Congratulations to the 16 participants who successfully completed the six-month Building Efficacy in STEM Today (B.E.S.T.) Community of Practice. Participants had the opportunity to earn up to 17 hours of S.T.A.R.S. credit through various activities and monthly virtual sessions.
Session Topics
- Growth Mindset
- Foundations of S.T.E.M
- Welcoming Environments
- Family Engagement
- Family Voice
“Through Moonshot Catalyst funding provided by STEM Next, we were able to develop the B.E.S.T. CoP, which allowed us to work with child care centers and facilities serving school-age youth across West Virginia. It was wonderful to witness participants increase their capacity and comfort level with STEM and family engagement over the past six months and to create a plan to implement what they learned. We hope participants will continue to stay connected to us and to the network formed by the B.E.S.T. CoP as they grow their STEM and family engagement efforts.”
Participating sites included:
- Cubby’s Child Care Center – Bridgeport, WV
- Friends-R-Fun Child Development Center – Summersville, WV
- Hardy County Child Care Center – Moorefield, WV
- Little Bear Child Care – Bruceton Mills, WV
- Little Eagle Child Care Center Before & After School Program – Kearneysville, WV
- Miss Holly’s Daycare – Saint Marys, WV
- Mrs. Kathy’s Daycare – Huntington, WV
- Ridge Kids Academy (Barboursville) – Barboursville, WV
- Ridge Kids Academy (Woodville) – Huntington, WV
- Suncrest Early Learning Center – Morgantown, WV
- Teddy Bear Daycare – Petersburg, WV
- Willow Tree Learning Academy – Wheeling, WV
In the final session, participants developed presentations addressing challenges they face at their childcare centers/facilities serving school-age youth related to family engagement. Within the presentation, they outlined plans to use what they learned through their participation in B.E.S.T. to overcome these challenges.
The EdVenture Group would like to extend a huge thank you to all of the participants, STEM Next – Million Girls Moonshot, the WV Statewide Afterschool Network, and the WV Department of Human Services – Division of Early Care and Education for their support of the B.E.S.T. Community of Practice. For more information on The EdVenture Group’s after school and out-of-school-time offerings, contact Jennifer Wotring at [email protected].
About The EdVenture Group
The EdVenture Group is a national non-profit organization committed to creating customized solutions to educational challenges. Founded in 2001 by classroom teacher Dr. Lydotta Taylor, EdV is a nonprofit organization inspiring lifelong learning at all levels by developing and delivering innovative solutions to obstacles in K-12 education. The organization has managed over $25 million in federal, state, local, and private funding to provide proven processes, programs, and expertise to students, educators, and communities in Appalachia and across the nation. For more information, visit www.theedventuregroup.org.