January 2022 | Issue No. 51 Disability Services Coordinators as Leaders: Coordination and Collaboration for Positive OutcomesLeadership in early childhood means creating responsive, high-quality programs to improve the outcomes for young children and their families. Leaders may include people in formal positions, such as coaches, disabilities services coordinators (DSCs), education managers, and program directors, mentor educators, and others. DSCs engage in varieties of leadership activities to promote high-quality services for children with identified or suspected disabilities and their families. These leadership activities include:
Leadership is a Division for Early Childhood (DEC) Recommended Practice (Practices L1-14). Collaborative teaming is an important leadership skill, and also one of the Early Care and Education Environment: Indicators and Elements of High-quality Inclusion (Indicator E7). Read more about early intervention and early childhood special education leadership in Leading and Growing in a Culture of Reciprocal Trust. The Young Exceptional Children (YEC) article describes features of authentic leadership and examples of how educators, early intervention specialists, and program directors work together to provide services for an infant and his family. Read About ItNikole, a DSC, is eager to hear from Janine, a first-year Head Start educator, about how things worked out this past week. During their first meeting, Nikole and Janine talked about many ways they could work together to ensure a high-quality environment that promotes a sense of belonging for all children. Janine was particularly concerned about two children in her classroom, Chaquille and Alba, and wanted to make sure they could fully participate in daily routines and learning activities with their peers. Chaquille has motor delays and uses a wheelchair, and Alba has a significant language delay in Spanish, her home language, and English. Nikole suggested some helpful curriculum modifications to the physical environment that would make it easier for Chaquille to move around the room and access materials. Nikole and Janine also discussed creating environmental supports with visual pictures and labels in Spanish and English to help Alba understand verbal directions and communications The DSC is key to creating a working environment in which leadership is a shared endeavor that supports a sense of purpose and positive outcomes for children of all ages and their families. Take a LookInstructional Leadership for Early Learning Environments Steps to Collaborative Services Enhancing Staff’s Comfort and Confidence Try It OutLeadership Checklists Improve Your PracticeDisabilities Services Coordinator Orientation Guide: The Basics Increased Access, Increased Learning Education Managers Series: The 5Rs for Early Learning Leaders Instructional Leadership Part III: Exploring the Essentials of Ambitious Instruction and Teacher Collaboration Families, Too!Strategies for Family Engagement: Attitudes and Practices Practitioner Family-Centered Practices for Working with Families Sharing What You Know with Professionals Ongoing FeaturesFree access to a specially selected article from YEC Head Start Disabilities-Inclusion Network Upcoming EventsJoin us for the virtual 2022 Disabilities Services Coordinator Institute Jan. 25–26, 2022! There are three upcoming webinars in the Inclusion Webinar series:
Find more information about these webinars and other upcoming events on the Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center (ECLKC). Stay InformedPlease share this with message with colleagues who may be interested in this topic. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Stay up to date by subscribing: https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/subscribe We Want to Hear from YouThe Disabilities Services Newsletter is produced monthly by the National Center on Early Childhood Development, Teaching, and Learning. Email ecdtl@ecetta.info to submit questions or suggestions for future newsletter topics. Office of Head Start (OHS) | 330 C Street, SW | 4th Floor Mary E. Switzer Building | Washington, DC 20201 | https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov | 1-866-763-6481 | Contact Us You are receiving this email because you are signed up for Office of Head Start communications. You may modify your ECLKC email subscriptions. Recipients subscribed through the Head Start Enterprise System (HSES) must be removed from HSES by their program or office. Please do not reply to this email. Contact customer service for additional support. |