CAN Initiatives:

Developmental Screenings/Assessments: Ages & Stages and the Sparkler App

The Ages and Stages Questionnaire is a widely used developmental tool used by parents and early childhood providers to help identify how a child is doing developmentally. Our goal is to expand the use of these screenings and connect families to support services if needed. Thanks to a grant from the State Department of Education’s Office of Early Childhood, SC2C has promoted the use of the Sparkler App, an educational tool for parents with children ages 0-5.  The app uses the Ages and Stages Questionnaire screening to identify children’s developmental progress, provides tips and activities for parents to do with their child, and includes both chat-based consulting and connections to other providers. SC2C is coordinating the effort to get this tool to parents and partners with Children’s Learning Centers, Family Centers, St. Joseph’s Parenting Center, All Our Kin, Abilis, and Inspirica to provide this resource to parents.

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Prekindergarten Transition Summary (PKTS)

This summary is completed by preschool teachers across Stamford on incoming kindergarten children. This summary includes social and developmental information on children and is shared with kindergarten teachers. It is a tool that assists teachers with classroom placements and provides the opportunity for teachers to have baseline knowledge about their incoming class. Each year the number of completed PKTS forms increases, and in 2019 over 1,100 kindergarten students (out of a class of 1,337) started their year with a completed form.  The 0-5 CAN plays an instrumental role in coordinating the city-wide completion of the PKTS form, working with publicly funded and private preschool programs.

Professional Development

The 0-5 CAN coordinates annual professional development opportunities for preschool and early education staff across the city. These workshops complement professional development opportunities offered at individual child care and preschool sites and focus on best practices and trends in early childhood education.  They also provide an opportunity for networking and shared learning which is critical for early childhood teachers.  Due to COVID, professional development has been postponed, but the CAN is considering offering virtual opportunities.

Go Before You Show (GBYS)

The Go Before You Show (GBYS) campaign encourages pregnant women to seek prenatal care in the first three months of their pregnancy and connects them to a prenatal care provider as early as possible in their pregnancy. The campaign educates women on related topics, such as nutrition and finances. healthy practices including nutrition information and financial aid if necessary.  As a complement, access to Text4Baby, a free mobile information service designed to promote maternal and child health through text messaging, is also provided. Women who text BABY (or BEBE in Spanish) to 511411 will receive three free text messages a week related to prenatal care timed to their due date or baby’s birthdate.