Origin Bank is now the proud sponsor of the Origin Bank Family Garden at the Children’s Coalition. The garden, opened in 2018, is located in Downtown Monroe at the Children’s Coalition for Northeast Louisiana headquarters at 117 Hall Street. This space is a 32 raised-bed family garden and outdoor learning center to promote healthy eating, positive family interactions and garden-based learning and play. The garden and outdoor learning center support Children’s Coalition programs and the community by growing fresh food for Early Head Start centers, training early childhood educators in garden-based learning and providing a space for families to grow, play and learn together. 


Traditionally the gates to the garden would open to the public and volunteers every third Saturday of the month for Super Saturday. Due to the impact of COVID-19, the staff of the Children’s Coalition have decided to proceed with a drive-through version on Saturday, May 16th. Beginning at 9:30am, parents and families can drive up to receive a gardening pack which includes everything needed to begin an at-home garden with their children as well as tips and resources for adults. Plans for future Super Saturday events will continue as public health guidelines are issued. 


Leann Bond, Executive Director of the Children’s Coalition says, “We are excited to have Origin Bank join us as a title sponsor of our family garden! With their support along with support from others in our community, we are able to continue providing this fun hands-on program promoting healthy activities and nutritious eating habits for families.” 


Origin Bank is proud to support the Children’s Coalition and the community as a whole. They allow employees to contribute to causes they’re passionate about. Each year, they grant every Origin Bank team member “Project Enrich” hours that they can spend volunteering with an organization of their choice. Project Enrich is just one way that Origin Bank gives back to its employees and its communities. Since the program launched in 2013, Origin Bank employees have logged more than 10,000 Project Enrich hours volunteering in our communities. 


“One of Origin Bank’s core values is corporate and individual commitment to our communities,” said Billy Haddad, Ouachita Parish Market Leader of Origin Bank. “The Children’s Coalition is an organization that is doing so much for so many within our community and we are proud to partner with them to continue to make an impact in the lives of the people of Ouachita Parish.” 


This partnership will allow the Origin Bank Family Garden at the Children’s Coalition to grow and meet the needs of children and families. Additional garden beds have been built at key locations such as the Salvation Army as well as 22 child care centers to expand the principles of healthy living in Northeast Louisiana. 
To learn more about the garden or about Super Saturday, visit www.childrenscoalition.org 
To learn more about Origin Bank, visit www.origin.bank 



About the Children’s Coalition for Northeast Louisiana 
The Children's Coalition for Northeast Louisiana is a community-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1998 with the mission to create “communities where children and families thrive." The Coalition currently serves children and families in 14 parishes with services addressing the developmental, social, and emotional needs of children ages 0-18 through early care and education, health care, parenting education, and youth development. 


About Origin Bank 
Origin Bank, formerly Community Trust Bank, is a Louisiana-chartered bank serving Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi. For over 100 years, we have provided a wide range of traditional banking services and are combining our industry expertise with modern applications to make banking easy both online and off. Member FDIC.

Last week, our U.S. Programs Director, Erin Williamson, presented in a National Listening Session hosted by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Office on Trafficking in Persons and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime. This session focused on Preventing Online Child Sexual Exploitation. Erin talked about the fact that right now, we’re online more. For youth, increased Internet use is critical for education.

​It’s keeping youth (and all of us) connected with friends. All of that is important. But being online more also has risks. Now is NOT the time for us to shame youth who are using the internet — but it IS the time for us to talk to youth about online safety. Erin, along with government leaders and other experts in the field, shared about the risks online and specific steps practitioners, parents, and others can take to reduce youth’s risks of online exploitation. It was a powerful and insightful time for professionals to connect on the topic and ask questions.

As the state begins reopening, the Louisiana Department of Education today released a Strong Start 2020 Planning Guide for Early Childhood that outlines key planning priorities, funding opportunities, and resources to ensure a strong start for every early childhood community and provider.

"Quality, affordable childcare is essential for working families," said Assistant Superintendent Jessica Baghian. "The Strong Start funding and supports aim to help our community leaders rebuild their market of early childhood education providers, with health, safety and quality as the focus."

Early childhood communities comprise early childhood lead agencies, Child Care Resource & Referral agencies, school systems, Head Start grantees, and child care providers. The planning guide emphasizes how these entities should work together to ensure:

• All child care centers have the tools and resources they need to reopen safely and in accordance with Office of Public Health guidelines. 
• Communities sustain and/or increase access to opportunities for early childhood care and education in the near and long-term. 
• Teachers are prepared to lead classrooms and provide high-quality interactions for children every day.
• Families are supported to re-enroll children in early childhood programs, or to provide quality care and education in their homes if programs are unable to reopen or remain open.

It also details how to accomplish these goals through new funding opportunities, guidance and resources.
The funding opportunities include:

• COVID-19 Community Child Care Recovery Grants: Early childhood communities are now eligible to apply for grants to support activities aligned to the state's Strong Start planning priorities by June 12. The grants, which will vary in amount based on each community's size and needs, will be used to support recovery efforts. Recovery efforts may include, for example, purchasing personal protective equipment, providing subgrants to individual providers to cover the costs of reopening, providing incentives and training to returning staff, and/or engaging families as they consider returning to centers.
  
• Louisiana Child Care Assistance Provider Relief Grants: Earlier this month, the Department awarded nearly $10 million in federal relief grants to individual child care providers impacted by COVID-19. To support centers opening during Phase 1 of reopening, an application for a second round of  relief grants has been released. For providers who open later in the summer, additional relief grants will be made available. 

