In the fall of 2018, Valley of the Sun Early Childhood Association awarded grants to several school and organizations support young children and their families.  Here are their stories of hope.

Scottsdale Unified School District

Nancy S. Hudson, Director of Early Childhood and Community Education writes that the grant provided training for 85 preschool staff members on teaching strategies based on brain research through a workshop provided by the Gurian Institute.

Hudson commented, “This was an incredible opportunity for our preschool educators. Due to the content of the training, we invited a few representatives from the Scottsdale Family Resource Center and Paiute Headstart employees with whom we have community partnerships. We believed this would assist with the parental objective. There was approximately 85 participants who attended at least one of the presentations. The presentations were specific to preschool needs and included specific examples. Visuals, examples and research sources were shared with us. There was ample time for questions and answers from the staff. Feedback, both formal and informal, was favorable.”

United Cerebral Palsy of Central Arizona

Chuck Smite, CEO writes that our grant allows UCP to continue offering the highest quality inclusive early learning environment.  He shared this story: