Programs support relationships between educators and children through intentional and responsive interactions.
Entry
DELACARE Regulations for Early Care and Education and School- Age Centers:
23. Center Policies- Parent/Guardian Handbook
27. Ratios, Group Size, and Supervision
Emerging
- Program leaders and educators are knowledgeable about the importance of stable adult-child relationships and how to build them.
- Program has a policy that states how they support meaningful connections between children and educators over time.
- Program leaders and educators support families and children through transitions within the program (e.g., in and out of classrooms and throughout the program day).
- Educators engage in simple social interactions with children throughout the day (e.g., respond briefly to children’s requests, give directions, or ask simple questions).
Developing
- Program implements procedures that support their policy on building meaningful connections between children and educators over time.
- Program supports educators to use a variety of strategies that promote meaningful connections with the children in their care.
- Educators engage in many sustained, reciprocal social interactions with individual children.
- Educators are responsive to children’s interests and needs.
- Program leaders and educators collaborate with families to plan for transitions within the program.
Advanced
- Educators are consistently available to children and show enjoyment when engaging with children during activities and play.
- Program implements primary caregiving practices for children.
- Educators use a variety of strategies that promote meaningful connections between primary caregivers and the children in their care.
- Program implements staffing practices that ensures continuity of care.
Entry
DELACARE Regulations for Early Care and Education and School- Age Centers:
3. Definition of Terms – “Professional development”
20. Positive Behavior Management
23. Suspension & Expulsion policy
24. Staff Qualifications
32. Orientation
34. Annual Professional Development Plan
Emerging
- Program leaders and educators are knowledgeable about strategies to guide children’s behavior.
- Program leaders and educators are knowledgeable about factors that contribute to children’s behavior, including trauma.
- Program has a policy on how professionals guide children’s behavior.
- Program leaders and educators are knowledgeable about resources to support children with challenging behaviors and share relevant information with families.
- Program leaders support educators to positively guide children’s behavior using a variety of strategies.
- Program leaders collects data on children’s behavior incidents.
Developing
- Program supports educators to maintain developmentally and culturally appropriate behavioral expectations.
- Program supports educators to practice intentional, proactive strategies to promote positive behavior among children.
- Program supports educators to promote families’ understanding of children’s behavior.
- Program supports educators to review data on children’s behavior regularly to uncover trends and better understand needs.
- Educators use strategies to resolve peer conflict that focus on helping children find alternative, more appropriate ways to interact with peers, rather than focusing exclusively on what children should not do.
Advanced
- Educators use proactive strategies to promote positive behavior among children.
- Program leaders and educators partner with families to support children’s behavior through goal setting, planning, and review.
- Program supports educators to understand the function of children’s challenging behaviors and to develop alternative means to address the children’s needs.
- Program supports all educators to explore their own implicit biases and be aware of their interpretations of and reactions to children’s behaviors.
Entry
DELACARE Regulations for Early Care and Education and School- Age Centers:
57. Equipment
73. Program Goals and Planning
74. Lesson Plans
75. Activity Area
76. Activity Schedule
78. Interactions with Infants
79. Interactions with Toddlers
80. Interactions with Preschool and School-Age Children
Emerging
- Program leaders and educators are knowledgeable about different types of play and their benefits, as well as developmentally appropriate ways to facilitate play to foster meaningful learning experiences.
- Program supports educators to provide opportunities for various types of play (e.g., teacher-supported, child-led, guided play, spontaneous play,).
- Educators monitor children’s involvement during play and support all children to engage.
Developing
- Educators proactively support positive play experiences.
- Program supports educators to create an environment that supports learning through child-directed play.
- Programs supports educators to implement intentional strategies to allow for extended play opportunities.
- Educators use transitions between playtimes as learning experiences (clean-up time, etc.).
- Program provides planned play experiences and free play experiences during outdoor time.
- Educators provide children many opportunities to make choices during activities and play and provide the necessary support to help children make and express their choices.
Advanced
- Educators strategically choose their facilitative role in play to meet the needs of children and the play experience.
- Educators design play experiences that are relevant and adaptable to the individual needs of all children.
- Educators support children’s own reflections on their play and learning.
- Educators observe children’s response to support and adjust their level and type of scaffolding as needed to facilitate sustained engagement.
Entry
DELACARE Regulations for Early Care and Education and School- Age Centers:
20. Positive Behavior Management
28. General Qualifications
73. Program Goals and Planning
74. Lesson Plans
Emerging
- Program leaders and educators are knowledgeable about how children develop in their ability to communicate and express emotion.
- Educators are aware of what children are communicating about and respond to children’s initiated communication.
- Educators make some efforts to adjust their communication to children’s level of understanding, as needed.
Developing
- Program supports educators to respond to children’s individual needs for communication.
- Program supports educators to use a variety of verbal and visual strategies to promote communication throughout the day.
- Educators listen to and acknowledge each child’s perspective while also providing the necessary support that helps children understand and express their own perspectives.
- Program supports educators to intentionally plan for experiences to promote social- emotional skill development.
- Program supports educators to help children acknowledge and respond to communication and emotion expression of peers.
Advanced
- Educators adapt their interactions with children to support children’s individual needs for communication.
- Educators utilize alternative means of communication in inclusive ways that enable all children to communicate and participate in activities with their peers, while adults provide the necessary scaffolding to ensure functional communication.
- Educators create many opportunities to facilitate communication among children and help children sustain meaningful communication.
- Educators consistently use a variety of strategies to promote children’s meaningful communication and emotion expression throughout the day.
- Educators utilize a supplemental curriculum to plan for additional experiences for social and emotional development.
Entry
DELACARE Regulations for Early Care and Education and School- Age Centers:
20. Positive Behavior Management
74. Lesson Plans
Emerging
- Program leaders and educators are knowledgeable about the importance of fostering a sense of community in the classroom.
- Program has a policy and procedures for how they foster a sense of community within the classroom.
- Program supports educators to maintain classroom environments that provide opportunities for children to feel ownership and/or show responsibility.
- When educators provide opportunities for children to assume social roles and responsibilities, all children are encouraged to assume such roles and responsibilities.
- Program displays books, materials, and visuals that describe and reflect individual differences in positive ways.
Developing
- Program supports educators to use a variety of strategies to promote a sense of community (e.g., problem- solving, shared decision- making, environmental supports, and promoting caring behaviors).
- Program supports educators to implement classroom practices that encourage cooperative play and positive social interactions.
- Educators respond to children’s comments and questions about individual differences in supportive and constructive ways.
Advanced
- Educators consistently use a variety of strategies that promote a sense of belonging and membership.
- Educators actively facilitate, encourage, and support peer interactions, as developmentally appropriate, through cooperative play, work, and/or problem-solving.
- Program leaders and educators are intentional about modeling empathy and promoting social justice.
- Educators embed activities to promote understanding of individual differences.