Key guidance and resources include:

• Health and safety materials, including checklists for opening, a health tracker, a sample drop-off and pick-up routine, and cleaning schedules;
• A toolkit of resources to encourage, incentive, and support center staff and teachers as they return to work;
• Professional development opportunities for center directors to strengthen their connections and leadership skills as they adapt to changes and continue to improve;
• Information on how to maximize existing funding and secure new funding to continue to expand access to early childhood care and education for Louisiana's youngest learners;
• Vendor lists and screeners to support children's social and emotional development, which may have been interrupted or impacted by the disruptions in their routines;
• Top-rated learning materials that can be easily adapted during modified center operations, and training for teachers on how to utilize them;
• Services to meet unique needs of the state's most vulnerable children, including those with disabilities; and
• Recommendations on how to communicate with families, engage them in at-home learning, understand and meet their basic needs, and support them as they navigate transitions.

​
The planning guide complements a new report by the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children that shows early care and education providers, some of whom risk permanently closing, need support to reopen, and parents will have even more difficulty affording early care and education due to COVID-19 precautions. The report emphasizes critical investments must be made in early care and education for employees to return to work and the Louisiana economy to fully reopen. 

​To learn more about Louisiana's plan for a strong start to 2020 for early childhood education and for pre-K-12, visit the Department's Strong Start 2020 website.

We work with a lot of young people who met their traffickers online. Right now, youth and predators are spending more time online, presenting an increased risk, and cybertips to law enforcement are spiking. Last month, we released a Public Service Announcement (PSA) video called “Creeps Can Seem Nice at First,” specifically raising awareness about predators grooming youth online during COVID-19.

​The video has been seen over 20,000 times and has been run by several networks. Twitter also generously gave us a $5,000 Ad Grant to spread this safety message. Please share this message and the practical safety tips that accompany it with youth in your life.

The Youth Challenge Program is gearing up for their next round of interviews. The interview will be conducted on Thursday, may 14 at 6PM and will be conducted via the Zoom App. Both the teenager and an adult caregiver will need to be present on the teleconference and the interview will put them on a fast track for the July 12 start date in Pineville. In addition, if you have anyone who is interested they can apply online by clicking the button below and click the APPLY NOW tab. The application takes all of 5 minutes and will put them directly into the pipeline.

Feel free to contact Todd Derrick directly via return email at [email protected] or call him at 318-510-1460 and he will answer any questions you may have.  

Now, more than ever, early learning leaders need support to bring forth an ambitious vision for Louisiana’s youngest. As center directors consider what the future may hold, the Louisiana Early Leaders Academy offers the opportunity to build leadership skills and a network of peers who support each other for their success and most importantly, ambitious goals for young children.

Year One fellows report that this program is transformative. Learn more by visiting the LELA website.

Whether you are currently open or not, if you are a Type III center rated Proficient or Above, you are eligible to apply. The deadline for applications is May 22.
The Leaders Academy is structured to provide a support the implementation of new learning into practice, including:

• Individualized Focus: At the beginning of the fellowship program, each participant takes a needs assessment and gathers teacher satisfaction data from their staff. This information provides baseline data for each fellows to best inform training content, and provide metrics to evaluate growth over the course of the program.

• Bimonthly online training sessions: Live learning session are led by experts in the early learning field, on key topics related to instructional leadership. Fellows will learn about managing systems changes, building strong teams, and improving program operations, among other content areas. One key area of focus is time management. In order to support an ambitious vision for children and families, leaders must prioritize practices that build the quality of teacher-child interactions in their centers. Through LELA, fellows learn approaches to managing time, and receive coaching support to implement new practices.

• A personal coach: Monthly, one-on-one coaching sessions are designed to identify specific goals for building instructional leadership skills, and reinforce the training session content. 
• A community of peers: In addition the directors from across the state and connection with Year One fellows, each leader will have a “Home Team.” An intimate peer group that supports each other through monthly meetings.
• Exclusive opportunities to learn from national and state leaders in early childhood education.

Now, more than ever, early learning leaders need support to bring forth an ambitious vision for Louisiana’s youngest. As center directors consider what the future may hold, the Louisiana Early Leaders Academy offers the opportunity to build leadership skills and a network of peers who support each other for their success and most importantly, ambitious goals for young children.

Year One fellows report that this program is transformative. Learn more through this short promotional video or by visiting the LELA website.

Whether you are currently open or not, if you are a Type III center rated Proficient or Above, you are eligible to apply. The deadline for applications is May 22.
​
The Leaders Academy is structured to provide a support the implementation of new learning into practice, including:

• Individualized Focus: At the beginning of the fellowship program, each participant takes a needs assessment and gathers teacher satisfaction data from their staff. This information provides baseline data for each fellows to best inform training content, and provide metrics to evaluate growth over the course of the program.
• Bimonthly online training sessions: Live learning session are led by experts in the early learning field, on key topics related to instructional leadership. Fellows will learn about managing systems changes, building strong teams, and improving program operations, among other content areas. One key area of focus is time management. In order to support an ambitious vision for children and families, leaders must prioritize practices that build the quality of teacher-child interactions in their centers. Through LELA, fellows learn approaches to managing time, and receive coaching support to implement new practices.
• A personal coach: Monthly, one-on-one coaching sessions are designed to identify specific goals for building instructional leadership skills, and reinforce the training session content. 
• A community of peers: In addition the directors from across the state and connection with Year One fellows, each leader will have a “Home Team.” An intimate peer group that supports each other through monthly meetings.
• Exclusive opportunities to learn from national and state leaders in early childhood education.