Wow, it’s already Fall 2024! I hope you had a wonderful summer and are easing yourself into a very busy time of year.

Along with the changing of seasons, we have many changes happening in the regional early learning system! In this quarter’s edition, we will be sharing the many efforts, opportunities, and invitations to our partners and families. There is really something for everyone and we hope you will find something to learn more about! Thank you for your continued engagement and partnership with the Early Learning Hub and our other system partners!

If you want to go fast, go alone.

If you want to go far, go together.

African Proverb

With Gratitude,

René Brandon

Director

Southern Oregon Early Learning Hub

Career Opportunity Available!

Do you know someone who wants a career in Early Learning? Maybe they don’t know where to start or who to contact to learn more?

In partnership with WorkSource Rogue Valley, Child Care Resource Network (CCRN), Rogue Workforce Partnership (RWP), Rogue Community College (RCC) and Southern Oregon Early Learning Hub (SOELS) paid internships are now available to start your career in early learning.

Jobseekers will have the opportunity to try out child care as a career choice by working up to 150 hours in a paid internship. The goal is that jobseekers who have completed the internship will be well-suited and possess the skills and training needed for child care and be potentially offered employment at the end of the internship.

If you are a jobseeker interested in learning more about a career in child care please contact Noemi Salazar at Noemi.Salazar@employ.oregon.gov or visit the WorkSource Rogue Valley for more information.

We have funding to support the startup of a new in-home family child care program! We are specifically looking for an individual residing in our most rural parts of Jackson County – Prospect, Trail, Butte Falls, Sam's Valley, Pinehurst, etc. where no licensed child care programs currently exist. Through generous support from Providence Community Health Foundation, we are able to support the start-up costs (equipment, child furniture, toys, materials, supplies) for at least one program and to provide short-term tuition-assistance for qualifying working families who would like their children to attend the new location.

Additionally, we are working with our RCC Small Business Development Center (SBDC) partners in Josephine County to secure funding to support new family child care programs in Josephine County and will have more to share soon.

If you are interested in the opportunities available in either county, please scan the QR code on the flyer below, or complete the interest form here!

To help address the need for more subsidized child care SOELS, along with support from the Providence Community Health Foundation raised $207,000 to support families who are seeking full-time child care. The goal for these funds is to support families in Jackson county who are employed, seeking employment, or are currently a student, and finding full-time care for their infant, toddler, and/or preschooler has been a barrier. Interested families will enter into a lottery system similar to that of Preschool Promise, and if selected they will need to verify similar criteria: the age of their child, that they live in Jackson County, and that their household income is at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Line.

We spent the summer working to identify programs that had capacity to take on more children, and the schedules to support working families. Right now, we are working to get contracts signed with the 5 participating programs and hope to begin running lotteries and working with families to complete the application and eligibility process in early October. At this time we anticipate up to 20 families will be able to receive care through June 2025.

Due to limited funding, we have focused some of our outreach to families who are still in the Preschool Promise waiting pool, and families associated with the participating programs. However, if you would like to learn more information, please reach out to Jordan_Rogers@soesd.k12.or.us

The Southern Oregon Early Learning Hub’s Jackson County Parent Advisory Council has been hard at work trying to provide opportunities for children and caregivers to have fun and move. Through their hard work and determination, a free, weekly open gym session at the Southern Oregon Gymnastics Academy started this summer and is currently scheduled through the end of October, with the potential to be extended further.

Families with children aged 18 months to 5yrs old are able to register to attend and spend an hour exploring movements together and connecting with each other. Every week has brought both returning families and new families. The sessions can accommodate up to 30 children, and occur every Friday from 3pm-4pm at 3001 Samike Dr # 112, Medford, OR 97501.

If you have a child that would like to attend or know someone who does, please follow this link to register for the next session: Open Gym Registration. For any questions, please contact Sydney Wing at sydney_wing@soesd.k12.or.us

We are looking for parents and guardians to join our Josephine County Parent Advisory Council! Please share with individuals who would be interested in gaining leadership skills, working with other parents to identify needs in our community and working together on projects to help address those needs!

Please encourage interested individuals to scan the QR code below or complete the interest form here.

Additionally, we are seeking someone to provide child care during our monthly meetings. Please see the flyer below for more information, or reach out to Jordan_Rogers@soesd.k12.or.us.

On August 1st, 2023 House Bill 3198 was signed into law and established the Early Literacy Success Initiative, which has 4 main goals:

1. Increase early literacy for children from birth to third grade;
2. Reduce literacy academic disparities for student groups that have historically experienced academic disparities;
3. Increase support to parents and guardians to enable them to be partners in the development of their children’s literacy skills and knowledge; and
   
4. Increase access to early literacy learning through support that is research-aligned, culturally responsive, student-centered and family-centered.

