunities, providing technical assistance and resources that will lead to all children having the best beginning possible.

• History
• Accomplishments
• Future Directions

Early Childhood Education Resources

•Are you using the right assessment instrument for the right child? Click here for a description of the Norm Referenced tests discussed by Dr Marianne Barton, Clinical Professor Department of Psychology, University of CT Storrs, at her workshop on Assessing 3 to 5 years olds with Special Needs. Most of these instruments are available in the SERC library.

•A number of states that use the Environment Rating Scales for program assessment and improvement, produce a detailed Summary Report for the staff in the room observed and the facility director on site. The assessor does not provide feedback to the staff at the time of the assessment. In order to fully inform the child care provider and the consultant who will be available for technical assistance, the assessor writes a detailed Summary Report.

A template for these reports, prepared by Thelma Harms, Ph.D., is available here in two formats:

• ECERS-R Report Template (MS Word)
• ECERS-R Report Template (Adobe PDF)

•Early Childhood Publications at the Connecticut State Department of Education, and Related Websites

•The Connecticut Early Childhood Education Council (CECEC) offers Professional Development Grants intended to assist programs and individuals, working in the field of early care and education in their continuing professional development. Click here for more info and applications.

For more information, please contact:
SERC Consultants: Anne Marie Davidson, (860) 632-1485, ext. 316., or Paquita Sims, (860)632-1485, ext. 313, or Connie Smith, (860)632-1485, ext. 384.