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November 2013

Survey Confirms FSC Success

Maryland Family Network’s Family

Support Centers survey participating

parents to measure progress in areas

from family functioning to

knowledge of child development. This year, based on what they

learned at the Family Support Center

(FSC):

89% reported that they are

better able to parent their children.

93% reported that they have a better understanding of

how their child grows and develops.

83% reported that they listen to and communicate more

effectively with their family.

Parenting skills are much

improved.

______________________________

Republican gubernatorial candidates

were invited to MFN to share their

views on early

childhood. Democrats have been

invited for Nov. 13.>>

______________________________

“I no longer yell at my child. I now talk to her with a better

understanding that she is still learning, as am I. And hitting will

do her no good,” wrote a parent from one FSC.

Read more parent comments and survey analysis.>>

How Do They Do It?

From birth, children are intensely

engaged in learning how to

learn. They begin by focusing

attention on the faces and voices of

their parents, insatiably gathering

information about them. When they become toddlers,

curiosity and memory begin to

support exploration and testing as

their information gathering expands in scope and

duration. Children devote themselves to learning using an array of

attitudes and approaches that caring adults can support.

How do infants take on the task of

learning about the world?

New Assessment Guides MFN's Early Head

Start Family Support Centers

How can early childhood education

programs ensure that they are

helping young children develop the

full range of skills that they will

need to succeed in kindergarten and

beyond?

If a child loves books, enjoys arts

activities, and makes friends readily,

is it easy to overlook her lack of engagement with pre-math

activities?

These questions led MFN’s Early Head Start Family Support

Centers to adopt a comprehensive new assessment system. Read

more>>

The goal is school readiness.

Conferences promote advocacy and

professional development for child

care providers.>>

______________________________

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Maryland Family Network: FSC Parent Satisfaction Survey

http://mfn.convio.net/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5512[9/26/2014 12:17:51 PM]

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FSC participants learn good parenting practices by seeing staff members model nurturing interactions and by participating in

parenting classes.

Survey Data and Parent Comments Combine to Show Robust Success at Family

Support Centers. “I have learned to take a deep breath and not get mad at my

baby.”

MFN coordinates 21 Family Support Centers (FSCs) statewide that serve pregnant women, young children, and their parents. FSCs

are generally located in neighborhoods characterized by poverty, high unemployment, low levels of academic achievement, and high

rates of teen and single parenting.

This year, 477 participating adults (out of 699 who were offered the survey in April 2013) completed the annual satisfaction survey,

the largest number ever. The survey covered parents receiving services in the FSCs as well as those who received services at home

from FSCs.

The survey asked parents about their growth and functioning in key areas of FSC program focus, grouped to align with components

of the Strengthening Families framework:

Family Functioning/Resiliency,Social/Emotional Support,Concrete Support,Knowledge of Parenting/Child Development, andNurturing and Attachment.

Maryland Family Network: FSC Parent Satisfaction Survey

http://mfn.convio.net/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5512[9/26/2014 12:17:51 PM]

The results of the survey indicate that a large majority of participants improved their knowledge and function in all focus areas.

In the area of parenting and knowledge of child development, the report confirms that FSCs are succeeding in helping disadvantaged,

often single parents do a better job of raising their young children. A total of 93% of respondents reported that they had a better

understanding of child development based on what they learned at the FSC or from their home visitor. As one parent wrote, “I have

learned that my daughter is not bad. She is just being a kid and testing what she can and can’t do.”

Many parents wrote that they had learned disciplinary methods that are alternatives to physical punishment. “I learned that discipline

is teaching my child right from wrong, setting rules, and explaining to my child what he did wrong. Spanking, hitting, and beating

are all the same thing – just punishments.”

Most parents wrote comments about major aspects of parenting such as patience, bonding, and communication. Other comments

revealed that at the FSCs, parents are also realizing some of the simple joys of parenting an infant or toddler:

“I have learned that my child enjoys walking around outside…even if we never make it to the park.”

“…I have also learned that my child is very smart.”

“I learned that my child has an interest in singing. So, now we sing more songs.”

The survey report includes data on the adult respondents. The primary demographic of parent respondents is age 20-25, with a 9th to

11th grade education.

