社区参与

The organization received its 501(c)(3) determination letter in April of 2017.

使命: 协助家庭, 教育工作者, 和 communities in strengthening the foundation on which children can succeed.

愿景: All children have the solid foundation needed for future success.

TrainingGrounds公司. 帮助父母, 护理人员 和 professionals with providing children with rich learning experiences, positive adult-child interactions 和 social emotional skills that will contribute to success in school 和 beyond. We use the following three approaches:

1. “我们玩中心”: The We PLAY Center is a free community based space where 护理人员 和 children thrive through education, 浓缩, 社区及支援.
   The space is filled with age appropriate toys 和 activities where 父母 和 护理人员 follow the child-directed play of children 3 和 under. We PLAY中心为照顾者和他们的孩子提供了另一种选择，他们没有机会进入高质量的早期儿童学习中心/体验. 在游戏期间, 家长教育工作者为家长树立适当的成人-儿童互动模式，并为儿童提供学习机会，刺激大脑发育，培养社会情感, 语言, cognitive 和 school readiness skills. In the center, adults use narrative 和 parallel talk to stimulate 语言 development. Puzzles, sorting toys 和 music are used to develop numeracy skills. 随着时间的推移，We PLAY中心有机地发展成为一个社区和一个自然的支持系统，中心的参与者可以获得可靠的资源和安全的空间来寻求育儿方面的帮助, nurturing 和/or educating their children. 通过We PLAY中心，照顾者和孩子们都发展了能力和信心，这将有助于孩子在学校和以后的成功.
2. Parent Learning Opportunities: To complement the learning that takes place in the We PLAY Center, 训练场的讲习班和研讨会是专门为父母和照顾者提供策略和技巧，以提高他们的养育技能，并发展积极的成人与儿童的互动
3. Professional Development Workshops: TrainingGrounds与幼儿专业人士密切合作，向所有影响我们早期学习生活的个人发出一致的信息. 通过专业发展研讨会，我们帮助幼儿教育工作者理解他们被要求实施的许多标准背后的“科学”和“原因”. As well as provide them with strategies 和 techniques to create quality learning experiences for children.

影响:

• 我们玩中心*
  • 2017年4月25日开幕
  • 179 Families have participated in the program
  • 60% of participants returns for multiple visits
  • 1000 contacts with 护理人员 和 children

*The We PlAY Center is currently open 3 days a week for 2 hours each day 和 continues to deliver programming
吸引新的家庭.

1. Current We PLAY Center demographics:
   • As a result of visiting the We PLAY Center:
     • 91.7% of families reported having a better underst和ing of ages 和 stages of development, feeling supported in their role as caregiver 和 engaging in different types of interactions with their children at home (singing songs together, 讲故事, 阅读)
     • 83.3% of families reported being able to identify the benefits of play in child development.
     • 95.8%的家庭表示，他们的孩子表现出了与年龄相适应的社交技能的提高，他们对如何与孩子一起提高语言发展技能有了更好的理解
     • 91.6% of families either strongly agreed or agreed feeling like that they have a stronger bond with their children
     • 100% of families reported creating more opportunities for them 和 their children to play together 和 would recommend the Center to family 和 friends
   • 坊间
     • “The engaging environment is conducive for learning for both parent 和 child.
       负责这个项目的专业人员与孩子们进行互动，并指导家长发挥他们的作用……这个项目在家长和孩子之间有很强的社区意识.”
     • “The staff is tremendously welcoming 和 knowledgeable! My son’s social 和 verbal skills continue to improve!”
     • “I love the interaction with the kids at the we play center…It’s a very nice space for kids to play 和 learn. I’m so happy I introduced my son to this type of environment. 我希望时间能长一点, but other than that it’s an excellent form of learning for my baby 和 it’s really preparing him for head start.”
   • Professional Development for Educators
     • 500+ Early Childhood Professionals attended workshops
     • 2000+ Children Birth-5 impacted
     • 95% stated information learned will be used
   • Parent Learning Opportunities
     • 在美国教育部和《棋牌电子游戏平台》杂志主办的新奥尔良南方大学“家长力量论坛”上发表演讲.
     • Fall 2017: Contract with Family In Need of Services to offer 4 workshops per month for 10 months
     • Fall 2017: Contract with Family Court to offer 2 Co-Parenting workshops per month
     • Spring 2018 HealthyBlue Louisiana sponsored a 5 workshop series of Active Parenting the First Five Years

   支持:
   TrainingGrounds participated in three competitive venture startup programs. 螺旋桨,4.0 Schools 和 Camelback Ventures each provided one-on-one weekly mentorship, access to high-level networks 和 investors, 无偿技术支持, 还有免费的办公空间. We received financial support in the amount of $10,000 和 $40,000 from 4.0 Schools 和 Camelback Ventures respectively. 2017年秋季, Traininggrounds won the Pitch 诺拉 Education Competition for their We PLAY Center 和 received $5500. We have received grant funding for the 2018 year from the GPOA Foundation as well as the Institute for Mental Hygiene. 科珀斯克里斯蒂社区资源中心继续支持我们的倡议，为我们的“玩耍中心”和“家长学习机会研讨会”捐赠空间. 也, the families that utilize our free We PLAY Center show their support by donating money 和 refreshments.

   Collaborative Organizations:
   Corpus Christi Community Center provides free space for our We PLAY Center 和 parent learning opportunity courses. 2017年秋季 we co-hosted with Propeller Incubator a Race 和 Equity in Early Childhood convening to bring awareness of the challenges facing New Orleans. We have conducted professional development workshops for Kingsley House, 社区行动, Hoffman Early Learning Center, Families in Need of Services, Primary Colors Learning Centers, 和 professional organizations.

   我们的团队
   Melanie Richardson, MSW, LMSW
   Melanie Richardson is a native New Orleanian who has been working in the fields of mental health 和 adult education for over 20 years. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame 和 her Masters in Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania. Since returning to New Orleans, Melanie曾担任青少年精神病住院治疗机构主任和社区精神健康康复机构项目主任, securing Joint Commission 和 COA Accreditations respectively.
   As the start-up operations director for both agencies, Melanie aided in turning ideas into fruition 和 was instrumental in providing much-needed services to the community. Her years of working with students, 不同环境下的家长和社区成员为她提供了宝贵的洞察力和对服务类型的理解，这些服务将使社区和选民蓬勃发展. Melanie is married 和 has one teenage son.

   克里斯汀·尼利，m.s.Ed
   Christine Neely在教育领域工作了20多年，一直致力于提高标准，为家庭和学生提供资源. 克里斯汀已经 spent over 15 years serving as lead teacher in grades PK-3rd while working closely with administration to mentor new teachers, develop curriculum 和 make the switch to Common Core. 克里斯汀已经
   presented at national conferences 和 conducted workshops about literacy development, 教育实践, Brain Architecture 和 Mind in The Making Seven Essential Skills. She is an active member of P.E.O International which promotes educational opportunities for women worldwide. She has been married for over 21 years 和 has two teenage boys.

   梅兰妮和克里斯汀都在广泛的主题上获得了路易斯安那路径认证，并且都通过了班级观察培训.

   Our board provides a proficient mix of skills in both the education 和 business community.