FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Early Learning Ventures Sponsors Professional Development for Early Childhood Education Professionals
ELV Has Largest Colorado Cohort to Complete Aim4Excellence; First Male Nationally
March 7, 2017—(Englewood, Colo.) Early Learning Ventures (ELV) recently sponsored 26 early childhood education (ECE) professionals from Arapahoe, Garfield, Mesa, and Pueblo Counties to help them earn their Aim4Excellence National Credential through the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership at National Louis University. ELV partners with child care providers throughout Colorado to help them improve the quality of their early child care programs.
The Aim4Excellence National Credential is offered to early childhood administrators focused on improving their knowledge of early childhood education. To receive the credential, students must finish nine rigorous modules, each of which takes at least 16 hours to complete. These modules range in subject from management, to planning stimulating educational activities, to creating positive relationships with parents.
Out of the 26 early childhood administrators who completed the Aim4Excellence Credential, seven are from Arapahoe County, making this the largest cohort in Colorado to complete the program to date. Roger Olson, one of the seven Arapahoe administrators, is the first male in the nation to receive this credential.
Below are the names of the individuals who completed the credential from Arapahoe County and the organizations they work for.
- Azza Omair, Little Angels Child Care
- Cecilia Reyes, New Legacy Charter School
- Dania Kasim, Rising Star Early Learning Center
- Gigi Omair, Creative Learning Academy
- Roger Olson, Kids’ Castle Child Care
- Ty Johnson, Early Learning Ventures
- Vicki Maestas, Early Learning Ventures
About Early Learning Ventures Founded by the David & Laura Merage Foundation, Early Learning Ventures (ELV) is a Colorado-based not-for-profit organization dedicated to expanding access to quality, affordable child care. The organization focuses its efforts on improving the quality of early child care programs offered at centers and home-based child care facilities—85 percent of which are small, independent businesses that lack the infrastructure and resources to invest in quality improvements. Through a comprehensive suite of services, ELV equips care providers with the tools and support to save them time and money so they can focus on what they do best: serve children. For more information, visit www.earlylearningventures.org
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Media Contact: Sam Sinkhorn Phone: 303.789.2664 x265 Email: ssinkhorn@merage.org
Early Learning Ventures Contact: Morgan Reuter Phone: 303.789.2664 X277 Email: mreuter@earlylearningventures.org