The growth and improved function documented in the area of parenting was also evident in the other areas of FSC program focus.

Read the findings for all program areas in the online report.

1001 EASTERN AVENUE, 2ND FLOOR BALTIMORE, MARYLAND 21202-4325 tel: 410.659.7701 fax: 410.783.0814

Maryland Family Network: "Approaches to Learning"

http://mfn.convio.net/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5511[9/26/2014 12:18:37 PM]

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Experts Call This “Approaches to Learning”

The drive to learn is innate. And children involve themselves in learning propelled by motivation, attitudes, habits, and learning

styles that child development experts call “approaches to learning.”

Approaches to learning is the “how” rather than the “what” of learning. It encompasses attention, curiosity, information gathering,

memory, persistence, and problem solving.

Parents and child care providers can help children develop these habits and traits. By pointing to objects and naming them, for

instance, an adult can help a young child learn to focus and expand her attention span.

Adults can support curiosity by allowing exploration, even when it involves activities that may seem tedious such as digging in the

sand or emptying a cabinet of pots and pans. These unhurried activities allow the child to learn that he can pose a question in his

mind and seek out an answer.

Memory is critical to learning, and adults can nurture development by talking about past experiences and asking questions about

recent events. Adults can build predictability and repetition into routines, as these allow children to succeed in memory tasks. And,

as tempting as it may be, adults should not discourage repetition. Toddlers want and need to practice doing things over and over.

When they repeat activities, they are doing so because they are still learning from that experience. And they are learning to be

interested and persistent.

Persistence and problem solving go hand-in-hand. As children attempt new and more challenging activities, they inevitably confront

failure. The experience of failure presents the opportunity to learn to handle frustration and to try again. Adults can assist by

acknowledging the effort and by resisting the urge to jump in with the solution – offering just enough help to keep the child from

giving up.

Maryland Family Network: "Approaches to Learning"

http://mfn.convio.net/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5511[9/26/2014 12:18:37 PM]

Young children who develop strong assets in the areas of attention, curiosity, information gathering, memory, persistence, and

problem solving are primed for success in school. Starting kindergarten with these traits firmly established is every bit as important

as having a big vocabulary or understanding basic math concepts.

Additional resources:

Child Development Tracker from PBS Parents provides age-specific suggestions for nurturing your child’s curiosity, persistence,

problem solving, and imagination. Select your child’s age and then click on “Approaches to Learning.”

Although intended for its teachers, Head Start’s “Approaches to Learning” offers clear explanation about why each approach to

learning is important and suggests ways to nurture its development.

It’s interesting to note that “approaches to learning” captures the essence of the “plan, do, review” process that is the core of the

teaching method developed by High Scope at the reknown Perry Preschool Project.

1001 EASTERN AVENUE, 2ND FLOOR BALTIMORE, MARYLAND 21202-4325 tel: 410.659.7701 fax: 410.783.0814

Maryland Family Network: TS Gold Assessment

http://mfn.convio.net/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5513[9/26/2014 12:19:19 PM]

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TS GOLD Has Improved Teaching. Parent Engagement is an Unexpected Bonus.

A year ago, MFN’s Early Head Start Family Support Centers (EHS FSCs) started using Teaching Strategies GOLD to assess the

development of each enrolled child and to use the aggregate data to monitor classrooms, programs, and MFN’s entire EHS program.

TS GOLD is aligned with the state’s Healthy Beginnings and with the Maryland Model for School Readiness assessment framework

used by child care programs and publicly funded pre-K.

Using an online system, EHS FSC teachers and home visitors create a developmental profile for each child. Observations about the

child’s physical, cognitive, language, and social development are entered into the TS GOLD software with great frequency. Notes,

photos, or videos are added almost daily by classroom teachers, home visitors, and/or their supervisors. Parents are encouraged to

share their observations, which staff members then enter into the profiles.

Three times during the school year, each child’s profile is used to create a snapshot of his development at that time. As a child’s

online profile collects multiple snapshots over time, it becomes possible to see where he started, where he is now, and what

milestones are expected to come next. Based on this, teaching staff engage the child in activities that foster development in areas of

unmet goals and prepare learning experiences to support the child’s strong and emerging areas of development. TS GOLD calls for

assessments in all areas of learning, so that no area is overlooked.