$5 million dollars was allocated to the Early Learning Hubs across the state. Here in Southern Oregon we are anticipating $280,000 that can be used through June 2025 to advance early literacy initiatives across our region, with a focus on outcomes for the 0-5 age range. We would like to collaborate with partners and utilize these funds in the start of a region-wide early literacy campaign, and have identified a couple of strategies for phase one of our Read Play Talk campaign:

• Create “Did You Know..” messaging campaign, focused on literacy and language development to encourage families to Read, Play, and Talk together
  
• Collaborate with existing trainings on early literacy and promote across the region
  
• Support partners who are already providing programming with an early language and literacy focus

The SOELS Agency Advisory Council will be the steering committee for how these funds are dispersed into the region. If you are interested in participating in the conversation around early literacy please contact Jordan_Rogers@soesd.k12.or.us

Additionally, we are launching an application for partners who are seeking funds to support ongoing projects, purchase books and materials, pay for trainings, or engage families in pop-up events at local organizations. The deadline to submit an application is November 15th, 2024.

Click here to submit an application!

In Spring 2023, we surveyed more than 200 early learning educators and the overwhelming response we heard is that they need more resources to support children who exhibit dysregulated emotions and express themselves in ways that can hurt themselves or other children and teachers. One strategy to address this need is to increase our region’s capacity to offer skills training directly to children in child care settings.

Through generous funding from AllCare/Josephine County System of Care, The Gordon Elwood Foundation, and The Jefferson Regional Health Alliance coming alongside funding from Southern Oregon Early Learning Hub, we have raised $100,000 to kick off a 12 month cohort of up to 10 individuals interested in becoming QMHA credentialed and committed to offering skills trainings in child care settings.

We have two strategies to roll this out:

• To build capacity within our local child care centers: we are inviting child care center administrators to identify one staff person in their program to apply for this opportunity. We will select up to eight individuals to participate in the cohort.
• To support the needs of smaller, in-home child care programs who do not have internal capacity to attend the training: we are inviting partners from community based organizations who are willing to receive this training and provide skills training to multiple children across multiple programs in Jackson and Josephine counties to apply. SOELS will then contract with these individuals and/or organizations to offer this support.

The training structure is flexible and designed to meet the needs of people working full time.

To learn more, Click here to sign up form for the information session on Tuesday, October 22nd, 3pm-4pm

If you or your staff would like to sign up to participate in the QMHA cohort, please click here to complete the interest form!

The QMHA cohort is being offered in partnership with Sarah Hollingworth LPC, who will be supporting and over-seeing the participants through the 12-month QMHA credential process. Please take a moment to learn more about Sarah and all the wonderful work she is doing.

Sarah Hollingworth is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in the state of Oregon and has been in the mental health field since 2007. Born in England, raised in the California Bay Area, and currently settled in Southern Oregon, Sarah earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Sonoma State University and went on to earn her master’s degree in Professional Mental Health Counseling from Lewis & Clark College. Sarah has post-graduate certificates in Adoptive & Foster Family Therapy and Infant/Toddler Mental Health from Portland State University.

Sarah is currently the Outpatient Services Director for Kairos NW and has been with the organization since 2017 where she is fiercely committed to the mission of community collaboration and instilling in hope. Sarah is also the owner/operator of a private practice and consultation company, Serabellum, which she established in 2023. In her spare time, Sarah enjoys spending time with her family and dog, playing softball and roller derby, and traveling as much as possible.

The Home Visiting Network is an opportunity for home visiting staff in Jackson and Josephine Counties to get together for connection and learning. The HVN meets from 9am-10am on the first Tuesday of each month using a hybrid model. In addition to learning about local resources and opportunities, those that attend in person have the opportunity to participate in a drawing where those whose names are drawn will get to select from a variety of items that they can gift to a family that they serve.

At the October 1st meeting, we were able to give three pack ‘n plays and two strollers to home visitors. Home visitors are often a region’s key for knowing what is happening with families in their own homes. It typically starts with a phone call and a knock on the door, but through hard work and trust, home visitors are able to help families learn, grow, and thrive. If you are interested in learning more about the Home Visiting Network or would like to attend our next meeting, please reach out to Sydney Wing at sydney_wing@soesd.k12.or.us

The Growing Together Center continues to provide free, inclusive programs for families with young children, and prioritizes finding new ways to engage with families and our community. Drop by for some of our wonderful programming, utilize the diaper closet, and ask about some of the new programs that will be coming soon! See our October schedule below!

We have seen a significant increase in the demand for diapers. Regularly changed diapers are a necessity for the health of children and are also very expensive for families with young children.

We welcome any community support, financial donations, and diaper donations so we can continue to provide this service. No donation is too small.

Donations can be dropped off at our SOELS Medford office between 8am - 4pm at 918 Chevy Way, or at the Growing Together Center between 9am - 4pm Monday-Friday at 310 SW H Street in Grants Pass.

A new school year has begun, and Preschool Promise enrollment is still underway! Families needing publicly funded preschool can visit Southern Oregon Early Learning Hub’s website to learn more about Preschool Promise opportunities in Jackson and Josephine County. Lotteries are ongoing as spaces are available. Please reach out to Southern Oregon Early Learning Services for more information!

Email enrollment@soesd.k12.or.us or call (541) 776-8590, ext. 1145.

Para asistencia en español, llame (541) 776-8590, extensión 1190.