Suffolk Early Childhood Development Commission Meetings

Date: August 04, 2021 Time: 2:00 to 4:00pm Location: City of Suffolk Health & Human Services Building 135 Hall Ave Suffolk VA 23434 3RD Floor Conference Room August 2021 Commission Meeting Members Present Members Absent Mark Furlo Gail Harrison Marie Baker Bonnie Maki Saniyyah T. Manigault Henry Dixon Terrance Johnson Tamie Rittenhouse Shawna LoMonaco Carol Wilson Lori White Gin Staylor Sarah Townsend Catherine Pichon Guest- Melvin Bradshaw Guest – Barb Lito I. Welcome–Lori White called the meeting to order. II. Review Minutes-The commission reviewed the minutes from July 07, 2021. Two typo corrections were indicated. Marie Baker made the motion to approve the minutes, Mark Furlo seconded the motion. The vote to approve the minutes was unanimous. III. Presentation – Barb Lito with Virginia Beach Grow Smart provided an in-depth  presentation about LENA programs, data, and implementation. The talk pedometer program tracks communication between teachers and children and the coaching/training follow-up works to close the achievement gap in early childhood centers. Virginia Beach is in the middle of a 3 year, grant-funded implementation. The commission had logistical questions about the programs and data. IV. Coordinators Report: A. Child Care Numbers: Shawna LoMonaco reported there are currently 43 licensed child care locations and 13 unlicensed. The numbers have remained the same. Suffolk Children’s Harbor and Main Street Daycare and Preschool have been added to the number of Suffolk Virginia Quality locations. B. PT Positon Update– The PT ECDC Coordinator position has been reposted and will close August 20th, 2021. C. CLASS – ECDC will host a CLASS Fundementals training on Saturday August 14th, 2021 at the East Suffolk Recreation Center. Joetta Camp will provide the training. 25 participants are registered. If available to help with arrival and/or lunch on that day please reach out to Shawna. D. PDG Overview- ECDC will act as a community leader to Suffolk centers participating with the Preschool Development Grant, which are Joyful Care Child Care and Unique Little Hands. Children’s Center locations are also participating and have a designated PDG lead within the organization. III. Other Business: A. Finance Report: A review of the new FY2022 budget was shared with the group. Shawna reported that the FY2020 budget was balanced to the penny with ECDC records. B. Fundraising Efforts: It was reported that it is in the City Attorney’s opinion that fundraising activities or fundraising subcommittees should not be conducted by City boards and commissions. The emails of those individuals interested in supporting the Lake Meade project have been shared with the Suffolk Parks and Trails Alliance. Any individual engaging in fundraising efforts may do so as a community member but not as a representative of ECDC. IV. New Business:  A. ECDC Bylaws: As recommended by the City Attorney, ECDC bylaws will begin the revision process. A working group will be formed and more information will be provided at the September meeting. B. Member Changes- Saniyyah Manigault-Westbrook introduced Terrance Johnson as ECDC’s new DSS representative. Sarah Townsend has been introduced as ECDC’s new City Manager’s Designee. V. Adjourn Our next meeting will be Sept 1, 2021