Parents find the profiles engaging and easy to understand. The profiles include activity ideas, so parents can learn what activities are

developmentally appropriate for each age. (It may be hard for parents to imagine math activities for a two-year old.) In this way, the

profile enhances learning at home as well as in the classroom. Parents’ real engagement with their children’s developmental profiles

has been an unexpected bonus of the new system.

Although the children are being assessed, the improvement effort is focused on the teaching staff. By examining the aggregated data,

a supervisor can see if a particular area of knowledge or skill development (perhaps math or problem solving) needs more attention.

And she can provide her staff with more training and support related to enhancing learning opportunities in this area.

The push to use data to improve instruction is part of the overall movement to make Head Start a data-driven program, whether the

concern is school readiness or parent engagement or attendance. To learn more about Head Start, visit the online portal for parents

and professionals.

1001 EASTERN AVENUE, 2ND FLOOR BALTIMORE, MARYLAND 21202-4325 tel: 410.659.7701 fax: 410.783.0814

Maryland Family Network: Republican Gubernatorial Candidates at Public Policy in October

http://mfn.convio.net/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5514[9/26/2014 12:20:10 PM]

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MFN Executive Director Margaret Williams welcomed two Republican gubernatorial candidates.

Pre-K Takes Center Stage in Gubernatorial Races

Two Republican candidates for Governor, Delegate Ron George, representing District 30 in Anne Arundel County, and Charles

Lollar, former Chairman of the Charles County Republican Central Committee, addressed MFN’s Public Policy Committee on

October 9. They shared their views on the future of child care, family support, and early childhood education.

Democratic gubernatorial candidates have been invited to give their views at the next MFN Public Policy meeting on November 13 at

1 p.m. at 1001 Eastern Ave., 2 Floor, Baltimore, Maryland. The meeting is open to all. Please email Debbie Moore if you plan to

attend.

To see platforms for the Maryland gubernatorial candidates, visit their websites:

Republican candidates:

David R. CraigRon GeorgeCharles Lollar

Democratic candidates:

Anthony BrownDoug GanslerHeather Mizeur

nd

1001 EASTERN AVENUE, 2ND FLOOR BALTIMORE, MARYLAND 21202-4325 tel: 410.659.7701 fax: 410.783.0814

Maryland Family Network: Child Care Conferences in Fall of 2013

http://mfn.convio.net/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5515[9/26/2014 12:21:01 PM]

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Family child care providers enjoyed workshops and networking. See more photos.

Child Care Associations Hold Fall Conferences

The Maryland State Family Child Care Association held its 21 annual conference in Ocean City, October 18 and 19. It was

attended by 200 family child care providers.

MFN’s Senior Policy Analyst Debbie Moore was part of a keynote panel that discussed legislative advocacy. She also co-presented

workshops on:

how a bill becomes law; andwhat is CCDGB and why family child care providers should care.

MFN’s Deputy Director for Resource and Referral Steve Rohde presented workshop sessions on:

working with children with developmental disabilities; brain growth and children’s development; andbuilding relationships with parents.

The Maryland State Child Care Association (an association of owners and directors of child care centers) held its annual leadership

symposium on October 24 in Columbia. The theme of the gathering, attended by 100, was “Advocacy in Early Childhood Begins

with You. Value Your Voice.”

MFN’s Debbie Moore was joined by State Senator Jim Rosapepe in rallying the audience with a presentation on legislative advocacy

– and the power of citizens’ voices.

MFN’s Steve Rohde led a session showcasing Parent Cafés and Strengthening Families. He was assisted by MFN staffers Cara

Bethke and Jennifer Lentz.

st

Maryland Family Network: Child Care Conferences in Fall of 2013

http://mfn.convio.net/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5515[9/26/2014 12:21:01 PM]

The Maryland School-Age Child Care Alliance held its fall conference on October 5 in Columbia. The event focused on professional

development and preparation for Maryland EXCELS, the state’s new quality rating and improvement system.

1001 EASTERN AVENUE, 2ND FLOOR BALTIMORE, MARYLAND 21202-4325 tel: 410.659.7701 fax: 410.783.0814