Name:  Delaware Valley AEYC

Contact Information:  www.dvaeyc.org; 1608 Walnut St., Ste. 1400, Philadelphia, PA, 19103; phone 215-893-0130;   Executive Director:  Sharon Easterling;  Membership Coordinator:  Shane Breitenstein 

Geographic Area:  The five counties of Southeastern PA – Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia
 
Number of Members:  2,000
 
Board Composition:  Our board is comprised of early childhood education practitioners, higher education faculty, and community leaders who bring expertise in legal, financial, and marketing matters.  The Board meets in September, January, March, and June.

 
 Delco Social Participants

Board Members:  

Gina Ameci, Shareholder, Buchanan-Ingersoll

Patricia Baxter, Educational Consultant

Cheryl Binswanger, Consultant, Huntsman Consulting

Pamela Blewitt, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, Villanova Universty

Joanne Bursich, Project Manager, Nonprofit Finance Fund

Sharla Feldscher, President, Sharla Feldscher Public Relations

Mary Graham, Executive Director, Children's Village

Deborah Hoppy

Katherine Hylinski, Ph.D., Professor, Gwynedd-Mercy College

Edward Kozmor, Vice President of Media Relations, PNC Financial Services

Karen Kulp, President and CEO, Home Care Associates

Alice Lindenauer, Director of Workforce Development, SEI Investments

Maddy Malis, President and CEO, Federation Early Learning Services

Joan McCarthy, Director, Human Resources Communication, Comcast

Jacki Metzler, Director of Programs, Federation Early Learning Services

Hedra Packman, The Director fo Library Services Office, The Free Library of

     Philadelphia

Jennifer Plumer Davis, Director, Pre-K Headstart, The School District of Philadelphia

David Silbermann, Director, School District of Philadelphia

Sharon Thompson, Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of Liberal Studies, Community College of Philadelphia

Marlene Weinstein, Director of Early Age Education, Middle States Commission on

     Elementary Schools

Carol Wong, Director, Chinatown Learning Center

 
Committees:  Development Steering Committee, Finance Committee, Public Relations Committee, and Program and Evaluation Committee

ad hoc committees:  Human Resources, Conference, Technology
 
Annual Activities:

Quality Improvement:  DVAEYC provides technical assistance to early childhood programs seeking to improve the quality of their services. Since 1995, DVAEYC has assisted over 150 child centers and family child care homes in reaching NAEYC and NAFCC accreditation standards. DVAEYC provides technical assistance for the Keystone STARS system to the five counties of Southeastern Pennsylvania (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia). We support the professional development of staff through ongoing community based training and through individualized career advising for child care staff who seek to upgrade their education credentials.
 
Public Policy:  DVAEYC works to expand Pennsylvania’s commitment to quality child care initiatives, which are critical to the healthy development of young children, particularly those at risk from the effects of poverty. We offer leadership and advocacy training for child care staff and engage in grassroots organizing to affect system change. Currently, the campaign is playing a major leadership role in PA QUEST – Quality Early Education through Salaries and Training.
 
Annual Conference:  For more than 30 years, DVAEYC has sponsored a 2-day professional development conference for the early childhood education community in our region.  This annual event attracts over 3,000 educators who come to learn from and network among leaders and peers in ECE.  The 2011 Conference, "Picture Every Child Confident & Secure," will take place at the Pennsylvania Convention Center on May 5-7.
 
DVAEYComputing Solutions:  DVAEYC offers affordable technology services to child care programs to help them integrate technology into the curriculum in appropriate ways, utilize the Internet for teacher education and planning, and harness the power of technology for business purposes. 
 
Membership Services:  Membership benefits include:  discounts on all DVAEYC events (including the Annual Conference), free bi-monthly newsletter and eNewsletter subscriptions, exclusive access to ECE Shared Resources, a user-friendly web platform that offers tools and cost savings programs, and reduced registration fees for NAEYC conferences.  
 

 Member Testimonials

 
“As a single mother of two children, one being a child who has disabilities, [college] was not always an easy journey. Still, I knew it could be done— DVAEYC and I just did it!”
Kimrenee Coaxum, M.Ed., Director, Young World Early Learning Center and DVAEYC Career Advising Client
 
“I was apprehensive about participating in Action Day because I had never done anything like this before.  Then it finally hit me that all these legislators work for me—and they should be attentive and respectful.  They need to hear from me and understand what I believe is in the best interest of our community.”
Sarah Dye, Executive Director, Seton Hill Child Services
 
“Our center quality has improved tremendously.
We started as a STAR 1, and now we are a STAR 3 center, and it’s all because of the DVAEYC Quality Improvement program.”
Rev. Dr. Chandra S. Soans, Center Director, St. Stephen’s Daycare Center and Afterschool Program

  
Check out DVAEYC's video.