For Immediate Release: July 19th, 2020
TELA SPRING 2020 DISTANCE LEARNING A SUCCESS!
This spring, when the Coronavirus forced TELA PreK programs to close for the safety of the children and teachers in Tallahatchie County, TELA realized their obligation to find a way to support families during this difficult time to ensure their program’s students continued to learn and grow.
Through a partnership with Springboard Collaborative TELA was able to offer an exciting opportunity for PreK parents and caregivers to continue their child’s education virtually. TELA Distance Learning trained the amazing PreK Collaborative teachers of Eva Covington Head Start, West Tallahatchie Head Start Center, and Charleston Elementary PreK who facilitated the program for their students via five conference calls.
“In the midst of this difficult time, TELA PreK Collaborative teachers have risen to the challenge of providing education to our children. They are an amazing group of educators and we feel so thankful to work together with them,” said Amy Donaldson, TELA’s Director of Early Learning Professional Development.
The distance learning gave teachers an opportunity to connect with their students’ parents and caregivers to offer guidance about the best ways to support their child’s learning and growth until the start of the next school year. “I feel that it helped my students to pick up from where we left off before we got out for spring break, they were excited just to see me on the Zoom meeting…they seemed excited about the work I had given them as if we were actually in the classroom,” said TELA PreK teacher Angie Jennings.
Out of the 184 families enrolled in TELA PreK programs, 169 families signed up to participate. Of those who participated, 97.7% of them agreed or strongly agreed that as a result of the program, they are spending more time reading to their children. Additionally, 93% agreed or strongly agreed that their children had benefited as a result of the program. One program participant wrote, “I am really appreciative of this learning program and how things were handle[d]. This program has helped me and my child build a better bond while learning at the same time, giving me a chance to get to know my child even more, her strengths and weaknesses.”
At the end of the program, participants were provided with a summer learning resource pack full of materials for them to use to play and learn together. Each pack contained items geared toward each developmental area, from social emotional awareness to number sense and more.
IMAGES: Summer Learning Packets before being delivered to TELA Distance Learning Participants
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About TELA:
The Tallahatchie Early Learning Alliance (TELA) is a collaborative for quality early childhood education in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi. TELA is an initiative of the Mississippi Early Learning Alliance (MELA). MELA drives collective impact with diverse stakeholders to achieve systemic change for Mississippi children.