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Congresswoman Lois Capps Visits Union Plaza.

March 8th, 2010, Congresswoman Lois Capps paid a visit to one of Santa Maria Senior Nutrition Center (Union Plaza). Pictured from left to right: Fran Forman, Lois Capps, and Matt Dwyer.

To watch the report aired by KCOY Cick Here!

 

On Saturday, February 20, eight students from the Vietnamese Students Association at UC Santa Barbara devoted the day to sprucing up Los Niños Head Start Center on Santa Barbara’s Lower West Side. Arriving at 9:00 a.m., the students scrubbed and sanded classroom doors, cleaned and refilled a fish tank, and reorganized the kitchen, volunteering a total of 43.5 hours. According to Susan Shim, who organized the group, “I wanted to gather a group to volunteer our service to CAC because they give back to the low income community in Santa Barbara. It was a lot of hard work and we were glad that we were able to provide much needed assistance.”

Congratulations to Adam Head Start staff!

The NAEYC Accreditation Celebration Tour made a stop at the Adam Center. This was Adam’s re-accreditation with the new standards. Pictured are Teacher Marina Rodriguez, Site Supervisor Ralph Ybarra, and Teacher Doris Swain. Not pictured is Teacher Sylvia Nuss. Site Supervisor, Ralph Ybarra noted, “It is an honor for the Adam staff to be held in such high regards by NAEYC. The National Association for the Education of Young Children is dedicated to improving the well being of all young children, with the particular focus on the quality of educational and developmental services for all children birth through eight. Achieving accreditation validates that our program provides the highest quality, accountability, and service to our parents and children. The Adam staff feels these recent milestones are contributed to teamwork, dedication and a little sense of humor.” The celebration team present was Mattie Gadsby, Maria Douvia, Nanette Brown, Kim Sheehy, Dianne Reasner and Edwin Zelaya. Congratulations Adam Center!

United Way's Young Leaders Society Volunteers Refurbish Community Action Commission's Backdoor Deli!

Young Leaders Society volunteers with Tia Walker (center)

Saturday, January 30th was a huge success, thanks to the 25 volunteers who spent 8 hours prepping, painting, staining, and redecorating Community Action Commission's Backdoor Deli! The Backdoor Deli, complete with Wi-Fi is a well-kept secret. The proceeds from the Backdoor deli helps support the Senior Nutrition program throughout Santa Barbara County, notably Mobile Meals. "Thanks everyone for all the hard work and your sincere desire to help Community Action Commission. There were MANY positive comments about the awesome job you did! I enjoyed meeting everyone and look forward to seeing you at some of our events in the future." Tia Walker, Community Action Commission

CAC Backdoor Deli Before...

...and after!

This article was extracted from United Way of Santa Barbara, February 2010 E-Newsletter.

Fillmore Center in Lompoc receives NAEYC Accreditation.

Feb. 10th, 2010, Pictured left to right: Teachers Natalie Mendez, Leka McCann, Belinda Vaj, Evelia Melendez, Site Supervisor Shonna Martin, Family Service Advocate Maria Rubio, Adeline Romero and Teacher Victoria Cruz. Not pictured is Marybeth Kerr.

The NAEYC Accreditation Celebration continued to the Fillmore Center in Lompoc. Mattie wanted to share the celebration with the center staff since often times she receives the accolades from the community and wanted to acknowledge and celebrate with each recently accredited center. Teacher Belinda Vaj commented how the process was hard work but in the end it was worth it. Site Supervisor Shonna Martin stated how proud she was of her staff and that through teamwork accomplished this goal. Joining in the celebration with the Fillmore Center staff were Mattie Gadsby, Linda Wilkes, Edwin Zelaya, Nora Melendez, Kim Sheehy and Sharon Cruz.

Meridian Center receives NAEYC Accreditation.

Feb. 8th, 2010, Congratulations to the Meridian Center for their recent NAEYC accreditation! Pictured from left to right are Terri Hawes, Site Supervisor, Aurea Dominguez, Family Service Advocate, Teachers Viviana Esparza, Carla Ayala, and Mike Jackson. The success of their accreditation was attributed to their hard work, team work, Program and Administrative Support and attending the First 5 of Santa Barbara County Learning Community classes. “It was worth it!” stated Teacher Carla Ayala. Celebrating with Meridian were Mattie Gadsby, Maria Douvia, Kim Sheehy, Dianne Reasner, Edwin Zelaya and Sharon Cruz.

Congratulations to Oakley Center on receiving their NAEYC Accreditation!

Jan. 25th, 2010, The focus on “quality” in early care and education is given flesh and bones in the NAEYC Accreditation system. Programs that comply with the accreditation standards not only have the opportunity to be recognized for their excellence; they are also able to learn more about themselves by going through the process and more about what it is that brings quality alive so that children and families are better served."

-Samuel J. Meisels, President

Erikson Institute

Oakley Center is proud to have earned the mark of quality from NAEYC and to be recognized their center’s commitment to reaching the highest professional standards. Connie Berr, Site Supervisor and her staff believe the accreditation process affirms they are providing high quality experiences for their children and families.

CONGRATULATIONS OAKLEY CENTER!!

ALVIN CENTER EARNS NATIONAL NAEYC RE-ACCREDITATION

Jan. 22nd, 2010, Community Action Commission Children’s Services is proud to have earned the mark of quality from NAEYC and to be recognized for our centers’ commitment to reaching the highest professional standards. NAEYC Accreditation lets families in our community know that children in our program are getting the best care and early learning experiences possible.”

Alvin Center has been NAEYC accredited since 2006. To earn NAEYC Accreditation, Becky Romero, Site Supervisor and her teaching staff went through an extensive Self-Study process, measuring the program and its services against the 10 NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards and more than 400 related Accreditation Criteria. The program received NAEYC Accreditation after a site visit by NAEYC Assessors to ensure that the program meets each of the ten program standards. NAEYC-accredited programs are also subject to unannounced visits during their accreditation, which lasts for five years.

The NAEYC Accreditation system has set voluntary professional standards for programs for young children since 1985. In September 2006, the Association revised program standards and criteria to introduce a new level of quality, accountability, and service for parents and children in child care programs. The new standards today reflect the latest research and best practices in early childhood education and development. NAEYC is committed to utilizing the newest studies and analysis on positive child outcomes to ensure young children continue receiving the highest-quality care and education possible.
CONGRATULATIONS ALVIN CENTER!!

Congratulations to Tanglewood Head Start staff!

On January 11th, 2010 Tanglewood Head Start was celebrated for their quality, hard work and dedication to children and families. Mattie Gadsby Children’s Services Director presented the Tanglewood Staff with a goody basket. Tanglewood Head Start is located on the Arellanes Elementary School. Tanglewood received official word from NAEYC that the Center was Accredited a confirmation for all of the work this team does for the children and families. Tanglewood has collaboration with Santa Barbara County Education Office and is an inclusion model preschool classroom. The Tanglewood Team includes Laura Jenkins Teacher, Mary Flores Site Supervisor, Blanca Ramirez Associate Teacher and Maria Valdez Family Service Assistant. This is Tanglewood’s first time to go through the Accreditation process. Congratulations to the Tanglewood Team!